Political Parties

Chapter 8

Government in America: People, Politics, and PolicyEdwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry

Introduction

Party Competition – Battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of public office

How does party competition encourage democracy?

The Meaning of Party

Political Party:

According to Anthony Downs, a “team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election”

Why do political parties exist? Do party members always agree on policy?

Parties can be thought of in three parts: Party in the electorate – people who see

themselves as party members Party as an organization – National office, full-

time staff, etc. They keep the party running between elections

Party in government – elected officials who call themselves member of the party. They are the main spokespeople of the party.

The Meaning of Party

Tasks of the Parties Linkage Institution: the channels through which people’s

concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda What are the 4 linkage institutions?

Parties Pick Candidates - nomination Parties Run Campaigns – candidates also campaign solo Parties Give Cues to Voters – party image Parties Articulate Policies – advocate policy alternatives Parties Coordinate Policymaking – look to partisans for

support

The Meaning of Party Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs

Model Rational-choice theory

Assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives

Downs Model Voters maximize chances that policies they favor are

adopted by government. Parties want to win elected office. Wise parties select policies that are widely favored Successful parties don’t stray too far from the midpoint

of public opinion

The Meaning of Party The Downs Model

The Party in the Electorate Party image: a voter’s perception of what

Republicans or Democrats stand for

Party identification: a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other Republican, Democrat, or Independent

Ticket-splitting: voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices Independents are most likely to split tickets. No state or race is completely safe due to split tickets. Ticket splitting leads to DIVIDED GOVERNMENT Divided government leads to POLICY GRIDLOCK

The Party in the Electorate

The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington

These are the people that work for the party.

Local Parties

Party Machines: a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements to win votes and to govern – dominated cities between the late 19th century and the 1930s

Patronage: a job, promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than merit; used by party machines Due to progressive reforms, urban party organizations are

generally weak. Revitalization of party organization at county level

The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington

The 50 State Party Systems Closed primaries: Only people who have registered with

the party can vote for that party’s candidates.

Open primaries: Voters decide on Election Day whether they want to vote in the Democrat or Republican primary.

Blanket primaries: Voters are presented with a list of candidates from all parties.

State parties are better organized in terms of headquarters and budgets than they used to be.

The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington

The National Party Organizations National Convention: the meeting of party

delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and the party’s platform

National Committee: one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions

National Chairperson: responsible for day-to-day activities of the party

The Party in Government: Promises and Policy Party members actually elected to government

Which party controls government has policy consequences.

Coalition: a group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends Who are the Democrats’ coalition? Republicans?

Parties and politicians generally act on their campaign promises.

2008 Party Platforms – Whose is it? How can you tell?

We will re- center American foreign policy by responsibly redeploying our combat forces from Iraq and refocusing them on urgent missions. We will give our military a new mission: ending this war and giving Iraq back to its people. We will be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely remove our combat brigades at the pace of one to two per month and expect to complete redeployment within sixteen months.

Our success in Iraq will deny al Qaeda a safe haven, limit Iranian influence in the Middle East, strengthen moderate forces there, and give us a strategic ally in the struggle against extremism. To those who have sacrificed so much, we owe the commitment that American forces will leave that country in victory and with honor. That outcome is too critical to our own national security to be jeopardized by artificial or politically inspired timetables that ignore the advice of our on-the-ground commanders.

The War in Iraq

2008 Party Platforms – Whose is it? How can you tell?

Energy Independence

If we are to have the resources we need to achieve energy independence, we simply must draw more American oil from American soil.  We support accelerated exploration, drilling and development in America, from new oilfields off the nation’s coasts to onshore fields such as those in Montana, North Dakota, and Alaska.  The Green River Basin in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming offers recoverable shale oil that is ready for development, and most of it is on federal lands. 

We know we can’t drill our way to energy independence and so we must summon all of our ingenuity and legendary hard work and we must invest in research and development, and deployment of renewable energy technologies—such as solar, wind, geothermal, as well as technologies to store energy through advanced batteries and clean up our coal plants. We are committed to getting at least 25 percent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

Party Eras inAmerican History Party Eras

Historical periods in which a majority of votes cling to the party in power

Critical Election An electoral “earthquake” where new issues and new

coalitions emerge Sometimes marked by a national crisis

Party Realignment The displacement of the majority party by the minority

party, usually during a critical election – people leave one party and join another

New coalition is formed for each party and endures for many years

Party Eras inAmerican History 1796-1824: The First Party System

Madison warned of “factions” Federalists: first political party (Hamilton) Democratic Republicans replaced the Federalists

1828-1856: Jackson and the Democrats Versus the Whigs Modern party founded by Jackson Whigs formed mainly to oppose Jacksonian

Democrats Whigs supported by Northern industrialists and

Southern planters

Party Eras inAmerican History 1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras

Republicans rose as the antislavery party Civil War brought party realignment 1896 election centered on industrialization Republicans maintain control through Stock Market Crash

1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition Americans needed relief from the Great Depression. FDR

promised Americans a “New Deal” New Deal coalition: forged by the Democrats; consisted of

urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, the poor, Southerners

Party Eras in American History

Party Eras in American History 1968-Present: Southern Realignment and

The Era of Divided Party Government

Democrats had long controlled the Southern states. Nixon hoped to change this by appealing to conservative Southerners in 1968. The Southern realignment has happened gradually over 40 years.

1968 was also the first time in the 20th century that a President came into the White House without his party in control of BOTH houses of Congress (“Presidential coattails”)

1968-Present: Southern Realignment and The Era of Divided Party Government

The current era is one of “divided government” (The same party has been in control of the Exec and Leg branch only 12 of the 44 years from 1969 to 2012)

Divided government: one party controls Congress and the other controls White House

Divided government due in part to: Party dealignment: disengagement of people from

BOTH parties as evidenced by shrinking party identification, seen by an increase in voters identifying as independents

Party neutrality: people are indifferent towards the two parties

Party Eras in American History

Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics

Third parties: electoral contenders other than the two parties; rarely win elections

Third parties are important. Are “safety valves” for popular discontent Bring new groups and ideas into politics

Two-party system Discourages extreme views Contributes to political ambiguity – parties don’t want to

take a strong stand on controversial issues

Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics

Multiparty Systems in Other Countries Winner-take-all system: legislative seats awarded

only to first place finishers

Proportional Representation: legislative seats awarded based on votes received by the party - more votes, more seats

Coalition Government: two or more parties join to form a majority in a national legislature

Understanding Political Parties

Parties are essential elements of democracy Democracy and Responsible Party Government

Responsible Party Model

1. Parties have distinct comprehensive programs.

2. Candidates are committed to the program.

3. The majority party must carry out its program.

4. The majority party must accept responsibility. American political parties fall short of these conditions. No mechanism for party discipline

Understanding Political Parties

American Political Parties and the Scope of Government Lack of uniformity keeps government small

Big programs like Health Care (1994) fail But also makes cutting government programs

difficult Individuals focus on getting more from government for

their own constituents

Understanding Political Parties

Is the Party Over? Political parties are no longer main source of

information for voters; media are Yet parties will play an important but diminished

role in American politics State and national party organizations have become

more visible and active Majority of people still identify with a party

Summary

Parties are a pervasive linkage institution in American politics. Party in electorate, government, and as

organization America has a two-party system. The decentralized nature of political parties

makes major change difficult and encourages individualism in politics.