Political Parties and Politics Obj: 1. How did political parties come to exist? 2. Describe the structure of today’s political parties. 3. How do political parties influence our lives today?

EQ: How did political parties come to exist?

The U.S. Constitution says nothing about political parties

Washington’s Warning Against Political Parties George Washington warned that there should be no political “factions” in our government Warned against “Internal Dissensions”

What is a Political Party? Group of voters with common interests who want to elect candidates who share the same interests Parties form because people have different opinions about political issues Political parties allow people with similar views about political issues to support candidates who will work for laws that agree with their supporters’ views

Polit. Party Membership Is not required by law – you may choose to be a party member or not You do not have to be a party member to vote

Why do people choose one party over another? People choose to belong to a polit. party b/c it shares their beliefs about politics & the role of govt. The party members pick, or nominate, candidates who also share their beliefs Parties then try to convince other people to vote for their candidate

U.S. has a Two Party System Only two major polit. parties in U.S. since 1860 Democrats Republicans Each party has millions of members Since 1860, either the Dem. P. or the Rep. P. have held the presidency

Abraham Lincoln First Republican to become U.S. president Won election as the first Republican president in 1860, the same year the Civil War began

Advantage of the 2-Party System Since Civil War, Dems & Repubs have had almost equal strength Both tend to offer ideas & policies that are not too extreme and come as close to public opinion as they can Purpose: Attract and keep as many voters as possible with their own party If they become too extreme, voters would flock to the other party

Third Parties No 3rd party has ever won a presidential election They rarely win other major elections (U.S. Senate/House, governorships, etc.) All have one thing in common: they believe the Dems. and Repubs. are not meeting certain needs

Nationally Organized 3rd Parties Today Ralph Nader, Green Party Reform Party Libertarian Party Green Party Constitution Party (formerly the U.S. Taxpayers) Natural Law Party Each of these five parties has received 100,000 votes or more for at least one of its candidates in the past 20 years. (No other currently existing third party in America has done so.) Harry Brown, Libertarian Party Pat Buchanan, Reform Party Howard Phillips, Natural Law Party John Hagelin, Constitution Party

Third Parties, Cont’d. 2 third parties in Amer. history had an impact on our political system

Third Parties Cont’d. Progressive (or Bull Moose) Party Broke away from the Republican Party Led by Teddy Roosevelt, who had already been President of the U.S. for two terms T.R. ran again as a Progressive, instead of as a Republican Third Party as “spoiler” – Roosevelt took so many votes from Taft, the Repub. candidate, that the Democratic candidate, Wilson, won the election

Single-Issue Parties 3rd Party that’s formed only to promote one social, economic, or moral issue They form to address a single issue Prohibitionist Party of 1872: Wanted to outlaw alcohol Single issue parties usually don’t last long

Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s nominee for president, 2008 Ideological Parties Focus is on changing society in major ways Green Party Opposes the power of big corporations and favors decision-making at the local (grassroots) level Socialist Labor Party & Communist Party USA Support govt. ownership of factories, farms, transportation, and utilities like electricity, telephones, etc. Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s nominee for president, 2008

Ideological Parties Cont’d. Libertarian Party – Wants to cut size of the fed. govt. to increase individual freedoms

Independent Candidates Sometimes a 3rd Party forms around a person who cannot get support from the Dems or Repubs John Anderson and the Independent Party Ross Perot and the Reform Party Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party’s nominee for president, 2008

Difficulty for Independent Candidates 1) Rarely have enough $$$ to compete with Dems. or Repubs. 2) Must have a certain number of voter signatures to get their name on the ballot in each state Dem. and Repub. candidates names are automatically put on presidential ballots Ron Paul, presidential candidate in 2008 election

Difficulty for Independent Candidates, Cont’d. 3) Congressional districts only get to elect one member to the HOR Since most people vote as Dem. or Repub., only candidates from those parties win seats in Congress

Other Party Systems Multi-Party Systems (MPS’s): 3 or more political parties compete for control of the government Most other democracies have MPS’s If all parties have equal support from the people, none can win a majority of votes, so two or more parties must form a coalition

Multi-Party Systems, Cont’d. Coalition: When 2 or more polit. parties agree to compromise & work together so one can get elected Advantage: All members of coalition can get something for the people who support them Problem: Parties often disagree after the election and coalition breaks down, so nothing gets done in the govt. while that coalition is in office Ex: Canada has three major parties; Israel has more than 20; Germany has five major parties

Multiparty Systems Cont’d. Volatile situation that breaks down easily and becomes politically unstable This means that nothing gets accomplished in the govt. legislature Hitler – German National Workers Party

One Party Systems The political party and the govt. are the same thing China – Communist Party – only party allowed to exist in China, and only Communist candidates can be elected to office Iran – Muslim religious leaders control only polit. party (the Islamic Republican Party.) All major opposition parties are outlawed

Today’s Major U.S. Parties Major difference among Dems. and Repubs. is their belief in how much the govt. should be involved in the lives of Americans Ex: Dems. believe the govt. should be more involved in the economy and in making sure that poor people have housing, income, education and jobs Ex: Repubs. believe that if they help the economy grow , poor people will have a better chance of helping themselves without govt. assistance Repubs. favor less govt. regulation of the economy as the best way to promote growth in production

How Political Parties are Organized Today Describe the structure of political parties today

Dem’s. & Repub’s.: How They are Organized on Nat’l Level Each party has a nat’l committee 50 reps per nat’l party committee – one from each state Democratic National Committee Chairman, Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele

National Committees Cont’d. Committee helps raise $$$ for pres. elections & organize party’s nat’l convention (held every four years to nominate party’s candidate for pres.)

Party Organization Cont’d. Each nat’l committee has a nat’l party chairperson Runs the committee, manages the main office, directs committee staff, lead fundraising efforts Howard Dean, former chairman of DNC

National Convention Event where party nominates its candidates for Pres. and V.P. Delegates (elected party members) from each state meet & vote for party’s nominee for pres. candidate

Polit. Party Platform Delegates write the party’s “platform” at the convention Platform: Document that says what the party believes & its positions on election issues Plank: Each individual part of the platform Ex: Positions on abortion rights, taxes, education, military spending, etc. Democratic Party Platform 2008 Republican Party Platform 2008

Two Ways Delegates are Chosen from each State Presidential Primaries State Caucuses

State and Local Organization Current N.C. lieutenant governor, Bev Perdue, Democrat Each party has a state-level committee in ea. of the 50 states Goal of each: Elect their party’s candidates to state offices like governor, state legislators, etc. They also try to get their candidates into national offices (like pres., v.p., etc.) N.C. Democratic Party Website N.C. Republican Party website Republican Charlotte mayor, Pat McCrory

Local Precincts City or county is divided into election districts called precincts All voters in a precinct vote at same place Each precinct has a precinct captain who is in charge of trying to get voters registered to vote and to the polls on election day

Ward Several adjoining precincts Party members from the ward choose a volunteer to represent their party on the county level

County Committees County chairperson Ea. major party has one Runs county committee Has lots of political power in the county

Grassroots Support Grassroots “On the local level” County Party Committees drum up support for the party @ local level

Political Machines Name for a strong polit. party organization Tammany Hall - notorious example of a political machine in NYC