Defining political parties. [Module 1 Essay-Post]

Defining Political parties seems to be very difficult. From my point of view, defining parties seems to about defining agendas, special interests, and lobbying political favors on the part of those who do not represent the willpower of the electorate. However, things were not always this way.


Federalist Papers:

Federalist 10 and Federalist 51 seem to convey the dangers of a tyrannical government, and how this can be avoided. Obviously, Madison and his colleagues are still fearful of the British rule that they experienced in which they were ruled by a Monarch, and do not want this to be repeated in a new government. The Federalist approach, according to Madison, limits this risk.


George Washington's Farewell Speech:

George Washington seems to sense the danger of what political parties could turn into and stresses the need for the country to unite. During these times, there were two major political parties. I suppose that George Washington is one of the few Presidents in the nation’s history who did not really have a party, as such, he wanted what was best for the nation first, and his political interests always came second.

Tom DeLay’s Farewell Address:

Comparing Washington to DeLay is like comparing chalk and cheese. DeLay is a political animal, who has a particularly Machiavellian view of politics – the ends do justify the means. This is the opposite to George Washington, DeLay views politics as the very essence of the American life. His farewell address seems to convey a sense of humor to a man that has a tiger-ish political past, i.e. the K street project, Terri Schiavo, etc..


Conclusion:

To summarize, and to incorporate my view on how parties have evolved, I think one great way to analyze this is to look at lobbyists and how they influence politicians. In George Washington’s days, this was not a major problem – in fact – the goal was to get special interests (i.e. Great Britain, no taxation without representation) OUT of government. The opposite seems to be the case today. Farm subsidies are a great example. It is something that harms us all, but not greatly, however, it is a great benefit to a small few. This power to organize has entrenched politics and politicians and it has left many to distrust congress, because most people think politicians are only acting in their own greedy self interests. This highlight’s a famous line from the Federalist Papers: “Men are not angels”.