1. Warm Up
"No America without democracy, no democracy without politics, no politics without parties, no parties without compromise and moderation.“
What do you think this quote is saying about the relationship between political parties and democracy?

2. Monday, September 25, 2017
Objective: Students will be able to analyze the impact of political changes brought about by individuals, political parties, interest groups, or the media, past and present.
Purpose: Parties are important because they are the principal means by which the will of the people is made known to government and by which government is held accountable to the people

3. What are Political Parties?
Political Party: a group of persons who seek to control government through winning elections and holding public office
They are a vital link between the people and their government, between the governed and those who govern
Political parties help bring together diverse viewpoints to achieve common policy goals

4. Roles of Political Parties
Nominate candidates for office
Parties inform the people and inspire and activate their interest and their participation in public affairs
Help run the government

5. Roles of Political Parties
Support the leader of the executive branch if he is a member of the party
Act as the “loyal opposition” (opposed to the party in power but loyal to the people of the nation)

6. Both Democrats and Republicans use their parties’ Web sites to disseminate information, build loyalty, unite followers, and get out the vote.

8. In his Farewell Address, Washington said, “The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”

9. Political Ideologies Political Spectrum: the range of political views
Conservatives: favor to keep the social, economic, and political structures of society as they are (on the right side)
Liberals: favor government action to change what are perceived to be unfair social, economic, and political structures (on the left side)

10. A political party logo is a symbol that represents the entire party
A political party logo is a symbol that represents the entire party. The Republicans and Democrats have adopted the elephant and the donkey respectively to represent their parties.

11. The Democratic and Republican parties had different platforms for taxes and healthcare in the 2012 election. How do the party platforms reflect the political spectrum?

12. The Two-Party System
The Federalist and Anti-Federalists started this system
The Federalists were the party of "the rich and well-born" and had supported the Constitution and a stronger national government
The Anti-Federalists were more concerned for the "common man" and favored a much more limited role for the national government
Today, most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system simply because there has always been one

13. The Two-Party System
This system exists because of the electoral system
Single-Member Districts: The candidate that wins the largest amount of votes within a district wins the election
Many districts favor one party over others, very few districts are actually competitive
It also exists because Americans are more ideologically similar to each other than people in other nations (this is called the ideological consensus)
No major socialist, green, or nationalist parties in the United States

14. Political Party Factions
Many subgroups exist within political parties
Moderates: favor some conservative and liberal views (this is the group most American voters belong to) (in the middle of the spectrum)
Radicals: favor extreme change to create a new political, social, and economic order or restore an earlier new political, social, and economic order (can be to the left of liberals and to the right of conservatives)
Populists: favor policies that go against the interests of the elite in government, the economy, and society

15. Factions in the Democratic Party
Blue Dogs (Conservative Democrats)
Very few members of this faction
New Democrats (Moderates)
Examples: Obama, the Clintons
Progressives (most liberal)
Examples: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren of MA

16. Factions in the Republican Party
Moderate Conservatives
Mainstream Conservatives
Largest faction
Sometimes is called “the establishment”
Tea Party/Freedom Caucus (Ultraconservative/Reactionary)
Examples: Ted Cruz, Mike Lee of Utah, Steve King of Iowa

17. In Germany's multiparty system, power is shared by several parties
In Germany's multiparty system, power is shared by several parties. In America, two parties have a monopoly on power. How are majorities built in the German Bundestag?

20. Party Systems in the States
About 1/4 of the states have "modified one- party systems“
the political landscape is regularly dominated by a single party in these states

21. The pie chart shows the percentage of the popular vote each party garnered in the 2012 presidential election. Did the minor parties affect the election results? Explain.

22. Importance of Third Parties
They have influenced how some things are done by parties and have developed creative solutions
Example: Anti-Masonic Party was the first to use a national convention in to nominate their candidate for President
Spoiler role: a third party candidate can still pull enough support away from one of the major parties to affect the outcome of the election
Examples: Roosevelt in 1912, Perot in 1992, Nader in 2000

23. Third-party votes in the 2000 presidential election may have affected the outcome. If all third party votes had gone to Al Gore, how would these percentages been different?

24. Disadvantages of Third Parties
If their main leader leaves the party, support for that party ends
Ballot access is not guaranteed
They are unable to attract big time donors to financially compete with the Republicans and Democrats
The single-member district and winner take all aspects of our electoral system do not favor third parties

25. Types of Third Parties
Single-Issue Parties: parties that focus on a single public question
Economic protest parties
Splinter Parties: parties that have split away from one of the major parties

26. Types of Third Parties
Ideological Parties: based on a particular set of beliefs
Examples: Constitution Party, Socialist Party, American Independent Party
Libertarian Party
Most popular third party
emphasizes individual freedom, elimination of income taxes, and significantly reducing the size of the government

27. Types of Third Parties Green Party
Main focus is environmental protection
Now includes issues such as universal healthcare, campaign finance reform, and limits on corporate power in the party platform
Greatest Success: Presidential Election (Ralph Nader won 2.74% of the popular vote)

28. Part of the collage, “The Race for the White House,” showed Theodore Roosevelt riding a bull moose. The complete image included William Taft on an elephant and Woodrow Wilson on a donkey.

29. Minor parties have sometimes had a significant impact on presidential elections. Using the data in the chart, which of these minor parties may have changed election results?

30. Discussion
Are the thoughts about political parties that you wrote down in the Warm Up? If not, how have your thoughts about political parties changed?
How does the Two-Party system help make our democracy better?
What are some of the problems with the Two-Party system?