Chapter 12. Political Parties
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.
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 Electoral 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.