1. Political Parties

2. The Meaning of Party
Party Competition-battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of public offices
Political party- team of men and women seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in duly constituted elections
Three headed political giant
The party is the electorate
The party as an organization
The party in government

3. Tasks of the Party
Linkage Institutions- translate inputs from the public into outputs from the policymakers
Parties pick the candidates
-nomination- official party endorsement
Parties Run Campaigns
Parties give cues to voters
Parties Articulate Policies
Parties coordinate policymaking

4. Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model
Parties compete in a marketplace
Rational-choice theory
1. voters want to maximize the chance that policies they favor will be adopted by government
2. parties want to win office, select policies that are widely favored
Successful parties rarely stray far from the midpoint public opinion
Try to differentiate themselves

5. The Party in the Electorate
Party image- voter know or think they know what Democrats and Republicans stand for
Party Identification- self proclaimed preference for one party or the other
In US we don’t formally join parties
Young people politically independent of party
% of Americans identified as independent
Ticket Splitting- voting with one party for one office and the other party for another office

6. The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington
Pyramid shaped organization
Decentralized and fragmented

7. Local Parties
Party Machines- party organization that depends on rewarding its members in some material fashion
Patronage- job awarded for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone
Fall of party machines to local organizations
Distribute yard signs, register voters, get out the vote on election day

8. 50 State Party System
No two states have same organization in their party
State parties have wide discretion
Open vs closed primaries
Permanent headquarters for party organizations

9. The National Party Organization
National convention- supreme power within each party
Meet every 4 years to decide party platform and nominate candidates for president and vice president
National committee- operates the party between conventions
National chairperson- head of party organization that deals with day to day operation

10. The Party in Government: Promises and Policy
Voters attracted to party in government by its performance and policies
Coalition- a set of individuals and groups supporting the party
Depends how well government keeps its promises

11. Party Eras in American History
America a 2 party system and always has been
Minor parties cant really win
One party usually dominates for a given period of time
Party Eras- when a majority of Americans identify with the party in power, thus party tend to win elections
Critical election- electoral earthquake where parties coalition fractures, and new issues appear dividing the electorate
Party realignment- akin to political revolution, major crisis or trauma in history

12. 1796-1824: The First Party System
Federalist party led by Hamilton
Needed help for national bank
John Adams only president
Democratic-Republicans led by Jefferson
Put up three president with two terms a piece
Gained power from agrarian interests
Mostly made of southerners

13. 1828-1856: Jackson and Democrats versus the Whigs
Democratic-Republicans become the Democratic Party under Jackson
Pushed by westerners and southerners against elites
Martin van Buren gets one term
Whigs only get two presidents Harrison, and Taylor
Brought together more to oppose democratic policies but could not agree on much after that

14. 1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras
Slavery splits both democrats and whigs
Republicans rise in late 1950s as antislavery party
Abraham Lincoln first republican president
Second Era starts with election of McKinley vs Bryan
Republicans favor gold standard, industrialization, banks, high tariffs
Democrats favor silver standard and western farmers
Republicans hold onto power till the stock market crash of 1929

15. 1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition
Hoover didn’t handle the great depression well
The Rise of Democrats led by FDR and the new deal
FDR Wins 4 presidential election with his popular policies helping pull America out of Depression
New Deal coalition included:
Urban Dwellers
Labor Unions
Catholics and Jews
The Poor
Southerners
African Americans
Johnsons Vietnam war policies splinter the democratic party plus refusing to run again

16. 1968-Present: Southern Realignment and the Era of Divided party government
Richard Nixon's “southern strategy”
Watergate Leads to Carter
Iranian Hostage crisis leads to Reagan
Less of electorate aligned with either party
Congress and presidency often split between parties
Party dealignment- many people gradually moving away from both parties

17. Third Parties: Their impact on American Politics
3 Types of third parties
Promote a certain cause
Splinter parties, or offshoot of major party
Parties that are extension of a popular individual
Almost never win office
Bring up many important issues
Green party candidate cost Gore the 2000 election
Two parties firmly entrenched

18. Democracy and Responsible party government: How should we Govern?
1. parties represent distinct comprehensive programs for governing the nation
2. Each parties candidates must be committed to its program
Majority party must implement its program
4. Majority party must accept responsibility for the performance of the government

19. Democracy and Responsible party government: How should we Govern?
Party in power convert promises into policy
Parties vary in membership
Obama and the Blue Dog Democrats
Decentralized parties

20. Americans political parties and the scope of government
Unlike European parties American parties lack discipline
They promise something but they are not cohesive as a group
Vary in opinion in one party
Lose party structure make the goal to get more for constituents to get reelected