American Politics

The federal government of the United States was established by the United States Constitution. United States politics is dominated by the two major parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. There are several other groups or parties of minor political significance.

Suffrage is now nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older. One major remaining exception is the half-a-million plus residents of the capital, Washington, DC, who have no representation whatsoever in the US Senate; only a non-voting "delegate" in the House; and an extremely weak "home rule" city government. Also, US voting rights can be restricted as a result of felony conviction (such laws vary widely by state).

The federal entity created by the Constitution is the dominant feature of the American governmental system. But the system itself is in reality a mosaic, composed of thousands of smaller units — building blocks that together make up the whole. There are 50 state governments plus the government of the District of Columbia, and further down the ladder are still smaller units that govern counties, cities, towns, boroughs and villages.

The most significant fact about politics in the United States, especially at the national level, is that successful participation requires large amounts of money, especially for television advertising. This money is very difficult to raise by appeals to a mass base, although the Republican Party has had some success, as has Howard Dean with his internet appeals. Both parties must depend on wealthy donors and organizations - traditionally the Democrats depended on labor donations while the Republicans on business donations.However since 1984 the Democrats business donations have surpassed those from labor organizations. This dependency on donors is controversial, and has led to laws limiting spending on political campaigns being enacted; as a complicating factor almost unique to the United States, opponents of campaign finance laws cite the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, and challenge campaign finance laws on grounds that they attempt to cimcumscribe their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Even when laws are upheld, the complication of compliance with the First Amendment requires careful and cautious drafting of legislation, leading to laws that are still fairly limited in scope, especially in comparison to those of other countries such as the United Kingdom, France or Canada. Some would allege that funding practices commonplace in the United States would likely be considered political corruption elsewhere.