Lecture 3 America's Two Party System

Party Systems Overview

One-Party System

  • Only one party allowed to exist.

  • Examples include the Soviet Union and China, dominated by the Communist Party.

  • Contested elections may occur, but one party typically dominates.

  • Historical example: Mexico under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (1929-2000).

Two-Party System

  • Two major parties compete with relatively equal chances of winning.

  • Third parties have limited opportunities to succeed.

  • Examples:

    • United States: Republican vs. Democrat.

    • United Kingdom: Conservative vs. Labour.

Two-Plus Party System

  • Features two major parties alongside one or more minor parties.

  • Example: Germany, with major parties being Christian Democratic (CDU) and Social Democratic (SDU), and minor parties including Free Democratic (FDP) and Alternative for Germany (AFD).

Multiple Party System

  • More than two parties compete, usually leading to political instability.

  • Governments often require coalitions to achieve a majority.

  • Examples include Israel and India.

The U.S. National System

Historical Dynamic

  • Dominated by a two-party system since the 1860s.

  • Current primary competition is between the Republican and Democrat parties.

Competitive Elections

  • Presidential elections often within a 10% margin of the popular vote.

  • Aggregate results may obscure district-specific outcomes.

Resilient System

  • Claims of a "permanent majority" have been made at various times, such as Republicans post-9/11 and Democrats during the early Obama administration.

  • Parties adapt by retooling messages and exploiting incumbent mistakes due to a great number of safe House seats that limit sweeping gains.

Austin-Ranney Index

  • Measures party strength using:

    • Percentage of popular vote for Governor.

    • Percentage of seats in each house of state legislature.

    • Percentage of time a party has unified government.

State System Competition

  • Generally balanced competition at the state level.

  • No clear "one-party" states, though some lean towards either Democrats or Republicans.

  • States like the South, Northeast, and Midwest show emerging competition.

Incumbency Advantages

  • Features of incumbency:

    • Name recognition enhances visibility.

    • Fundraising capabilities often exceed challengers.

    • Greater campaign experience leads to more successful bids.

    • Constituency service improves support by solving local issues.

Additional Incumbency Benefits

  • Pork-barrel spending: Funds allocated for district projects that create jobs.

  • Franking privilege: Allows incumbents to send newsletters at government expense.

Why the Two-Party System?

Duverger’s Law

  • Single-member districts promote a winner-take-all dynamic.

  • Plurality voting wins prevent third-party gains, contrasting with proportional representation systems.

Electoral College

  • Most state elections also operate on a winner-take-all basis, limiting third-party opportunities.

  • Demonstrated by Ross Perot's limited success in 1992 due to exclusion from mainstream candidate positioning.

Exclusion from Presidential Debates

  • Third-party candidates often excluded from debates, hindering visibility.

  • Example: Perot's credibility boosted by his appearance in 1992.

1996 Rule Change

  • Candidates required to achieve 15% support in five polls prior to a debate.

  • Led to Perot's exclusion and reduced visibility in subsequent elections.

Exclusion from Ballots

  • Ralph Nader’s presidential run in 2000 exemplified exclusion tactics, resulting in his absence from many ballots in 2004 due to challenges.

Dualist Theories

  • Issues tend to exhibit dual nature (e.g., federal vs. state authority), leading parties to coalesce around those themes.

  • Most Americans generally agree on core values, making it easier to compromise on divisive issues.

Types of Minority Parties

Offshoot Parties

  • Examples include the American Independent Party, which arose from the dissatisfaction among "Dixiecrats" with the Democratic Party's civil rights stance.

  • Such parties often reflect splits from major parties.

Farmer-Labor Parties

  • Focus on working-class issues, seen in the People’s Party originating from farmer unrest.

Ideological Protest Parties

  • Seek radical change and include parties like Socialist, Communist, and Libertarian.

Single-Issue Parties

  • Focus on specific issues such as the environment, exemplified by the Green Party.

Minority Parties in Elections

General Impact

  • Typically, third party and independent candidates struggle to win U.S. elections; notable exceptions include Jesse Ventura and Bernie Sanders.

  • They can serve as spoilers, affecting the outcome of major elections, such as Ralph Nader's influence in the 2000 election.

Why Support Third Parties?

  • Serve as policy advocates and raise awareness of specific issues.

  • Can pressure major parties to adopt positions or policies they initially opposed.

  • Provide a platform for protest votes, allowing constituents to express dissatisfaction without threatening the major parties.

Conclusion on the U.S. Two-Party System

  • The U.S. two-party system persists due to significant barriers:

    • Social, institutional, and financial factors.

Evaluation of the System

  • Negatives: Limited choices may lead to moderate policies; can result in citizen alienation and cynicism.

  • Positives: A stable government structure with more predictable governance.