What is the party-government model?
819787
Your question is quite vague, not really sure how to answer it.  If you are curious about the role of parties in government and why they exist I suggest that you consider the works of James Madison.  The Federalist papers would be the best place to start, with #10 speaking directly to the issue of factions.  Hope that this helped.
269256
No, not really.  What is politics?  It is how people organize themselves and put order into how they interact with each other.  The type of "national" politics you are thinking of is just that organization carried out in such a way as to bring order a large number of people.  You can't escape people wanting rules to govern how they interact with each other.\n\nPolitical parties are groupings of people who think the same way about the rules governing interaction and who want to take steps to change those rules.  Such groupings are not only inevitable but a good thing.
823836
The type of government can change in a country, depending on who is governing/presiding/leading it.
291273
The best way to govern is to have an altruistic dictatorship.  Someone who decides what is best for the people with the people's well-being the only deciding factor in his or her mind.  Since it is a dictatorship, there would be no beauracracy to get in the way, either.
90910
It'll never work in our two-party system unfortunately.\nYou will start a party and have a great platform, then next thing you know one of these parties will use it as their own.  It could be worse, however.  We could have a multi-party and have nothting done because these parties are too busy forming allies and enemies...  I know, Blah, Blah, Blah...
632209
You are correct but what are we going to do? We have a wonderful 2 party system--bad and worse. It has been that way forever and it isn't going to change.
788268
None of the above.  I think the most important thing the party provides is branding.  Belonging to one party or another denotes a certain belief structure that people identify with.....also, they (hopefully) vett candidates so that any party candidate that reaches the election is "electable."  Putting that into the above answers, the best fit would be "nominate candidates."
908037
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn.  The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. \n\nSeriously though, the Democrats are the party that believes: The national government has a central and positive role to play in bettering the lives of all Americans.\n\nWhereas the Republicans believe that business, if left alone, will govern the market, control the people, and reach a natural balance between the haves and needs of society.\n\nIt's the balance between these two that makes our country strong.  Too much of either one and you have the government growing in size (Democrats, historically) or completely ignoring problems that are directly caused by business (Republicans, historically).\n\nThe last few years have been very different for the Republicans.  They've moved from a conservative base to one not quite comfortable to most Americans.  Whereas the Democrats, who were historically liberal, moved closer to the middle.\n\nThe problem with this is that a liberal is always an ideologist and a conservative is not.\n\nA conservative with an ideology is either on the way to being a liberal or a neoconservative, depending on whether that ideology favors isolationism or greater inclusion.\n\nThe neoconservative who is successful in pushing their ideology will eventually become an authoritarian.  They will then immediately feel the recoil from a public who is, by nature, ideological. \n\nThat is what happened this week.\n\nI believe that the Republicans will once again start being conservative and that the Democrats will start to move back towards their historical liberal ideology.\n\nHope that helps!
620944
Hear, Hear!\n\nI agree 100%.  And I think that you know the answer to your question as well as anyone.  But it's important that you ask it anyway.\n\nWhat's the closest thing to a one party system?  A two party system!  Just like we have here.\n\nWhat's the best way to get nothing done, and to maintain the status quo?  Deadlock.  No other decisions or constests are allowed to be determined by a potential 50/50 split in opinion.  (Just like in tennis, you've got to win 2 of 3 sets.)  But it's definitely not the way it is by accident. \n\nThe 2 party system ensures that if there is ever any progress at all, it will be very slow, and ensures that most of the time it will be business as usual.  The party of the jackass and the the party of the dancing elephant are on the same page almost all of the time anyway.  They both worship the power structure first and foremost.  Those individuals who acutally take a stand on what's right, and what's best, are marginalized by either party as special interests (ie: "minorities") or extemeists (ie: liberterians) or radical theorists (ie: "anarchists"), etc.  The differences in the major parties are almost always described by the party members as "differences in approach" to reaching the same goals.  Which means that there is no real choice.\n\nI read about the elections in Florida for both Bush thefts of victory, and it's true that the election was stolen, and that John Kerry was OK with it, because he expressed no challenges, or outcry.  (The evidence and money trails are everywhere, if you choose to look and see.)  Al Gore took it seriously, and now he's out of politics...
601282
Parliamentary government is a form of democracy found in many countries.\n\nIn a parliamentary government the head of government, often styled the Prime Minister or Premier, is the leader of the party or coalition of parties who is able to win a majority vote within the parliament. In such governments the Head of State can be either an hereditary Prince (as in the United Kingdom), a President elected directly by the people (as in France), or a President or other official elected by the Parliament (as in Italy).\n\nBecause the head of Government is chosen based on his or her ability to create and maintain a majority in the Parliament, it is possible for the head of Government to change without an election by the people.
691269
This is a thorny issue.  The Democrats and Republicans seem to be very non-responsive to their constituencies.  It seems that the goal of both parties is simply to get re-elected.\n\nOn the other side, I lived in Germany for almost 10 years, and I can say that having multiple parties seems to lead to weak, ineffective governments.\n\nLooking at the the two options it seems that our choice is "six of one, a half dozen of the other".\n\nIf anyone has a plan, let me know.
813820
National, state and local. The Dem. party operates the same way.
124912
The major parties:\n\nDemocratic Party\nRepublican Party\nConstitution Party \nGreen Party\nLibertarian Party\n\nLot more details below:
137462
Some general positions across parties:\n\nRepublicans:\n* Lower taxes and belief in economic forces/capitalism\n* Smaller government with private sector involvement/outsourcing\n* Pro-big business\n* Wealth creation and preservation across generations\n* Pro-education\n\nDemocrats:\n* Higher taxes, more social programs, and less reliance upon economic forces\n* Larger government; insourcing from private sector\n* Anti-big business\n* Wealth redistribution (via various forms of taxes including income, inheritance, etc.)\n* Pro-education
728686
Real issues. Party matters not at all. As for morals/values. I wouldn't trust any politician to try to tell me about morals. If I'm voting on the morals they stand for, I want nothing to do with it.
934384
Republicans typically believe in smaller government with more control allotted to the states. They believe in promoting business and lower taxes. They favor less government spending (although you wouldn't know it given the current crop). They believe in self reliance and do not support large social programs.\n\nDemocrats favor more centralized control in the form of a larger federal government with less power to the states. They traditionally sponsor more social programs and do not believe in lower taxes. \n\nThese are generalized positions and do not properly reflect the parties, but are rather intended as an overview. If you want real information I suggest visiting their party websites and reviewing their platforms.\n\nRNC http://www.gop.com\nDNC http://democrats.org
594411
republican and democrat describes how one votes....or what party one alines themself with.\n\nliberal (like conservative) refers to a political ideology, or a philisophical approach towards running the government.