Political Parties (11)

Political Party

An organized group that attempts to control the government by electing its members to office

Taxes

Abortion

Gun control

Education

Military spending

Social programs

National budget

Tariffs

Political preferences

Lower Taxes

Pro-life

Fewer fun restrictions

Education choice

High military spending

Focus on the home

Lower national debt

Pro-/anti- Tariffs

Republican Party preferences

Higher taxes

Pro-choice

More gun restrictions

Federal education support

Diplomacy

Pro social programs

Increase national spending for social programs

Pro/anti tariffs

Democratic Party preferences

Political parties provide an umbrella for people with similar-ish preferences to _______________________.

Win elections together

(True/False) Political parties are meant to perfectly represent you.

False

What do political parties do?

1. Recruiting candidates

2. Nominating candidates

3. Getting out the vote

4. Facilitating electoral choice

5. Influencing (national) government

(True/False) Parties have an influence on recruiting candidates.

True

Nomination

The process by which political parties select their candidates for election to public office

Nomination by Convention

Party delegates decide/choose who represents the party.

Nominated by Primary Election

Party members vote on who represents the party.

Closed primary

Only voters who have registered affiliation with the party can participate

Open primary

Voters can choose on election day which primary to participate in (can only vote in one primary)

Nomination by Caucus

Local meetings determine who represents at the convention

Primary Election/Caucus/Convention

Preliminary rounds to determine the one representative for the party

General election

The final round between the single representative from every party

Two paths to the General Election

1. Primary elections to General

2. Caucus meeting to Convention to General Election

(True/False) People love political parties.

False. Obviously false. Lol.

Split-ticket voting

When you vote for one party in the presidential race and another party in the House race. Or also House/Senate races.

Majoritarian Electoral System

Single member districts with plurality winners

Combined Electoral System

Sometimes one chamber majoritarian, one proportional

Proportional Electoral System

Based on percentages

Duverger’s Law

The simple-majority single-ballot system favors the two-party system.

(True/False) Third Party candidates make winning harder.

True

Why Duverger’s Law is true

Voters don’t want to waste their vote

Parties and candidates work hard to adapt and bring back dissenters.

(True/False) People rely on heuristics.

True

Political parties provide an umbrella for people with a “brand label” for voters to know…

who are the similar-ish candidates to themselves.

Governors

President

State legislators

Members of Congress

Legislative Leaders

Legislative Caucuses

Party-in-Government

Voters

Donors

Activists

“Party base”

“Grassroots”

Party-in-Electorate

National-, state-, and county-level party organizations that recruit candidates, formulate platforms, register and mobilize voters, fundraise, and promote party goals

Party-as-organization

Party in Congress

• Majority party picks the Speaker of the House

• Parties organize the committee system

Party and the Presidency

• President nominates heads of the executive branch, usually from his party

• President cannot introduce legislation and must work closely with his party in Congress to get his proposals on the floor

Party and the Judiciary

• Judges do not meet in a formal capacity in party meetings

• Presidents nominate federal judges and consider partisanship

Assisted appointment

• Judicial nominating commission gives list to governor

• Governor selects

• Senate approves

• Yes/no retention election

PartyID as a psychological attachment

• Socialization happens early on and then persists/is hard to change

• First few presidential elections can shape young voters

PartyID as an ideological attachment to policy positions

When certain ideological ideas are really important to you

PartyID as reaction to political experiences

How have events someone has gone through affected their political opinions?

Coalition

A group effort or a population of people coming together who believe strongly in their cause

Using race & ethnicity to build party coalitions

• Black voters more likely to be Democratic

• White & Asian voters more likely to be Republican

• More variation across Hispanic and Latino voters

Using gender to build party coalitions

Gender gap

Men more likely to be Republican

Women more likely to be Democratic

Gender gap

The distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflection differences in views between men and women

Using religion to build party coalitions

Protestants and LDS more likely to be Republican

Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, and agnostics more likely to be Democratic

Using income to build party coalitions

Upper-income more likely to be Republican

Lower-income more likely to be Democratic

Using age to build party coalitions

Older more likely to be Republican (based on with)

Group cohort political experiences

Party Committees

Organized groups of active party members at different levels of government to coordinate party activities

Raise funds

Claim voter territory

Enhance the party’s media image

Give candidates funding

Give candidates potential donor information

Provide names of experienced campaign officials

Roles of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) (and also similar organizations at state and local levels)

Party system

The coalition of groups that attach to each major political party

Realignment

When who is part of each political party drastically changes

The First Party System

1790s - 1824

Federalists & Democratic-Republicans

Party-in-Gov

“King Caucus”

• Promoted commercial and manufacturing interests following the British economic model

• Wanted a strong central government—stronger even than provided for by the Constitution

The Hamilton Faction (Federalists)

• Wanted to see states rights protected and in the Constitution

• Wanted to protect the interests of farmers, tradesmen, and agrarian states in general, and supported diplomatic relations with France

Republicans (Democratic-Republicans)

War of 1812 (USA v Britain)

The Federalists were on the wrong side & there were charges of treason, which weakened their party

The last Federalist to run for president (1816)

Rufus King. He lost to James Monroe.

The “Era of Good Feelings” (1816-1830s)

Only one major political party that ran for anything, until interparty drama eventually led to the creation of another party

Populist

A person, especially a politician, who strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups

Jacksonian Politics

Andrew Jackson was a populist, with a base with the ordinary agrarian American

• Built political clubs and held mass rallies to drum up popular support

The Election of 1824

In 1824, four Democratic-Republicans ran for president, even though Crawford won the caucus vote. No one received a majority of the electoral votes, so the House selected the winner. Although Jackson had the most votes, the House chose John Quincy Adams — helped by Henry Clay — which outraged Jackson’s supporters and led to claims of a “corrupt bargain.”

The Election of 1828

State legislature picked candidates instead. There was a dramatic and dirty rematch between Adams and Jackson, which Jackson won.

Second Party System

1824 - 1860s

Democrats & Whigs

Party-as-org

Whigs

• Strongest support in the Northeast and among merchants

• Similar to the Federalists (natural opponents to the Democrats)

• Policies: Favored a national bank, a protective tariff, and federally-funded infrastructure like roads and canals

Why “Whigs”

The name was implicitly comparing President Jackson to King George III

Election of 1840

• General William Henry Harrison won

• First time in US history that two parties competed for the presidency in every state of the Union

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Gave each western territory the right to decide on slavery

In opposition to KNA, Republican party forms (anti-slavery party). How were the people broken up?

• Pro-slavery voters went to the Democratic party

• Anti-slavery voters went to the Republican party

• Whigs disintegrated

Election of 1860

Lincoln wins the presidency

When was the American Civil War?

April 1861 - May 1865

What did the Republican party stand for during the Civil War Era?

• Anti-slavery

• Appealed to businesses: promised a protective tariff and a transcontinental railway

• Offered small farmers cheap land to promote western expansion

Reconstruction Era (after the Civil War)

• Federal government had a strong presence

• Reconstruction amendments

• Republicans wanted to make the South Republican by giving the right to vote to newly freed enslaved persons

1870s when Reconstruction Collapsed

• Jim Crow era was ushered in

• White voters regained votes and dominance

• South became Democratic, North was Republican

What was also happening in the Third Party System?

Party Machines

Party Machines

• Party-in-Organization was VERY strong

• Local party leaders provided jobs, money, gifts, activities, etc to supporters

• Worked very well in areas with lots of European immigrants who didn’t have experience with US politics

Third Party System

1860s - 1890s

Slavery schism

GOP

Rise of Party Machines

Fourth Party System

1890s - 1930s

Class politics

GOP strength

Progressive reforms

Reasons Trial-and-Error Primaries didn’t last

• Cost of running

• Low voter turnout

• Candidates campaigning for primary was seen as a sign of weakness

• Delegates not bound by election outcomes

New group up for grabs after the industrial revolution

Wage laborers

Republicans and Democrats in the Fourth Party System

• Republicans leaned towards corporations and businesses

• Democrats struggled for whether they should lean towards independent farmers and tradesmen, or adopt populist appeals the wage laborers wanted

William Jennings Bryan

Urged the Democratic Party to embrace the wage labor class

How well did the Democratic Party do from 1896-1932

Not well at all

• Republicans won almost every election

• Exception: Woodrow Wilson won 1913-1921 because of Bull Moose Party split between Roosevelt and Taft

• Southern Ds focused on keeping their control on race issues

Fifth Party System

1930s-late century

New Deal coalition and Dem strength

Who was blamed when Wall Street Crashed in October 1929?

Republicans

How did FDR rise to power?

Making new, unexpected coalition

• Unionized workers & poor farmers

• Upper-middle-class intellectuals and professionals

• Religion: Jews, Catholics, Baptists

• Northern Black Americans

How well did the Democratic Party do from 1935-1965?

Very well. Democrats has control of Congress and the presidency almost continuously for 30 years.

What broke up the Democrats 30-year streak?

Social change in the 1960s

• Johnson’s Great Society initiative

• Civil Rights movement: northern Democrats v. southern Democrats

• Vietnam War: liberals opposed war efforts

Johnson’s Great Society initiative

Gave power to local groups that were at odds with city and county governments

Sixth Party System

1968 - Present

Southern realignment

Moral issues

Polarization

In the 1960s, Republicans targeted disaffected White voters

People in the South switched from not liking the Republican party because it was Lincoln’s party to liking it because it was the party that was supporting segregation efforts.

Deep social divides since 1968

• Abortion: 1973 Roe v. Wade

• Feminism and Women’s Rights (1970s)

• Same-sex marriage and trans rights (1990s - 2010s)

Effect of the deep social divides since 1960s

Drove a lot of religious conservatives to the Republican party

Party shifts happen _________, but looking back they are ______ and _______.

gradually ; clear ; major

Overview of the Six Historical Party Systems

1: First Party System (Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans)
2: Second Party System (Jacksonian Democrats, expansion of suffrage for white men)
3: Third Party System (Whigs vs. Democrats, internal improvements debates)
4: Fourth Party System (Post-Civil War, Republican dominance)
5: Fifth Party System (FDR’s New Deal, strong federal role)
6: Sixth Party System (Social issues, Southern realignment to Republican Party)

How Democrats generally feel about each of the following categories:

• Government services

• Economy

• Environment

• Social issues

• Civil rights

• Foreign Policy

• Strong safety nets, even if it means higher taxes

• Protect labor and the public, even if it means more rules

• More protection, even at the cost of growth

• More permissiveness and tolerance, less regulation of morality

• Help minorities overcome problems caused by past discrimination

• More diplomacy, cooperation, and aid

How Republicans generally feel about each of the following categories:

• Government services

• Economy

• Environment

• Social issues

• Civil rights

• Foreign Policy

• Lower taxes, even if it means fewer programs

• Fewer rules means innovation can lead to prosperity

• More growth, even if it hurts the environment

• Promote traditional morality and social roles

• Treat all groups the same today, regardless of past conditions

• More strength and deterrence

(True or False) Parties are always consistent on all levels.

False. Sometimes they’re not to fit local circumstances.

The gender gap refers to the tendency of ________ to favor Democrats, whereas ________ favor Republicans.

women ; men

How are a party’s candidates for House and Senate elections selected?

Nomination through a primary election

Which party system might you be in if the two dominant parties are the Democrats and the Republicans?

One of the party systems 3-6.

How are the members of state and local party committees typically selected?

They are elected at a political caucus

(True or False) Over the past decade or so, the Republican Party has been especially successful at building a pipeline of promising candidates for higher office.

True

Match the political parties to their key issues during the First Party System

• Protective Tariffs

• Creation of national bank

• Promotion of agricultural interests

• Federalists

• Federalists

• Democratic-Republicans

What is the primary method parties use to translate goals into concrete policies?

Electing sympathetic members to office