Political Parties

Linkage institutions are channels that connect the people and the government. Some of these forms include the media, election, and interest groups. Most notable are political parties, that have roughly similar political aims and beliefs. They are considered a linkage institutions because they represent what the people want; this is done through voting, where the public elects a candidate who they best believe addresses their concern. In America, there is a two party system, where the main two political parties are the democrats and republicans. This often makes it difficult for third party groups to gain traction; however they are able draw attention to a particular topic. After researching five political parties ranging from very conservative to very liberal, I chose to focus on the Democratic Party.


In the Democratic Party, some main beliefs are that they want to support everyone, not just those at the top. They also believe that people are better when united as a whole. Compared to other parties, their beliefs differ significantly. Political parties like the Republican and Constitutional party, have a key point of upholding the Constitution. In contrast to the more liberal political party, the Green Party, democrats put less emphasis on climate change and livable wages. Throughout the rest of this post, I will explore the Democratic's stance on the issue of healthcare since I resonated the most with their beliefs. This is because I have a significant number of family members who rely on programs that Democrats are supportive of, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Since the cost of living is so high where I live in the Bay Area, I see how these programs are necessary and can help families just like mine.

On the Democrat's website, they posted this image on their healthcare tab. The caption reads that, "When President Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, we were finally able to provide that security to America’s seniors." The reason this image was included was to show to viewers that accomplishments that have already been made as a result of the Democratic Party. Therefore the point of view is that having universal healthcare as a right and not a privilege should continue to be something that Americans strive for. For people who come across this image, they will be more supportive of the democratic's perspective on healthcare because they will see how programs like Medicare have been around for a long time and had the support of many. In addition, bias is also present since the Democrats do not acknowledge the debt that may result from their healthcare plan. Hence, public opinion is swayed in favor of the democratic party based on the artifacts found on the Democrat's website.