Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Big Tent shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Big Tent offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Big Tent at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Big Tent? Wrong! If the Big Tent is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Big Tent then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Big Tent? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Big Tent and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Big Tent wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Big Tent then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Big Tent site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Big Tent, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Big Tent, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
In
politics, a
big tent party or
catch-all party is a political party seeking to attract people with diverse viewpoints. The party does not require adherence to some
ideology as a criterion for membership.
Definition
The big tent approach argues against any sort of
single-issue litmus tests or ideological rigidity, and advocates a Democratic Party with room for conservative as well as liberal Democrats, and a Republican Party with room for liberal as well as conservative Republicans.
This is in contrast to political parties that promote only a specific ideology. Advocates of a big tent believe that people with a broad variety of political ideologies and viewpoints can unite within a single party to advance shared core issues they agree on, even if they disagree on other issues. This way the party can attract a large base of support at the polls.
Big tent parties are far more common in first past the post systems with only a few large parties.
Examples
In the United States, a very good example of this approach was the New Deal coalition which formed in support of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies. This coalition brought together
labor unions, southern
Dixiecrats,
progressivism, and others in support of FDR's economic program, even though these groups strongly disagreed on other issues.
In Canada, the
Liberal Party of Canada is not strongly ideological or regional, but is instead open to members with a wide range of views. While some criticize the party for lacking in conviction, supporters argue that compromise is an essential feature of democracy.
The
United States Democratic Party and the
United States Republican Party in the
United States have liberal and Conservatism wings and support bases to such an extent that some supporters from each party align themselves with a particular politician or group within the other. Republican
President of the United States Ronald Reagan gained support from conservative Democrats, who came to be called
Reagan Democrats.
Other famous examples of
Catch all parties include the Republic of Ireland's
Fianna Fáil, which has variously been categorised as
socialist (according to former deputy leader Brian Lenihan) and
neo-Thatcherite/neo-Reaganite, a description applied to the economic policies and politics of current Minister for Finance
Charles McCreevy. Fianna Fáil served in the coalition from 1989 to 1992 with the right wing liberal
Progressive Democrats, then with the socialist
Irish Labour Party and is again in government with the Progressive Democrats, Fianna Fáil tailoring its policies accordingly. In the
Irish General Election, 2007 campaign, Fianna Fáil remains open to forming coalitions with the Progressive Democrats, the Labour Party, the
Irish Green Party and even Sinn Féin. Coalition with Fine Gael, the second largest party and main catch-all rival to Fianna Fáil, is the only option ruled out.
India's Congress Party and Italy's now defunct
Christian Democrats both attracted such a broad range of support as to make them
Catch all parties.In India, this is called "Tamboo mein Bamboo".
Ideological parties actually 'big tent'?
In most western democracy, two or three major political parties profess some sort of ideological leaning (for example, social democracy, Christian democracy, liberal democracy,
Labour movement) but in practice follow a big tent approach. Political parties which allow only a narrow ideology, in general do not perform well at the polls and so remain minor parties. Canada provides two examples of how the adoption of a big tent approach has helped propel a formerly marginal party into broader electoral success, in the
Green Party of Ontario and the (now-defunct)
Social Credit Party of Canada. In the United States, the secessionist
Alaskan Independence Party had its only electoral success to date by allowing a popular figure who did not support the party's secessionist agenda to run for
Governor of Alaska on their ballot line.
In the United States, the big tent concept is practiced today (in reality if not in name) within the United States Democratic Party, the United States Republican Party, and the
United States Reform Party. This is in contrast to such political parties as the United States Libertarian Party, the United States Constitution Party, the United States Socialist Party, and various small
Communism parties, which seek to advance a single ideology. Historically in the United States, political parties adopting a big tent approach have performed well at the polls. Parties promoting only one narrow ideology have attracted marginal support at best, or have seen their issues adopted by one or both of the major parties in a big tent effort, effectively co-opting the issues and putting an end to the minor party; this happened to the
United States Prohibition Party and the United States Populist Party.
However even the Democratic, Republican, and Reform parties have vocal factions which advocate that those parties take on a more ideologically rigid character. There are factions in the Democratic Party which would like to make the party purely
left-wing or progressive, excluding more conservative constituencies such as the
Democratic Leadership Council,
Blue Dog Democrats, and
social conservatives. There are factions within the Republican Party which likewise seek to make the Republicans strictly an ideologically right-wing or conservative party, and expel those they deem
Republican/Democrat In Name Only, those socially too
liberal, and those holding isolationism foreign policy views (who therefore oppose the Bush administration's foreign policy) such as
libertarians and paleoconservatisms. There are also those within each party who would like to make certain issues litmus tests for party membership even though there is substantial disagreement on those issues within the parties themselves. Abortion and gun politics are two examples.
The effects of a move towards 'big tent' politics
When a party that is motivated by ideology begins a shift to a "catch-all" or "big tent" party, it's usually marked by a move to the center of the political spectrum and a very flexible and pragmatic platform. Many believe this is a powerful way to make a party more popular, as it no longer limits itself to a specific ideological sector of the population. Opponents of this tactic argue that this alienates the ideological bases of a party. In the United States, for example, some members of the Democratic Party (United States) argue that the party should become a more centrist party, such as the Democratic Leadership Council. More left-leaning members wish the party to remain a pure centre-left party, to balance out the
GOP, an ideologically solid
centre-right party.
Not surprisingly, when a country's major parties become "catch-all" parties, this usually leads to the rise in popularity and support for more ideologically extreme parties. For example, in the United Kingdom, as the Labour Party (UK) has moved to the center and turned less ideologically pure, the Liberal Democrat party has risen in popularity, often being to the left of labour. In the United States, many democrats fear that moving to the center could cause a rise in popularity for far-left leaders from other parties, such as Ralph Nader. So in a two party system, a party must be careful when selecting how ideologically driven to be. Too ideological could mean that the party only appeals to a small portion of the population. Too pragmatic (Or Big-Tent style) can cause the base on your side of the spectrum (which may very well be very ideological) to split off.
Criticism
Critics of
Catch all parties accuse them of
populism, adopting whatever policies they need to win without any ideological conviction or clear policy goal. Also, the rise of "catch all" parties can lead to lower voter-participation, as people don't see a consistent idea of what each party stands for.
In politics, a
big tent party or
catch-all party is a
political party seeking to attract people with diverse viewpoints. The party does not require adherence to some ideology as a criterion for membership.
Definition
The big tent approach argues against any sort of
single-issue litmus tests or ideological rigidity, and advocates a Democratic Party with room for conservative as well as liberal Democrats, and a Republican Party with room for liberal as well as conservative Republicans.
This is in contrast to political parties that promote only a specific ideology. Advocates of a big tent believe that people with a broad variety of political ideologies and viewpoints can unite within a single party to advance shared core issues they agree on, even if they disagree on other issues. This way the party can attract a large base of support at the polls.
Big tent parties are far more common in
first past the post systems with only a few large parties.
Examples
In the
United States, a very good example of this approach was the New Deal coalition which formed in support of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies. This coalition brought together
labor unions, southern
Dixiecrats, progressivism, and others in support of FDR's economic program, even though these groups strongly disagreed on other issues.
In Canada, the
Liberal Party of Canada is not strongly ideological or regional, but is instead open to members with a wide range of views. While some criticize the party for lacking in conviction, supporters argue that compromise is an essential feature of democracy.
The
United States Democratic Party and the
United States Republican Party in the United States have
liberal and
Conservatism wings and support bases to such an extent that some supporters from each party align themselves with a particular politician or group within the other. Republican President of the United States
Ronald Reagan gained support from conservative Democrats, who came to be called
Reagan Democrats.
Other famous examples of
Catch all parties include the
Republic of Ireland's
Fianna Fáil, which has variously been categorised as
socialist (according to former deputy leader
Brian Lenihan) and
neo-Thatcherite/neo-Reaganite, a description applied to the economic policies and politics of current Minister for Finance
Charles McCreevy. Fianna Fáil served in the coalition from 1989 to 1992 with the right wing liberal
Progressive Democrats, then with the socialist
Irish Labour Party and is again in government with the Progressive Democrats, Fianna Fáil tailoring its policies accordingly. In the
Irish General Election, 2007 campaign, Fianna Fáil remains open to forming coalitions with the Progressive Democrats, the Labour Party, the
Irish Green Party and even Sinn Féin. Coalition with Fine Gael, the second largest party and main catch-all rival to Fianna Fáil, is the only option ruled out.
India's
Congress Party and Italy's now defunct
Christian Democrats both attracted such a broad range of support as to make them
Catch all parties.In India, this is called "Tamboo mein Bamboo".
Ideological parties actually 'big tent'?
In most western
democracy, two or three major political parties profess some sort of ideological leaning (for example,
social democracy,
Christian democracy,
liberal democracy, Labour movement) but in practice follow a big tent approach. Political parties which allow only a narrow ideology, in general do not perform well at the polls and so remain minor parties.
Canada provides two examples of how the adoption of a big tent approach has helped propel a formerly marginal party into broader electoral success, in the
Green Party of Ontario and the (now-defunct)
Social Credit Party of Canada. In the United States, the
secessionist Alaskan Independence Party had its only electoral success to date by allowing a popular figure who did not support the party's secessionist agenda to run for Governor of Alaska on their ballot line.
In the United States, the big tent concept is practiced today (in reality if not in name) within the United States Democratic Party, the United States Republican Party, and the
United States Reform Party. This is in contrast to such political parties as the United States Libertarian Party, the
United States Constitution Party, the United States Socialist Party, and various small Communism parties, which seek to advance a single ideology. Historically in the United States, political parties adopting a big tent approach have performed well at the polls. Parties promoting only one narrow ideology have attracted marginal support at best, or have seen their issues adopted by one or both of the major parties in a big tent effort, effectively co-opting the issues and putting an end to the minor party; this happened to the
United States Prohibition Party and the
United States Populist Party.
However even the Democratic, Republican, and Reform parties have vocal factions which advocate that those parties take on a more ideologically rigid character. There are factions in the Democratic Party which would like to make the party purely left-wing or progressive, excluding more conservative constituencies such as the
Democratic Leadership Council,
Blue Dog Democrats, and social conservatives. There are factions within the Republican Party which likewise seek to make the Republicans strictly an ideologically right-wing or conservative party, and expel those they deem Republican/Democrat In Name Only, those socially too liberal, and those holding
isolationism foreign policy views (who therefore oppose the Bush administration's foreign policy) such as libertarians and paleoconservatisms. There are also those within each party who would like to make certain issues litmus tests for party membership even though there is substantial disagreement on those issues within the parties themselves. Abortion and gun politics are two examples.
The effects of a move towards 'big tent' politics
When a party that is motivated by ideology begins a shift to a "catch-all" or "big tent" party, it's usually marked by a move to the center of the political spectrum and a very flexible and pragmatic platform. Many believe this is a powerful way to make a party more popular, as it no longer limits itself to a specific ideological sector of the population. Opponents of this tactic argue that this alienates the ideological bases of a party. In the United States, for example, some members of the
Democratic Party (United States) argue that the party should become a more centrist party, such as the
Democratic Leadership Council. More left-leaning members wish the party to remain a pure
centre-left party, to balance out the GOP, an ideologically solid
centre-right party.
Not surprisingly, when a country's major parties become "catch-all" parties, this usually leads to the rise in popularity and support for more ideologically extreme parties. For example, in the
United Kingdom, as the
Labour Party (UK) has moved to the center and turned less ideologically pure, the Liberal Democrat party has risen in popularity, often being to the left of labour. In the United States, many democrats fear that moving to the center could cause a rise in popularity for far-left leaders from other parties, such as Ralph Nader. So in a two party system, a party must be careful when selecting how ideologically driven to be. Too ideological could mean that the party only appeals to a small portion of the population. Too pragmatic (Or Big-Tent style) can cause the base on your side of the spectrum (which may very well be very ideological) to split off.
Criticism
Critics of
Catch all parties accuse them of
populism, adopting whatever policies they need to win without any ideological conviction or clear policy goal. Also, the rise of "catch all" parties can lead to lower voter-participation, as people don't see a consistent idea of what each party stands for.
Big tent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In politics, a big tent party or catch-all party is a political party seeking to attract people with diverse viewpoints. The party does not require adherence to some ideology as a ...
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A venue for new media journalists and non-profit leaders. Includes description of facilities, calendar of events, and a discussion forum.
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