Political Parties
What is a Political Party? Group that seeks to elect
governmental officials under a given label
The primary goal of a political party is to win control of government
Roles of political parties Electioneering
Nominate candidates Simplify voting choices Serve as voting and issue cue
Provide stability and policy direction “big tents” Coordinate actions of government
officials Propose and pass programs
Why does America have a two-party system? single-member districts instead
of proportional representation Ballot obstacles and funding
challenges Lack of media attention political socialization and dualist
theory absorption of third party issues
Nader campaign 2004
Nader faced numerous lawsuits about ballot access
Campaign spending Expensive presidential campaign Incumbent v. challenger spending
in Wisconsin (finances) Incumbent advantage overall in
2004
Three faces of political parties Party in government Party in the electorate Party organization
Party in government party structures the operation of
government Congressional leaders are chosen on
the basis of the controlling party reason--set the agenda for what
government will do
House Senate
435 Members100 Senators(Vice President votes in case of a tie)
229 Republicans205 Democrats1 Independent
51 Republicans48 Democrats1 Independent
108th Congress
House Senate
435 Members100 Senators(Vice President votes in case of a tie)
232 Republicans201 Democrats1 Independent
Republicans up by 3
55 Republicans44 Democrats1 Independent
Republicans up by 4
109th Congress
House of Representatives House tends to be
more partisan Dennis Hastert
(Speaker) Nancy Pelosi
Senate Bill Frist, Senate
Majority Leader Who is the Senate
Minority Leader? Leadership of
congressional committees goes to the majority party
Party unity Political parties hold members
accountable for voting party will Trends in congressional voting
Figure 12.3 (455) Republican split with president? Ability of parties to raise funds
Party in the electorate Party identification: person’s
affinity for a party, usually resulting in voting for party’s candidates
Roughly split between Republicans, Democrats and Independents
Split-ticket voting
voter chooses candidates from different parties
May lead to divided government
candidate, issue or party centered voting Vast majority of Americans insist
they vote for “the person, not the party”
What are the benefits/weaknesses of each type?
Optional writing assignment visit the websites of the Republican and
the Democratic National Committees (http://www.rnc.org and http://www.democrats.org/) and answer the following: what is the focus for each party? Which site do you prefer, and why? Which party (if either) do you agree with, and why?
Due Tuesday, March 8
Judicial assignment Supreme Court decisions that are
on the docket (www.oyez.org) Choose a case, choose a justice,
predict or describe opinion What happened this week
Political parties (review) Party in government
Ability of party to control leadership positions
Party unity Party in the electorate
Extent people identify with one party Party as voting cue (candidate, issue
or party centered voting)
Democratic party regroups New chair of the Democratic
National Committee What does each speaker (Elaine
Kamarck, Jesse Jackson, Sen. John Breaux, Rep. Tim Ryan) say went wrong?
Party unity Political parties hold members
accountable for voting party will Trends in congressional voting
indicate unity is increasing. Why? Ability of parties to raise funds
However, Congress represents US!
What happens when local and party interests conflict?
Party organization Republican and Democratic
national party committees (national conventions)
State-level committees County-level organizations
Parties appeal directly to voters
DNC RNC
Do these appeals go too far?
Responsible party model Parties are distinct, with clear
platforms People vote according to party Elected officials follow party wishes Party holds elected officials using
label accountable To what extent does this model
describe political parties today?
Redistricting and parties 2000 census requires redistricting Power of parties: state
legislatures/governors
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