“Linkage Institution” Political Parties “Linkage Institution” “No one party can fool all of the people all of the time; that's why we have two parties.” – Bob Hope

Political Parties A party is a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label (party identification), by which they are known to the electorate United States parties have become weaker as labels, sets of leaders, and organizations

Parties in the US and Europe European parties are disciplined gatekeepers, to which voters are very loyal, though this has been declining recently The federal system decentralizes power in U.S. Parties are closely regulated by state and federal laws, which weaken them Candidates are now chosen through primaries, not by party leaders

The Evolution of American Party Democracy Hamilton and Jefferson, as heads of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist (Democratic-Republicans) groups respectively, are often considered “fathers” of the modern party system. By 1800, this country had a party system with two major parties that has remained relatively stable ever since.

The Rise and Decline of Parties During the Jacksonian era political participation became a mass phenomenon From the Civil War until the 1930s most states were dominated by one party

The Results of Reform Progressives pushed measures to curtail parties’ power and influence The worst forms of political corruption were reduced All political parties were weakened; parties became less able to hold officeholders accountable or to coordinate across the branches of government

Democrats and Republicans: The Golden Age From the presidential elections of 1860 to the present, the same two major parties have contested elections in the United States: Democrats and Republicans. Reconstruction -- Republican dominance 1876-1896 -- closely competitive 1896-1929 -- Republican dominance 1930s and 1940s -- Democratic dominance 1950s and 1960s -- closely competitive 1970-present -- neither party dominant

Figure 9.1: Decline in Party Identification, 1952-2002 Insert Figure 9.1 (formerly 7.1 in 9e) National Election Studies, The NES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior, 1952-2000, table 20.1, and data for 2002 updated by Marc Siegal.

Party Structure Parties are similar on paper RNC effectively created a national firm of political consultants Democrats moved to factionalized structure and redistributed power By the 1990s, DNC had learned from the RNC: adopted the same techniques, with some success

Party Structure National Convention – meets every 4 years, nominates President National Committee – manages party affairs on daily basis Congressional campaign committee – supports party’s candidates National chair – manages daily work

Goal of a Political Party? WIN ELECTIONS

Nominating a President Primary: an election in which voters select the candidate who will run on each party’s ticket Caucus: a meeting of party followers at which delegates are picked

Table 9.1: Who Are the Party Delegates? Insert Table 9.1 (formerly 7.1 in 9e)

Table 9.5: How Party Delegates and Party Voters Differ in Liberal Ideology Insert Table 9.5 (formerly 7.5 in 9e)

Function of Parties Connecting citizens to government (linkage institution) -Political Efficacy – citizen participation level and awareness of government decisions Run candidates for political office Inform the public – help voters decide who to vote for in elections Organizing government – coordinate government policy-making

Other Roles of the American Parties The two-party system has been used to resolve political and social conflicts. Mobilizing Support and Gathering Power A Force for Stability Unity, Linkage, Accountability

Why 2 parties? Winner-take-all system Electoral system—winner-take-all and plurality system limit the number of parties 3rd party usually joins one of other parties Opinions of voters—two broad coalitions work, although there may be times of bitter dissent

Reasons for the Two Party System State laws have made it very difficult for third parties to get on the ballot Opposite – Proportional Representation – % of votes is directly applied as the % of representatives

Table 9.4: The Public Rates the Two Parties Insert Table 9.4 (formerly 7.4 in 9e)

Political Party Issues

National Conventions National committee sets time and place; issues a “call” setting the number of delegates for each state and the rules for their selection In 1970s, Democrats’ rules were changed to weaken local party leaders and increase the proportions of women and minorities In 1988, the number of superdelegates was increased

“Grass Roots” “Grass Roots” – parties can also reach the voters personally and “get-out-the-vote” on a local level

Minor Parties Third Parties have played a role in politics Types Ideological parties: comprehensive, radical view; most enduring One-issue parties: address one concern, avoid others Economic protest parties: regional, protest economic conditions Factional parties: from split in a major party, usually over the party’s presidential nominee Individual personality – those dominated by one figure head (Ex. – 1912 Theodore Roosevelt – Bull-Moose, 1968 George Wallace – American Independent Party)

Minor Parties: Third-Partyism Minor parties are not a threat to the two major parties. (At least not in winning elections but they are in helping them lose elections) Only eight third parties have won any electoral votes in a presidential contest. The third parties that have had some success are: 1996 and 1992: Ross Perot’s Reform Party 1968: George Wallace’s American Independent Party 1924: Robert LaFollette’s Progressive Party 1912: Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party 1856: Millard Fillmore's American Party

Impact of Minor Parties Conventional wisdom holds that minor parties develop ideas that the major parties adopt Factional parties have had probably the greatest influence on public policy

Party Identification Dealignment – weak membership, more “independents” or moderates – popular trend in the last 50 years Strait ticket voting – strong party membership, support all candidates for one party Ticket splitting – voting for candidates from multiple parties

Party Realignment Critical or realigning periods: periods when a sharp, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties Two kinds of realignments A major party is defeated so badly that it disappears and a new party emerges Two existing parties continue but voters shift their loyalty from one to another

Realignments 1860: slavery issue fixed new loyalties in the popular mind 1896: economic issues shifted loyalties to East/West, city/farm split 1932: economic depression triggered new coalition for Democrats 1980: Could not have been a traditional realignment, because Congress was left in the hands of the Democrats

Realignment? “Gridlock” – Congress and Presidency controlled by different parties Party Polarization -A vote in which a majority of one party opposes the other 2004 - Republican sweep of Congress and Presidency - party loyalty stronger? 2006 - split the Presidency and Congress again 2008 - might bring a Democratic sweep

Party Decline Evidence that parties are declining, not realigning Proportion of people identifying with a party declined between 1960 and 1980 Proportion of those voting a split ticket increased

Figure 9.2: Trends in Split-Ticket Voting For President and Congress, 1920-2000 Insert 9.2 (formerly 7.2 in 9e)

Figure 9.2 Split-Ticket Voting for President/House, 1952–2004 Source: American National Election Studies, November 2005, table 9B.2. Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Declining Party Loyalty? The number of independents in the U.S. rose from 19% in 1958 to 37% twenty years later. Identification with the two major parties today is in the mid 80% range. Pollsters often find that many self-declared independents often “lean” quite strongly to either the Democratic or Republican party. “Leaners” do feel party affiliations, but choose not to self-identify with a party.

Political Ideology

Political Ideology Which are you?

Freedom vs. Order /Equality

2013 FRQ Political parties play important roles in United States elections and government institutions. Over the past several decades, the influence of political parties in elections has declined while their strength in Congress has increased.

Political Ideology (a)  Describe two important functions of political parties in United States elections. (b)  Describe one important role political parties play within Congress to promote the party’s public policy agenda. (c)  Explain how each of the following factors has weakened the influence of political parties over the political process.  Direct primaries  Candidate-centered campaigns (d)  Explain how party polarization has strengthened party influence in Congress.