The Truth About Politics: It’s Just a Reality TV Show

American politics can be a lot like reality shows (not mentioning names but one show in particular comes to mind). Politicians are usually split into two groups or “tribes,” we call them political parties. Each party or “tribe” is made up of several individuals each with their own personal goals. The catch is, these people need to work together to get what they want for themselves. The plot thickens, of course, like most dramas do, when the individuals form smaller groups or alliances. The tasks that the man gives them are usually difficult, and if they aren’t successful or if the other tribe beats them to the punch, someone must be eliminated. This process can be quite reasonable or a complete circus. It depends on the people involved. Sometimes it’s fair and sometimes its not, but it’s always fun to watch. There have been several tribes in this country since it was founded, but interestingly, there’s no mention of political parties at all in the constitution. George Washington wanted everyone to be bi-partisan, or at least get along, but Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson could not agree. Both of them played major roles in contributing to the first two parties. Hamilton was involved in the Federalist Party and Jefferson in the Republican or Democratic – Republican Party. When people had disagreements back then, they didn’t solve them by seeing who could start a fire without matches or who could paddle across a river first. These were things they did everyday because they had to! So what did they do? Well they dueled, of course! They actually took the ten step count to death and fired at each other! Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton hated each other so much that Burr actually challenged Hamilton to a duel and mortally wounded him. That makes the Bush v. Kerry debates seem pretty mild. Jefferson and the Republican – Democrats who later became the democrats, won the election of 1800 and by 1834 The Federalists were gone. In the second season, the Whigs took up the challenge of trying to beat the Democrats. The loosely based alliances that formed this tribe were the result of an extreme hatred for Andrew Jackson (he’s the guy on the $20 dollar bill by the way). Referred to as a “stubborn jackass” by his opponents, he took the idea one step further and decided to use a donkey has part of his political campaign. Later on, an artist by the name of Thomas Nast would use both the donkey and elephant to describe the political parties and they have been used ever since. They’re inability to work well as a team and their dividedness on issues such as slavery tore the party apart. The tribe was eventually absorbed into the sharply divided Democratic Party and the newly formed Republican Party. By the 1850’s, the issue of slavery was heating up and the anger brought blood to a boil. Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered his antislavery speech called The Crime against Kansas. Two days later, Preston Brooks beat Sumner with a cane in the Senate Chamber. By the time Lincoln got to office, seven states had seceded and more were to follow. The two tribes, now divided by a physical line were to engage in the biggest battle in our history, but no immunity would be granted. Reconstruction left an uneasy peace between the north and south as the next tribe began its formation. In the 1870’s, the midwestern and southern farmers fell upon economic hard times. This led to the formation of the Populist Party. They pushed for reform of the immigration regulations, the abolition of national banks, and eight-hour work days. Strong but brief, their dissolution came when the prices for farms increased. The Progressive Party was actually 3 separate parties- one for each election in 1912, 1924, and 1948. The first two pushed strongly for social reforms such as women’s suffrage and the abolition of child labor, while the third focused mostly on events concerning the Cold War and Truman’s Policies. In 1992, Ross Perot, a wealthy businessman, ran as an Independent for the presidential election. He expressed serious concern over the national debt. Although he dropped out of the race in July, he returned in October and took one-fifth the popular vote. He went on to establish the Reform Party in 1995. The Parties first concerns were balancing the budget and establishing good tax code, however it has since split into a couple factions. In the 2000 election, both candidates of this party took less than .5% of the votes combined. In that same year a man named Ralph Nader took 2.6% of the votes as the nominee of the Green Party. He is considered by some to have deeply affected the outcome of one of the closest elections in history. The Green Party’s main focus is on destructive effects of modern technology and human rights. Ralph Nader is running as an Independent this year but encourages Green Party members to vote for him. Like those dare-devil million dollar winners, political parties come and go. But these people leave behind much more than 15 minutes of fame. They push ideas and reforms not brought up by the 2 major parties. They bring to the spotlight some of the troubles the other groups would like you to forget. Unpopular at times, and almost never winning an election they keep the checks and balances of the political parties in place. They are the underdogs, the red sox of politics, coming close but never reaching the goal. Like our reality shows we love to hate them and love to love them and every once and a while they shake up our reality and change the world we live in forever.