“The political machine triumphs because it is a united minority acting against a divided majority.”
This quote from philosopher and historian Will Durant summarizes a reason for much cynicism toward our current political culture.
However, for many, the other side or political party is always the object of that cynicism.
You’ll hear stories of how great one party is and how the opposing party is corrupt and greedy, and we must protect and fight against these opposing forces that will ruin and destroy our country.
That’s the political machines at work.
The united minority, usually the political parties, come together to deliver a message that hopefully will get votes from the divided majority so their brand can stay in power.
In my article Party Inc., I discussed how political parties are brands and the tactics used to expand those brands.
Here, we’ll discuss how the structure and inner workings of political parties turn them into political machines for control of the party, members, and votes and how this plays out in current events.
Hopefully, it will become clear how mechanical the parties can become and how these mechanical narratives will try to get our votes and influence public opinion during elections.
Cogs in the Political Machine
The term political machine became notable after the Civil War and during the Gilded Age.
Those familiar with the era’s history will recall this type of local political machine in big cities like New York City, where they became associated with corruption.
Organizations like Tammany Hall, a Democratic political machine in late 1800s New York City, are the most well-remembered from this area as organizations that helped win elections and control local politics in a corrupt way.
However, we will focus more on how the current makeup of political parties represents the definition of political machines.
A political machine is traditionally defined as a group that works to win political power through the election of the members of their group.
It’s a pretty standard definition when thinking about politics and political parties, but political machines involve a permanent structure, and this is where the similarities really come into focus.
Political machines usually involve a leader or boss of some sort. The organization’s leader sets the agenda for the organization and, along with other high-ranking members, decides who they want to politically represent the organization and who they will support in elections.
Political machines involve hierarchy, loyalty, and group obedience. They also participate in the political patronage system, which gives jobs within the government to supporters, family, and friends.
This structure is basically how political parties operate today, and we see these features at many different levels.
One great example of this is the position of party Whip.
The Whip is a position where the job is to get other party members in Congress to vote for the party’s agenda.
This means that if a member of Congress considers voting against the party’s position, the Whip will pressure that member to vote along the party line, and they can use different tactics to try to achieve this.
They could promise a position on a committee if a Congress member votes the party line or threaten to remove a member from a committee if they don’t.
If the member of Congress still votes against the party line, they could also withdraw support from that member for the next election or put their support behind another candidate in the primary.
However, even though many members of Congress vote with the party’s agenda, there is more ability to break from this party vote in the United States.
Candidates in the United States raise much money independently, allowing them to counter the potential disciplines.
For example, even if the party withdraws its support from a candidate or supports another candidate in the next primary cycle, the current member of Congress may have the money to continue to run their campaign.
This is enhanced if they have a strong record and have voted in a way that their constituency agrees with.
Many times, when a Congress member legitimately votes against the party agenda, it is in the way that their constituency wants them to vote or is in the best interest of their district and state.
In this case, the party is limited in its discipline. They could remove a Congress member from a committee, but the Congress member will still be very popular among the consistency and will most likely continue to get elected if they are meeting the needs of the people.
Regardless, most of the time, party members fall in line, and if push comes to shove, they will not vote against the way the party wants them to because it is not in their best interest.
But while we can see how the political machine’s structure is built and how our current political party system compares, how does this actually play out in everyday politics and with politicians’ specific actions?
Political Puppets
During an election year, the political machine structure is especially active within the parties, and many examples on both sides illustrate this.
Let’s start with the Democrats and how they spun the narrative around President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the Presidential race.
Many were concerned about Biden’s age ahead of the Presidential debate against Donald Trump, especially after a Department of Justice report called Biden’s cognitive capacity into question.
However, the Democratic party’s response was completely sold out to their party’s nominee.
In response to the DOJ report, Kamala Harris criticized it and said it was “wrong on the facts” and “politically motivated.”
She commented that President Biden was “in front of and on top of it all” when commenting about his approach in meetings over the October 7th attacks on Israel.
Many others within the party followed suit on news stations, making similar statements about Joe Biden’s mental capabilities.
This may or may not have been accurate, but what was true was that the Democratic political machine was in full swing, and their political puppets continued fueling it.
The party’s boss was under scrutiny, so they had to go to work and address the issue.
The whole organization, the Democratic Party in this instance, was aligned under this narrative that Biden was capable and found ways to evade anything to the contrary.
But then the debate happened, and Joe Biden’s performance was one of the worst we’ve ever seen.
Even despite this, however, some in the Democratic political machine kept with this narrative for a little while.
Kamala Harris again defended Biden that night, saying, ” There was a slow start, but a strong finish.” and continued saying Biden was capable.
However, since Biden’s age was now on display for the entire country to see, it could not be spun long-term anymore, and Biden dropped out under pressure from the party, which in and of itself shows the nature of the political machines.
This is one of the significant problems with parties and politicians. They tell us certain things without showing us. They spin information that’s always in favor of them or their party, while many times, we can clearly see the opposite.
The Democrats told us Biden was capable but could not show us and prove that he was capable, and it all blew up in their face at the debate.
However, speaking of organizations that try to sell a point without proof, let’s get to the Republicans.
The Republican political machine is full steam ahead in support of their boss, Donald Trump, and we’ve seen countless examples of this.
After Trump won the New Hampshire primary election, he gave a victory speech, and behind him were Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, among others.
I point out Scott and Burgum because they were opponents of Trump in the primaries but now are nothing but loyal followers.
Scott was right behind Trump as he gave his speech, and as he spoke, you saw Scott’s smiles, laughs, and applause. You could also make out Burgum doing this. Both came across as incredibly phony.
At one point, Trump talked about Nikki Haley and said to Scott, “You must really hate her,” Scott replied, “I just love you.”
Opponents of Trump in the primary are now in full support of their boss because the Republican political machine has complete control over them.
In the primaries, Tim Scott presented himself as a Trump alternative, someone of character with a positive message for America.
Now, he’s smiling and laughing and cheering on Trump.
Even the leadership of the Republican National Committee, the party’s governing body, has changed to suit the new boss of the Republican political machine.
Donald Trump did not like the former chairman of the committee, Ronna McDaniel, so she was removed.
Three of Trump’s handpicked members, including his daughter-in-law Laura Trump, now lead the Republican National Committee.
If this sounds like a new form of the corrupt political machines of the Gilded Age, that’s because it pretty much is.
The irony in this is that the Trump wing of the Republican party spends most of its time calling for an end to corrupt American politics but participates in it just as much.
Ultimately, they’re using the same political tactics of cronyism and complete consolidation behind their boss, just the way the political machines of the past did.
There are countless other examples of this with both political parties, and there will be far more in the future.
However, while there may be no way to avoid the political machines in our current elections, recognizing their tactics will allow us to see political issues more clearly and how contrived some politicians can become.
It will also allow us to see the political parties for what they are: political organizations whose most important goal is to expand their influence and agenda.
