Political Parties Chapter 8

The Meaning of Party Political Party: – A “team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.” Parties can be thought of in three parts: – Party in the electorate – Party as an organization – Party in government

The Meaning of Party Tasks of the Parties – Linkage Institution: The channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda. – Parties Pick Candidates – Parties Run Campaigns – Parties Give Cues to Voters – Parties Articulate Policies – Parties Coordinate Policymaking

Figure 8.1 The Meaning of Party Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model – Rational-choice theory: Assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, weighing the pros & cons.

The Party in the Electorate These are the voters in an election. Ticket-splitting: – Voting for candidates of different parties. YearDemIndRep

The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington These are the people that work for the party. Local Parties – Party Machines: A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements to win votes and to govern. – Patronage: A job, promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than merit. Used by party machines. – Now local organizations are generally weak.

The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington The 50 State Party Systems – Closed: voters must be registered with their party in advance and can only vote for that party – Open: voters decide on election day which party to participate in, and then only that party – Blanket: voters get a list of all candidates and can vote for one name for each office, regardless of party label

+, - of a Blanket Primary Positives: Negatives Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to ban blanket primaries?

The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington The National Party Organizations – National Convention: The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform. – National Committee: One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. – –

Party Eras in American History Party Eras – Historical periods in which a majority of votes cling to the party in power. Critical Election – An electoral “earthquake” where new issues and new coalitions emerge. Party Realignment – The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election.

Party Eras in American History : The First Party System – Federalists and Democrat/Republicans : Second Party System – Whigs and Democrats

Party Eras in American History : The Two Republican Eras – Republicans rose as the antislavery party – 1896 election revolved around the gold standard : The New Deal Coalition – Urban dwellers, labor unions, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, Intellectuals

Figure 8.3 Party Eras in American History 1968-Present: The Era of Divided Party Government – Party dealignment- disengagement of people from parties – Party neutrality- people are indifferent towards the two parties – Presidents and Congress rarely both hold unilateral control

Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics Political parties other than Democrat or Republican Rarely win elections But, they bring new groups and people into politics Two-party system discourages extreme views

What if… Positives and Negatives of our current 2- party system? Positives and Negatives of a multi-party system? Positives and Negatives of a one-party system?