Overriding Questions
How has the decline of political parties influenced elections and campaigning?
How do political parties positively influence campaigns and elections and how do they negatively influence campaigns and elections?
How have campaigns and elections changed over time? How have they stayed the same?
How has money influenced elections and campaigns in a positive and negative manner?
What is a Party?•A political party is a group of people
who seek to control government by winning elections and holding office.•The two major parties in American
politics are the Republican and Democratic parties.
•Parties can be principle-oriented, issue-oriented, or election-oriented. The
American parties are election-oriented.
Questions to consider…
Who is the barber?
Why do the perceptions of the mom and dad differ?
Do these perceptions match today’s reality?
Why is there a two Party System?
The Historical Basis. The nation started out with two-parties: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
The Force of Tradition. America has a two-party system because it always has had one. Minor parties, lacking wide political support, have never made a successful showing, so people are reluctant to support them.
Additional reasons for two Party System…
Ideological Consensus. Most Americans have a general agreement on fundamental matters. Conditions that would spark several strong rival parties do not exist in the United States.
Party Systems One-Party; totalitarian, undemocratic Bi-party; less choice, lots of stability Multi-party; more choice, less stability
Problem of coalition government US and England = Bi-party Italy and Israel = Multi-party
Economic Realignment1896
Realignment-lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties
Depression hit farmers in the Midwest and the South
Prices paid to farmers was declining Led to the development of the
Greenbackers and the Populists (Economic Protest Parties)
Party Realignment or Critical Elections
Alternation of one party dominance to the other party
Critical Elections-sharp, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one of both parties
The issues that separate the parties change and so do the party supporters
5 critical realignments in history
1800-Jefferson elected, Democratic Republicans take over
1828-Jackson elected from Democratic party-DR splits into Dems and Whigs
1860-Lincoln elected-emergence of modern day Republicans
1896-McKinley wins-but gains support from labor unions and minorities as a Republican
1932-FDR wins and the Democratic party remerges
Critical realignment for the Republicans in ’94- won both House and Senate for first time since 1954
What is the current party situation?
Factionalize within selves-distribute power and lose elections
Initiative and Referendum take away power of party and bring more power to the people
Dems have become more liberal Repubs have become more conservative Primaries especially to secure the
“regulars” Aim toward the middle during the general
elections
Minor Parties in the United States
Splinter Party
Example: “Bull Moose” Progressive
Party-against patronage system
Economic Protest Parties
Example: The Greenback Party-
against gov’t regulation of $
Ideological Parties
Example: Libertarian
Party-rights of the individual
Types of Minor Parties
Single-issue Parties
Example: Free Soil Party-eliminate slavery
Why are Minor Parties important?
Minor parties play several important roles:“Spoiler Role”
CriticInnovator
The Decentralized Nature of the Parties
Both of the major parties are highly decentralized and fragmented.
Why?
Reasons for Party Decline
Mistrust of Government Independents (Divided Government) Split Ticket Voting “Open” Primaries Technology End of Patronage All of the above leads to… Electoral Independence!!
GerrymanderDone EVERY ten yearsand controlled by State Legislatures…that are controlledby…You guessed it, a POLITICAL PARTY!• Check OUT Redistricting Game• Most Gerrymandered Districts
Reasons for Nonvoting:
Institutional Reasons (political): Barriers due to some aspect of the law.
Psychological Reasons (emotional): The feeling that voting does not matter.
Institutional Reasons The date and day The hours the polls are open The number of voting booths The length/style of ballot/voting
methods Registration (a “two-step
process”) Declaring a party choice (for
primaries only) Others???
Extending Suffrage
1. During the early 1800s, religious, property, and tax payment qualifications were gradually eliminated.
2. The 15th Amendment (1870) was intended to end race-based voting requirements.
3. In 1920, the 19th Amendment prohibited the denial of the right to vote because of sex.
4. The 1960s:
The 1960’s and 70’s • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 guaranteed the right to
vote for minorities.
• The 23rd Amendment (1961) granted citizens of the District of Columbia the right to vote for presidential electors.
• The 24th Amendment (1964) eliminated the poll tax.
The 26th Amendment (1971) lowered the voting age to 18.
Motor-Voter Law of 1993
National Voter Registration Act Signed by President Bill Clinton
Required uniform registration process Accessible at DMV’s, schools, libraries, disability
centers Mail-in registration
The Direct Primary
Nonpartisan Primary
Candidates are not identified by
party labels
Runoff Primary
If a required majority is not met, the two
people with the most votes run
again
Closed Primary
Only declared party
members can vote for a
specific party
Open Primary
Any Qualified voter can
take part-still can only vote for one party
Types of Direct Primaries
The Process
Primaries-Starts January (Iowa Caucus Jan. 3rd ) of Election year
National Party Convention-Summer of election year
Campaign Season-August to November General Election-first Tuesday after first
Monday in November Electoral College-meets in December to
officially and constitutionally elect Jan. 6th- President of Senate officially counts
electoral votes Jan. 20th- President is inaugurated
The Electoral College
While state laws determine how electors are chosen, they are generally selected by the political party committees within the states.
Voters actually vote for electors who then select the president.
There are currently 538 electors and the votes of a majority of them -- 270 votes -- are required to be elected.
States with larger populations get more Electoral College votes.
Regulating Campaign Financing Early campaign regulations were created in 1907, but feebly
enforced. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 was passed
to replaced the former, ineffective legislation. The FECA Amendments of 1974 were passed in response to the
Watergate scandal. The 1974 amendment also set up the Federal Election
Commission and established public funding of presidential elections. Two additional amendments (1976, 1979) were aimed at regulating PACs and boosting the level of party participation.
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do http://opensecrets.org/overview/topcontribs.asp?cycle=2008
Coining the term Swiftboating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Zk9YmED48
527 Groups Show 527 clip
Current Campaign Finance Limits 2012
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/contriblimits.shtml
More on the Future…
For candidates: Structural changes have increased conflict
and disorganization within parties Changes in the technology of
campaigning, especially the use of television and the Internet, have made candidates more independent of the party organization
The growth of single-issue organizations provides candidates with another source of financial support