Political Parties - Research Paper Example

Political parties are defined as groups of organized individuals who obtain and perform political power. They refer to political organizations that attempt to influence or administer governance by trying to elect their candidate for a political position. They often take part in election campaigns and political debates. These groups of people possess ideals or visions manifested in a party program. This program is supported by a platform that contains particular objectives. These parties form a coalition in support of their platform although interests differ at some point in time (Katz and Crotty 6). In the U.S. two political parties dominated the nation’s political system, namely, the Democrats and Republicans. The two political parties had elected their candidates for the presidency since 1852 had and governed U.S. Congress since 1856 (“Democratic-Republican Party”).

            The Democratic Party is the eldest among all political parties in the world. This party’s ideals lean more on economic matters. The economic idea ideas platform of this party was greatly influenced by former U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1932. This political party obtained the greatest number of affiliated members in 2004 wherein it garnered about 72 million American supporters. The incumbent president Barack Obama is the 15th president to be under this political party. Significantly, it also became the majority party in the senate in 2006. In 2011, the supporters for this political party had declined in number but remains to be larger than its counterpart, the Republicans (Wagner 56).

            The Republican Party became prominent when Abraham Lincoln won the presidential elections in 1860. This political party champions the platform of American conservatism. It pushes more on fiscal and socially conservative ideas, alongside liberal ideologies on economics. The last Republican president to hold office was former President George W. Bush. In terms of the presidency, this political party has succeeded in putting 19 presidents in the White House under its organization as compared to the Democrats who have been close in winning 15 presidential seats (Anderson 45).