Political Parties

Party competition: battle of the parties for control of public offices.

www.democrats.org/

www.rnc.org/

Political Parties: groups of people seeking to control government by winning elections

•So who are the members of these teams? “The Three-Headed Political Giants”

•The Party in the Electorate•The Party in the Organization•The Party in Government

Political parties link the people of the United States to their government and its policies.

Party in the Electorate

•The largest component of an American political party.

•Does not require a membership card

•Does not require any dues.

•You only have to claim you are a Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc.

• National office, a full- time staff, rules, bylaws, & budgets.• Each party maintains a state & local headquarters• Chairpersons, committees & officials in Washington D.C.

Party in Government

•Consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party

•They do not all have to agree on policy but share a common party label.

Duties of the PartiesNomination Function• this function belongs to political parties

ONLY!

Run Campaigns•coordinate political campaigns

Informer-Stimulator•give the people cues on how to voteParty image- the voter’s perception of what

the parties stand for

Duties of the Parties

Articulate Policies•they advocate specific policy alternatives

Coordinate policymaking•they provide essential coordination

among the branches

Parties, Voters, & Policy: The Downs Model

• A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians.

• It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs & benefits of possible alternatives.

Extremely Slightly Moderate Slightly Liberal Liberal Moderate

Rational Choice Theory

Downs argues that(1)Voters want to maximize the chance that

policies they favor will be adopted by government

(2) parties want to win office

Thus, in order to win office, the wise party selects policies that are widely favored. AND that (according to Downs Model) is moderate.

Party ElectorateMost European nations: give membership cards pay dues vote to pick their local

party leaders

• Party Identification: a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other.

• Trend: decline of both parties and resultant upsurge of independents

• Major exception: African-Americans more solid democrat

• Ticket-splitting: voting with one party for one office & with another party for other offices.

Party Organizations• Parties are decentralized

and fragmented• Party machines: type of

party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage.

• Patronage: key inducement used by party machines; a job, promotion, contract

• Boss Tweed, Richard Daley

Primaries• Closed Primaries:

elections to select party nominees in which people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidate.

• Open Primaries: elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want to vote Democrat or Republican

• Blanket Primaries: elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from ALL the parties.

National Party Organization•National Convention: the meeting of

party delegates every 4 yrs. To choose a presidential ticket & write the party’s platform.

•National Committee: One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions.

•National Chairperson: person responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party & is usually nominated by the presidential nominee.

Party Eras in American History• Party eras: historical

periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections

• Critical election: an electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, & the majority party is displaced.

• Party realignment: the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

• They are usually associated with a major crisis or trauma in the nation’s history.

Party Eras1796-1824: First Party System

1828-1856: Jackson Democrats versus the Whigs

• Federalist Party: 1st & shortest-lived major party

- Washington, and John Adams

VS• Democratic-

Republicans, or Jeffersonians

- Jefferson, Madison, & Monroe

- Popular in rural south

• General Andrew Jackson founded the Democratic Party.

- western & southern areas; new immigrants supported

- Martin Van BurenVS

• Whigs – Northern industrialists & Southern planters

- William H. Harrison & Zachary Taylor

Party Eras1860-1928: Republican Eras 1932-1964: New Deal Coalition

Republicans became the anti-slavery party.

- Led by Abraham Lincoln- Thrived for more than 60

years- Favored the gold standard

Democrats voted out the Hoover Republicans.

New Deal Coalition- Urban dwellers- Labor unions- Catholics and Jews- Poor- Southerners- African Americans- Intellectuals

Frank Baum lampooned the Republicans with his book.

Party Eras1968-Present: The Era of Divided Party Government

1968-Richard Nixon (R) elected President with a Democratic Congress.

Ronald Reagan (R) OppositeGeorge H. Bush (R) Party in Bill Clinton (D)

Congress

Congress & White House have only been simultaneously controlled by the same party for just 6.3 of the 34 years from 1969 to 2002.

Third Parties: their impact on American politics

• Electoral contenders other than the two major parties.

•Rarely win elections

Types of third partiesIdeological PartiesEconomic-Protest PartiesSingle-Issue PartiesSplinter Parties

Multiparty Systems in Other Countries

America has a winner-take-all system.

European countries use a proportional representation that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

Germany has a coalition government, when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature.

Greens Party

Social Democrats

Democracy & Responsible

•Responsible party model: a view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work.

•According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use these choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates.

•Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises.

Individualism and Gridlock• Founding fathers feared political parties.• Individual members of Congress can vote as individuals• Politicians can pass the buck rather than bite the bullet.