CH. 12 STUDENT NOTES POLITICAL PARTIES

DEFINITION A group of persons who seek to control government An organization of voters who all support similar policies and styles of government ELECTION-ORIENTED Winning = control

ROLE OF PARTIES 1. Nominate candidates/run campaigns 2. Proposing/formulating policy 3. Organize government (Congress) 4. Connect citizens to gov - unity (linkage) 5. Educate electorate – inform the public/give cues to voters

TWO PARTY SYSTEM An electoral system in which two dominant parties compete in national elections Rare in the world – most multiparty 1888-2012: 17R; 15D

The two-party system The Democratic Party evolved from Anti-Federalist factions that opposed the fiscal policies of A. Hamilton in the early 1790s. T. Jefferson and J. Madison organized these factions into the Democratic-Republican Party. The party favored states' rights and strict adherence to the Constitution; it opposed a national bank and wealthy, moneyed interests. The Democratic-Republican Party ascended to power in the election of 1800. Andrew Jackson is generally considered The first Democratic president (1829-1837).

Liberal v. Conservative Liberals: believe the government must play a big role in society, especially by setting rules for business and the economy. They believe this is necessary to ensure fair treatment for many groups, especially the poor, and certain minorities, such as Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, and others. Liberals usually think the wealthy should pay a larger share of their income in taxes. While many liberals worry about government spending, they usually remain strong supporters of government programs that help poor and middle-income groups. Many Democrats are liberal.

G.O.P Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP (Grand Old Party), although the rival Democratic Party is older. Eighteen US presidents have been Republicans. The current head of the Republican National Committee is Reince Priebus.

Liberal v. Conservative Conservative: Want to limit the role of government. While liberals stress “fairness,” conservatives tend to stress “freedom.” For example, they say businesses and individuals should be as free as possible to make decisions without government interference. They say many regulations add to business costs and slow the economy, hurting rich and poor alike. Many conservatives want to reduce government spending and cut taxes. Conservatives usually feel that state governments can solve problems better than the federal government can.

AMERICAN TWO PARTY SYSTEM Why we have it? Tradition and culture Facilitated by American electoral procedure Winner-take-all: (aka plurality aka first past the post) party that receives plurality (most votes) wins, other party doesn’t get anything Single-member districts Legislative seats awarded only to first place finishers. HOR, Senate, Governor, POTUS You do NOT need MAJORITY RESULT parties are MODERATE (broad) Keeps minority (third party’s) out of contention

ADVANTAGES Present readily understandable political info to voters in a convenient manner Represent major political issues BROAD platforms Stability/support Discourage sudden shifts in political trends Encourages political participation

PARTIES IN MULTIPLE FORMS Party Label: identify with a party (in electorate) Party Leadership: elected or appointed officials Party in Organization: run the party

PARTY IDENTIFICATION Inclination to identify w/ party and vote w/ party Has DECLINED INDEPENDENT = no party ID Evidence = split-ticket voting STV = an effect of decline in party ID Result = divided gov

WHY ARE INDEPENDENTS ON THE RISE?

PARTY LEADERSHIP Organize and try to control government institutions

PARTY LEADERSHIP Congress is organized based on PARTY – whose in the majority and whose in the minority MAJORITY : CONTROLS AGENDA! CONTROLS DEBATE! HOLDS ALL IMP. LEADERSHIP POSITIONS! MAKES THEIR PLATFORM THE PRIORITY!

PARTY ORGANIZATION National - official central organizations for their respective parties, plan convention, raise money for campaigns Democratic National Committee (1848) Republican National Committee (1856)

NATIONAL DUTIES National Convention: meets every 4 years to write party’s platform and nominate Pres. And VP formal statement of its basic principles, objectives, and positions on major issues National Committee: keep party operating b/t conventions and…$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ National Chairperson: hires staff, raises money, pays bills, attends to daily duties of the party

STATE OF PARTIES A powerful party is one whose label has a strong appeal for voters, whose organization can decide who will be candidates and how their campaigns will be managed, and whose leaders can dominate one or all branches of government.

STATE OF PARTIES Parties are WEAK (they don’t even bench bro) compared to past periods Why? Electoral laws/rules CANDIDATE-CENTERED: Campaign finance, state ballot, direct primaries Voter commitment (lost faith in the system) Booo Nixon Federalism Decentralizes party control

CANDIDATE-CENTERED Politics that focuses on candidates, their particular issues, and character rather than party affiliation Candidates appeal directly to voters, raise own $, set own agenda As this RISES party strength FALLS

LOCAL/STATE DUTIES STATE POWER – primaries: control who (voters) can participate and when held Direct primaries OPEN (accessible to all) or CLOSED (limited to party only) Overall has WEAKENED parties b/c voters pick candidate

Parties are stronger at the STATE and LOCAL level Run INDEPENDENTLY from national party system

GRASSROOTS MOBILIZATION Influence the voters by mobilizing them to join in strategic actions parties/candidates can reach the voters personally EX – “get-out-the-vote”, registering, developing awareness, canvassing

PARTY MACHINES A party organization that recruits members by dispensing patronage Money, political jobs, opportunity to gain favor VOTING = TANGIBLE REWARD High degree of leadership control over members Era of STRAIGHT-TICKET VOTING A THING OF THE PAST…sort of Illustrated that parties need organization

MINOR PARTIES “Third parties” – same definition as political parties only they don’t win Not rare in US history, just not winners in elections Make contributions: Give voters another option (more specific viewpoint) enhance participation Provide appealing platforms that major parties may adopt

THIRD PARTIES (1) They can pull decisive votes away from one of the major parties’ candidates (2) Take stands and draw attention to controversial issues that major political parties would prefer to ignore (3) Propose solutions to problems Get adopted by major party

WHY THEY DON’T SUCCEED? Winner-take-all Ballot access Campaign financing (rules/limits) Exclusion from presidential debates

PARTY DIS-UNITY State and local parties independent from national organization Parties are fragmented The nominating process pins party members against one another causing competition

Understanding Political Parties Is the Party over? No longer chief source of information for voters But, state and national party organizations are getting stronger Majority of people still identify with a party, but still split their tickets Parties will continue to be around

WHAT DO PARTIES DO? Provide cues for voters Provide a platform of issues Recruit candidates for office Nominate candidates for office Raise funds for campaigns Mobilize voters

PARTY POLARIZATION Polarization is an increase in the number of citizens/voters who hold consistent views on a particular side of the political spectrum – liberal or conservative. Increased ideological consistency Divisions along party lines

PARTY POLARIZATION Members of political parties vote along party line; therefore they are less likely to cross party lines to vote with the other party.

CAUSES OF POLARIZATION Increased racial/ethnic diversity Whites v. nonwhites Ideological realignment Shift of New Deal Coalition Cultural Issues Hot button – “Friend of God” voting values v. pockets

HISTORY OF PARTY Realignment – minority party becomes stronger than majority party Critical election - electoral upheaval resulting in new coalitions formed for each party ERAS – major and lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties Dealignment – decline in party identification and loyalty by electorate = rise of independents

What does REALIGNMENT look like?

What DEALIGNMENT looks like

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? Yes more people are independent, but those who aren’t are EXTREME in their views Parties in the ELECTORATE = weak CONSEQUENCE = party in government has become more polarized to compensate Vote w/ party to protect party position in Congress Compromise has become “letting the other guys win”