Political parties oversee and tangentially control elections in the United States. These political parties threaten representative democracy and create dysfunction in government. Elected representatives are more stewards to the interests of party coalitions than to the will of their constituents. Coalitions rely on candidates to carry out their agenda and candidates rely on interest group coalitions to keep them in office, therefore allowing political parties to usurp the voter’s clout and influence. America’s government is dysfunctional, a problem created and maintained by group centered politics. A functional and well-run government is replete with citizen input, representative of the will of the people, and devoid of official controlling,
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These blind spots enable parties to nominate candidates that are optimally extreme, pass legislation that is tailored to narrow interests, and create excessive party polarization (Bawn 578). Blind spots expand and contract due to numerous factors, namely an inattentive media, arcane congressional rules, and general voter apathy. These blind spots, no matter how small, help dissolve the notion of representative democracy. Politicians and parties, with the assistance of blind spots, can disregard voter preferences or wishes with impunity, because if the voters are ignorant about their politician’s actions, it is impossible for them to take action. Blind spots are the life-blood of group-centered politics, without voter ignorance, interest groups could not compel politicians to carry out their agenda for fear of being caught by voters. Blind spots create party polarization; they allow parties to nominate “optimally extreme” candidates who strive to satisfy the needs of the party over the needs of the people (Lizza). The formation and general existence of blind spots exemplifies everything that is wrong with government today. Politicians, in order to act on the will of interest group coalitions, deliberately mislead and deceive their constituents, thus pedestaling their party above the citizens. These representatives dereliction of duty is a blow to the very essence of …show more content…
There is a significant correlation between party polarization and the size of the electoral blind spot. After analyzing charts regarding congressional polarization and voter participation, from Vanderbilt University and George Mason University, respectively, an interesting trend emerged (Clinton). With the advent of new media, namely television, radios, and newspapers, there was an inversely proportional relationship between congressional polarization and voter participation (Newton). For example, in the years following the mass production of television, party polarization decreased to record lows. The same result occurred when radios and newspapers were introduced to Americans. This result illustrates how influential group-centered politics are in creating party polarization. When there are large blind spots, as a result of an antiquated, tepid media, parties are able to nominate more extreme candidates, thus polarization increases; however, when media is more engaging and active, parties are forced to moderate their nominations, which decreases polarization. This revelation unequivocally debunks the median voter theory. If the median voter theory was true, there would be little polarization and even these slight amounts of polarization would be unchanging, both of which were proven to be false.
These blind spots enable parties to nominate candidates that are optimally extreme, pass legislation that is tailored to narrow interests, and create excessive party polarization (Bawn 578). Blind spots expand and contract due to numerous factors, namely an inattentive media, arcane congressional rules, and general voter apathy. These blind spots, no matter how small, help dissolve the notion of representative democracy. Politicians and parties, with the assistance of blind spots, can disregard voter preferences or wishes with impunity, because if the voters are ignorant about their politician’s actions, it is impossible for them to take action. Blind spots are the life-blood of group-centered politics, without voter ignorance, interest groups could not compel politicians to carry out their agenda for fear of being caught by voters. Blind spots create party polarization; they allow parties to nominate “optimally extreme” candidates who strive to satisfy the needs of the party over the needs of the people (Lizza). The formation and general existence of blind spots exemplifies everything that is wrong with government today. Politicians, in order to act on the will of interest group coalitions, deliberately mislead and deceive their constituents, thus pedestaling their party above the citizens. These representatives dereliction of duty is a blow to the very essence of …show more content…
There is a significant correlation between party polarization and the size of the electoral blind spot. After analyzing charts regarding congressional polarization and voter participation, from Vanderbilt University and George Mason University, respectively, an interesting trend emerged (Clinton). With the advent of new media, namely television, radios, and newspapers, there was an inversely proportional relationship between congressional polarization and voter participation (Newton). For example, in the years following the mass production of television, party polarization decreased to record lows. The same result occurred when radios and newspapers were introduced to Americans. This result illustrates how influential group-centered politics are in creating party polarization. When there are large blind spots, as a result of an antiquated, tepid media, parties are able to nominate more extreme candidates, thus polarization increases; however, when media is more engaging and active, parties are forced to moderate their nominations, which decreases polarization. This revelation unequivocally debunks the median voter theory. If the median voter theory was true, there would be little polarization and even these slight amounts of polarization would be unchanging, both of which were proven to be false.