Wednesday, February 3, 2016 Objective: Students will be able to analyze the impact of political changes brought about by individuals, political parties, interest groups, or the media, past and present. Purpose: Parties are important because they are the principal means by which the will of the people is made known to government and by which government is held accountable to the people
The Two-Party System The Federalist and Anti-Federalists started this system The Federalists were the party of "the rich and well-born" and had supported the Constitution and a stronger national government The Anti-Federalists were more concerned for the "common man" and favored a much more limited role for the national government Today, most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system simply because there has always been one
The Two-Party System This system exists because of the electoral system Single-Member Districts: The candidate that wins the largest amount of votes within a district wins the election Many districts favor one party over others, very few districts are actually competitive It also exists because Americans are more ideologically similar to each other than people in other nations (this is called the ideological consensus) No major socialist, green, or nationalist parties in the United States
Factions in the Democratic Party Blue Dogs (Conservative Democrats) Very few members of this faction New Democrats (Moderates) Examples: Obama, the Clintons Progressives (most liberal) Examples: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren of MA
Factions in the Republican Party Main Street Republicans (Moderate Conservatives) Republican Study Committee (Mainstream Conservatives) Largest faction Sometimes is called “the establishment” Tea Party/Freedom Caucus (Ultraconservative/Reactionary) Examples: Ted Cruz, Mike Lee of Utah
Multiparty Systems The various parties are each based on a particular interest, for example on economic class, religious belief, sectional attachment, or political ideology Multiparty systems do tend to produce a broader, more diverse representation of the electorate, but governments tend to be less stable The power to govern is often shared by a number of parties in a coalition
Party Systems in the States About 1/4 of the states have "modified one- party systems“ the political landscape is regularly dominated by a single party in these states