UNIT THREE Political Parties and Interest Groups.
-
Upload
molly-paul -
Category
Documents
-
view
229 -
download
0
Transcript of UNIT THREE Political Parties and Interest Groups.
Development of American Political Parties
Two Party SystemPolitical party- association of voters with
common interest in the role of governmentAmerica considered to have two party system
(Democrat and Republicans)Constitution says nothing about political
partiesCame into existence after Washington left
office (dispute over strong or weak national government)
Development of American Political Parties
Democratic Party- came into existence 1828 under Andrew Jackson
Republican Party- 1854 formed to oppose slavery, Lincoln first Republican president (1860)
Third Parties- challenges main parties, rarely win major elections
Two most influential in late 1800’s and early 1900’s Progressives, Populist parties
Development of American Political Parties
Third PartiesSingle issue parties- promote
social, economic, moral issues (not to win elections), fade away after issue is no longer important
Ideological parties- focus on major changes in society (Communist, Libertarian, Green Parties)
Independent Candidates- form around well known individuals
Third parties rarely win elections problems with raising money, getting on ballot
Development of American Political Parties
Two party system rareMost other countries have
multi-party systemOne party rarely wins control
of government, several parties often work together
One party system, party and government are the same thing (Communist China)
One party systems are not democratic
Development of American Political Parties
Political parties link between citizens and elected officials, help make elections meaningful
Democrats believe federal government should be more involved in regulating economy, education, etc.
Republicans favor less government regulation
Both try to appeal to as many voters as possible, avoid taking extreme positions
How do parties differ? Platform- series of statements explaining
positions, principle and beliefs on election issues
Plank- each individual part of platform
Organization of American Political Parties
National Party Organization National Conventions
Each party has national committee Representatives from every state, raise funds for
elections, organize party’s national convention Leader of committee national party chairperson Committees create television, radio, internet ads,
manage candidates’ websites Main job of national committee, national
convention every 4 years Delegates from all states nominate candidates for
president and vice president, Delegates chosen through caucuses Delegate’s first job write the party’s platform,
second job nominate party’s presidential candidate Democrat and Republican parties have House and
Senate committees made up of members of Congress; to help elect and reelect party members
Organization of American Political Parties
State and Local Organization Precinct Captains
Both parties, have 50 state committees Job is to focus on electing party candidates to state
offices Local party organizations consist of city and county
committees Each city or county is divided into precincts (specific
area where people vote) Each precinct has a captain (organize party volunteers
and encourage voters to vote) Several neighboring precincts make up a ward
(members represent the ward at the county committee)
Organization of American Political Parties
County Committeeslargest political
units of a state (more than 3,000 in the U.S.)
County committees give information to the state committees about political sentiment throughout the county
Organization of American Political Parties
Political MachinesLocal party organizations that have
become so powerful they win elections year after year
Most famous late 1800’s in NYC Tammany Hall, most famous leader “Boss” Tweed
Helped immigrants when they first came to America with social services in return for votes
When political party is in power too long they become less responsive to citizens
Role of Political Parties Today
Primary Elections Political parties select and offer
candidates for public office; done through the nomination
Major parties nominate candidates through direct primaries; preliminary election determines who will represent the party in the main election
Most states hold closed primary (only members of the party can vote)
A few states hold open primary (voters do not have to declare their party preference)
Role of Political Parties Today
Primary ElectionsClosed primary keeps people from crossing party lines
promote the weaker candidateDoes not permit a truly secret ballot because voters
declare party preference Most states award party’s nomination to the candidate
who receives a plurality, (most votes amongst those running); other states require that the winner must have a majority
No majority, state holds a runoff between the two top vote getters
Candidates not affiliated with a political party can get on the ballot by petition
Role of Political Parties Today
Other Party Roles 1. Campaigning for
Candidates Raise money for campaigns,
help candidates get across their ideas and views on public issues to voters
“Get out the vote” drives
2. Informing Citizens Inform citizens through
pamphlets, speeches, and ads
Role of Political Parties Today
Other Party Roles 3. Help Manage Government Parties help the elected official hand
out jobs to supporters
4. Linking the Different Levels of Government
Parties help link local, state, and federal party officials
5. Act as a Watchdog The party that loses watches the
actions of the party that won so that they can use their mistakes against them in the next election
Types of Elections
General Elections 1st elections- primary elections in
the spring between members of the same party
Winner from each party goes to the general election in November
House and Senate elections every two years (1/3 seat basis)
Presidential elections every 4 years State and local elections occur every
four years In all elections except the presidential
race, the winner is determined by the majority vote
Loser can demand recount (2000) Presidential race determined by the
electoral college, if neither candidate wins a majority of electoral votes the House elects president (1800 and 1824)
Election of 1824
Types of Elections
Voting on Issues Initiatives, citizens propose new laws or
amendments Referendums , approved by legislators first,
elections where citizens can approve or reject state and local laws
Proposition- put on ballot through petitionSpecial ElectionsRunoffs- top 2 candidates from a race face off in a
new election determine winnerSome states also have a recall, citizens can vote to
remove an elected official from office
Presidential Elections
Three steps: (1) nomination of candidates, (2) the campaign, (3) the vote
NominationBegins a year or more before
electionIn the past convention was
important, behind the scenes affair, now nomination is wrapped up before convention
Convention now used to rally party members for election
Presidential Elections
The Campaign Usually start in September,
after conventions Candidates travel across
country giving speeches, TV ads, debates
The Vote and the Electoral College
Popular vote really to choose slate of electors (pledged to a candidate)
Winner of states popular vote, wins electoral vote
Takes 270 electoral votes to win nomination
Presidential Elections
Electoral College set up when Constitution was written
Founding Fathers saw this as a way to protect Americans from “mob rule”
Critics say it gives large states too much power
Proportional system would be more fair
Winner-take-all system, candidate can loose popular vote but win electoral vote
Keeps third party candidates from winning
Running for Office
Purpose of campaigns to convince the public to vote for a particular candidate
Local campaigns have only a few workers
National campaigns have thousands of workers, paying these workers is the job of the candidate
They all need money to operateCampaigns have several ways
they meet these goals
Running for Office
CanvassingGoing door to door (locally)
to conducting polls (nationally) to gain exposure for candidate and find out how candidate is doing
Endorsements Celebrities give candidates
an endorsementsEndorsements are a version
of propaganda (attempt to promote a particular person or idea)
Running for Office
Advertising and Image Molding Spend the majority of money in
advertising Allow party to present candidate’s
position or point of view Allows a candidate to attack an
opponent without offering an opportunity to respond
Campaign Expenses Campaign costs- money for advertising,
transportation, salaries of campaign staff members, fees to professional campaign consultants
Elections for Congress generally run at about $1.5 million in expenses
Presidential race costs over $300 million
Financing a Campaign
Methods to finance campaigns established by Congressional legislation
Recently efforts to reform how candidates raise money Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)1971- Congress passed FECA put controls on campaign
financingRequired public disclosure of each candidate’s spending
recordsLimited the amount of hard money that individuals or
groups could donate to a candidate or political party1974- Federal Election Commission created, job is to
administer all federal election laws, monitor campaign spending
Financing a Campaign
1976- Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo, government had the right to set limits on campaign contributions to keep corruption out of elections
Also declared that there was not a limit to how much of their own money candidates could spend
Financing a Campaign
Soft Money and Political ActionCommittees (PACS) Most money for campaigns comes from
private sources (citizens, corporations, labor unions, interest groups, and PACS)
PACS- organizations set up by interest groups to collect money to support favored candidates
To get around FECA restrictions on campaign income, candidates seek soft money donations (given to a political party and not designated for any particular candidate’s campaign)
Was supposed to be used only for general party building purposes but candidates are constantly dipping out of the fund
Financing a Campaign
Campaign Reform2002- Bipartisan Campaign Reform ActProhibits national political parties, federal
officeholders, and federal candidates from raising soft money
Prohibits corporations, union, and interest groups from running ads aimed at a candidate within 60 days of a general election
Says candidates may only collect up to $2,000 per donor in each election
Financing a Campaign
Critics said this limited free speech
Kept incumbents in power
Supreme Court (2003) said act was constitutional
It was in the public interest to limit funding
New emphasis on small contributions on the internet
Public Opinion
Pu
blic
Op
inio
n-
ideas, a
ttitud
es a
bou
t ele
cted
off
icials,
can
did
ate
s, g
ove
rnm
en
t, politica
l issu
es
S
hap
es d
ecisio
ns
gove
rnm
en
t makes
Op
inio
n n
ot u
nifo
rm-
Wh
y?
Perso
nal b
ack
gro
un
d-
ag
e, g
en
der, ra
ce,
inco
me, re
ligio
n, e
tc. all p
lay ro
les o
n th
e
pu
blic’s o
pin
ion
Mass M
ed
ia- ra
dio
, T
V, ad
vertisin
g.
Pro
vides p
ow
erfu
l im
ag
es th
at in
flu
en
ce
op
inio
n
Pu
blic O
fficia
ls- in
flu
en
ce p
ub
lic op
inio
n th
rou
gh
pre
ss co
nfe
ren
ces,
speech
es, T
V
ap
peara
nce
s, an
d
article
s
Inte
rest G
rou
ps-
peop
le w
ho sh
are
a
poin
t of vie
w a
bou
t an
issu
e; h
op
e to
chan
ge
pu
blic o
pin
ion
thro
ug
h
ad
s an
d a
ction
s
Public Opinion
Com
pon
en
ts of P
ub
lic O
pin
ion
Dire
ction
- wh
ere
peop
le
stan
d o
n issu
e
Inte
nsity- stre
ng
th o
f op
inio
n o
n a
n issu
e
Sta
bility- h
ow
firm
ly p
eop
le h
old
their
positio
n o
n a
n issu
e;
most p
eop
le w
ill not
chan
ge th
eir m
ind
s on
issu
es b
ut w
ill chan
ge
their m
ind
s on
a
can
did
ate
Public Opinion
Measu
ring
Pu
blic O
pin
ion
Measu
red
by e
lectio
n
resu
lts an
d p
ub
lic op
inio
n
polls
Pu
blic o
pin
ion
poll a
ccura
te
measu
re o
f op
inio
n, clo
sely
mon
itore
d b
y politicia
ns
Ran
dom
Sam
ple
s- mod
ern
p
ollin
g is a
scien
ce, u
se
cross se
ction
of so
ciety to
ta
ke a
sam
ple
Good
pollin
g ca
n g
et a
n
accu
rate
pictu
re o
f pu
blic
op
inio
n
Pro
cess ca
n b
e m
an
ipu
late
d
by ch
an
gin
g w
ord
ing
of
qu
estio
ns
Public Opinion
Polls a
nd
Dem
ocra
cy
Peop
le w
ho su
pp
ort
pollin
g- su
pp
orts
dem
ocra
cy by a
llow
ing
off
iceh
old
ers to
keep
in
tou
ch w
ith citize
ns’
chan
gin
g o
pin
ion
s
Critics o
f pollin
g-
ele
cted
off
icials m
ore
co
nce
rned
with
fo
llow
ing
the p
ub
lic ra
ther th
an
exe
rcising
p
olitica
l lead
ersh
ip,
ele
cted
off
icial m
ay
hesita
te to
make a
d
ecisio
n fo
r fear o
f u
pse
tting
the p
ub
lic
The Mass Media
Pla
ys role
in in
flu
en
cing
p
olitics a
nd
gove
rnm
en
t
Lin
k b
etw
een
ele
cted
off
icials a
nd
pu
blic
Tw
o typ
es- p
rint a
nd
ele
ctron
ic
Th
ey a
re b
usin
esse
s for
pro
fit, d
ecid
e to
run
wh
at
attra
cts most p
eop
le, b
ring
b
est a
dve
rtisers
Most p
eop
le re
ly on
TV
for
info
rmatio
n, n
ew
spap
ers
read
by o
lder d
em
og
rap
hic,
inte
rnet u
sag
e h
igh
er a
mon
g
you
ng
er g
rou
ps
The Mass MediaT
he M
ed
ia’s
Imp
act o
n
Politics a
nd
G
ove
rnm
en
tS
ettin
g th
e
Pu
blic A
gen
da-
med
ia b
ring
s an
issu
e to
the
fore
fron
t of
Am
erica
n
atte
ntio
n
Can
did
ate
s an
d
Ele
ction
s- makes
possib
le rise
of
un
likely
politicia
ns; ca
n
pro
mote
style
ove
r sub
stan
ce
Ele
cted
Off
icials-
need
med
ia to
p
rom
ote
ideas
an
d a
ction
s; may
leak in
fo to
p
ress to
test
pu
blic re
actio
n
(trial b
allo
on
), p
ress u
ses
insid
e in
fo to
en
han
ce th
eir
care
ers
The Mass MediaT
he M
ed
ia’s Im
pact o
n
Politics a
nd
Gove
rnm
en
t
Watch
dog
Role
- Jo
urn
alist e
ag
er to
exp
ose
gove
rnm
en
t co
rrup
tion
, look in
to
politicia
ns p
rivate
lives
(need
to fe
ed
24
hou
r n
ew
s cycle)
Med
ia a
nd
Natio
nal
Secu
rity- ten
sion
b
etw
een
need
to p
rote
ct se
crets vs. n
atio
nal
secu
rity
The Mass MediaP
rote
cting
the M
ed
ia
Gove
rnm
en
t pla
ys role
in
ab
ility of m
ass m
ed
ia
to o
pera
te fre
ely
Pre
ss has F
irst A
men
dm
en
t Rig
hts
Su
pre
me C
ou
rt rule
d
pre
ss has p
rote
ction
fro
m p
rior re
strain
t, g
ives re
porte
rs an
d
ed
itors fre
ed
om
to
decid
e w
hat th
ey w
ill sa
y
Pre
ss can
not co
mm
it lib
el
Mon
itore
d th
rou
gh
F
ed
era
l Com
mu
nica
tion
C
om
missio
n (F
CC
), ca
n’t ce
nso
r pre
ss bu
t ca
n p
un
ish vio
latio
ns