POLITICAL PARTIES

Chapter 8

Goal of Political Parties:

• TO GET CANDIDATES ELECTED!– To mobilize voters and their

funds in an effort to win office• Founding Fathers felt they

were unnecessary and feared factions (Federalist No. 10!)

• BUT … could our democracy exist without them?

Political Parties are Linkage Institutions:

• They link inputinput from the public with outputoutput from policy makers

• Four linkage institutions in U.S.:– Political Parties– Elections– Interest Groups– The Media

Five Common Functions of All Political Parties :

• Nominate candidates• Run campaigns• Provide a party image• Advocate specific

policies• Coordinate

policymaking and its implementation

• Which function is most important to parties?

Are America’s two parties extreme in their differences?

Purpose ofPolitical Parties:

• A “beacon in the fog of politics….”– A group of like-minded individuals

seeking control of government & policy making

• Three major components of Political Parties (3-headed Political Giant):1.Party in the Electorate

1. that means us … the voters!

2.Party Organization1. National, state, and local levels

3.Party in Government• People in office, the policymakers

1. Party in the Electorate:– Those who identify with the

party•Only about 60% of the public

– Voluntary membership in U.S.– What do you do to join? Any

dues?– Recent trends in party

affiliation?• What is “Ticket-splitting?”

– A ballot cast for candidates of two or more political parties

• Generalizations for Democrats:– Younger– Females; Minorities– Upper East Coast (New

England)– West Coast (mostly Democrat)

• Generalizations for Republicans:– Generally, higher education

levels (BUT…independents have most college)

– Male– South & Midwest

Party Affiliation:

January 31, 2011Republican Democrat Other R - D Quarterly

2011Jan 35.4% 35.0% 29.6% 0.4%

2010Dec 37.0% 33.7% 29.3% 3.3% 0.6%Nov 36.0% 34.7% 29.3% 1.3%Oct 33.4% 36.3% 30.3% -2.9%Sept 33.1% 34.6% 32.3% -1.5% -2.1%Aug 33.8% 35.0% 31.1% -1.2%July 31.8% 35.4% 32.8% -3.6%June 33.0% 35.4% 31.6% -2.4% -3.3%May 32.0% 35.1% 32.8% -3.1%Apr 31.6% 36.0% 32.5% -4.4%Mar 32.9% 36.2% 30.9% -3.3% -3.1%Feb 32.1% 35.1% 32.9% -3.0%Jan 32.3% 35.4% 32.3% -3.1%

2.Party Organization– Party professionals in national,

state, local day-to-day operations whose goal is to select candidates, build platforms, win elections

– National organization is also referred to as the “National Committee”

Late 1800s Party Organization –Local Urban Political Machines

• PATRONAGE RULED!– What is it?– Another phrase for it?

• Urban city machines such as Boss Tweed’s Tammany Ring in NY used to be the primary political party organization

• Mayor Daley of Chicago– Last survivor of city

machines

Party Organization – States:

• Each state manages its own party operation– Decentralized & fragmentedDecentralized & fragmented

• 3 Types of State Primaries:– Open

•Voters can decide on the day of the election which party’s to vote in

– Closed•Only registered party voters can

vote

– Blanket•All voters – all candidates – can

pick some of each party

Party Platforms:

• Democratic Platform– Views on Economy/Taxes?

Healthcare? Environment? Defense? Social Issues?

• Republican Platform• Views on Economy/Taxes?

Healthcare? Environment? Defense? Social Issues?

• Libertarian Platform?• Green Platform?

3. Party in Government– Those who are elected or

appointed to office as members of a political party

VOTER TURNOUT

• Was on the decline from 1964 to 2000:– Larger electorate; more mobile– Party dealignment and less party mobilization– Rising apathy and lack of trust in gov’t…

WHY?WHY?

• Rising from 2000 – 2008 (62%) ….. BUT dropped in 2012 (57%)

• Higher in P elections though than midterm Congressional elections – why?– Greater media interest generated &

more info available about P candidates– More money spent on campaigns– National party conventions

Party Eras in U.S. History

• U.S. has typically been a 2 party nation whereas most democratic nations are multi-party with real differences between those parties

• Does a “2 party system” mean that there are only 2 parties?– No… means that 2 parties continually

win the P and most of seats in Congress

• Party eras are typical in U.S. history

• Each party era is noted by:– a critical election and– party realignment

First Party Era: 1796-1824Development of Parties

• Federalists– Alexander Hamilton– 1st & shortest-lived party– Capitalists / bankers, merchants, etc.– John Adams is only Federalist P

• Democratic-Republicans– Jefferson, Madison, Monroe– Agrarian interests– Torn apart by factionalism after Federalists die out

Second Party Era: 1828-1860Rise of the Democrats

• Andrew Jackson & Democrats– Common man, farmers,

universal male suffrage

• Whigs were Anti-Jackson party– Henry Clay, northern

industrialists– only 2 Whig Ps were aging war

heroes (William Henry Harrison & Zachary Taylor)

Third Party Era#1: 1860-1896Rise of the Republicans

• Anti-slavery party; replace Whigs

• Democrats only control South

Third Party Era#2: 1896-1932Republican Dominance

• William McKinley v. William Jennings Bryan

• Gold standard vs. free silver• Industry, urban dominance• “Grand Old Party” – GOP (Thomas Nast)

Fourth Party Era: 1932-1964Democratic Dominance

• New Deal Coalition, FDR– City dwellers, immigrants, blue-collar, Jews, Catholics, blacks, southerners

• Great Society, LBJ – War on Poverty– Vietnam tore Dems apart

& opened door forRepublicans in 1968 – Nixon

• Democrats have only 3 P wins since 1964 – Who?

Fifth Party Era: 1968-presentDivided GovernmentSouthern Realignment• One party controls one or both houses of

Congress, a different party as P• Nixon, both Bushes, Clinton (by ’94), Obama• South realigning to a GOP stronghold has helped

Republicans with majorities in Congress– 1987 GOP: 39 of South’s 116 House seats– 2007 GOP: 78 of South’s 131 House seats

• Ticket-splitting declined during the 90s BUT double what it was in the 50s

• Reagan made best use of “dealignment” by pulling conservative Democrats over to the Republican Party – “Reagan Democrats”

Characteristics andReasons for the 2-PartySystem:

• Multi-party systems dominate throughout the world other than in the U.S.– Great Britain, Germany, Israel….

• Moderation! – strong characteristic of 2 party system

• Historical reasons - controversies with two opposing points of view:– Ratification of Constitution– Power of Fed. over State Gov’t (Civil War)– Economic issues in 1900s (working class

v. middle/upper business class)

More reasons for the2-Party System:

System of political socializationChildren begin to think as Ds or Rs

Our electoral system!! Single member districts with a winner

take all form – single winners win with a plurality of the vote

Proportional representation elsewhere Works to the advantage of the major

parties and keeps out minor partiesState and federal laws favor the 2 parties

States make it easier for the 2 parties to get on the ballot; FECA only gives matching funds for D & R candidates for P

Majority vs. Proportional Representation

Single Member Districts (Majority Representation)

• State entitled to 10 reps in House

• State divided into 10 congressional districts

• Each district has an election and elects 1 rep

Proportional Representation

• Legislative seats awarded to parties in proportion to total # of votes they get in election

• State holds statewide election for its 10 seats

• Each party presents a rank-ordered slate of 10 candidates

• Candidates elected from the top of each list depending on proportion of votes party wins– so… if party won 30% of votes, its

top 3 candidates would be elected.

• Minor parties have a hard time competing

• Minor - THIRD - parties form because of a belief that certain needs & values are not being addressed by the 2 major parties.

THIRD PARTIES & THEIR IMPACT ON U.S. POLITICS

THIRD PARTIES &THEIR IMPACT ONU.S. POLITICS

TYPES OF THIRD PARTIES:

IDEOLOGICAL PARTIESIDEOLOGICAL PARTIES - support a particular belief or political doctrine Socialist Party founded 1901 –

dissolved in 1972 Green Party

Grassroots environmentalist organization, 1996 – Ralph Nader for P in 2000

Libertarian Party Laissez-faire economic capitalists,

1971

• ECONOMIC PROTEST PARTIES– Protesting some economic

development or issue– Best historical example is

farmers protesting bad economic times•The Populist Party

– The Tea Party movement?

• SPLINTER OR PERSONALITY SPLINTER OR PERSONALITY PARTIESPARTIES– Develop out of a split within

a major party (for ex., Teddy Roosevelt’s progressive bull moose party)

– And seem to be form around a leader with a strong personality (for ex., Ross Perot’s reform party)

What point do you think the cartoonist is making with this portrayal of 1912 presidential candidates Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft?

IMPACT OF THIRD PARTIES IMPACT OF THIRD PARTIES ON AMERICAN POLITICS:ON AMERICAN POLITICS:

• INNOVATOR:• Bring unpopular

or controversial issues to the public’s attention

• For example, the Free Soil Party and the issue of slavery

• CRITIC• Provide a voice

for voters who are frustrated with the Democrats & Republicans

• For example, Ross Perot’s reform party in ‘92 & ‘96

Continued….

• THE SPOILERS!• Affect election outcomes by splitting

the vote in one party and giving the victory to the other major party

• For example: Teddy Roosevelt’s Progressive Party in 1912 split the Republican vote and gave victory to the Democrats & Wilson– Perot in 1992….split Republicans– Nader in 2000….split Democrats

EXCEPTION TO THIRD PARTIES DON’T GET ELECTED:

• Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota

• Brought together left & right wing philosophies – pro-choice & pro-capital punishment

• Brought out a new voter – age 18 to 26

• Manipulated media to his advantage

• Former Pro-Wrestler

PROBLEMS FACED BY THIRD PROBLEMS FACED BY THIRD PARTIES:PARTIES:

• Americans’ habit of voting D or R

• Raising funds -- voters don’t like to donate $ to candidates they don’t believe can win

• Getting candidates on the ballots in all states

• Winner take-all format of our elections

NOTE:

INDEPENDENTSARE NOT A “THIRD PARTY”

PartyRealignment

• Realignment = a substantial number of voters switching party allegiance creating a long-term political change

• Associated with critical elections– 1896 when Republicans ascended to power– 1932 when Democrats became leading party

• Doesn’t have to mean a switch in dominance though and can take place over a number of years– Could have parties becoming equal … after election of

1860 and Civil War Rs and Ds equal in strength– Most recently, conservative southern Ds became

conservative southern Rs (started with Nixon’s southern strategy in 1968 but took years)

PartyDealignment

• Dealignment = a decline in party loyalties that reduces long-term party commitment

• From 1937 to present, there has been a rise in the number of independent voters

• Fall in support for the Democrats since the 1960s• Straight-ticket voting, nearly universal in the

early 1900s, mostly gone now.– Up to 40% split-ticket voting in recent elections

• BUT, “independent voters” may not be so independent after all – of 33% who claim to be indepencents, 11% persistently vote D and 12% consistently vote R

TIPPING

• When a group that is becoming more numerous over time grows large enough to change the political balance in a district, state, or country

• Immigration is one cause of this phenomenon• MA was a solidly R state until 1928….when D

Irish voters became dominant segment of population

• From ‘52 to ’92 , CA consistently supported R candidates for P when it voted for Clinton and no R has won there since….CA became a non-white majority state

• In America, most would be considered moderates of one view or the other, rather than true liberals or true conservatives.– Most actually vote according to what personally

benefits them the most, not a party ideology.

• Note: a ModerateModerate really isn’t an ideology, just a way to look at government problems and solutions.

• Are Americans ideologues? Shifting in the winds?

• Reagan era shift to the right. . .Clinton era shift to the left, then to the middle. . .Bush era – Right, Obama to the left…..any moving to middle?