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Michael Pronin
Professor Bedell
Politics Civic Issues Blog
Party Infighting
Political parties in the United States government have been debated
for as long as the country has been around. Indeed, our founding fathers
tried to warn us against the possible damage that political parties could
cause a democratic nation, namely with John Adams famous quote, There is
nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great
parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in
opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded
as the greatest political evil under our Constitution. Still, partisanship has
found its way to becoming a hallmark of our political system, and something
that Americans cant avoid when it comes to political deliberation. However,
it seems as though things have gone a little further than our founding fathers
could have pictured a couple centuries ago. While John Adams argued
against two parties that would fight against each other under a centralized
leader, now there seems to be the problem of disagreement within parties
themselves.
One of the main issues coming out of partisan politics is the gridlock
that often arises when parties dont agree. When congress is split, there
exists the issue that bills wont be able to pass the other branch of congress,

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if the majority is ideologically opposed. Therefore, many would be led to

believe that the current republican controlled congress will be able to pass
laws easier. However, this isnt necessarily the case. Division within parties
can be great, especially since parties lend themselves to a large variance in
political ideology. It is commonly known that one doesnt have to be a
Republican if they are conservative or a Democrat if they are liberal. Still,
even amongst those that identify within the same political ideology, political
disagreements are likely to arise as there are two ends of the spectrum when
it comes to being a liberal or a conservative. One Republican may be very
conservative on every issue, while another may find themselves leaning
more left on certain issues. This clearly creates a whole other pool of issues
in political life, as the political battle extends beyond just trying to gain
support from those in other parties.
Ideological differences within parties make a huge difference when it
comes to policy implementation. According to Dana Bash of CNN, Jen Bush
has been recently pushing economic reforms that have taken on a similar
approach as George W. Bushs compassionate conservatism. He defended
the millions of Americans that are struggling financially, and claims that
these financial difficulties arent a result of laziness or lack of ambition. Bash
points out that this is much different than fellow Republican Mitt Romney,
who faced public backlash after a video surfaced of him claiming that 47% of
Americans see themselves as victims and are reliant on the government.

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Clearly, such a fundamental ideological difference would drive both

politicians to push for different policies.
Another issue that has been prevalent for the Republican Party is the
far right wing of the Republicans. As Scott Wong writes in The Hill, many
Republicans in the house opposed Boehners reelection as speaker of the
house. There has long been talk that many Republicans oppose Boehner as
they feel he isnt doing enough to oppose Obama, as well as the fact that
they dont see him to be conservative enough to represent their party. Many
Tea Party members have concurred, and as more far right conservatives find
their way into congress, such ideological splits are only going to get worse.
The Democratic Party has also seen its fair share of ideological
differences. As Alec MacGillis discusses, some Democrats are teaming up
with the Tea Party in order to stop Obamas trade plans. This example only
provides more evidence that many Democrats ideologically oppose Obama,
even though they are in the same party. By teaming up with Republicans,
these Democrats are sending a strong message to the president and are
showing that party lines doesnt mean as much as instituting policy that they
feel is just.
Clearly, there is more than just parties butting heads in the political
sphere. Parties have their fair share of turmoil, and this only adds another
element to the political arena. The implications are far reaching, as
gathering support isnt as easy as getting those in the same party to agree

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on an issue. Moreover, electing leaders becomes difficult, since many in the

party will want candidates that come closest to their own views, and this
leaves a lot of room for leaders to not have full support from their own side.
Its possible that the founding fathers didnt see deep enough into the
problems that parties would cause.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/politics/jeb-bush-2016-detroit/index.html
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/228613-house-elects-boehner-asspeaker-with-x-defections
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/democrats_
working_with_tea_party_against_obama_s_trade_deal_the_president.html