The two-party system 67insistence upon the right of the individual to bear arms in his own defence,
is a society in which violence has always simmered below the surface, ready
to break out when a particularly difficult problem resisted solution through
the normal channels. Four American presidents have been assassinated, and
a number of unsuccessful attempts have been made. The assassinations of
President Kennedy and of his brother Bobby, the killing of Martin Luther
King and the attempted assassination of President Reagan are examples of a
long series of political acts of violence in the United States. There have been
examples also of ‘official violence’, such as the assault in 1993 by the FBI on
the compound near Waco, Texas, occupied by a religious sect, the Branch
Davidians, in which over 70 men, women and children died, although there is
controversy about how many were killed by government action and how many
committed suicide. Nevertheless, too much emphasis should not be placed
upon these aspects of the political situation, although of course it is these
that hit the newspaper headlines. In a sense it is the extraordinary success
of the American political system in solving the vast majority of its problems
that highlights the extremism generated by its failures. The fact that the
system has worked, and continues to work, is a matter for wonder when the
magnitude of the problems it has faced is appreciated.
The clash on issues
The major American political parties, Republicans and Democrats, are more
ideologically differentiated at the congressional and presidential levels than
at the level of the electorate. As we have seen, ideology is important in Ameri-
can politics, but during most of their history it was not the distinguishing fac-
tor between the major parties; rather, it distinguished them from the more
peripheral political organisations. Nevertheless, this does not mean that
Democrats and Republicans were as indistinguishable as Tweedledum and
Tweedledee, or that American politics has been devoid of vital and significant
issues. The popular images of the two parties differ quite considerably. The
Democratic Party is often described as the party of the working man, where-
as the Republicans are seen as the party of big business, more favourable to
the rich than to the poor. This characterisation of the parties is largely fash-
ioned by their policies since 1932, by the New Deal/Fair Deal/Great Society
complex of ideas which the Democrats fostered and which Republicans have
been lukewarm about, or have strongly opposed. In particular, the Repub-
licans have in general been opposed to expanding the role of government,
especially the federal government, in economic and social matters, whereas
the Democrats have been in favour of more positive government action to
promote social welfare and to regulate business activity. Nevertheless, in all
occupational groups large numbers of Americans see no real differences be-
tween the two major parties.
Thus, although the parties tend to take different stances on different is-
sues, there is no real ideological coherence in the bundle of issues that one