Parties, Polarization and Democracy in the United States

by Baumer,Donald C.

• ISBN13: 9781594516672
• ISBN10: 1594516677
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-12-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

As evidenced in the 2008 elections and the transition to a new era of Democratic governance, one of the most important developments in American politics in recent years has been the resurgence of political parties. Democrats and Republicans represent different world views and policies, citizens recognize these differences, and many of them use party labels to make sense of the political world. In short, party resurgence rooted in party differences has become one of the central themes in contemporary American politics. Parties, Polarization and Democracy in the United States describes and analyzes the place of political parties in American politics today ' both among elites and citizens at large. It also examines the effects of party polarization. Many scholars and pundits denounce political polarization; they view it as a symptom of a broken political system that provides unappealing choices for voters and that is frequently mired in deadlock. Baumer and Gold make a different argument ' that party polarization offers the kind of choice and accountability to voters that was not always present in earlier periods of American political history. The book concludes with a discussion of the 2008 elections and a look toward the 2010 midterms, potentially a partisan watershed for Congress similar to 1994 and 2006.

Table of Contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Appendices	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Political Parties in the Twenty-First Century	p. 1
Parties and the Electorate I: Images of the Parties	p. 19
Parties and the Electorate II: The Dynamics of Party Polarization	p. 49
The Midterm Elections of 1994 and 2006	p. 93
Parties in Power: Congress, Presidents, Partisanship, and Gridlock	p. 119
Political Parries in Anglo-America	p. 145
Looking Backward and Forward: The Election of 2008 and the Future of American Politics	p. 171
Notes	p. 195
Index	p. 229
About the Authors	p. 243
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