Democracy

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the ideal of democracy. According to the paper, the true definition of democracy is subject to debate and can be infinitely broad or narrow. The paper provides a broad definition of democracy when relating to the USA, in order to determine whether some of the more basic requirements have been met.

Outline:
The Electoral College
Political Parties
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The fact is, people vote outside of their party regularly. Consider the Reagan Democrats or the Clinton Republicans, who crossed party lines to support presidential candidates. Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, has been repeatedly re-elected in New York, one of America's most liberal states, and Michael Bloomberg has twice been elected mayor of New York City, one of the country's most liberal cities. These types of scenarios play out at the national, state and local levels across the country. But such anomalies would be impossible if people completely identified ideologically with their own political parties, which would seemingly preclude voting for another party. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Defining Democracy" (No Date). Retrieved Oct. 30, 2006 from the U.S. Department of State Web site at http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/whatdm2.htm.
• "News Q&A: How many presidents have lost the popular vote but won through the Electoral College?" (1995). Retrieved Oct. 30, 2006 from the Web site for Access My Library at http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-6340630.
• "US midterm election spending to hit record 2.6 billion dollars: research group" (2006). AFP, Oct. 24. Retrieved Oct. 30, 2006 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061024/ts_alt_afp/usvotemoney.
• "What is the Electoral College" (No Date). Retrieved Oct. 30, 2006 from the Web site for the National Archives and Records Administration at http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html.

More papers on Democracy:

• Essay # 137931 : "What is a “weak” democracy and what is a “strong” democracy? A Look at Richard Swift’s 2002 text"
• Analytical Essay # 4643 : "Democracy and the Libertarian Ideal of Self-Ownership"
• Essay # 143732 : "Why Social Capital Is Unnecessary For Democracy"
• Analytical Essay # 89232 : "Quality of Democracy in Iraq"

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