Political Parties in America

What is a Political Party?

• A political party is a group of political activists who organize to win elections, to operate the government, and to determine public policy.

• A faction is a group in a political party acting together in pursuit of some special interest or position

Assignment:Political Parties

• Using the alternative textbooks, list and explain the functions of political parties

• Using the alternative textbooks as well as your ability to think critically, create a T-chart identifying the advantages and disadvantages of political parties

Functions ofPolitical Parties

• Watchdog Function: Party out of power scrutinizes and criticizes the actions of government officials; They force officials to be more responsive to public

• Informer-Stimulator Function: Parties take stand on issues and criticize their opponents; They use the media to perform their educational function

• Nominating Function: Parties recruit and choose candidates; They provide nominees with a solid support base

• Government Function: Parties appoint state and national officials on a partisan basis; They encourage cooperation between the branches

• Seal of Approval Function: Parties try to nominate people that are qualified and of good character; They work to ensure the elected officials perform their duties well

Purpose ofPolitical Parties

• To serve as a link between the people and government

• To allow the public to have a say in who runs the government

• To allow the public to have a say in public policy

• To recruit, nominate and elect officials

Purpose ofPolitical Parties

• To allow the public to have a say in public policy• To serve as a link between the people and

government

• To recruit, nominate and elect officials

• To allow the public to have a say in who runs the government

Why do we have a

two-party system?

• The Electoral System: single member districts preserve the two-party system; state election laws discourage third parties

• The American Ideological Consensus: the US is a pluralistic society but most agree on fundamental issues; major parties tend to be moderate

Why do we have a

two-party system?

• Historical Bias: the Framers were opposed to political parties; however, ratification of the Constitution led to the first political parties

• Force of Tradition: most Americans support the two-party system because it has always existed

Components ofPolitical Parties

• Party in the Electorate: the members of the general public who identify with a political party or who express a preference for one party over the other

• Party in Government: all of the elected and appointed officials who identify with a political party

• Party Organization: the formal structure and leadership of a political party including election committees, local, state, and national executives and paid professional staff

Did you know?

The party in power in the House gets to:

– Choose the Speaker of the House– Make any new rules for the House– Have a majority of the seats on committees– Choose the chairperson of the committees– Hires majority of congressional staff

Many polls are conducted based on party identification

Many polls are conducted based on party identification

Survey Methods

• Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,625 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted June 15-19, 2008. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

• Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).

• In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

• 1800-1860: Era of the Democrats– A coalition of farmers, planters, debtors and pioneers

backed the Democrats who dominated the government; Democrats were opposed by the Federalists, Whigs and finally the Republicans

• 1860-1932: Era of Republicans– Republicans received support from Northern and

Western farmers, financial and business interests and African Americans. During this time the Democrats controlled the “solid south.”

History ofPolitical Parties

• 1932-1968: Return of the Democrats– During the Depression, FDR built a new coalition with

support from Southerners, small farmers, organized labor, minorities, and big-city political organizations; The New Deal shifted the public’s attitude about government

• 1968: The Start of a New Era– Since 1968, Republicans have dominated the White

House while Democrats have controlled Congress but the situation has reversed in recent elections. The era of DIVIDED GOVERNMENT is unprecedented in out history

History ofPolitical Parties

What if everyone had to join a

political party? What would be the

advantages? What would be the

disadvantages?

Minority Parties in the US

Minority Parties in the US

Role of Third Parties– They introduce useful

innovations in American politics

– A strong candidate can play the role of “spoiler” in close elections

– They play an important role as critics/reformers

– When their ideas gain popular support, the are often adopted by one or both of the major parties

IdeologicalParties

EconomicInterestParties

Single-IssueParties

SplinterParties

Minority Parties in the US

Examples of Third Party Contributions

– Women’s Right to Vote– Child Labor Laws– Immigration Restrictions– Reduction of Working

Hours– Income Tax– Social Security– Tough on Crime

IdeologicalParties

EconomicInterestParties

Single-IssueParties

SplinterParties

Spe

cial

Inte

rest

Gro

ups

Advantages of Special Interest Groups

Disadvantages of Special Interest Groups

1. They help stimulate interest in public affairs

2. They are based on shared attitudes not geography

3. They provide information to the government

4. They provide information to their members

5. They allow people to get politically involved

6. Participation in interest groups is both practical and democratic

7. Membership is constitution-ally protected (Bill of Rights)

1. They may not have the best interest of the nation at heart

2. They may have influence that is far out of proportion to their size

3. It can be difficult to figure out which people some groups represent

4. Some of groups do not repre-sent the views of the people who they claim to represent

5. Some groups use illegal or unethical tactics

6. They spend huge amounts of money

Interest Groups: private organizations that try to persuade public officials to respond to the shared attitudes of their members.

Public Policy: all of the goals that a government sets for itself as well as the course of action it follows to obtain those goals.

Interest GroupsCompare and Contrast

PoliticalParties

SimilaritiesSpecial Interest

Groups

1. Nominate candidates for public office

2. Mostly interested in winning elections

3. Mostly interested in controlling government (interested in the who – i.e. the candidates)

4. Concerned about the whole range of public affairs (i.e. whatever concerns the voters)

5. Are accountable to the general public (voters)

1. Both consist of people who unite for a political purpose

2. Both work to influence public policy (law)

3. Both use various tactics to appeal to the people

4. Both allow the public to have a say in public policy

5. Both serve in the Informer-Stimulator role

1. Do not nominate candidates for public office but they do try to affect elections

2. Mostly concerned with controlling or influencing the policies of govern-ment (interested in the what – i.e. the issues)

3. Typically concentrate on issues that directly affect their members

4. Not accountable to the general public (private)

Content from Article: Bipartisanship

• The Republican Party– More Conservative

• The Democratic Party– More liberal

• The two parties disagree on issues such as taxes, terrorism, immigration, abortion, global warming, etc.

• The political landscape has grown more polarized since the 1990’s

For Bipartisanship• Without it, Congress is all but

crippled• Cooperation and compromise

are needed for the good of the nation

• Most of America is moderate (and feel disconnected by bipartisan politics)

• It would attract more interest in government

• Reverse the trend toward “ugly” and “mean” politics

• Blame media for the extreme polarization of the parties

• It has lead to good legislation

Against Bipartisanship• It will not “cure” the problems

that ail America• It is a natural and healthy of

democracy (disagreement)• Claims “bipartisanship” is a

buzzword (slogan)• Leads to watered-down

legislation• Change required parties to

stand firm (“rock the boat”)• Bipartisanship does not lead to

good legislation (slavery)• To remove partisan politics

removes choice from people• It’s tradition (230 years)

Arguments For andAgainst Bipartisanship

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

The NominatingProcess

Primaries: Are open to all registered voters.

– Participants may vote for any registered candidate or choose to write a candidate in

– Participants do not actually vote for their candidate but for delegates to represent them at the National Convention

– Voting is by secret ballot– Can be open or closed

“I know how to reach out to independents and I’ve

got Republican support… And that’s what we are going to

need to win,” said Obama in February 2008.

The Nominating Process

Caucuses: Open to all registered voters of the

party– Voters divide themselves by

candidates– Voters give speeches and try

to persuade others to support their candidate

– At the end, the number of delegates a candidate is determined by overall support

The Nominating Process

• Delegates are selected at primaries and caucuses to attend the National Convention for their respective party. – Delegates can be pledged

or unpledged– Democrats use

proportional distribution of delegates

– Republicans typically use a winner take all system.