Political Parties

What is a political party? A team of people seeking to control the governing apparatus by winning elected office.

Who makes up a political party? Office seekers Benefit seekers Not voters

How do parties overcome the free rider problem? Three types of Selective incentives Material Social/ “Solidary” Expressive

Freewrite The framers thought that parties were bad for America. Were they right? What are parties’ negative effects on the political system? What are their positive effects? What would politics be like without them? As usual, you will turn in this freewrite for participation credit.

Problems that political parties solve Reducing transaction costs in legislating Mobilizing voters Regulating conflict Enforcing collective responsibility

Why two political parties Single member, plurality districts Electoral college Ballot Access Restrictions Campaign Finance Laws Voter loyalty Hard to raise money Hard to get media attention Hard to recruit strong candidates

Significant Nader votes, 2000 State (EV) Nader % of vote % of votes separating Bush and Gore FL (25)1.63%.01% NM (5)3.55%.06% IA (7)2.23%.32% OR (7)5.04%.44% WI (11)3.62%.22%

Are American political parties strong or weak? Depends on how you look at party PIG PIE PAO Parties in government Parties in the electorate Parties as organizations Depends on the historical moment

Eras of strong and weak parties The golden age of parties Declining party strength Era of weak parties Stronger parties? 1994-???

The golden age of parties Strong, organized parties Mass participation Politics as entertainment Spoils system No secret ballot

What changed? Progressive era Australian ballot, secret ballot Civil service reforms Primary elections Candidate centered campaigns Direct election of senators Nonpartisan local elections New Deal welfare state

What changed? 1960s and 1970s Deep ideological divisions within parties –(Particularly the Democratic party!) TV Campaign finance

Era of weak parties Deep ideological divisions Weak party discipline in Congress Candidate centered elections Rise in number of “independents” Split ticket voting

Stronger parties? 1994-??? Strong party discipline in Congress Highly partisan, competitive presidential elections Increased turnout New restrictions on party-building?

How strong are parties today?

Average party unity of Democrats in Congress

Average Republican party unity in Congress

Percent of votes on which majority of Congressional Democrats vote against majority of Republicans

Stable number of partisans

Number of civil servants and federal civilian employees

Reflecting on the freewrite: Are stronger parties better for democracy?

What do the Republicans and Democrats stand for?