Political Parties

Two Party System

Political Competition: Battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of public offices.

• Competition creates choice.

• Two party system for over 200 years

What is a Political Party?

Political Party: Team of men/women seeing to control governing apparatus by gaining office in an election.

Team?

3 headed political giant

1. Party is the Electorate

• Largest component • The American voters• Registered as a Dem.\ GOP

2. Party is an Organization

• National Office and staff• Each party maintains state/local offices • Keep the party running between elections

3. The Party in Government

• Elected Officials • President, governors, congresspeople…• Don’t always agree on policies

Linkage Institution

• 300 million Americans care about issues

• Linkage Institutions find the most pressing issues and push them on to the Gov. Agenda.

What Do Parties Do?1. Pick Candidates

• Must have the parties endorsement to win an election.

• Endorsement=Nomination

What Do Parties Do?2. Run Campaigns

• National, state, and local organizations help push their candidates.

• Inform voters

What Do Parties Do?3. Gives Cues to Voters

• A candidates party affiliation shows voters what they believe in.

What Do Parties Do?4. Articulate Policies

• Each party advocates specific policy alternatives

What Do Parties Do?5. Coordinate Policymaking

• Helps coordinate people in each of the branches of government.

• The party sticks together.

The Downs Model

• Model of the relationship between citizens, parties, and policy.

Rational-Choice theory: political actors have goals, and pursue those goals.

1. Voters want to maximize the chance their policies will be adopted by the gov.

The Downs Model • 2. Parties want to win office (must adopt

popular policies)• -candidate that understand/support the

policies most popular win. • Don’t stray far from the mid point

The Party in the Electorate

• U.S.: No formal attachment to a party• Affiliation is more of a psychological label • Party image: voters image of the parties

• Party identification: Self proclaimed preference for one party or another.

• Growing trend: Independent voters

The Party in the Electorate

• Independents more likely to split ticket vote

Ticket Splitting: voting with one party for one office and the other for another office.

ex. 2012: Obama and a GOP Senator.

Possible to have GOP governors in blue states.

Party in the Organization

Parties in History

Political Machines: depends on rewarding its members in some material fashion.

Patronage: A government job awarded for a political reason, not merit based.

The 50 State Party Systems• National parties are formed by lose groups

of state parties.

• Some states have well organized parties • States make their own party regulations

-Run their own elections

The 50 State Party Systems

Primary elections: How parties nominate their candidates.

Closed Primary: Only people who are registered in advance with the party can vote.

Open Primary: Voters can decide on election day to participate in the Republican or Dem. Primary.

The 50 State Party Systems

Blanket Primaries: voters choose from a list of all candidates (no matter the party)

• Straight ticket voting option?

National Party Organization

National Convention: Meets ever 4 years

-Officially nominate a pres. Candidate

- Draft the parties platform

National Committees keep the parties running between conventions.

-composed of party officials

National chairperson: hires the staff, raises the money, pays the bills, keeps the party running.

The Party in Government

• Must turn campaign promises into policy.

• Voters are attracted to a party in power based on its performance and policy.

Coalition: a set of individuals and groups supporting it.

Urban Rural Divide

• People in Urban cities tend to vote Democrat.

Why?

• People in rural areas tend to vote GOP

Why?

Republicans • Want Smaller government

Why?

A. Individual responsibility • Less social welfare

Why?

A. Individual responsibility • Lower Taxes on the rich (or flat tax)

Why?

A. Oppose the redistribution of wealth to the poor.

Republicans

• Less government regulations ( on Business & other…)

Why?

A. Smaller gov. (What is the role of gov.?)• Hawkish on international affairs.

Why?

A. American exceptionalism/ insure our way of life.

Republicans

• Pro Death Penalty

Why?

A. Individual responsibility • Pro-Life (Anti Abortion)

Why?

A. Religion• Anti Same-sex Marriage

Why?• Religion

Republicans

• Anti Immigration

Why?

A. America first/protect U.S. business• Pro Gun

Why?

A. Individualism, scope of government.

Democrats

• Want the scope of government to increase

Why?

A. Feel the government should do more.• Want more social welfare

Why?

Government should do more to help those in need

Democrats

• For progressive taxes

Why?

A. Help pay for social programs (even the playing field)

• More government regulations

Why?

Preserve the Enviro, protect workers

Democrats

• Anti Death Penalty

Why?

A. No need• Pro-Life (Anti Abortion)

Why?

A. Right to privacy/civil rights• Anti Same-sex Marriage

Why?• Civil Rights

Democrats

• Pro Immigration Reform

Why?

A. More compassionate • Anti Gun

Why?

A. Government must protect citizens

Party Eras & Minor Parties

Party Eras

Party Eras: Parties tend to be dominant for long periods of time.• Critical Election: new coalitions form and

eras change.

Party Realignment: new coalitions form

-normally in times of crisis

1796-1824: First Party System

• First party: The Federalists

• 1800: Democratic Republicans took power

• Popular to the agrarian South.

1828-1856: Democrats & The Whigs

• Andrew Jackson elected.

• Formed coalitions around the nation

• Changed to Democrats

• Opposing party: Whigs

1860-1928: Two Republican Eras

• 1850: Republicans form to oppose slavery

• Democrats control the South

• Republicans dominate until the Great Depression.

1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition

• People blamed Hoover (GOP) for the Depression

• FDR Wins in 1932, promises a New Deal.

New Deal Coalition:• Urban dwellers jumped to the Dems• Labor Unions went Dem• Catholics/Jews• Poor people• African Americans

The New Deal Coalition

• Remained strong for decades.

• Broken by Eisenhower, back with JFK

• Fair Deal, Great Society…

1968:Southern Realignment

• Nixon Wins in 68: employs the “Southern Strategy.

-Pushed the states rights issue

-Won over Southern conservatives

The South has been strongly Republican since.

Current Eras

• More political turnover today.• Much less likely to have long political eras.• Much more divided government

Party dealignment: people are moving away from both parties.

Minor Parties

Third Parties

Third Parties: political party other than the dems/reps• Types of third parties”

1. Splinter parties: splinter off of a major party (Bullmoose party, populist party)

2. Parties based on a popular individual

3. Parties that push a particular cause/causes

Importance of Minor Parties

• Gives more Americans a political voice.

• Publicizes controversial issues

• Can have huge impacts on elections.

• “Spoiler vote”

Minor Parties

American Nazi PartyCommunist Party of the U.S.Family Values PartySocialist PartySocialist Action PartyU.S. Marijuana PartyAmerican Pot PartyPeace and Freedom Party

Green PartyLibertarian PartyReform PartyAmerican Independent PartyThe 3rd PartyWorkers partyProgressive workers partyConstitutionalist Party

Responsible Party Model

• Many complain that parties lie/don’t fulfill campaign promises.

• Must meet the following conditions:

1. Parties must offer distinct programs for governing the nation.

2. Party candidates must be committed to its programs

Responsible Party Model

1. Majority party must implement its programs/ minority party must offer their programs.

2. Majority party must accept responsibility for the performance of the government.

• More efficient• Helps voters push policies and know who

to blame for inaction.• Critics: to simple for a large complex

nation.

Political Parties & The Scope of Government

• Lack of discipline and cohesion in American political parties leads to a smaller scope of gov.

• Parties rarely unite around a particular policy

End of Parties?

• Access to information has weakened the parties hold on voters.

• Parties evolving to stay important

Nomination

• A parties official endorsement of a candidate for office.

• Open to all• Campaign strategy: The way in which

candidates attempt to manipulate funding, the media, and political momentum to achieve the nomination.

Deciding to run

• Not everyone wants to run. (grueling campaigns)

• U.S. has one of the longest campaign cycles.

Competing for Delegates

National Party convention: Supreme power within each of the parties, which functions to select presidential and vice presidential candidates and write a parties platform.• State parties chose their delegates to the

national convention via either a caucus or a primary election.

Primary Overview

• Each Party has a National Convention where they chose the 1 candidate for their party.

State By State Voting

• Candidate wins the primary election vote in a state, their delegates go to the convention.

• The candidate with the most delegates at the convention becomes the official candidate.