Transcript Political Parties

Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 12
Political Parties
Addendums by
Mr. Pourchot
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.
Bell Ringer
Which would be more successful an
anarchy or a despot ruler? Explain.
Content Vocab:
– Political Party
– Direct Primary
Academic Vocab:
– Unity
– Linkage
– GOTV
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Bell Ringer
Identify the differences between
Conservatism and
Liberalism/Progressivism
Content Vocab:
– Political Party
– Direct Primary
Academic Vocab:
– Unity
– Linkage
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– GOTV
Types of Political Parties
The following video is an
introduction to major political
parties.
Take notes on each type that is
presented in the film.
http://youtu.be/4FHqowXS4j4
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Origins of the American Political
Party System
Federalists and Anti-Federalists
Hamilton and Jefferson
– Jefferson’s group preferred a federal system with
more powerful states.
– Hamilton’s group preferred strong central
government.
No broad-based party organizations existed on
either side to mobilize popular support.
Congressional factions were primarily
governmental party factions.
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The Golden Age
This era spanned from the end of Reconstruction until the
reforms of the Progressive Era (1874-1912).
The Golden Age was marked by party stability and
dominance of party organizations in local and state
governments.
A major characteristic was big city party organizations called
“machines.”
The political machine is a party organization that uses
incentives to recruit its members.
Examples include parades, picnics, and registration drives.
They helped new immigrants settle in by giving them food
and temporary housing (tenement buildings) in exchange
for votes.
They also offered immigrants opportunity for upward social
mobility as they rose in the organization.
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The Modern Era Versus The
Golden Age: Is the Party Over?
Social, political, technological, and governmental changes
have contributed to party decline since the 1920s.
– Government assumed functions of party
• Printing ballots, conducting elections, providing social
welfare services.
• 1930s social services seen as right not privilege extended
in exchange for support.
• The role of government changed as people looked to
the government for economic and social solutions.
• As the flow of immigrants slowed dramatically in
the 1920’s, party organizations gradually withered.
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The Meaning of Party
Political Party:
A group of office holders, candidates,
activists, and voters who identify with a
group label and seek to elect to public office
individuals who run under that label.
Parties can be thought of in three
parts:
– Party in the electorate (We the people, us)
– Party as an organization
– Party in government
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Where’s the Party?
Party in the Electorate (We
the People): the voters who
consider themselves allied or
associated with the party
Party as an Organization:
the workers and activists who
staff the party’s formal
organization
Party in Government: the
office holders and candidates
who run under a political
party’s name
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The Meaning of Party
Tasks of the Parties
– Parties as a Linkage Institution: The
channels through which people’s concerns
become political issues on the government’s
policy agenda; it is how the government
addresses the needs of the people.
– Parties Pick Candidates
– Parties Run Campaigns
– Parties Give Cues to Voters
– Parties Articulate Policies
– Parties Coordinate Policymaking
– #1 goal: GET ELECTED
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The Direct Primary System
DPS: the selection of party
candidates through the
ballots of qualified voters (the
electorate) rather than at a
party nomination convention.
Direct primaries removed the
power of nomination from
party leaders and workers
and gave it instead to a much
broader and more
independent electorate.
This loosened the tie between
party nominees and the party
organization.
The voters choose
the candidate, not
the party
organization.
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Civil Service Laws
CSL: removed the
decision of staffing of the
bureaucracy from the
political parties.
Government employees were
hired on the basis of merit
and a civil service
examination.
This created fair
competition and a more
qualified bureaucracy.
This removed opportunities
for much of the patronage
used by parties to reward
their followers.
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Issue-Oriented Politics
Higher levels of education
gave rise to issue-oriented
politics such as civil rights,
tax policy, or
environmentalism rather
than on party labels.
Issue politics tends to cut
across party lines and
encourages voters to ticketsplit.
Ticket-splitting: to vote for
candidates of different
parties for various offices in
the same election.
– Independents are most
likely to split tickets.
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Election Data and Resiliency
Of the 31 presidential
elections from 1884 to 2004,
Republicans have won 17 and
the Democrats 14.
Despite major calamities and
setbacks,( Civil War, Great
Depression,Watergate,
numerous wars, terror
attacks, and sex scandals) the
two parties have proved
tremendously resilient.
Often times the parties
have bounced back from
landslide defeats to win
the next election.
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National Election Study
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Political Parties
Political parties serve as a linkage
institution.
Let’s go to the experts.
http://youtu.be/FXJcmFeIZBY
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Functions of American Parties I
Mobilizing support and gathering power: count
on support from fellow party members along with
GOTV (get out the vote) drives.
Form Coalitions: a group of interests or
organizations that join forces for the purpose of
electing public officials.
Force for stability and moderation: serve as
mechanisms for organizing and containing political
change as well as react to moderate public opinion.
They tame the polarized elements by pulling
them towards an ideological center in order to
attract voters on Election Day.
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Functions of American Parties II
Unity: Parties are the glue that holds together the
disparate elements of the fragmented political
environment.
Linkage: Parties serve to link the separated and
divided institutions of power to one another. Party
affiliation of the leaders of each branch constitute a
common basis for cooperation.
Electioneering: Parties funnel eager, interested
individuals into politics and government. Thousands
of candidates and staff members are recruited each
year; winners go on to serve in key governmental
positions once the election has been won.
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Functions of American Parties III
Voting and issue cue: Party affiliation
provides a useful cue for voters, who use
the party as a shortcut for interpreting
issues and events they may not fully
comprehend.
Policy formation and promotion:
Parties serve to formulate, convey, and
promote public policy. They set the NPP.
– National party platform- a
statement of the general and specific
philosophy and policy goals of a
political party.
– This is usually done at the Party
National Convention every four
years.
– The party platform has great
influence on a new presidential
administration’s legislative program
and on the president’s State of the
Union Address.
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How Do Primaries Work?
http://youtu.be/ePOux3mwQIw
Primaries and Caucuses
http://youtu.be/_95I_1rZiIs
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The Party in the Electorate
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State Party System
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.
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Primary System
The primary season begins in January in the same
year as a presidential election and ends at the RNC
and DNC, usually in the late summer.
States determine the method and date of their
primaries.
Frontloading is when states attempt to conduct their
primaries earlier in the primary calendar.
Every state will send delegates to both the RNC and
DNC.
The incumbent’s party always conducts their
convention after the challenging party.
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State Caucus
Caucuses serve the same purpose as primaries.
Caucuses are party meetings by precinct, district, or
county, where registered party members gather to discuss
the candidates and to select delegates to the next round of
party conventions.
With some major exceptions, like Iowa, turnout in caucus
states probably remains well under 10 percent of the
registered voters.
As a result, party leaders have more influence in a caucus
setting.
Caucus-goers also tend to be “people who are more
educated, affluent, and stronger partisans
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What Happens at a Caucus?
Upon arriving at a caucus,
typically in school gymnasiums,
town halls, or other public
venues, participants group
themselves according to the
candidate they support.
Undecided caucus-goers create
their own group.
Decided participants then speak
on behalf of their candidate,
attempting to convince other
attendees to join their group.
Caucus participants also have
the opportunity to change, if
they want to switch camps
before the final count.
Whichever group of supporters
literally has the most people will
receive the largest number of
delegate votes, which are then
tabulated from around the state.
The first caucus is held in
Iowa. People meet all over
the state.
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Caucuses
http://youtu.be/NnQZ3eAl3EU
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Democrat v. Republican
Caucuses
Delegates in states with Democratic caucuses are
generally distributed proportionally to the percent of
support each candidate receives.
In most Democratic caucuses, a candidate must receive at
least 15 percent of the vote in that precinct for that
candidate to earn delegates.
If a candidate does not receive 15 percent, his or her
supporters have the opportunity to join together with
supporters of some other candidate.
Most Republican caucuses, on the other hand, are winner-
take-all.
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Caucus Stages
Ultimately, party officials determine how many delegates
from each preliminary caucus each candidate can send to
the next stage of the nomination process.
In some states, like Iowa, the delegates chosen at the
caucuses then attend a county convention, where
delegates to the state convention are chosen.
At the state convention, delegates to the national
convention are chosen.
In the end, the number of delegates each candidate
receives from a state closely reflects the results of the
first caucuses.
Still, those results can be subject to significant changes
as the field of candidates narrows, or if delegates fail to
attend the next round of caucuses or conventions.
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Bell Ringer #1
Explain the difference between a
Caucus and a Primary.
Content Vocab:
– National Committee
– National Convention
– Think Tank
Academic Vocab:
– State
– Local
– Heirarchy
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How to Become a Delegate?
The procedure varies from state to state.
1.Find the contact number and address for your state’s party office
for whichever party you want to be a delegate for.
2. Call or write the state office requesting materials and application
necessary to apply as a delegate.
3. Read all the materials and fill out the application within the
allotted deadline. This is known as your “Declaration of
Candidacy.”
4. Mail your formal application and follow up with a phone call.
Tips: Make sure your voter registration reflects the political party
that you want to be a delegate for.
Be prepared to provide background information including
education, current occupation, and any political offices previously
held. People with “questionable” backgrounds need not apply.
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Party Organization in America
Pg. 431
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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
– Both major political parties
have a national committee;
the RNC and the DNC
– National Chairperson:
responsible for day-to-day
activities of the party
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGTi4-ysJS8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DGl-4gByV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKQV9bEcV28
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National Chairpersons
DNC Chairperson:
Debbie Schultz
RNC Chairperson:
Reince Priebus
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Party Hierarchy
National Committees
– DNC and RNC
• Focus on aiding presidential campaigns and conducting general
party-building activities
• Led by chairperson of the national committee
– Prime spokesperson for party between elections
• National Conventions
– National Congressional Committees
• Work primarily to maximize the number of seats held by their
respective parties in Congress; help campaigns for congressional
seats.
States and Localities
– State central committees
– Precinct, ward, cities, counties, towns, villages and congressional
districts
– City council races, example of a non partisan election
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Informal Groups
Both the RNC and the DNC have
numerous official, semi-official,
and unaffiliated groups that
both coordinate and sometimes
clash with the national party
Just outside the party orbit are
supportive interest groups and
organizations that often provide
money, labor, or other forms of
assistance to parties.
An example of an interest group is
the NRA, which often donates
campaign contributions to
conservative candidates.
Each party has several
institutionalized sources of policy
ideas.
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Bell Ringer #2
Let’s pretend that you participated in one of the
national conventions, make up an anecdote of
something you experienced at one of the national
conventions.
Content Vocab:
– Think Tank
– Presidential Coattails
– Pork Barrels
– Earmarks
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1NGzQZZcMg
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Think Tanks
A think tank is an
organization that
conducts research
and engages in
advocacy in public
policy in areas such
as political strategy,
social policy,
economy, science or
technology issues, or
industrial or business
policies.
They look at both
short and long
term implications
of public policy.
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The Party in Government:
Promises and Policy
Congressional Party
– Parties select party leaders and make committee
appointments. This is based on which party has a numerical
majority in each house.
– Speaker of the House and Senate Majority leader
– Organize and operate Congress by assigning committee
chairpersons, whips, and assistant whips
– Majority party generally holds more power in each house.
– Party discipline: Vote along party lines or not?
• Bipartisanship is often frowned upon.
• Hurt by individualistic nature of U.S. politics: Is the
campaign about the party or the candidate?
• But party voting has increased since the 1970s
• At the Federal level, leadership is based on seniority.
http://www.house.gov/leadership/
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Vote with the Party
How party voting has increased since the 1970’s
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The Party in Government:
Promises and Policy
Examples of NPP established by Think Tanks
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0ynouVKyA
The Presidential Party
Party of the president
– Captures the public
imagination
– Shapes the electorate’s
opinion of the two parties
– Presidential coattails:
if the president is popular,
so are his party members
and their policies. The
opposite is also true
– Some presidents more
party-oriented
• George W. Bush
considered pro-party
• Eisenhower “nonpartisan” president —
hurt his party
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/11/politics/stumping-in-iowaCopyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.
first-lady-stumbles-on-candidates-name/
The Parties and the Judiciary
Viewed as “abovepolitics” and
nonpartisan
Judges are products
of their party
identification.
Presidents choose
judicial candidates
from the ranks of
their party.
U.S. Supreme Court
– Many have had long
careers as loyal party
workers or legislators.
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Parties and the State Governments
The major national parties are the dominant
political forces in all 50 states.
Parties and Governors
– Usually have more influence on party
organizations and legislators
– Most have more patronage positions; this
gives added clout to with party activists
and office holders
– Line-item veto: 41 governors possess
the power of the line-item veto, which
allows the governor to veto single items
in appropriations bills (funding).
– Governor’s can remove pork barrel
projects from members that oppose the
governor’s agenda.
– Natural launching pad for presidential
candidacy.
Pork Barrel
Projects
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Pork Barrel and Log Rolling
Pork barrel projects are when a congressman
proposing a piece of legislation for his district offers
funding for a project in a different district in order to
get his legislation passed. (Also known as earmarks)
Logrolling is when a congressman promises his/her
future vote to a legislator in exchange for their vote on
a current piece of legislation.
Create your own example in your notes now.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.
Bell Ringer
What are presidential coattails? How did this idea
affect the 2014 midterms?
Content Vocab
Third Parties
SMPD
Party Realignment
Party Dealignment
Academic
Electorate
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Parties and State Legislatures
– Parties have greater legislative
influence at the state level than
at the national level.
– Party leaders have more
authority and power.
– Nebraska has a non-partisan
legislature, elected without party
labels on the ballot.
– State legislators depend on
state and local parties for
election assistance more than
members of Congress.
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Modern Party Organization
Modern technological
and communication
strategies have replaced
labor-intensive, personto-person operations of
early parties.
Republicans tend to
do better in fundraising due to
financial support
from big business.
Democrats have also
begun to solicit financial
support from big
business.
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Party Fundraising Comparison
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Party in the Electorate
Party Identification:
– A citizen’s personal affinity for a political party.
– Usually expressed by his or her tendency to vote for
the candidates of that party.
– Sources
• Parents and family
• Marriage and other aspects of adult life can change
one’s party loyalty.
• Charismatic political personalities, cataclysmic
events, and maybe intense social issues
• Social class may also influence partisan choice.
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Group Affiliations
Geographic Region
– South and Midwest tend to
vote republican.
– West coast and N. East tend to
vote democratic.
– Republicans have higher SES
(occupation, income, and
education) supporters.
Religion
Gender
– Gender gap is less apparent
Race and Ethnicity
–
–
–
–
Social and Economic
Factors
African Americans
Hispanics
Caucasians
Other groups
Age
– Young people once again
becoming more Democratic
– Protestants favor Republicans.
– Catholics and Jews are
predominantly Democratic.
Marital Status
– Married people lean more
towards Republicans. Why?
Ideology
– Few surprises because
patterns are consistent
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Third Parties: Their Impact on
American Politics
Third parties: electoral contenders other than
the two party parties.
Often play the “spoiler” role.
Third parties are important.
– Are “safety valves” for popular
discontent
– Bring new groups and ideas into
politics
– Room for critical voices, views on the
fringes
– To incorporate new ideas
– To incorporate alienated groups and
enhance voter participation
– Can force major parties to address the
needs/concerns of underrepresented
groups
– Clarify major-party candidates
positions
–
Many people vote for third party in the
primary but not in the general election
Two-party system
– Discourages extreme views
– Contributes to political ambiguity
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Why Third Parties Tend to Remain Minor
Proportional representation:
voting system that apportions seats
according to the percentage of the
vote won by a political party. This
system is NOT used here in the U.S.
We have a “single-member,
plurality” electoral system.
This system requires a party to get
one more vote than any other party
in order to win the election.
This requirement encourages the
grouping of candidates into as few
parties as possible.
Finishing first is not everything, it is
the ONLY thing.
The two parties will often move right
or left to gain popular support from
moderate/centrist voters.
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Third Party Problems
Most states have laws that
require third party candidates to
gather a large amount of
signatures before being placed
on the ballot.
Third party candidates receive
money only after the general
election if they received more
than 5% of the vote, and only in
proportion to their total vote.
Democrats and Republicans
don’t want to share a piece of the
“political pie.”
Voters consider third party
candidates early in the election
process but often return to the
two-party candidates by election
time.
News media rarely covers
third party candidates.
Can’t win syndrome.
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Third Party Issues
http://youtu.be/7oVUIgYleuE
http://youtu.be/cxSOVj35yrY
http://youtu.be/6aIpQ4eO9Bk
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Bell Ringer
Explain the significance of
Third Parties.
Get out Supreme Court write
up.
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Single-Member Plurality District
A single-member district is an electoral district that returns one
officeholder to a body with multiple members such as a
legislature.
In simpler terms, it is an electoral system in which candidates run for a
single seat from a geographic district
How It Works: In this system, all the candidates appear on the ballot
and the voters indicate their choice for one of them.
All the votes are then counted and the winner is the one with the most
votes.
Winners need not collect a majority of the votes, only more votes than
their opponents do--a plurality of the votes.
So if candidate A receives 40% of the vote, candidate B receives 35%,
and candidate C gets 25% -- candidate A wins the seat.
It makes it difficult for third parties to elect their candidate.
What would be the problem if we didn’t have this?
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Why is the SMPD System
Effective?
A small constituency with a single member, as opposed to
a large, multiple-member one, encourages a stronger
connection between representative and constituent and
increases accountability.
It is often claimed that because each electoral district votes for its
own representative, the elected candidate is held accountable to
their own voters, thereby helping to prevent incompetent,
fraudulent or corrupt behavior by elected candidates.
The voters in the electoral district can easily replace him/her
since they have full power over who they want to represent them.
As a result, the elected official (Congressperson) is in constant reelection mode and strives to focus on the needs of the
constituents (Constituent Service Program).
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Party Eras in American History
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Party Eras in American History
1968-Present: The Era of Divided
Party Government
– Divided government: one party controls
Congress and the other controls White
House
– Divided government due in part to:
• Party dealignment: disengagement of people
from parties as evidenced by shrinking party
identification
• Party neutrality: people are indifferent
towards the two parties
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Dealignment and Realignment
Dealignment occurs when an event
causes people to leave one political
party for the other.
http://youtu.be/WNpPj6MT1p0
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Party Eras in American History
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Party Eras in American History
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Understanding Political Parties
Is the Party Over?
– Political parties are no
longer main source of
information for voters
(think linkage institution)
– Media has more of an
impact that organized
party groups
– 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
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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.
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