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>> The chance of getting elected as a Third-Party candidate is so small,
that I think the most they can hope to do is influence the Democrats or Republicans to
move to the left or the right.
>> Political parties are an essential feature of the American political landscape.
Uh... to understand what's happening in American government politics, you really need to know
a lot about political parties.
Professor Obazuaye, define political parties and their role in the American political landscape.
>> Uh... political parties play a very important role. Uh....political parties are
a group of people.
organized,
uh... for the primary purpose of taking control of government, through the electoral process.
>> And so,
you know, in terms of talking about it, we're all familiar with the the most, I guess, common political
parties that are well-known in the United States, the Republicans and the Democratic Party. Professor
Gaffaney, in terms of what parties actually do in terms of trying to control government,
I mean, what other aspects or, you know, angles can we look at this from?
>> Well, political parties, I mean, most voters,
um,
like to consider themselves as voting for a candidate rather than just voting along
party lines.
But, political parties remain relevant in defining
the stances that each side has on the issues,
and also in encompassing new groups that arise in American society. So in the last,
2010 Midterm Elections, we saw this movement, called the Tea Party, that
tried to influence the Republican Party's official stance on issues.
And, they had enough support to actually move the Republican Party to a more conservative
point of view. >> Are we suggesting that without parties, American voters would be clueless,
or, you know,
not know who to vote for on election day?
>> That is true.
Uh... in the beginning of the Republic, the Founding Fathers actually uphold, they
did not, they did not like the idea of having political parties, they saw them as factions,
you know, devisive groups. But, um, political parties have evolved and ah... developed
in the political system as a necessity, and as a way of... uh... organizing groups
to to support different interests in society.
>> You know, Professor Gaffaney, in your classes, do you actually encourage students to
explore, and I guess, research their political party positions themselves and and why they
feel or think the way to they do? >> I do, and you know, most of my students find that
neither of the two major parties
represents their own core values and policy goals.
So,
if that's true of many Americans, I mean, there aren't really many options. There are a smattering
of Third Parties that exist, and that's a party that's not Democrat or Republican,
but the chance of getting elected as a Third-Party candidate is so small,
that I think the most they can hope to do is influence the Democrats or Republicans to
move to the left or to the right. >> Thank you, guys, that was a great discussion,
uh.. see you the next time.