The democracy we have in America today is very complex. This
             democracy starts out with political "parties whose main purpose
             is to gain control of the government by winning elections"
             Appelbaum and Chambliss(1997:366). "In the United States, unlike
             in most other democracies, there are only two political parties
             with any substantial influence over government policies"
             Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:366). Third parties are also
             apparent in elections. These third parties are often successful
             in smaller elections, but when we are dealing with national
             elections it is very difficult for the third party to survive the
             bigger two due to the lack of funding and publicity of the PAC's
             and other interest groups. However, third parties serve a very
             good purpose. They provide us with more candidates giving us
             more choices which is what democracy is about. According to my
             class notes (lecture on government) third parties are sometimes
             chosen when people are opposed to the candidates from the other
             two parties. Third parties stand as a sign of choice as well.
             Voting for a third party is also seen as voting for a better
             selection of candidates rather than voting for the usual two
             candidates from the other parties. The president of the United
             States is not chosen on the popular vote of the people alone but
             on the Electoral College "whose vote is determined by the popular
             vote of each state" Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:367). This
             Electoral College is in a sense a vote of the people but at the
             same time it keeps bigger states from becoming to powerful
             overwhelming the smaller states. The United States also has
             three branches of government the legislative, judicial and
             executive branches. "The constitution of the United States
             provides a system of checks and balances" Appelbaum and Chambliss
             (1997:369). This system of checks and balances pu...