Cameron Miranda
Political parties are not good at cleaning their own mechanisms. Over the past few decades, tribalism and identity politics have smothered democracy. Our two parties retain a monopolistic hold on power, yet their foundations are narrower and more brittle than ever. In the US, Republicans have been accused of planning to break unions for good, while Democrats have been accused of taking money from unions.
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What You'll Learn
- Republicans accused of breaking unions for good
- Republicans accused of government meddling
- Republicans accused of abdicating their duty to object to Trump's anticonstitutional lawbreaking
- Richard Nixon abused his power to refuse to spend funds
- The two-party system is monopolistic and impractical for third-party competition
Republicans accused of breaking unions for good
It is difficult to say which political party breaks the law more, but in 2017, Republicans were accused of planning to break unions for good.
A so-called 'right to work' bill was going through Congress, which would starve unions of funding, leaving workers at the mercy of their bosses and politicians. This was described as one of the most successful lies in modern US politics, as it was claimed that the bill would break unions under the guise of protecting workers.
Right to work proponents often point to the money unions throw at politicians, mostly Democrats, as justification for starving unions financially. However, right to work laws don't defund political activities, because no worker is compelled to fund them in the first place. The only union functions this law will defund are things like contract bargaining and grievance filing: precisely those everyday workplace activities that Republicans say unions should be restricted to doing.
Normally, outlawing a voluntary business contract between private parties is the kind of thing Republicans consider government meddling. There is also something distinctly unconservative about forcing an institution to provide benefits to non-paying non-members while encouraging them to freeload.
The main lie told by right to work proponents is that such laws put an end to 'compulsory union membership'. This is false; there is no such thing, and hasn't been since 1947, when the Taft Hartley Act made the closed shop – a type of contract where union membership was a condition of employment – illegal.
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Republicans accused of government meddling
It is difficult to say which political party breaks the law more, but there are several instances of Republicans being accused of government meddling.
In 2024, Republicans in the US Congress were accused of interfering in the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg's, investigation of Donald Trump over a hush money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. Alvin Bragg accused the Republican congressmen of "treading into territory very clearly reserved for the states", and that the Republican request would interfere with law enforcement efforts requiring confidentiality. Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics tsar, called the Republican letter "a transparent effort to interfere with the investigation of Trump in New York", with "no legitimate congressional purpose" and "contrary to law".
In 2017, Republicans were accused of planning to break unions for good with the introduction of "right to work" laws, which break unions under the guise of protecting workers. These laws are about guaranteeing workers' freedom of association, but they also outlaw voluntary business contracts between private parties, which is normally the kind of thing Republicans consider government meddling.
In 2020, several Republicans on a panel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election submitted "additional views" to the report, saying it should state more explicitly that Trump's campaign did not coordinate with Russia. They said that while the report showed the Russian government "inappropriately meddled" in the election, "then-candidate Trump was not complicit".
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Republicans accused of abdicating their duty to object to Trump's anticonstitutional lawbreaking
While it is difficult to say which political party breaks the law more, there is evidence that Republicans have been accused of abdicating their duty to object to Trump's anticonstitutional lawbreaking.
In 2020, The Atlantic published an article titled 'Why Do Republican Leaders Continue to Enable Trump?'. The article argues that Trump has governed in defiance of the American Constitution, notably declaring that he had "total" authority over the states. It also accuses his administration of being corrupt and hostile to checks, balances, and the rule of law.
In 2025, The Independent published an article titled 'Critics say the Trump administration is on a ‘lawbreaking spree.’ Can the courts stop him?'. The article quotes the Brennan Center’s Waldman, who says that Trump’s administration is committing an “anti-constitutional lawbreaking spree” and that Republicans in Congress have “utterly abdicated”. Cobb, another source quoted in the article, says that Trump has "provoked greater consternation over the Constitution and tested the limits of the Constitution more than... any [other] president".
Congresswoman Betty McCollum has also accused Republicans in Congress of abdicating their oversight responsibility by failing to take action or even signal concern over the "shocking, illegal actions" of the Trump administration. She argues that Republicans are weakening the nation and surrendering America’s greatness by doing nothing to hold the President and his administration accountable for their "reckless criminal behavior".
In addition to these accusations, there is also evidence that Republicans are planning to break unions for good by introducing "right to work" laws, which are seen as a guise for protecting workers while actually breaking unions.
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Richard Nixon abused his power to refuse to spend funds
It is difficult to say which political party breaks the law more, but there are some examples of both Republicans and Democrats breaking the law. For example, Republicans have been accused of planning to break unions, and Democrats have been criticised for the amount of money unions throw at them.
Richard Nixon has been accused of abusing his power to refuse to spend funds. In 1972, Nixon impounded funds on an environmental project which he opposed, despite Congress having overridden his veto of the project. This was seen as a violation of the Congressional "power of the purse". During public hearings in 1973, Nixon's critics said that he was using his impoundment powers to effectively veto programs by cutting off their funds. Nixon's administration also saw the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Clean Air Act, the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the requirement of environmental impact studies for projects. However, Nixon vetoed the 1972 Clean Water Act, and refused to release the funds for the Act even after his veto was overridden.
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The two-party system is monopolistic and impractical for third-party competition
It is difficult to say which political party breaks the law more, but it is clear that the two-party system is monopolistic and impractical for third-party competition.
The two-party system in the US has been criticised for its monopolistic hold on power, with both the Republican and Democratic parties retaining power despite their foundations becoming narrower and more brittle. This has led to a situation where third-party competition is rendered impractical by the shape of the election process. For example, it may be difficult for a potential third party to get on the ballot in certain places, even though the Republican infrastructure is virtually empty.
One area where the Republican Party has been accused of breaking the law is in their efforts to break unions. Right-to-work laws, which already exist in more than half the states in the country, are often justified by pointing to the money unions throw at politicians, mostly Democrats. However, these laws do not actually defund political activities, as no worker is compelled to fund them in the first place. Instead, they ban voluntary and democratically agreed-upon contracts between unions and companies, which is a form of government meddling that Republicans usually oppose.
In conclusion, while it is challenging to determine which political party breaks the law more, the two-party system in the US has been criticised for its monopolistic nature and the impracticality of third-party competition. The Republican Party's efforts to break unions through right-to-work laws provide an example of how the two-party system can lead to policies that may not be in the best interests of workers or democratic principles.
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Frequently asked questions
It is difficult to say which political party breaks the law more, but the Republicans have been accused of breaking unions for good.
Republicans have been accused of breaking unions by introducing "right to work" laws, which are said to break unions under the guise of protecting workers.
"Right to work" laws outlaw voluntary business contracts between private parties and encourage institutions to provide benefits to non-paying non-members.
"Right to work" laws benefit corporate lobbyists, the chamber of commerce, the Koch brothers, and the politicians on their payroll.
Yes, in states with "right to work" laws, unions are weak or nonexistent, wages are low, and workers are disposable.
