Essay For Divided Government And Political Power In The USA

The concept of political power and its dimensions

Describe about the Essay for  Divided government and political power in the USA.

As stated by the famous US writer, Beth Revis- ‘Power isn’t control at all- power is strength, and giving the strength to the others’. Thus, power can be defined as the ability or act for controlling people or things (Revis 2016). According to the famous social and political theorist, Steven Luke, the power is the capacity that influences others. He classifies power to be exercised through three different dimensions, which can be visible through (i) decision making, (ii) ideological, power, and (iii) domination (Gilens 2012).  In terms of politics, the power seeks to be entirely on its own sake. Our history incorporates the stories of the world leaders and organizations including the German Nazis, the Russian Communists, and various others that were seen to be relinquishing their respective powers unwillingly on the innocent people. These leaders and organizations had been pretending and believing to be seizing power on the population. It is interesting to note that although, they had been able to come very close in implementing their methods, and they were unable to recognize their respective motives. This forced domination of the organizations created a negative influence on the people owing to their dictatorship approach of safeguarding a revolution. Thus, we can observe from our history that power is an end and it should not be misinterpreted as a method. Thus, political power can be defined as the authority or power being implemented by any party or government, which enables them to control the people and make effective use of the public resources for governing the population or a country.

The ‘divided government’ as relevant in the United States is described by a situation where a particular party controls the White House and the other party controls the houses (the Senate, and the House of Representatives) of the United States Congress which is  a legislature of the federal government for the United States (Australianpolitics.com 2016). The US, being the oldest democracy in the world since 1789 does not incorporate all the features in their political systems that are democratic (Boundless.com 2015). Incorporating a federal system, the country is divided into the States and the central or national government. The Federal Government consist of three branches: (i) the Legislative branch incorporating the Senate and the House of Representatives, (ii) the Executive Branch incorporating the President, Federal Departments and Agencies and Cabinet, (iii) the Judicial branch including the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Fiorina, 2016). Each of the 50 states in the country elects a legislature and a Governor consisting of a State senate and a State House. The divided government in the country has become more norm than exception since 2010 (Australianpolitics.com 2016). Washington has been split between two parties since the past 21 years (Boundless.com 2015). With the Republicans finding victory over the White House and Congress, most of the people in the country are of the belief that the parties together would be bearing greater responsibility for getting things done for them in the future. Some of the researchers and philosophers are of the belief that this Divided Government is an undesirable product being formed because of the separation of powers in the political system of the country. The divided government became increasingly common since the late 20^th century (Australianpolitics.com 2016). Some of the Liberal groups and conservatives believe the dividend government to be beneficial, as it would enable in encouraging more policing of the individuals in power by the opposition. They also believe that this dividend government would also help in limiting the spending and extension of the laws, which are not desirable by the citizens in the country.

Divided government in the United States

At the start of the 21^st century, the then President of the United States, George Bush and his democratic congress had seen the election in the country that voted for ten consecutive years of divided control since the year 1988 (Howell 2016). The election results showed a growing trend of divided government that had becoming a norm in the modern American politics. It has been estimated that the electorates have been splicing the election tickets by designing and hence, providing a slice of control for each of the parties from preventing the each other to accumulate monopoly on the political power (Mason and Stephenson 2015). Now, the election results showing a voting for the divided government had raised two important questions that needed correct explanations: ‘Why did not the Republicans win the House?’ and ‘Why did not the Democrats win the Presidency?’ These two questions are a matter of concern for the researchers to investigate on (Fiorina 2016). However, we could predict the answers to the questions being raised in respective of the election. The democrats cannot win the presidency as either most of the democratic nominees usually turn out to do their respective work. Another reason for their inability is that the democrats are too eager to tax and spend. On the other hand, the reason being the inability of the Republicans to win the house is due to the hesitations in their parts for paying the local benefits game or because the Republicans are manipulative in respective of their share of seats (Ehrenhalt, 2015). The most important weakness of the authorities is that they recognize the state level factors instead of identifying at the national level.  

According to Karl Marx’s theory of state, the state is an instrument of class rule. His state cannot be seen as some sort of natural apparatus above the classes (Tabor 2016). According to Marx, the state does not serve the population in an impartial way. Moreover, it is not accountable to the democratic people nor it is liable for the democratic republic. The state defends and maintains the exploration and domination of the class by holding the lower classes that are threatening the ruling system. We are living in a class society, which also requires a state. Under the circumstances, we would be requiring a state for maintaining the overall reproduction of the system. The main reason behind the requirement of the state is due to the fact that each of the capitalists or the capital is acting on its own interest and does not necessarily mean to maintain the overall sustainability of the system (Mason and Stephenson 2015). The main function of the state would be to maintain the capitalist class as a whole and should be acting against any particular class who are threatening the system as a whole. As for example, the US President Obama’s decisions for the shared sacrifice from all the people for imp song the austerity in the country (Tabor 2016). This shows that the state is not responsible for standing for any national or general government in the society. The capitalist are meant to equate their interest in respective of the national interests and the state is required to maintain the defense of property including all the legal and illegal forms of the court. The dominate property relations arid being maintained by the sate through several means. It also has a specific role in maintaining the ideology and politics. Although, there can be a difference within the confinement of Democrats Republicans, the political leadership and the political classes tend to share the same values (Tabor 2016).

The federal system in the United States

The Republican in the US is considered the Right of the center party whereas the Democrats are considered the Left of the centre party. If we are to compare with the political system of the UK, it can be found that the Conservatives are the Right of the center party whereas the Labor is the Left of the center party. In the European politics, the center in the US politics is right to that in the British legislation (Darlington, 2016). This implies that the policies as implicated by the Tea Party applicants would not be supported by any political party in the UK. Likewise, the policies as supported by the US politics could be mainstreamed into the British Labor Party. There is no centre party as evident ion the US that consists of the Republicans and the Democrats. While in the UK, there is an evidence of the Liberal Democrat party acting between the labor and Conservative parties. It can be evident that there are two parties in the Congress and both of them are federal parties (Wiarda and Kline 2013). While in the UK, there is are nationalist political patties that seek votes throughout the country. In the US, the Republican and the democratic parties dominate the state and federal elections where the independents get small proportions of the votes. In the UK, two main political parties including the Labor and Conservative win a declining and smaller share of the total vote. In the US politics, there are two main political parties with individual candidates adopting various positions on the various issues. The UK politics is comprised of the political parties that are reining on the policies being promoted by the candidates and voted by the representatives being elected (Darlington, 2016). The political parties in the US have a congress in every four years fro choosing the candidates for the election process. While, in the UK, the political parties hold annual conferences for debating on the policy positions as to be adopted by the party. It should be noted that the conferences as held by the political parties in the UK do not chose the leader of the parties, which is done through a separate process (Gilens and Page 2014) .

As far as the elections are concerned, the US implements the teams for the President for four years, a Senator for six years, and a Congressman, which is for two years. Moreover, the date so fight elections in the county is fixed. As far as the UK is concerned, the terms for House of Commons or the Government are for five years at a maximum limit (Darlington, 2016). However, the time limit of the members could be revised if the Prime Minister feels the need. The candidates for the Presidency, House of Representatives, and the Senate in the US political system are chosen by a system of registered Republican and democratic voters. The UK political system incorporates the process of the selection of candidates, which is confirmed to the actual members of the political parties in the constituency (Flanigan et al 2014). The US Constitution implements the election to be held in order to fill the vacant Senate seats. However, the state legislatures empower the governor of the state for filling up the seat by the appointment between the times in order to certify the winner of the special election. Most of the states allow the governors to replace the candidates for the next general elections in the country. Several steps are required to hold a special election for certifying the winner as the Senator member. In the UK, the House of the Commons is required to fill up the by-election in the constituency that is held within three mounts (Mann 2012). It should be noted that there is no replacement of the members of the House of Lords when a peer resigns.

Implications of divided government on modern American politics

The 2010 election in the US had seen the victory of the Republican (Fiorina 2016). This victory had made the country wondering whether the divided government would be creating more incentive for the Republican and the Democrats would be deepening the partisan divisions. The divided government in the country has become more norm than exception since 2010. Washington has been split between two parties since the past 21 years (Fiorina 2016). With the Republicans finding victory over the White House and Congress, most of the people in the country are of the belief that the parties together would be nearing greater responsibility for getting things done for them in the future. Under the divided government, the parties have become more responsible for governing the country as they would be getting an equal stake in getting the things right (Dionne 2013). The primary advantage of the implication of the divided government in the country is that the policies are pushed to the centre in order to find the pragmatic solutions to the problems related to them if any. This pushing of the policies to the centre is a significant feature, as the legislation requires the support form bit the parties in order to be passed for the implementation of the same (Dye and Gaddie 2013). The divided government is also responsible for forcing the administration to govern the center. These were some of the reasons for the effective production of the sustainable bi-partnership and the US has been far more on the advantageous side by implementing the divided government since the past 21 years.

Some of the concerns relating to her divided government in the US is that the passing of the legislation requires longer time than it could have been possible under a one-party rule in the country. Moreover, the divided government in the country is responsible for empowering the congress and the parties for launching the investigations of the administrations that is creating legislative gridlock and is deepening the partisan rancor. In addition, the bi-parties government prescribes and incorporates the small-bore initiatives and halfway measures that make it difficult for the government to solve the bigger problems on a national level. This debate about the shortfalls related to the divided government in the country has led to the gradual decrement in its prominence on a political scene since the past few years. The year 2012 has shown the divided government to be reaching a remarkable low point as evident from the 2012 election in the country. Moreover, it should be noted that the year saw only 12 states including New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and others to be supporting the divided government approach (Australianpolitics.com 2016).

The implications of the divided control arise from the unhappiness in the perspective of the voters with the government management system. Owing to this dissatisfaction of the management system, the voters are compelled to elect the divided government instead of electing minority party governors. As evident from the discussions, it can be evident that the divided rule has a number of advantages than a one-party ruling government. Under the divided government, the parties are more responsible for governing the country as they get an equal stake in getting the things right. Moreover, the implication of the divided government in the country is that the policies are pushed to the centre in order to find the pragmatic solutions to the problems related to them. This pushing of the policies to the centre is a significant feature of the divided rule, as the legislation requires the support form bit the parties in order to be passed for the implementation. The divided government is also responsible for forcing the administration to cover the center. These were some of the reasons for the effective production of the sustainable bi-partnership and the US has been far more on the advantageous side by implementing the divided government since the past 21 years.

References

Australianpolitics.com, (2016). Overview of the U.S. Political System | AustralianPolitics.com. [online] Australianpolitics.com. Available at: https://australianpolitics.com/united-states-of-america/system-overview [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

Boundless.com, (2015). The U.S. Political System. Boundless. [online] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/government-15/the-u-s-political-system-116/the-u-s-political-system-644-331/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

DARLINGTON, R. (2016). Contrasts between American and British political systems. [online] Rogerdarlington.me.uk. Available at: https://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/USvsUK.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

DeNardo, J., 2014. Power in numbers: The political strategy of protest and rebellion. Princeton University Press.

Dionne Jr, E.J., 2013. Our divided political heart: The battle for the American idea in an age of discontent. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Dye, T.R. and Gaddie, R.K., 2013. Politics in America. Pearson Higher Ed.

Ehrenhalt, A. (2015). What Does Divided Government Mean for the Future of Politics?. [online] Governing.com. Available at: https://www.governing.com/columns/assessments/gov-divided-we-stand.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

Fiorina, M. (2016). Divided Government: The Story In The States. [online] Available at: https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-perspective/ppscan/31/31021.pdf.

Flanigan, W.H., Zingale, N.H., Theiss-Morse, E.A. and Wagner, M.W., 2014.Political behavior of the American electorate. Cq Press.

Gilens, M. and Page, B.I., 2014. Testing theories of American politics: Elites, interest groups, and average citizens. Perspectives on politics,12(03), pp.564-581.

Gilens, M., 2012. Affluence and influence: Economic inequality and political power in America. Princeton University Press.

Howell, E. (2016). The American Presidency. [online] Available at: https://users.polisci.wisc.edu/coleman/Divgovtcolemanparker.pdf [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

Kernell, S., Jacobson, G.C., Kousser, T. and Vavreck, L., 2015. The logic of American politics. Cq Press.

Mann, M., 2012. The sources of social power: Volume 3, global empires and revolution, 1890-1945 (Vol. 3). Cambridge University Press.

Mason, A.T. and Stephenson, G., 2015. American constitutional law: introductory essays and selected cases. Routledge.

Packenham, R.A., 2015. Liberal America and the third world: Political development ideas in foreign aid and social science. Princeton University Press.

Revis, B. (2016). Quotes About Power (2638 quotes). [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/power [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

Schmidt, S., Shelley, M., Bardes, B. and Ford, L., 2013. American Government and Politics Today, No Separate Policy Chapters Version, 2013-2014. Nelson Education.

Tabor, R. (2016). The Marxist Theory fo the State. [online] Spunk.org. Available at: https://www.spunk.org/texts/pubs/lr/sp001715/marxron.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2016].

Wiarda, H.J. and Kline, H.F. eds., 2013. Latin American politics and development. Westview Press.