19 Political Parties

The Constitution of the USA says nothing about political parties, but over years the country has developed a two-party system. The two leading parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. There are other parties besides these two, like a Communist party and several Socialist parties. Minor parties sometimes win offices at lower levels of government, but they do not play a role in national politics.

Sometimes people think of Democrats as associated with labour and the Republicans with business and industry. Republicans tend to oppose the greater involvement of the federal government in some areas of public life which they consider the responsibility of the states. Democrats, on the other hand, tend to favour a more active role of the central government in social matters.

To distinguish between the parties is often difficult. The traditional European terms of “right” and “left”, or “conservative” and “liberal” do not quite fit the American system. A Democrat from one part of the country can be very “liberal”, and a Democrat from another part of the country can be very “conservative”. Even if they are elected as Democrats or Republicans, Representatives and Senators are not bound to a party programme, and they are not subject to any party discipline when they disagree with their party.

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Notes to the text:

offices – посты, должности

tend to oppose – склонны противостоять

on the other hand – с другой стороны

terms – термины, слова

do not quite fit – не совсем подходят

are not bound to – не связаны с

are not subject to – не подвергаются

Bibliography

1. Just English. – Учебное пособие под ред. Т.Н.Шишкиной. –. М.: МГУ им. М.В.Ломоносова. – 2009. – 198 с.

2. English. – Всероссийский педагогический журнал. – М.: Издательский дом «Первое сентября», 2010-2013.

Electronic resources

1. www.bbc.com

2. www.us.government.info

3. www.oup.uk

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