1. Political Party Organization
Warm Up: What do each of the following symbols represent?

2. Local, State, and National Government Chapter 16
Political Parties
Local, State, and National Government
Chapter 16

3. A Political Party…
…a group of people with broad common interests who organize to win elections, control government, and influence government policies.

4. Party Systems One-Party Systems Multi-Party Systems Two-Party Systems
Authoritarian governments
Theocracy
Multi-Party Systems
Most common form of party system
Politically Unstable
Two-Party Systems
Least common form of party system
Example: United States
One Party Systems:
Party=Government
Associated with authoritarian governments (Ex. Cuba, China, etc)
Theocracy—government that is dominated by religion (Ex. Iran)
Multi-Party Systems:
Most common form of party system in world
Parties represent widely differing ideologies.
Politically Unstable—difficult for any one party to have enough support to control govt.
Coalition Government—when several parties join forces to obtain a majority
Examples=France, England, Italy
Two-Party System:
Minor parties exist, however, politics are dominated by two primary parties.
Example=United States
Only about a dozen two-party systems in the world

5. Growth of American Parties
1789: Federalists vs. Democratic-Republican
1828: Dem-Rep—split into National Republican (Whig) vs. Democrat
1860: Whig Party becomes Republican
In essence, both modern political parties (Democratic and Republican) have their roots during the Civil War era.

6. Modern Political Parties
The Democratic Party
The Republican Party
AKA The Grand Old Party (GOP)

7. Similarities of Major Parties in U.S.
All value personal rights, freedoms
Educational opportunities for all
Economic opportunities for all
Government duty- to protect nation
Preserve environment
Help citizens

8. Differences Disagree on ways to meet goals Example:
Democrats- government directly helps the poor
Republicans- government helps economy and poor get jobs

9. Role of Minor Parties Third Party
any party other than one of the two major parties
Examples: Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Socialist…
Impact of Third Parties draw votes from major parties; bring attention to issues
Obstacles to Third Parties
Getting on ballot
Single-member districts
Financing
Single issue party—focuses exclusively on one major social, economic, or moral issue (Example: Liberty Party and Free-Soil Party formed to take stronger stand on slavery than two major parties in 1840s)
Ideological party—focuses on overall change in society rather than one issue (Example: Socialist Labor Party and Communist Party advocate government ownership of factories and resources)
Splinter party—party which splits away from one of the major parties due to some sort of disagreement (Example: in 1912 Theodore Roosevelt led a group out of the Republican Party to form the Bull Moose or Progressive party)
Impact:
Draw votes away from one major party in order to influence outcome of election
Bring attention to important issues which are usually taken up by one of the major parties
Obstacles:
Difficulty getting on the ballot in all 50 states
Single-member districts—only one candidate my win in a district no matter how many are running and because most voters are affiliated with one party or another, the winner will almost always be Dem or Rep
Financing—need a great deal of money to campaign

10. Role of Third Parties Video
Has Mr. Nader ever run for President? If so, when? Who is his running mate in this election? Why is Mr. Nader running for President?
What is the significance of former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill's quote, "it is better to fight when you have a small chance, than to have to fight later when you don’t have any chance at all”? Why does Mr. Nader reference this quote? What is “political bigotry”?
Mr. Nader says, "it is harder than ever now to get on the ballot." How does a Presidential candidate go about getting his/her name on a ballot? Why might this be difficult?
Mr. Nader mentions the importance of broadcast media. According to Mr. Nader, from Labor Day to Election day during the 2000 Presidential election, how much time did major media outlets devote to covering his presidential campaign? Why do you think this is? Explain your answer.
What effects does Mr. Nader suggest his candidacy has and will have on this election? In a close race between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, how can a Third Party candidate affect the final election results?

11. Political Party Organization
Precinct—voting district
Ward—several adjoining precincts
County Committee—consists of several wards
State Central Committee—composed of reps from county organizations
National Committee—composed mainly of reps from 50 state party organizations

12. Goal of Political Parties
Win elections
End result, control government
Fulfill goal by >>>>
Recruiting Candidates—seek out and support people they feel can be elected
Educating the Public—raise public awareness as to important issues (GOTV)
Dispensing Patronage—favors given to reward party loyalty
Gerrymandering—redrawing district lines to protect incumbent candidates

13. Other Functions of the Political Party
Operating Government—run and staff government
Loyal Opposition—party out of power assumes role of “watchdog” over government
Reduction of Conflict—moderate policies adopted to attract approval of many differing factions.

14. Nominating Candidates
Caucuses—private meetings of party leaders who gather to select candidates; 19 states use this method today
Primary Elections —election in which voters select candidates to run
Closed primary only members of a political party can vote
Open primary all voters may participate
Nominating Conventions —official public meeting of a party to choose candidates for office
Petition —a person announces his/her candidacy and files petitions that a specified number of voters have signed in order to be placed on the ballot

15. Homework:
Exploring today’s major parties online Create a table comparing current platforms of the Democratic and Republican Parties, as well as the Green and Libertarian Parties platforms. Identify specific issues such as the economy, military spending, taxes, immigration, education...
Create a table comparing current platforms of the Democratic and Republican Parties. Identify specific issues such as the economy, military spending, taxes, etc..
Which method for selecting candidates (Chapter 16-3) is most fair in your opinion? Explain your choice.
Which method for selecting candidates (Chapter 16-3) is most fair in your opinion? Explain your choice.