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CHAPTER TWELVE Explore Major political party web sites
The Democratic Party's and the Republican Party's web sites contain enormous amounts of information
regarding the parties' platforms, strategies, and current party news. At the
Democratic site, you can participate in a blog, watch "Dem TV"
(requires Windows Media Player), and read recent press releases. Just a few of
the things you can do on the Republican site include learning how to host your
own "House Party"; listening to "Bookcast," which is a
radio show that interviews prominent Republicans (requires Windows Media
Player); and watching recent Republican National Committee videos (requires
Windows Media Player). Of course, both sites prominently highlight the
opportunity to donate money to the parties and allow you to register to vote.
(See Exercises.) Each party also has a Senate (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and National
Republican Senatorial Committee) and House
committee (Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee) dedicated to recruiting and assisting party candidates.
These sites are relatively similar to each other and contain a great deal of
information, including party news, newspaper articles critical of the other
party, and details on upcoming elections (and, of course, the opportunity to
donate money). They are particularly useful for finding information on upcoming
congressional elections. The Democratic Party state directory and the Republican Party
state directory allow visitors to find contact
information for their respective party organizations and contain links to the
state parties' web sites. If you are interested in getting involved in local
party politics, most of the state web sites have contact information for county
chairpersons. Minor political party web sites
Though the United States has a two-party
political system, various minor parties exist in the country as well, including
the Libertarian Party, the Reform
Party, the Green
Party of the United States, the Natural Law Party, the Constitution
Party, and the Democratic Socialists of America. The web sites for each of these parties contain similar
information, such as the party's platform, addresses of local offices,
background on party candidates, and ways to get involved in the party. Some,
such as the Libertarian web site, allow you to participate in blogs. (See
Exercises.) Miscellaneous
To view
public opinion information regarding partisanship and the evaluation of
political parties over time, visit the National Election Studies' Guide to Public Opinion and Political
Behavior.
Topics include strength of partisanship, feeling
thermometer rating toward political parties, and whether differences exist
between the parties. Want to know how much money the parties are
raising and where that money comes from? Then visit the Center for Responsive Politics' party
fundraising web page. The site allows you to look up such things as the top
industries and individuals that contribute to the parties, including the
national party organization and the party congressional committees. (See
Exercises.) Politics1.com's Directory
of U.S. Political Parties has links to
the web sites of just about every American political party in existence. It
even has links to some party organizations not listed above, such as the
Young Democrats of America and Young
Republican National Federation. It is a great
resource if you are interested in learning more about American third parties. KEEPING THE REPUBLIC Citizens can get more out of government by making the party system work for them.
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