Parties and Interest Groups

What is a Political Party?

  • Political Party Definition: A group of officials or would-be officials linked to a sizable group of citizens, organized to ensure its officials gain or retain power, implementing the party's preferred policies (influenced by ideology).
  • Purpose: To implement the party’s preferred policies – influenced by ideology. parties function to link and lead citizens.

Common Sense and American Unity

  • Thomas Paine advocated for American unity, urging citizens to move beyond Whig and Tory labels and unite as friends and supporters of the rights of mankind and the independent states of America.

Perpetual Union

  • Problem with the Articles of Confederation:
    • Limits on the central government led to weakness.
    • The government couldn't enforce funding requests or compel states to provide troops.
    • It struggled to pay soldiers and fulfill pension promises.
  • Factionalization: Recognition of these problems led to the first major political factionalization of the newly independent United States.
    • Federalists: Advocated for fundamental reform, creating a stronger central government.
    • Anti-federalists: Believed this would infringe on the freedoms of states and individuals.
  • Relevant Questions Today: The size and scope of government, military size, taxation, federalism (state’s rights), and limits on government.

Political Parties in America

  • Americans have organized into parties since the founding, contrary to the founders' wishes.

Why Parties?

  • Parties consist of individuals who agree to work together for common goals or mutual benefit.
  • They create a workable majority.
  • They unite and organize individuals.
  • Parties operate on a principle of reciprocity.
  • Parties provide a “brand” shortcut for voters.
  • They enforce brand norms.
  • They provide ready-made advice, support, and money.

The Party Brand

  • Brands identify groups, and these groups work to maintain brand value.
  • Parties often expel out-of-line members to protect the brand.

Michel’s “Iron Law of Oligarchy”

  • Robert Michels argued that political parties will always betray their original purpose.
  • The fact of leadership and a party hierarchy creates a group with a distinct set of values.
  • Leaders deal with the opposition daily.
  • Leaders tend to be successful people who benefit from the status quo.
  • The desire to grow the party leads to compromising core beliefs.

Party Identification in the USA

  • Trend in Party Identification (1992-2012):
    • Data shows trends in Republican, Democrat, and Independent affiliations.
    • Figures include leaners.

Profiles of Party Bases (2012)

  • The demographics of Republican and Democratic voters differ significantly across various categories, including gender, race, marital status, age, ideology, income, home ownership, religious affiliation, and geographic region.

American Two-Party System

  • The United States has two main political parties: Democrats and Republicans.
  • They have relative power in the US and California.
  • They advocate for different policies.

Republican Party

  • Friends' Perspective: Low taxes, strong national defense, traditional religion and family life, conservative ideology.
  • Enemies' Perspective: (Not provided in transcript)

Democratic Party

  • Friends' Perspective: Protecting the safety net, liberal internationalism, open to nontraditional religions and families, progressive ideology.
  • Enemies' Perspective: (Not provided in transcript)

Interest Groups

  • Definition: An organized group of citizens whose central political goal is to ensure that the state follows certain policies.
  • They often work with political parties but are not parties themselves.

How Interest Groups Influence Policy

  • Lobbying: Communicating with politicians to persuade them.
  • Expertise: Providing legislators with specialized knowledge.
  • Model Legislation: Providing ready-made bills for legislators.
  • Politician Ratings: Informing voters about politicians' alignment with the group's policies.
  • Money: Campaign contributions and boycotts.
  • Votes: Influencing members' votes through campaigns and endorsements.
  • Litigation: Challenging laws in court.

Types of Interest Groups

  • Sectoral Groups: Corporations or unions influencing policy related to their industry.
  • Institutional Groups: Universities or the army benefiting from government budgets.
  • Promotional Groups: Organized around a point of view, operating like “third parties.”

Examples of Interest Groups

  • National Organization for Women
  • Sierra Club
  • National Association of Wheat Growers
  • Consumer Action
  • National Retail Federation
  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • National Rifle Association
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science

Why Small Interests Often Win

  • Free Rider Problem: Many winners, but no one wants to bear the cost.
  • Concentrated Benefits, Diffuse Costs: Benefits concentrated among a few, while costs are spread widely.

Interest Groups & Parties

  • Both parties in the United States are supported by interest groups.
  • Opensecrets.org lists donors and contributors for politicians.

Interest Groups: Definition

  • “workhorses of political advocacy” alternate vehicle for representation
  • Barriers to effectiveness: poor organization, priority voices (“disproportionate voices”), interest distortion
  • Variation: (a) degree of organization (b) degree of direct involvement in government

Collective Action

  • Logic of Collective Action: collective goods vs. costs factors that could draw membership to interest groups
  • Factors that could draw membership to interest groups: size, selective incentives, coercion, relative muscle

Mechanics

  • Two variations of relationship between government and interest groups
  • PLURALISM: competitive political environment, level playing field for competing interest groups
  • NEO-CORPORATISM: government solicits and institutionalizes some voices, some interest groups preferential treatment