 Liberal  The “left” or “left leaning” or “left-wing”  Generally favor government involvement  Value equality  Conservative  The “right” or “right leaning” or “right-wing”  Generally oppose government involvement  Value order The “left” and “right” designations come from the orientation of the Estates General during the French Revolution.  Liberals sat on the left and Conservatives on the right.  The language stuck.

 Democratic Party  Some say it began in with Thomas Jefferson in 1792 as the “Democratic- Republicans”  Others say that Andrew Jackson spearheaded the modern Democratic Party when elected in 1828  Originally stood for small government, limited federal powers and a strict interpretation of the Constitution  Federalist? Or anti-Federalist?

 Republican Party (aka Grand Old Party or “GOP”)  Formed in 1850s by anti-slavery politicians  Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president  Originally stood for bigger government, enhanced federal powers and a loose interpretation of the Constitution

The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass, and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.

Nast invented another famous symbol— the Republican elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party.

 Democrats: say the donkey is smart and brave  Republicans: say the elephant is strong and dignified.

 Liberal or Conservative?  Support idea that the role of the federal government in ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to succeed  Public Health Care  Education spending  Public works programs  These programs cost $$$  Taxes are OK, as long as it benefits society as a whole  Generally favor high taxes on business and the wealthy  Famous Democrats  FDR; JFK; Bill Clinton: 15 Presidents have been Dems

 Liberal or Conservative ?  Support idea that federal government should play a small role in the lives of individuals  Focus on state’s rights  Generally oppose government spending, bureaucracy  “Government is not the solution it is the problem”  One exception: the military  Generally support lower taxes for everyone, especially businesses and the wealthy, in the name of economic growth  Trickle Down Economics Rich will invest money everyone wins!  Famous Republicans  Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush: 18 Presidents have been GOP

 1. Organize citizens to win elections  2. Aids policy makers in passing legislation  Allows for creating permanent coalitions Coalition: Alliance  3. To Deal with the Problem of Ambition  Parties are vehicles for candidates with ambition and provide structure but also check their individual goals  What would have happened if Hilary Clinton ran for President in 2012? (Socrative)

 1. Recruiting Candidates  Offering financial support and organization to quality candidates willing to participate  2. Nominating Candidates  By convention Formal meeting where the party selects their candidate for the general election Primary Election- elections within parties to choose candidates Closed Primary- only party members registered previously with a party may vote Open Primary- voters may declare affiliation on primary election day What are Caucuses?  Like primaries in a few states (Iowa, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado, Nebraska, and Maine) How is it different? It is a meeting instead of ballot.  /INTERACTIVE-GRAPHIC-How-caucuses-work /INTERACTIVE-GRAPHIC-How-caucuses-work  Caucus technically means a meeting or grouping of members of a group with similar interests.

 3. Getting out the vote- GOTV  4. Lower information costs for voters

 5. Influencing National Government  Policy Party goals to become national policy  Congress Cooperation in congress is facilitated by the party system- majority party delegates positions like speaker of the house, committee appointments, allocate office space.  President Pres provides resources for party reelection and in turn party members in government provide support in implementing the pres agenda Would congress be more or less efficient if there were no political parties?

 Political Socialization into a party leads to party identification.  Development of ties with a party  Group Affiliations  Race and ethnicity  Gender  Religion  Class  Ideology  Region  Age

 1 st -Federalists and Democratic Republicans  Federalist downfall: Liking the British  2 nd -Demorcrats and Whigs  3 rd -Republicans and Democrats  4 th -Republicans and Populist-Democrats  Party Machines develop Organized parties which controlled local politics through patronage and nomination process  5 th -The New Deal Coalition and Democratic dominance  6 th ?-Republican and Democrats  Infighting and Coalitions

 Problem – nobody wants to vote for a loser  Who makes the rules? parties!  Single member district- U.S. system where one representative is elected  Good ideas brought up by third parties are always taken up by one of the major parties What would fix it?  Multiple member district- system where multiple seats are assigned in one district and each voter given multiple votes.  Should we adopt multiple seats?

 Polling  Broadcast media  Phone banks  Direct Mail-renting subscription list, franking privilege for incumbents  Professional PR-consultants  The Internet-media fragmentation and direct access  Overall these developments have made campaigns more dependent on capital (money) than volunteers (and therefore parties)

 National Committees  Fundraising and organization  Congressional Campaign Committees  Fundraising and organization DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz RNC Chairman Reince Priebus