Political Participation and the Dynamics of Political Parties Study Guide

Definition and Role of Political Parties

Meaning of a Political Party: A political party is defined as a team of individuals (men and women) seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office through duly constituted elections.
Objective: Parties put candidates up for office with the specific hope that a victory will allow them to impact the government and the policy-making process.
The Three-Part Structure of Parties: * Party in the Electorate: Refers to the party as it exists among the voters themselves. * Party as an Organization: Refers to the internal structure that operates to build unity and maintain party functions once formed. * Party in the Government: Refers to the organization of people belonging to the same party who hold public office and serve as part of the government body.

Essential Tasks of Political Parties

Selecting Candidates: Parties are responsible for choosing individuals to run for public office, ranging from local county commission races to the presidency.
Running Campaigns: Parties provide the necessary infrastructure for elections, including staff, volunteers, financial assistance, and professional expertise to ensure their candidates win.
Giving Cues to Voters: Parties provide information to educate voters on how they should vote and which specific issues they should support or oppose.
Articulating Policies: Parties provide guidance on internal positions regarding various public policies and attempt to garner public support for those specific stances.
Coordinating Policymaking: Once officials are elected, the party helps coordinate the positions of those officials on various issues to impact the broader policy-making process.

Political Ideology and Voter Behavior Models

The Nolan Chart: This is a tool used to divide political views along two vectors: * Personal Freedom. * Economic Freedom.
Dominant Ideology Model: This model suggests that voters are persuaded by dominant groups and institutions (governments, parties, business interests) to accept ideologies sympathetic to those groups. It includes categories such as: * Liberal. * Communitarian. * Libertarian. * Conservative.
Rational Choice Model: Voting based on a citizen’s perceived self-interest; individuals vote based on what they believe is best for them personally.
Retrospective Voting: Voting based on the recent past. It asks the question: "Should the party in power be re-elected based on their performance?" * Example: President Trump asking voters, ‐Are you better off today than you were $4$ years ago?‑
Prospective Voting: Voting based on predictions of how a candidate or party will perform in the future. * Example: Joe Biden asking voters to look ahead at prospects under his leadership versus a re-elected Donald Trump.
Party-Line Voting (Straight Ticket Voting): The practice of voting for one political party for all offices on a ballot. * Current status: This is considered unusual in modern times; the majority of the public does not engage in party-line voting.

Party Identification and Membership

Definition: Party identification is a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party based on which party aligns closest to their preferences.
Psychological Membership: Membership is often psychological rather than formal.
Current Trends: * More Americans now identify as Republican than Democrat. * However, the vast majority of Americans ( > 50 ext{%} ) identify as Independents, falling in the middle of the spectrum rather than the far right or left.

National Party Machinery and Organization

Hierarchy: Organizations exist at the National, State, and Local/County levels.
Scale of Organization: * There are $50$ state parties for both Democrats and Republicans. * Example: In Michigan, there are $83$ counties, each with its own Democrat and Republican party organization. * There are approximately $3,000$ to $4,000$ party organizations at the county level across the United States.
National Party Convention: Meets every $4$ years to: * Write the National Party Platform (standing positions on issues like climate change, the economy, and foreign relations). * Make formal nominations for the presidency.
National Committee: Operates between conventions and is led by a National Chairperson. * Democratic Chairperson: Tom Perez. * Republican Chairperson: Ronna Romney McDaniel.
$2016$ Internal Party Conflict: An unusual situation where both national parties worked against their own candidates. * The Republican National Committee held meetings and ran commercials to try to defeat Donald Trump. * Leaked emails confirmed the Democratic National Committee worked against Bernie Sanders in favor of Hillary Clinton.

Nomination Processes: Caucuses and Primaries

Caucuses: A meeting where local members register preference by ‐voting with their feet.‑ * Example: The Iowa caucus involves representatives giving $3$ to $5$ minute speeches, followed by attendees physically moving to areas of a room to support their candidate. Counts are recorded on paper for official records.
Primaries: A traditional approach where voters cast a ballot. * Open Primary: Any registered voter can vote in either party's primary (e.g., Michigan). * Closed Primary: Voters must be registered with a specific party to vote in that party's primary (e.g., Indiana). * Blanket Primary: Voters receive a list of all candidates and can vote for one name per office regardless of party label. * Crossover Vote: Organizing members of one party to vote in the opposition's primary to knock out the strongest candidate (noted as generally unsuccessful).

Comparative Systems and Coalitions

Multiparty Systems: Common in other countries, requiring the formation of a Coalition (multiple parties working together). * Pros: Increased choice and broader representation of views. * Cons: Instability; if a coalition fails, a ‐no confidence‑ vote can trigger a leadership turnover.
Party Coalitions: Generalizations of how groups vote based on ethnicity, religion, labor union status, and income. * Current data is often based on $2012$ ; potential Party Realignment may be occurring following the $2016$ and upcoming $2020$ elections.

Delegate Allocation: Winner-Take-All vs. Proportional

Winner-Take-All: A candidate who wins the primary by even a single vote receives all the electors/delegates for that state. * Example: Florida has $29$ electors. If a candidate wins by one vote, they take all $29$ . This was a major controversy in the election of George W. Bush after winning Florida by a small margin. * In the Republican $2016$ context, Trump won all electors in certain scenarios even with only 45 ext{%} of the vote because he had the most votes among multiple candidates.
Proportional System: Electors are awarded in proportion to the percentage of the vote received. * Example: In the $2016$ Kansas caucus, Bernie Sanders won 67 ext{%} of the popular vote and received 67 ext{%} of the electors; Hillary Clinton won approximately $rac{1}{3}$ of the vote and received $rac{1}{3}$ of the electors.

The Impact of Minor (Third) Parties

Types of Minor Parties: Ideological, single-issue, economic, protest, and splinter parties.
Methods of Impact: * Co-option: Major parties adopt the successful issues of third parties. * Example: Hillary Clinton adopting Bernie Sanders' platform of ‐free college for everyone‑ in $2016$ . * Example: Ross Perot in the $1980$ s ran on eliminating the national debt; the Republican party subsequently adopted this issue. * Siphoning/Spoiling: Third-party candidates can siphon off 3 ext{%} to 4 ext{%} of the vote from a major candidate, which is often enough to tip the election outcome to the opposite party.

Challenges to Responsible Party Government

Responsible Party Model: Ideally, parties have distinct programs, candidates are committed to them, and the majority party carries them out and accepts responsibility for the results.
Weak Party Leadership: Candidates often prioritize re-election over party loyalty. * Jeff Weber Example: If an Indiana officeholder finds that supporting the party's stance will cause them to lose their seat according to internal polling, they will go against the party to ensure re-election. * Personal Beliefs: Examples include Pro-Choice Republicans or Pro-Life Democrats who vote based on personal conviction or district popularity rather than party platform.
Passing the Buck: A term used when parties/officials refuse to take responsibility for failures.
Gridlock and Program Persistence: Once a government program is established, it is extremely difficult to cut because specialized interests will push back against its removal.

The Future of Political Parties

Information Sources: Parties are no longer the chief source of information; voters now utilize social media and other digital platforms.
Membership vs. Voting: While many identify with a party, a majority of people ‐split their vote‑ and do not vote straight ticket.
Persistence: Despite these changes, political parties are expected to remain for a long time due to their essential functions in the electoral process.