POLITICAL PARTY ORGANIZATION CHAPTER 5 SECTION 5
POLITICAL PARTY ORGANIZATION No Mention of Political Parties in the Constitution Why?
THE DECENTRALIZED NATURE OF THE PARTIES No Chain of Command State party organizations are only loosely tied to National party organizations Don’t always cooperate with one another
THE ROLE OF THE PRESIDENT The President’s party is usually more solidly united and more cohesively organized than the opposing party The president is automatically the party leader! The other party has no one comparable to the president. The president has much more access to media and governmental power
THE IMPACT OF FEDERALISM Federalism is one of the major causes of the decentralized nature of the two parties Basic goal: control government by winning elections Must be decentralized to win elections at the local, state, and national level.
ROLE OF THE NOMINATING PROCESS The nominating process is also a major cause of party decentralization. First, candidate selection is an intraparty process. Second, the nominating process can be, and often is a divisive one.
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION Meets in the summer of every Presidential election year to nominate Presidential candidate and VP
THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE Coordinates the national convention Has very little power between elections
NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON Head of the national committee Really chosen by most recent Presidential candidate Serves 4 year term Directs party staff, builds party unity, raises money for party, recruit new voters, prepares for next presidential election
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES Work to reelect incumbents and to make sure that seats given up by retiring party members remain in the party
STATE AND LOCAL PARTY MACHINERY Party structure on the state and local level is largely set by custom and rules adopted by conventions. The party machinery is built around a state central committee, and headed by a State chairperson.
LOCAL PARTY ORGANIZATION Local Party structures vary so widely that they nearly defy even a brief description.
THREE COMPONENTS OF THE PARTY 1. Party Organization: leaders, party activists, etc. who run the party 2. Party in Electorate: party loyalists who usually vote a straight party ticket in elections 3. Party in Government: party officeholders at all levels of government
THE FUTURE OF POLITICAL PARTIES Political Parties have never been very popular in this country. The present, weakened state of the parties can be traced to 5 major factors, which are: 1. A sharp drop in the number of voters willing to identify themselves as republicans 2. A big increase in split ticket voting 3. Various structural changes and reforms that have made the parties more open, but lead to internal conflict 4. Changes in the technology of campaigning for office 5. The growth of single-issue organizations in our politics