***POLITICAL PARTIES*** -...

***POLITICAL PARTIES*** DEFINITION: A group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with an identifying label by which they are known to the public. Ex: Democrat, Republican, Whig, Libertarian

POLITICAL CULTURE Americans don’t join parties and keep partisan politics separate from other spheres of life (work, church, friendship)

PARTY STRUCTURE Both the Democrat and Republican parties are structured the same. NATIONAL COMMITTEE Composed of delegates from the states & territories They elect a chairman who manages the affairs of the party. DNC & RNC CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE Provides funding to party members running for House and Senate seats Much of the funding is ***SOFT MONEY*** which is given to the party to spend how it sees fit

NATIONAL CONVENTION Held every four years in a select city to nominate a presidential candidate

***POLITICAL MACHINE*** DEFINITION Primarily state & local party organizations that recruit members by offering money, political jobs and government favors AKA ***PATRONAGE***. EX: Giving key jobs or contracts to individuals or companies in exchange for voter mobilization

FIRST PARTY SYSTEM 1790s The divide between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the Constitution led to the development of the first two political parties:

Led by Alexander Hamilton & John Adams Sought consolidation of the union through federal power. New England states DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS Led by Jefferson & Madison Sought to safeguard state-power Southern states

SECOND PARTY SYSTEM DEMOCRATS

1828 Farmers and small-business owners unite behind Andrew Jackson. Form the Democrat Party Jackson claimed he represented the common man and favored southern and western interests .

1828 Non-followers of Jackson formed the National Republican Party aka Whig Party. Represented northern business interests and abolitionists. Abolitionists, leave the Whigs; re-formed with the Free-Soilers and ex-Democrats as the Republican Party in 1854. Lincoln elected as the first Republican POTUS. In 1860.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY TODAY

• Believe the federal government has a responsibility to help the poor through the creation of social welfare programs.

• Favor higher taxes, labor and environmental regulations.

• Hold generally liberal social views.

ESTABLISHMENT

• Liberal political elites like the Clintons & Kennedys plus corporate and Hollywood donors.

BASE

• Remnants of the ***New Deal Coalition***: Urban working class, Blacks, Jews, Catholics, Academic Left

REPUBLICAN PARTY (GOP) TODAY

• Believe that government’s job is to make it easier for businesses to function through lower taxes and less regulation.

• Generally hold conservative social views.

ESTABLISHMENT

• Moderate politicians and Wall Street donors who favor compromise with the Left and playing the part of the ***Loyal Opposition*** in order to advance their interests.

BASE

• Coalition of conservatives, libertarians and Evangelical Christians who view the role of the Loyal Opposition as reinforcing the system.

TEA PARTY

• Faction of the GOP

• Emerged in 2009-10 in response to runaway spending in the G.W. Bush & Obama administrations.

• Believe government power, taxation and spending have gotten out of control (Originalists).

• Favor drastic spending and tax cuts, term limits and oversight.

PARTY PLATFORMS ***PLATFORM*** A statement that puts forth the party's positions on issues. Each individual issue is called a plank.

THIRD PARTIES (MINOR PARTIES) TYPES IDEOLOGICAL: Seek fundamental change in

American society. EX: CPUSA, Green Party etc. ONE-ISSUE: Seek single-policy change EX: Prohibition Party, Marijuana Party ECONOMIC INTEREST: Short-lived, regional

protest against economic conditions. EX: Populist Party FACTIONAL PARTIES: Split off from a major

party. EX: “Bull Moose” Progressive Party Reform Party

WHY DON’T THIRD PARTIES WIN? (Three reasons)

I. If 3rd parties become popular, the major parties adopt their ideas as their own.

II. Election Rules

Since 1992, the major parties exclude them from Presidential debates so their ideas won’t be heard.

State party organizations set the rules for how to get on the ballot.

EX: 3RD Parties often need more signatures

III. ***PLURALITY/WINNER-TAKE-ALL SYSTEM***

The candidate who gets the most votes wins/typically one of the major party candidates.

Most of Europe uses a ***PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATON SYSTEM***which awards seats based upon the percentage of the vote the party receives = More parties participate

Popular third party candidates can change the outcome of elections by siphoning votes from major party candidates (1912, 1992).

***REALIGNMENT PERIOD*** Period where political power shifts from one party to another due to a shift in popular coalitions changing their support. Typically due to outside factors such as crisis periods (Great Depression) or high controversy over an issue (slavery).

EXAMPLES Civil War and Reconstruction (Democrat-to-Republican) Progressive Era (Democrat-to-Republican) Great Depression-Post WWII (Republican-to-Democrat)

WHY ARE POLITICAL PARTIES WEAKENING? I. DIRECT PRIMARIES Prior to the 1960s, candidates were chosen by a caucus of party elites (the “smoke-filled room”) Since 1960, state legislatures have been trending toward direct primaries where voters select candidates II. CANDIDATE-CENTERED ELECTIONS Dislike of parties causes some candidates to run as

personalities rather than as a members of a party.

III. ***SPLIT-TICKET VOTING-Voters who vote for a mix of candidates rather than straight-ticket.

IV. ***DEALIGNMENT-Distrust of political parties and anger has led to a greater number of voters declaring independent status.

IMPACT OF THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM ON CONGRESS MEMBERS TEND TO VOTE ALONG PARTY LINES Party leaders in Congress are elites who “whip” members of their caucuses into voting the way they want. They will use tactics involving campaign finance money, threaten to pull their party’s nomination or promise favors in return for the member’s vote. RESULT: Congress has become more partisan.