Introduction
The United States of America has operated with democratic, republican representative government for more than a century and it has been one of the reasons for the success and growth as a country. The representative form of government has made America the global leader, but in recent years, several threats have raised that challenge the future existence of the much celebrated representative form of government. These threats come in the form of external and internal threats that are capable of breaking the duopoly of the representative form of government. The main threats that are affecting representative form of government are divided Senate and Congress, failure to pass legislations, unpopularity among masses, weak policy making, and Independents and others. Therefore, some actions need to be taken to ensure these threats are addressed and the representative system of government is maintained in the country.
Threats to Representative Government
Divided Senate and Congress
One of the biggest concerns with the representative government form has to be with the division among Senate and Congress, especially on critical issues (Moss, 2012). Both, Democratic and Republican parties have developed completely different ideologies, over the years and their stark conceptions have created two very different visions for the way governments should behave. Several people in the Congress and in the popular media complain about the ideological nature of American politics. Many American politicians tend to pursue victory above everything else and treat the Senate and Congress as field of war. This behaviour is causing a hindrance to basic democratic values that have been followed for years. For years, the Senate and Congress have struggled to pass through legislations via the democratic process. Such experiences are causing a commotion among the public that Congress and Senate are failing to do anything in the best interest of America (Klein, 2012).
Failure to Pass Legislations
The simplest measure of productivity for the representative form of government is the number of public bills they pass. Divided Congress is also failing to agree on legislations as the 112th Congress was clearly the least productive US Congress in the history of the country (Klein, 2012). The difference in ideology and the need to overpower the other party is leading to such depressing situation. This basically means that Congress and both parties are failing to do their job, only to ensure that the other party does not get one over them. This is a major threat to the Democratic, Republican representative form of government as the citizens expect them to do their duty to the society, rather than stick to their party principles. One of the examples is the Republicans fail to agree legislations on Gun Laws due to their close association with the NRA and Second Amendment, especially after gun related disasters such as Sandy Hook and Orlando Shooting (Farago, 2015).
Unpopularity among Masses
Another concern for the Democratic, Republican representative form of government is its unpopularity among the American public as it keeps on hitting the lowest national polls. In a 2013 Gallup Poll, Congress got an approval rating of only 10 percent. This shows the level of disgust American people have for their current Congress, formed by Democratic, Republican representative government. The polarization among parties and their inability to pass legislations create negative image of Republicans and Democrats among the public, as they believe that are not working to make the country better. Although, unpopularity among the public is not causing a major impact on the political future of Republican and Democratic parties, but in the long run such disapproval ratings can lead to the creation of another strong political party rising to compete with the current leaders (Klein, 2013).
Weak Policymaking
Another problem for Democratic, Republican Representative form of government has been its weak policy making. As both parties oppose each other’s ideologies and are unwilling to bills pass that gives the other party an upper hand, the only bills that are passed easily through the hardliners are mostly unrelated to improving America. In such cases, bills and agreements are made by the executive office that does not provide long term benefits to Americans. The impact of such policies has been experienced in America as they are losing economic battles with their trade partners, unable to overcome security threats, and pass legislations over critical issues such as Gun Control Law, Immigration Reform, etc. Such critical mistakes are creating trouble for the representative form of government and their disapproval gives an opportunity for others to seek the leadership of the country.
Independents and Others
If the present trend of 2016 presidential Election is anything to go by, it is easy to understand the impact unpopularity of Democratic, Republican Representative Government has on the American people for decades. This is the first time that Party outsiders such as Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have done so well to penetrate the Presidential Primary system and gain popular support. Both, Trump and Sanders have tapped into the anger developed among American public related to the political parties and gave gained momentum in the Presidential race. Therefore, Independents and individuals with no prior political experience have shown the threat posed to the Representative system of government and how easily it can be exploited as the American public disapproves the government and their operating style (Bremmer, 2016).
Addressing these Factors
Currently, the main threats that affect the representative system of government in US are divided Senate and Congress, failure to pass legislations, unpopularity among masses, weak policy making, and Independents and others. The majority of these problems can be solved by building unity among the both parties and finding common ground for both parties to negotiate on. Throughout the history of America, great leaders have found ways to negotiate and win against majority even when the odds are stacked against them. Also, Political leaders need to understand that they represent the public interest, rather than party interest. Another measure that would be helpful is starting to work and pass legislations that help the American people. Policy making is another area that leaders cannot make more errors and they need to avoid deals such as TPP that makes the American economic position weaker. These measures will help the representative form of government to overcome the unpopularity levels and start building for a better future for America.
Conclusion
The current Democratic, Republican representative government is facing significant threats that have a negative impact on the operation of government. Some of these negative impacts are divided Congress, failure to pass legislations, unpopularity among masses, weak policy making, and Independents and others. These problems need to be addressed by political parties, or they can face a much worse situation than the 2016 Presidential election in the future. In the long run, both parties need to start formulating a plan that includes building unity in the Representative form of government that helps in passing bills for the benefit of the American public. Also, representatives need to understand that they work for the best interest of the American public, rather than their own parties.
References
Bremmer., A. (2016, 14 April). Trump and Sanders Have Tapped Into a Dangerous–and Wrong–Anti-Trade Sentiment. Retrieved 22 June 2016 from, http://time.com/4293567/trump-and-sanders-have-tapped-into-a-dangerous-and-wrong-anti-trade-sentiment/
Farago., A. (2015, 1 October). How GOP Leadership Is Failing America. Retrieved 22 June 2016 from, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-gop-leadership-is-fai_b_8226528.html?section=india
Klein., E. (2012, 13 July). 14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever. Retrieved 22 June 2016 from, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/
Klein., E. (2013, 17 June). Congress is wildly unpopular. Should anyone actually care?. Retrieved 22 June 2016 from, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/06/17/congress-is-wildly-unpopular-should-anyone-actually-care/
Moss., David. A. (2012, March). Fixing What’s Wrong with U.S. Politics. Retrieved 22 June 2016 from, https://hbr.org/2012/03/fixing-whats-wrong-with-us-politics
