The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

There is Nothing democratic About the Democrat Party

All political organizations are Oligarchies; a political system governed by a few people. A Democratic organization; a political system in which the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group, soon collapses upon itself as a result of partisan differences within the party groups. Therefore, both the Democrat and Republican Parties are Oligarchies in order to maintain their existence. The difference between the Democrat and Republican Parties is in the power structures of their leadership. Does the power structure rule from the top-down or lead from the bottom-up? The Democrat oligarchy is structured to rule from the top-down, while the Republican oligarchy is structured to be led from the bottom-up. This has been historically true from the very beginnings of the Democrat and Republican parties. It is a difference between Whiggism versus Toryism, as I have elaborated upon in another Article “The Foundation of the Rights of the Common Man”.

These differences can be seen in the voting patterns and struggles within each party. The Democrat Party is more disciplined in that they tend to vote as a block and keep their differences private. The Republican Party, however, has many dissidents that will not vote as a block and their differences are often more public. In the Democrat Party, the upper levels of the power structure can be less responsive to the lower levels as a result of this discipline. While in the Republican Party the upper levels of the power structure need to be responsive to the lower levels to achieve unity.

The unifying principles of the two parties is also a factor in their structure. The Democrat Party is a collation of interest groups, while the Republican Party is a collation of governance ideology. To unify interest groups requires a top-down structure to balance the interests of each group, while to unify an ideology requires a bottom-up structure that agrees on these principles. This is one of the main reasons for the partisanship between the Democrat and Republican parties; interest groups versus governance principles.

It can also be observed that leadership changes in the Republican Party happen more quickly than in the Democrat Party. The Seniority of the House and Senate membership tends to cluster, in that the top 20 senior members of Democrats have been in the House or Senate longer than the top 20 senior members of the Republicans. Some of this can be the result of election defeats, however, the Democrat Party leadership most often changes when an oligarchical member becomes infirmed or dies, while the change of an oligarchical member of the Republican Party tends to occur when they retire or lose an election.

Primary election challenges for sitting congresspersons also highlights this difference. There are very few challenges to sitting Democrat congresspersons, while challenges to sitting Republican congresspersons are more common. The Republican Party base is more raucous in their advocation of change of congresspersons, while the Democrat Party base is more sedate in their advocation of change of congresspersons.

However, we have started to see a fracturing of the Democrat Party. With the leftward shift of the Democrat Party in the last several years their differences have become more public and raucous.  Challenges to the Democrat Party leadership oligarchy and their policy positions are becoming more common. The recent infighting of the Democrat Party Presidential candidates and the Left-Wing members of the Democrat Party is also an indicator of this fracturing.

It is, therefore, important that you keep this in mind whenever you are observing the actions and policy positions of the Democrat and Republican Parties. It is also important that we have both of these viewpoints in our Republic. It is important that we are cognizant of interest groups to assure that justice and the civil rights of an interest group are protected and advanced. However, you cannot advance the interest of one group if you do so by disadvantaging another group, for this would be unjust and an infringement of the civil rights of the other group. It is important that we also be aware of the principle of just governance of all the people to assure that the goals of Liberty, Freedom, Justice, and Equality for All is achieved. But all interest groups need to be included in the principles of just governance.

But there must be a balance between groups and governance. Bipartisanship is what occurs when a balance is achieved. No side is exclusively right, and no side is exclusively wrong. No side is morally right nor intellectually superior. Both sides need to find a compromise that satisfies their constituents in a manner that does not infringe on the Constitutional rights of the other. This can occur if both sides are willing to intellectually examine the other sides viewpoints. To utilize emotional appeals rather than intellectual reasoning will not lead to a compromise but, indeed, will lead to more partisan bickering. But with one side excluding the viewpoint of the other, a dearth of intellectual reasoning by one side or the other, and no balanced journalism reporting each side's viewpoint, it is not possible to achieve this compromise. As a result, the intense partisan bickering of today will continue into the future.