1. Presentation by Dr. Kevin Lasher

2. Government Intervention in Economy Govt. Intervention in Personal Matters FOR AGAINST AGAINST FOR LIBERALS CONSERVATIVES LIBERTARIANS POPULISTS

3. Political Parties 1)Definitions 2)Roles of political parties 3)Why two parties? 4)History of US political parties

4. US Political Parties Political parties are NOT mentioned in the U.S. Constitution Founders were hopeful that we would avoid political parties

5. US Political Parties: Definition Political party is a broadly-based coalition which attempts to gain control of the government by winning elections Focus is on political parties in democracies, especially the United States

6. Political Parties in non-democracies The Communist Party in China shares some of these characteristics Big difference is lack of competitive elections

7. Roles of US Political Parties 1)Recruit and select candidates 2)Provide public policy alternatives 3)Organize government 4)Channel conflict

8. Recruit and Select Candidates American parties locate and help choose candidates for all offices There was a time when each party picked candidates in “smoked-filled” rooms Parties still do some of that, but mostly candidates run within primaries (intra-party elections)

9. Recruit and Select Candidates Parties have more influence at state and local level At the core, parties provide labels for relatively uninformed voters

10. Provide Public Policy Alternatives Democrats and Republicans offer different types of policy solutions to various national problems Democrats propose more liberal policies; Republicans propose more conservative policies

11. Provide Public Policy Alternatives Legislation is much more than just half and half compromise between the two parties Democrats may have two or three versions of a bill and same for Republicans

12. Provide Public Policy Alternatives Every four years, both parties create “platforms” that summarize the issue positions of their party’s presidential candidate

13. Organize Government House and Senate leadership and committees are divided by party (and party strength) House: Republican Speaker and Republican majorities on all committees

14. Organize Government President Obama appoints mostly Democrats to serve in the Executive Branch departments (and President Bush appointed mostly Republicans)

15. Organize Government While SC Justices do not have formal party affiliations, they can be identified as liberal, moderate or conservative Democratic presidents will nominate more liberal judges and Republicans will nominate more conservative judges

16. “Channeling” Conflict American parties both create and limit conflict They create the “parameters” of the political debate Democrats and Republicans agree on many policy fundamentals, while arguing policy details

17. “Channeling” Conflict Republican Solution Democratic Solution Health Care Policy National Health Care Pay Own Health Care

18. Why Two US Political Parties? 1)North-South differences 2)Single member district plurality (SMDP) electoral system 3)“Capitalist politics” 4)Moderate American public 5)Election laws biased toward existing parties 6)Political Socialization

19. North-South Differences From 1860-1960 the “Solid South” was solidly Democratic The Republicans dominated the North and West (although not quite as much) This is NOT the case today, with much of the South becoming Republican

20. Single Member District Plurality (SMDP) Electoral System

21. Seven SC districts; 435 House districts nationally SMDP systems are very likely to create two large parties fighting for the majority/plurality New Gamecock Party wins about 20% of the vote in each district How many seats do they win with their 20% ? NONE

22. Single Member District Plurality (SMDP) Electoral System District OneRepublican 42% Democrat 38% Gamecock 20% District TwoRepublican 52% Democrat 28% Gamecock 20% District ThreeRepublican 35% Democrat 45% Gamecock 20%

23. Single Member District Plurality (SMDP) Electoral System SMDP systems make it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive Because they rarely win elections and eventually disappear (or fall into being irrelevant) Proportional representation (PR) systems make it easier for third and fourth parties to be created and survive

24. Proportional Representation (PR) Electoral System SC Republicans 57%4 seats State-wide Democrats 28%2 seats Gamecock 15%1 seat National 15%65 seats Gamecock

25. “Capitalist Politics” Two main political parties are generally supportive of the capitalist economic system Parties of the “far left” (socialist and communist) are almost unknown in the US Democrats and Republicans argue about the nature of American capitalism

26. Moderate American Public Americans also reject parties of the far right (neo-fascist parties) As the wealthiest country in the world, it is understandable that MOST Americans are fairly supportive of the “status quo” Are the American people becoming less moderate?

27. Biased Election Laws Election laws are written in legislatures in 50 states controlled by either of the two major parties Democrats and Republicans are not going to create election laws that make it EASY for a competitive third party to be born and survive

28. Political Socialization We grow up learning that there are basically two political parties in the United States We have had the same two political parties since 1860s Democrats and Republicans is what “we expect”

29. History of US Political Parties 1)1790s-1828Democ-Republicans vs. Federalists 2)1828-1860 Democrats vs. Whigs 3)1860-1896 Democrats = Republicans 4)1896-1932Republicans > Democrats 5)1932-1980Democrats > Republicans 6)1980 – nowDemocrats = Republicans (???)