Political Parties

4/12/2012

Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives in Written Form

• Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:– discuss and critically analyze political events in the

United States government– students will be able to identify and explain the

role of informal institutions and their effect on policy.

Office Hours and Readings

• Chapter 6• Office Hours– Today 11-2– Monday 10-2

The Parties in the Constitution

• Not mentioned at all

• Believed they would create trouble and strife

• a threat to good government and public order.

Despite this, Parties thrived

• The Ratification Battle

• The First Amendment

• Federalism

• Slavery

WHAT PARTIES DO

Political Recruitment

• Nominating People for Office

Recruiting Candidates who can win

Interest Aggregation

• Getting elected officials to work together

• Grab issues that are popular and try to push them together.

Interest Articulation

• Make Policies when in power

• Propose alternatives when out of power

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN PARTY SYSTEM

Public

• Parties are Public Organizations

• Smith vs Allwright (1944)

Pluralistic

• No single group is large enough to win nationwide

• Parties involve many groups

• The Democrats rely on more groups

Fragmented

• No single central authority

• Disbursed power because of federalism

• Votes and money are fragmented

Non-ideological

• Very moderate compared to other nations

• Parties are election-based, not policy based

• Extreme policies are harmful

Hypocritical

THE REALMS OF THE POLITICAL PARTY

The Party in the Electorate

• What is it?

• Where do we Get it?

• How Important is it?

Partisan Voting in Recent Elections

2008 2010

The Partisan Balance in 2012

• Roughly equal across (D,R,I)

• This makes turnout important

• Low Turnout will favor Republicans

Partisanship and TV

Partisanship and Sports

Activists vs. Rank and File

Rank and File• Sometimes vote

• Hold less extreme positions, or opposing positions

• Are not Reliable

Activists• Tend to Vote at all levels

• Hold More Extreme Positions

• Participate other than voting

The Party in Government

The Party in Government

• Party Line Voting rules the day

• Strong parties mean no need for compromise

• The Parties are more extreme than ever

THE PARTIES ARE VERY SIMILAR!

Neither Party Can Rely on a single group

• Both Parties are Heterogeneous

• Both Parties Must court independents

• Both parties move around the spectrum to gain votes.

Even the South is Less Distinct

• It is still the most distinct

• Out-Migration of African Americans

• More industrialized

• Influx of Hispanic Voters

Why Not issue Based?

• Issues are boring

• We adopt issues based on partisanship, not the other way around

• The Parties do not take clear positions on many issues.

Why the Parties are similar

• Views on the Economic System

• Views on Foreign policy

• Sources of campaign finance

The Goal of Both American Parties

THE PARTIES ARE DIFFERENT

Race

• Race is more important than class

• African Americans form a political self-conscious group. And Identify with the Democratic Party

Unlike other nations, social class doesn’t dominate

• The Parties do not try to exploit social class

• We are all middle class

Social Class and Partisanship

Republicans• Do better with poor whites in

the South

• Do better with Upper Middle Class voters

• Historically have done better with Middle Class voters

Democrats• Do better with poor and

working class

• Do better with the very wealthiest

• Do better with Union Members

Women and Voting

• Women vote more than men

• The Gender Gap– Women vote more for Democratic Candidates– Ranges from 5-10 Points

– Issue ownership

Married vs. Single Women

• Married women vote more Republican

• Self-Identified Feminists are very Democratic

Religion

• Americans tend to be more religious than other Western nations.

• We belong to churches and go more than other nations

Jewish Voters

• The Exception to the Rule

• Share many Republican characteristics, but are Democratic

• More liberal than other groups, except on Israel policy

• Meet all 3 criteria in 2 states

The Religion Gap

The biggest differences lie in the beliefs of activists on both sides

WHAT ABOUT THIRD PARTIES?

What is it

• Any party other than the major 2

• Can be a third, fourth etc.

How Do Third Parties Emerge

• New Parties come from– The Gap between the

parties– On the fringe– From within the party

• Around an Emerging Issue

What Third Parties Want to Do

Win elections Threaten Existing Parties

Why They Lose

• The System is Geared against them

• It is easy to steal their issues

• They run political nobodies