In examining the role of political parties, political scientists usually list the most important function last.
Political parties, while not mentioned in the Constitution, provide an essential link between citizens and government. They nominate candidates for office. Parties educate and galvanize voters. Then, once elected into the majority, political parties attempt to govern.
Some contend that political parties put so much emphasis on the electoral process that the work of running government after elections gets shortchanged.
Take healthcare reform, for instance.
Even with overwhelming Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, President Barack Obama has faced tremendous difficulties in getting a health-care reform bill that he can sign.
The recent news that the Senate Finance Committee has passed their version of health-care reform was welcomed by the President. But the difficult work of reconciling the different versions of health-care reform has just begun, and success is not guaranteed even with Democrats in control.
There are three essential reasons why American political parties—even when one is in a position of great power-- face major challenges when it comes to the implementation of sweeping policy changes:
1. Checks and Balances
Like it or not, the Framers knew what they were doing. They wanted a legislative process that was cautious and deliberate. The House was intended to push legislative initiatives quickly while the Senate was intended to slow the process down.
Even with one party in control of both chambers of Congress, the slowly developing health-care reform legislation shows the system works the way the Framers intended.
2. Direct primaries
Americans have gone above and beyond in their pursuit of democracy by ensuring that even their political parties hold to core democratic principals.
In many countries party leaders are in charge of placing party members’ names on the ballot, thus ensuring party loyalty. In the U.S., both major political parties empower ordinary voters to select their preferred party nominees. This, plus our system of candidates funding their own campaigns, prevents candidates from becoming purely beholden to party leaders.
The result is more independent minded representatives (from both parties) who will sometimes vote against the party line even on big policies like health-care reform. This also results in making the difficult job of running a government much more difficult without the guarantee of party support.
3. Independent voters
One additional obstacle faced by any party in power is the reality that more and more Americans are not allied with one party or the other.
American voters have been more inclined to switch their vote from election to election rather than cement their vote to one party. Thus, political parties must always be wary that yesterday’s electoral success can lead to today’s legislative victory that—if unpopular with the public—can lead to tomorrow’s electoral downfall.
