1. UNIT III – MASS MEDIA, POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS Chapter 8 – Political Parties pp. 238-246

2. Party Competition  Battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of public office.  Without this competition there would be no choice, and without choice there would be no democracy.

3. The Meaning of Party  Political parties endorse candidates for public office and try to win elections.  Party leaders often disagree about policy, and between elections the parties are nearly invisible.

4. Three-Headed Political Giants  Party-in-the-Electorate: individuals who perceive themselves as party members – many voters have a party identification that guides and influences their vote.  Party as an Organization: has national office, a full- time staff, rules and bylaws and budgets.  Party-in-Government: consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party (such as the president and Congress)

5. Linkage Institutions  Translates inputs from the public into outputs from the policymakers.  Tasks in linkage institutions  Nomination of candidates  Run campaigns  Cues to the voters (party image)  Articulate policies  Coordinate policymaking

6. The Downs Model  Anthony Downs – working model of the relationship among citizens, parties and policy, employing a rational-choice perspective.  Rational-Choice Theory – assumes that parties and political actors have goals (such as winning elections) that are more important to the party than ideology.

7. The Party in the Electorate  The party in the electorate consists largely of symbolic images.  There is no formal “membership” in American parties.  For most people, the party is a psychological label.  Party identification – self proclaimed preference for one of the parties  Ticket-splitting  Divided government

8. Party Organizations: Grassroots to Washington  American political parties are decentralized and fragmented.  Party Machines – a party organization that depends on material inducements such as patronage, in which jobs were awarded for political reasons rather than for merit or competence.