UNIT THREE Political Parties and Interest Groups

UNIT THREE

Political Parties and Interest Groups

Development of American Political Parties

Two Party SystemPolitical party- association of voters with

common interest in the role of governmentAmerica considered to have two party system

(Democrat and Republicans)Constitution says nothing about political

partiesCame into existence after Washington left

office (dispute over strong or weak national government)


Democratic Party- came into existence 1828 under Andrew Jackson

Republican Party- 1854 formed to oppose slavery, Lincoln first Republican president (1860)

Third Parties- challenges main parties, rarely win major elections

Two most influential in late 1800’s and early 1900’s Progressives, Populist parties


Third PartiesSingle issue parties- promote

social, economic, moral issues (not to win elections), fade away after issue is no longer important

Ideological parties- focus on major changes in society (Communist, Libertarian, Green Parties)

Independent Candidates- form around well known individuals

Third parties rarely win elections problems with raising money, getting on ballot


Two party system rareMost other countries have

multi-party systemOne party rarely wins control

of government, several parties often work together

One party system, party and government are the same thing (Communist China)

One party systems are not democratic


Political parties link between citizens and elected officials, help make elections meaningful

Democrats believe federal government should be more involved in regulating economy, education, etc.

Republicans favor less government regulation

Both try to appeal to as many voters as possible, avoid taking extreme positions

How do parties differ? Platform- series of statements explaining

positions, principle and beliefs on election issues

Plank- each individual part of platform

Organization of American Political Parties

National Party Organization National Conventions

Each party has national committee Representatives from every state, raise funds for

elections, organize party’s national convention Leader of committee national party chairperson Committees create television, radio, internet ads,

manage candidates’ websites Main job of national committee, national

convention every 4 years Delegates from all states nominate candidates for

president and vice president, Delegates chosen through caucuses Delegate’s first job write the party’s platform,

second job nominate party’s presidential candidate Democrat and Republican parties have House and

Senate committees made up of members of Congress; to help elect and reelect party members


State and Local Organization Precinct Captains

Both parties, have 50 state committees Job is to focus on electing party candidates to state

offices Local party organizations consist of city and county

committees Each city or county is divided into precincts (specific

area where people vote) Each precinct has a captain (organize party volunteers

and encourage voters to vote) Several neighboring precincts make up a ward

(members represent the ward at the county committee)


County Committeeslargest political

units of a state (more than 3,000 in the U.S.)

County committees give information to the state committees about political sentiment throughout the county


Political MachinesLocal party organizations that have

become so powerful they win elections year after year

Most famous late 1800’s in NYC Tammany Hall, most famous leader “Boss” Tweed

Helped immigrants when they first came to America with social services in return for votes

When political party is in power too long they become less responsive to citizens

Role of Political Parties Today

Primary Elections Political parties select and offer

candidates for public office; done through the nomination

Major parties nominate candidates through direct primaries; preliminary election determines who will represent the party in the main election

Most states hold closed primary (only members of the party can vote)

A few states hold open primary (voters do not have to declare their party preference)


Primary ElectionsClosed primary keeps people from crossing party lines

promote the weaker candidateDoes not permit a truly secret ballot because voters

declare party preference Most states award party’s nomination to the candidate

who receives a plurality, (most votes amongst those running); other states require that the winner must have a majority

No majority, state holds a runoff between the two top vote getters

Candidates not affiliated with a political party can get on the ballot by petition


Other Party Roles 1. Campaigning for

Candidates Raise money for campaigns,

help candidates get across their ideas and views on public issues to voters

“Get out the vote” drives

2. Informing Citizens Inform citizens through

pamphlets, speeches, and ads


Other Party Roles 3. Help Manage Government Parties help the elected official hand

out jobs to supporters

4. Linking the Different Levels of Government

Parties help link local, state, and federal party officials

5. Act as a Watchdog The party that loses watches the

actions of the party that won so that they can use their mistakes against them in the next election

Chapter 10Section 2

Election Campaigns

Types of Elections

General Elections 1st elections- primary elections in

the spring between members of the same party

Winner from each party goes to the general election in November

House and Senate elections every two years (1/3 seat basis)

Presidential elections every 4 years State and local elections occur every

four years In all elections except the presidential

race, the winner is determined by the majority vote

Loser can demand recount (2000) Presidential race determined by the

electoral college, if neither candidate wins a majority of electoral votes the House elects president (1800 and 1824)

Election of 1824

Types of Elections

Voting on Issues Initiatives, citizens propose new laws or

amendments Referendums , approved by legislators first,

elections where citizens can approve or reject state and local laws

Proposition- put on ballot through petitionSpecial ElectionsRunoffs- top 2 candidates from a race face off in a

new election determine winnerSome states also have a recall, citizens can vote to

remove an elected official from office

Presidential Elections

Three steps: (1) nomination of candidates, (2) the campaign, (3) the vote

NominationBegins a year or more before

electionIn the past convention was

important, behind the scenes affair, now nomination is wrapped up before convention

Convention now used to rally party members for election


The Campaign Usually start in September,

after conventions Candidates travel across

country giving speeches, TV ads, debates

The Vote and the Electoral College

Popular vote really to choose slate of electors (pledged to a candidate)

Winner of states popular vote, wins electoral vote

Takes 270 electoral votes to win nomination


Electoral College set up when Constitution was written

Founding Fathers saw this as a way to protect Americans from “mob rule”

Critics say it gives large states too much power

Proportional system would be more fair

Winner-take-all system, candidate can loose popular vote but win electoral vote

Keeps third party candidates from winning

Chapter 10Section 3

Paying for Election Campaigns

Running for Office

Purpose of campaigns to convince the public to vote for a particular candidate

Local campaigns have only a few workers

National campaigns have thousands of workers, paying these workers is the job of the candidate

They all need money to operateCampaigns have several ways

they meet these goals

Running for Office

CanvassingGoing door to door (locally)

to conducting polls (nationally) to gain exposure for candidate and find out how candidate is doing

Endorsements Celebrities give candidates

an endorsementsEndorsements are a version

of propaganda (attempt to promote a particular person or idea)

Running for Office

Advertising and Image Molding Spend the majority of money in

advertising Allow party to present candidate’s

position or point of view Allows a candidate to attack an

opponent without offering an opportunity to respond

Campaign Expenses Campaign costs- money for advertising,

transportation, salaries of campaign staff members, fees to professional campaign consultants

Elections for Congress generally run at about $1.5 million in expenses

Presidential race costs over $300 million

Financing a Campaign

Methods to finance campaigns established by Congressional legislation

Recently efforts to reform how candidates raise money Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)1971- Congress passed FECA put controls on campaign

financingRequired public disclosure of each candidate’s spending

recordsLimited the amount of hard money that individuals or

groups could donate to a candidate or political party1974- Federal Election Commission created, job is to

administer all federal election laws, monitor campaign spending


1976- Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo, government had the right to set limits on campaign contributions to keep corruption out of elections

Also declared that there was not a limit to how much of their own money candidates could spend


Soft Money and Political ActionCommittees (PACS) Most money for campaigns comes from

private sources (citizens, corporations, labor unions, interest groups, and PACS)

PACS- organizations set up by interest groups to collect money to support favored candidates

To get around FECA restrictions on campaign income, candidates seek soft money donations (given to a political party and not designated for any particular candidate’s campaign)

Was supposed to be used only for general party building purposes but candidates are constantly dipping out of the fund


Campaign Reform2002- Bipartisan Campaign Reform ActProhibits national political parties, federal

officeholders, and federal candidates from raising soft money

Prohibits corporations, union, and interest groups from running ads aimed at a candidate within 60 days of a general election

Says candidates may only collect up to $2,000 per donor in each election


Critics said this limited free speech

Kept incumbents in power

Supreme Court (2003) said act was constitutional

It was in the public interest to limit funding

New emphasis on small contributions on the internet

Influencing Government

Chapter 11

Public Opinion

Pu

blic

Op

inio

n-

ideas, a

ttitud

es a

bou

t ele

cted

off

icials,

can

did

ate

s, g

ove

rnm

en

t, politica

l issu

es

S

hap

es d

ecisio

ns

gove

rnm

en

t makes

Op

inio

n n

ot u

nifo

rm-

Wh

y?

Perso

nal b

ack

gro

un

d-

ag

e, g

en

der, ra

ce,

inco

me, re

ligio

n, e

tc. all p

lay ro

les o

n th

e

pu

blic’s o

pin

ion

Mass M

ed

ia- ra

dio

, T

V, ad

vertisin

g.

Pro

vides p

ow

erfu

l im

ag

es th

at in

flu

en

ce

op

inio

n

Pu

blic O

fficia

ls- in

flu

en

ce p

ub

lic op

inio

n th

rou

gh

pre

ss co

nfe

ren

ces,

speech

es, T

V

ap

peara

nce

s, an

d

article

s

Inte

rest G

rou

ps-

peop

le w

ho sh

are

a

poin

t of vie

w a

bou

t an

issu

e; h

op

e to

chan

ge

pu

blic o

pin

ion

thro

ug

h

ad

s an

d a

ction

s

Public Opinion

Com

pon

en

ts of P

ub

lic O

pin

ion

Dire

ction

- wh

ere

peop

le

stan

d o

n issu

e

Inte

nsity- stre

ng

th o

f op

inio

n o

n a

n issu

e

Sta

bility- h

ow

firm

ly p

eop

le h

old

their

positio

n o

n a

n issu

e;

most p

eop

le w

ill not

chan

ge th

eir m

ind

s on

issu

es b

ut w

ill chan

ge

their m

ind

s on

a

can

did

ate

Public Opinion

Measu

ring

Pu

blic O

pin

ion

Measu

red

by e

lectio

n

resu

lts an

d p

ub

lic op

inio

n

polls

Pu

blic o

pin

ion

poll a

ccura

te

measu

re o

f op

inio

n, clo

sely

mon

itore

d b

y politicia

ns

Ran

dom

Sam

ple

s- mod

ern

p

ollin

g is a

scien

ce, u

se

cross se

ction

of so

ciety to

ta

ke a

sam

ple

Good

pollin

g ca

n g

et a

n

accu

rate

pictu

re o

f pu

blic

op

inio

n

Pro

cess ca

n b

e m

an

ipu

late

d

by ch

an

gin

g w

ord

ing

of

qu

estio

ns

Public Opinion

Polls a

nd

Dem

ocra

cy

Peop

le w

ho su

pp

ort

pollin

g- su

pp

orts

dem

ocra

cy by a

llow

ing

off

iceh

old

ers to

keep

in

tou

ch w

ith citize

ns’

chan

gin

g o

pin

ion

s

Critics o

f pollin

g-

ele

cted

off

icials m

ore

co

nce

rned

with

fo

llow

ing

the p

ub

lic ra

ther th

an

exe

rcising

p

olitica

l lead

ersh

ip,

ele

cted

off

icial m

ay

hesita

te to

make a

d

ecisio

n fo

r fear o

f u

pse

tting

the p

ub

lic

The Mass Media

Pla

ys role

in in

flu

en

cing

p

olitics a

nd

gove

rnm

en

t

Lin

k b

etw

een

ele

cted

off

icials a

nd

pu

blic

Tw

o typ

es- p

rint a

nd

ele

ctron

ic

Th

ey a

re b

usin

esse

s for

pro

fit, d

ecid

e to

run

wh

at

attra

cts most p

eop

le, b

ring

b

est a

dve

rtisers

Most p

eop

le re

ly on

TV

for

info

rmatio

n, n

ew

spap

ers

read

by o

lder d

em

og

rap

hic,

inte

rnet u

sag

e h

igh

er a

mon

g

you

ng

er g

rou

ps

The Mass MediaT

he M

ed

ia’s

Imp

act o

n

Politics a

nd

G

ove

rnm

en

tS

ettin

g th

e

Pu

blic A

gen

da-

med

ia b

ring

s an

issu

e to

the

fore

fron

t of

Am

erica

n

atte

ntio

n

Can

did

ate

s an

d

Ele

ction

s- makes

possib

le rise

of

un

likely

politicia

ns; ca

n

pro

mote

style

ove

r sub

stan

ce

Ele

cted

Off

icials-

need

med

ia to

p

rom

ote

ideas

an

d a

ction

s; may

leak in

fo to

p

ress to

test

pu

blic re

actio

n

(trial b

allo

on

), p

ress u

ses

insid

e in

fo to

en

han

ce th

eir

care

ers

The Mass MediaT

he M

ed

ia’s Im

pact o

n

Politics a

nd

Gove

rnm

en

t

Watch

dog

Role

- Jo

urn

alist e

ag

er to

exp

ose

gove

rnm

en

t co

rrup

tion

, look in

to

politicia

ns p

rivate

lives

(need

to fe

ed

24

hou

r n

ew

s cycle)

Med

ia a

nd

Natio

nal

Secu

rity- ten

sion

b

etw

een

need

to p

rote

ct se

crets vs. n

atio

nal

secu

rity

The Mass MediaP

rote

cting

the M

ed

ia

Gove

rnm

en

t pla

ys role

in

ab

ility of m

ass m

ed

ia

to o

pera

te fre

ely

Pre

ss has F

irst A

men

dm

en

t Rig

hts

Su

pre

me C

ou

rt rule

d

pre

ss has p

rote

ction

fro

m p

rior re

strain

t, g

ives re

porte

rs an

d

ed

itors fre

ed

om

to

decid

e w

hat th

ey w

ill sa

y

Pre

ss can

not co

mm

it lib

el

Mon

itore

d th

rou

gh

F

ed

era

l Com

mu

nica

tion

C

om

missio

n (F

CC

), ca

n’t ce

nso

r pre

ss bu

t ca

n p

un

ish vio

latio

ns

Documents

UNIT THREE Political Parties and Interest Groups