For one, decentralizing a party give more people voices. Those who may not completely agree with the majority have a chance to get their voice heard. Because of this, parties are able to cover a larger spectrum of issues. Although I believe parties come together to reach a common goal based on their values and beliefs, those values and beliefs may sway a bit within their party, allowing the party to reach a more diverse group of people. However, decentralization makes party discipline harder. It does compel one common idea, but opens the door to variations of that idea, forcing the party to be more tolerant of those who may not completely agree with the central beliefs.
I think that decentralization is a logical response to American political heterogeneity. Since the United States is so rich in diversity, it is necessary for there to be some flexibility. Not all party members agree 100% of the time. Parties are heterogeneous and decentralization allows them to work together. This can hinder effective partisan action, though. When people of the same party, along with those of another party, are arguing over some piece of legislature, it can be a lot harder to get things done. Although decentralization can open lines of communication and encourages the flow of ideas, it can also close lines of communication when no one can agree.
In the past election, decentralization was definitely a strategy. Although Obama and Hilary were both running for the Democratic nomination, they had to decentralize themselves and take different standpoints in order to set themselves part. And once it was clear that Obama and McCain were going to be the Presidential candidates, they had to decentralize themselves in order to appeal to a broader group of voters. As said in our lecture, “parties must act it if it were all the people, and not just some of them.”
I think that Obama is basically leading the Democratic Party right now. Since he has taken office he has moved full speed ahead, making a lot of decisions and trying to straighten things up. I think the Republican leader is still kind of up in the air though.
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How does one decentralize themself? I had never thought of that being possible. Explain, explain.
ReplyDeleteYeah I would have to disagree with you when you said decentralization was a strategy. Although, I did like how you said that decentralization made party discipline harder. It sure does, especially since you have people from all over the nation with different view points on things. But what this does is create good legislation that involves a lot of compromise and debate.
ReplyDeleteWhen I said that they decentralized themselves I meant they had to appear more moderate. For instance, McCain had to be a little less conservative to appeal to the more conservative democrats and vice versa. By "decentralizing" themselves, they could appeal to more voters and hopefully win those swing states.
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