Parties

POLITICAL PARTIES Chapter 8

THE MEANING OF PARTY 

Political Party: A

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



Parties can be thought of in three parts:  Party

in the electorate  Party as an organization  Party in government

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.  Parties Pick Candidates  Parties Run Campaigns  Parties Give Cues to Voters  Parties Articulate Policies  Parties Coordinate Policymaking

THE MEANING OF PARTY  Parties,

Model

Voters, and Policy: The Downs

 Rational-choice

theory: Assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, weighing the costs & benefits.

Figure 8.1

THE PARTY IN THE ELECTORATE Party identification is a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other.  Ticket-splitting: 

 Voting

with one party for one office and with another party for other offices.  Ticket-splitting has become the norm in American voting behavior. 

You may like Democrats position on social issues, but Republicans views of Economy

THE PARTY IN THE ELECTORATE

THE PARTY ORGANIZATIONS  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. 

Boss Tweed (NYC) & Richard J. Daley (Chicago)

 Patronage:

A job, promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than merit. Used by party machines.  Now urban party organizations are generally weak.  County organizations have partially filled the void.

THE PARTY ORGANIZATIONS  The

50 State Party Systems

 Closed

primaries: voters must be registered with their party in advance and can only vote for that party  Open primaries: voters decide on election day which party to participate in, and then only that party  Blanket primaries: voters get a list of all candidates and can vote for one name for each office, regardless of party label  State party organizations are on an upswing in terms of headquarters and budgets.

THE PARTY ORGANIZATIONS 

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  These

are the party members actually elected to government.  Candidates are less dependent on parties to get elected, but they still need help.  Coalition: A

group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends.

 Parties

& politicians generally do what they say they will do.

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN 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.

 Party  The

Realignment

displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election.

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

1796-1824: The First Party System  Madison

warned of “factions”  First party were the Federalists 

1828-1856: Jackson and the Democrats Versus the Whigs  Modern

party founded by Jackson  Whigs formed mainly in opposition to Democrats

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras  Republicans

rose as the antislavery party  1896 election revolved around the gold standard 

1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition  Forged

by the Democrats - relied upon urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Party Coalitions Today

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

1968-Present: The Era of Divided Party Government  Party

dealignment - disengagement of people from parties  Party neutrality - people are indifferent towards the two parties

PARTY ERAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Partisan Control of State Governments: 2005

THIRD PARTIES Political parties other than Democrat or Republican  Rarely win elections  Third parties bring new groups and ideas into politics  Two-party system discourages extreme views  Famous third party candidates: Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney 

THIRD PARTIES 

Winner-take-all system:  Legislative

finishers.



seats awarded only to first place

Proportional Representation:  Legislative

seats awarded based on votes received by the party - more votes, more seats



Coalition Government:  Two

or more parties join to run government

UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL PARTIES 

Democracy and Responsible Party Government 1. 2. 3. 4.

Parties have distinct comprehensive programs. Candidates are committed to the program. Majority party must carry out its program. Majority party must accept responsibility.

UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL PARTIES 

American Political Parties and the Scope of Government  Lack

of uniformity keeps government small  But, it also makes cutting government programs harder to do

UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL PARTIES 

Is the Party Over?  Political

parties are no longer the chief source of information for voters  State and national party organizations are getting stronger  Majority of people still identify with a party, but still split their tickets  Parties will continue to exist