5.1 - Political Parties

Political parties

What & Why? Political Party: A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office. The primary purpose of the political parties is to control government through winning election to public office.

Why are they important in democracy? Political parties are essential to democratic government. They are a vital link between us (the people) and the government. Political parties work to end conflict, like power brokers. They bring conflicting groups together for compromise. Soften the impact of extremists at both ends of the political spectrum.

The political spectrum On the LEFT we have…

The political Spectrum On the RIGHT we have…

A DONKEY & AN ELEPHANT…WHY? That’s what each party was labeled in a political cartoon by Thomas Nast in the late 1800s, it wasn’t their choice: How did Republicans pick the elephant, and Democrats the donkey, to represent their parties? Another explanation for the Democrats: Andrew Jackson was being labeled a “Jackass” by his opponents. He decided to embrace it and began using the donkey. It was all but forgotten until Nast brought it back…

So what do political parties do exactly? Nominate Candidates Inform and Activate Supporters: They share this responsibility with media and interest groups. Act as “Bonding Agent” to ensure the good performance of its candidates/officeholders; choose candidates that are qualified and posses good character. If not, they suffer in the next *election*. Governing! Helps legislative & executive branches work together. Congress is organized on party lines, which means they conduct business on *partisanship* Partisanship: Strong support of one’s political party and its policy standards. Act as watchdog over the conduct of the public’s business. Usually the watchdog is the party who is out of power. They urge the public to “Throw the rascals out”

democratic national Convention: Nominating obama

INFORM & ACTIVATE SUPPORTERS

Bonding agent Political parties nominate/endorse their officials for public office who are of good character and quality. John McCain possessed these characters, but to some in his own Republican Party he wasn’t Republican enough:

Partisanship Allegiance to a political party

Watchdog The party out of power

Yesterday Yesterday we talked about what political parties are, what they do, and their purpose. We learned the two main parties in the U.S. are the Democrats (The Left) & and Republicans (The Right). We also talked about their 5 functions.

5.2 – Minor Parties Minor Parties are exactly what they sound like. Minor Parties are political parties without wide vote support Examples: The United States Pirate Party, United States Marijuana Party.

Two Party System Instead, we have a very dominant two party system in the United States. A two party system is exactly what it sounds like as well. A two party system is a political system dominated by two major parties We have only two parties because it’s in our history: Federalists & Anti-Federalists! Is this good or bad? Or both?

The Electoral System Nearly every election held in the U.S. are single member district elections. Single-Member Districts are contests in which only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot Winner take all! The winner receives a plurality. Plurality means receiving the largest number of votes cast for office This may not mean the majority of all voters, but just the MOST votes.

American Ideological consensus American’s are ideologically homogenous. This means we as Americans have shared many of the same political ideals, beliefs, and principles. (Freedom, Opportunity, etc) BUT we are not all the same. We are pluralistic society. A pluralistic society is a society consisting of several distinct cultures and groups.

But there is still consensus… Consensus is the general agreement among various groups on fundamental issues We eventually compromise, right? The U.S. has been free of long- standing, bitter disputes based on factors like economic class, social status, religious beliefs, or national origin.

Should there be a multi-party system? Some argue there should be a multi-party system. A multi-party system is a system in which several major and many lesser parties exist. They seriously compete and actually win public office.

This brings in coalitions Multi-party systems have positives and negatives. Because many of the smaller parties represent one group/belief, how can they win over a majority of voters? They form coalitions. Coalitions are a temporary alliance of several working groups who come together to form a working majority and so to control a government. What are the positives/negatives of multi-party systems?

Then there are one-party systems A one-party system is a political system in which only one party exists Sound familiar?

5.4 – The minor parties Throughout history and today, there have been minor parties: Remember we talked about the Pirate Party and the Marijuana Party Well there are plenty more: Green Party Communist Party Socialist Party Libertarian Party

Types of Minor Parties Ideological Parties – Parties based on a particular set of beliefs – a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters.* Examples – (Built on Marxist thought) Socialist Party, Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party of today calls for individualism and less government functions and government.

Single issue parties Single Issue Parties – Parties that focus on only one public-policy matter. Examples – (Most single parties have now faded away) The Free Soil Party (they opposed the spread of slavery) and The American Party/Know Nothings (they opposed Irish-Catholic immigration in the 1850s) Today, a single issue party is the Right to Life Party. They oppose abortion. These types of parties faded because they fail to attract enough voters.

Economic protest parties Economic Protest Parties – Parties rooted in poor economic times, lacking a clear ideological base, dissatisfied with current conditions and demanding better times. Focus their anger on foreign imports, wall street bankers, etc. Examples: The Greenback Party (they tried to take advantage of agricultural discontent in the late 1880s by appealing to struggling farmers) and the Populist Party of the 1890s (they demanded public ownership of railroads, telephone companies).

What about the tea party? According to our definition, economic protest parties lack a clear ideological base. Ideologically, the Tea Party is a faction of the Right Wing.

Splinter Parties Splinter Parties – Parties that have split away from one of the major parties. *Examples – President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Bull Moose” Progressive Party of 1912. George Wallace’s “American Independent Party”. Most splinter parties collapse when it’s leader/founder step aside. In a way…this sounds like the Tea Party of today!

Why are minor parties important? A minor party, the “Anti-Masons” first used a convention to nominate their presidential candidate. Today, Republicans and Democrats do the same thing. They can play spoiler to one of the two major parties by taking away some of their votes. They take on roles of innovator and critic, more so than Republicans/Democrat. “The major parties are stealing from my platform.”

Party Organization & decentralization? Party power is decentralized (power is spread out between levels & people). Two reasons for this decentralization: Federalism – Because federalism hands over power to state governments and local governments, there are millions of elective offices in the U.S. That’s too many Therefore, the elective offices are decentralized just like our government! Nominating process - Democrats nominate Democrats and Republicans nominate Republicans. Results in Democrats fighting Democrats and Republicans fighting Republicans.

Example: Obama vs. Hillary

National party machinery The structure of both major parties at the national level has four basic elements. The first one: National Convention – Meets in the summer of every presidential election year Purpose: Picks the party’s presidential and vice- presidential candidates

National committee The National Committee – They meet between the time of each national convention Purpose: Mainly works on staging the party’s national convention every four years Politicians from each state make up these national committees for each party…so these committees are large but they don’t hold much power.

National Chairperson National Chairperson – Elected to a four year term by the national committee after the suggestion of the just nominated presidential candidate after the convention Purpose: Works to strengthen party unity, raise money, prepare the party for the next presidential season

Congressional Campaign committee Congressional Campaign Committee – Two years Purpose – Work to reelect incumbents and to make sure that seats given up by retiring party members remain the party or work to unseat incumbents of the opposing party Members of this committee are chosen by their colleagues. All in all, from smallest to biggest: Congressional Campaign Committee  National Committee  National Chairperson

The State & Local level At the state level, party machinery is built around a State central committee, headed by a State chairperson. Organization is based off congressional districts. At the local level, party organization varies widely because there are so many elective offices Local level organization involves wards and precincts Ward – A unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members Precinct – The smallest unit of election administration*

Main components/elements of a party The party organization - These refers to the party leaders, the activists, the donors, etc. The party in the electorate - This includes the party’s voters and loyalists The party in the government - This includes the party’s officeholders in all levels of the government

The future… Political parties have never been very popular in America Many Americans have mixed feelings towards them There has been an increase in the numbers of voters call themselves Independents, rather than Republican/Democrats An increase in split ticket voting - Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

The future… Technology has changed the organization and work of political parties. Technology has made candidates less dependent on party organizations since, in many cases, and now they speak directly to the people. The increase of single-issue parties.