Responsible Party Government Critique Essay

CRITIQUE: RESPONSIBLE PARTY GOVERNMENT
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In setting the policy agenda and enacting laws, the role of ideology comes into play as the policies adopted typically reflect the ideological stance of the party. Elected officials stand on specific platforms and then seek to take responsibility for the government’s performance while in power. In enacting laws, the government in power takes responsibility for legislations in a subsequent election in democratic societies, with this being a yardstick to measure the party’s success and engagement with the electorate. Nonetheless, application of the responsible party government model in the American political system is not guaranteed especially when voters cannot whether decide to reject the party controlling congress or the White House.
Congress is a bicameral legislature and as such the theory of responsible party government is not applicable for all situations in the American system. For instance, in the 112th Congress, Republicans hold a majority in the House of Representatives, while the Democrats control the Senate. However, the theory places too much importance to presidential electoral politics and relegates role of Congress in the American political system. Essentially, creating public policy involves the leadership role and centralization of power, and voters typically hold the government responsible through evaluating the executive’s performance in an election as the the...