Political Parties Notes

POLITICAL PARTIES

Political Party - “A team of men and women seeking to control

the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.”

Parties can be thought of in three parts -

• Party in the electorate
• Party as an organization
• Party in government

Tasks of parties -

• Linkage institutions - The channels through which

  people’s concerns become political issues on the

  government’s policy agenda.

• Parties do the following:

  • Pick candidates
  • Run campaigns
  • Give cues to voters
  • Articulate policies
  • Coordinate policymaking

IMPACT ON VOTING

Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model

Rational Choice Theory - Assumes that individuals act

in their own interest, weighing the pros and cons.

Rational Choice - Voting based on what is perceived

to be in a citizen’s individual interest.

Retrospective Voting - Voting to decide whether

the party or candidate in power should be re-elected

based on the recent past.

Prospective Voting - Voting based on predictions of

how a party or candidate will perform in the future.

Party-Line Voting - Supporting a party by voting for

candidates from one political party for all public offices

at the same level of government.

The party in the electorate - Voters of the election.

Ticket splitting - Voting for candidates of different parties.

PARTY ORGANIZATION

Party Organization - These are the people

who work for the party.

• National: national convention, national

  chairpersons, national committee

• State: State central committees and state

  conventions, Congressional district committees

• Local: City and county committees, Precinct and

  ward committees, Party activists and volunteers,

  Party Identifiers and voters

Local Parties -

• Party Machines: A type of political party

  organization that heavily rely on material

  inducements to win votes and to govern.

• Patronage: A job, promotion, or contract given for

  political reason rather than merit. Used by party machines.

• Now, local organizations are generally weak.

The 50 state party systems -

• Closed Primary - Voters must be registered with their

  party in advance and can only vote for that party.

• Open Primary - Voters decide on election day which party

  to participate in, and then only vote for that party.

• Blanket Primary - Voters get a list of all candidates and

  can vote for one name in each office, regardless of party label.

THE PARTY ORGANIZATIONS

The National Party Organizations -

• National convention: The meeting of party delegates

  every four years to choose a presidential ticket and

  write the party’s platform.

• National Committee: One of the institutions that keep

  the party operating between conventions.

• National Chairperson

Promises and Policy -

• The party members who are actually elected into government.
• Candidates are less dependent on parties to get
• elected, but they still need help.
• Parties and politicians generally do what they will do.

Similarities of Majority Parties -

• All value personal rights and freedoms
• Educational opportunities for all
• Economic opportunities for all
• Government duty to protect the nation
• Preserve environment
• Help citizens

EXAMPLE OF SIMILARITIES/DIFFERENCES

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Party Eras - Historical periods in which a majority

of voters cling to the party in power.

Critical Election - An electoral “earthquake” where

new issues and new coalitions emerge.

Party Realignment - The displacement of the majority

party by the minority party, usually during a critical election.

Coalition - A set of individuals or groups supporting

the party is formed for each party and the coalition

endures for many years.

1796 - 1824 - The First party System: Madison warned

of factions. The first party was the Federalist party.

1828 - 1856 - Jackson and the

Democrats versus the Whigs: Modern Democratic

party was founded by Jackson. The Whigs were formed

mainly in opposition to the Democrats.

1860 - 1928 - The Two Republican Eras: Republicans

rose as the antislavery party. The 1896 election revolved

around the gold standard.

1932 - 1964 - The New Deal Coalition: Forged by the

Democrats. It relied upon urban working class, ethnic

groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, and Southerners.

1968 to Present - The Era of a Divided Party Government:

• Party dealignment - Disengagement of people from parties
• Party neutrality - People are indifferent towards the two parties

PARTY SYSTEMS

Third Party Types:

• Promote certain causes (ex. Prohibition Party)

• Splinter Parties (ex. TR’s Progressive Party)

• Extension of popular individuals with presidential

  aspirations (ex. Perot’s Reform Party)

IMPACT OF MINOR POLITICAL PARTIES

Third Parties and their impact on American politics -

• Political parties other than Democrat or Republican
• Rarely win elections
• Effect electoral college vote
• Bring new groups and people into politics
• Two-party system discourages extreme views
• New issues brought to the political agenda

Ex. Populist Party Reform (Omaha Platform 1892) -

• Graduated income tax
• Secret ballot
• Direct popular election of US senators
• 8 hour workday
• Government ownership of telegraph, railroad, and telephone
• The candidate was James Weaver, who received 22 electoral votes

Winner-takes-all System - Legislative seats are awarded

only to first place finishers. This can result in political

ambiguity and parties cling to a centrist position.

Proportional Representation - Legislative seats are awarded

based on votes received by the party. The more votes,

the more seats given to the party.

Coalition Government - Two or more parties join

together to run the government.

Although there are many minor parties in the United States,

only the two major parties have a real chance to win elections.

Multiparty systems are almost always found in countries that

have a parliamentary government, in contrast to our presidential system.

BARRIERS TO MINOR PARTY SUCCESS

DEMOCRACY AND RESPONSIBLE PARTY GOVERNMENT

The way parties are supposed to be:

1. Parties have distinct comprehensive programs.
2. Candidates are committed to the program.
3. Majority party must carry out its program.
4. Majority party must accept responsibility.

Individualism and Gridlock -

• Easier to pass the buck than bite the bullet
• Lack of uniformity, even in parties

American Political Parties and

the Scope of Government -

• Lack of uniformity keeps the government small.
• But, it also makes cutting government programs harder to do.

So, are parties over? They are no longer the chief source

of information for voters. But, state and national party

organizations are getting stronger. The majority of people

still identify with a party, yet still split their tickets.