POLITICAL PARTIES: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

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POLITICAL PARTIES THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

• DR. MARK KELSO
• QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE
• WILDACRES PRESENTATION FOR SENIOR SCHOLARS
• MAY 15, 2007

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KEY QUESTION

• Do Political Parties Have a Positive or Negative
  Influence on American Politics?
• Arguments
• 1. Political Parties are widely misunderstood
  in our society
• 2. Political Parties do more good than harm
  in our political system

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WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY?

• Political organization whose primary
• purpose is to run candidates for
• office in an attempt to win control
• of government
• No Modern democracy has survived without
• political parties

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FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN A DEMOCRACY

• Organize CompetitionSimplify Choices in
  Elections
• Unify the ElectorateModerate Political Conflict
• Recruit Decision-Makers, Organize
  GovernmentDetermine Who Holds Political Office
• Translate Public Preferences into Public
  PolicyBridge Separation of Powers to foster
  cooperation and coordination in policy-making
• Provide a Loyal OppositionForum for Criticism of
  Government Policies

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TWO PARTY SYSTEM
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REPUBLICANS
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DEMOCRATS
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WHY THE US HAS TWO PARTIES
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DO WE NEED MORE PARTIES?

•  

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WHY PARTIES GET A BAD RAP---TRADITIONAL
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WHY PARTIES GET A BAD RAP--- MODERN

• Parties have lost public support in recent
• years due to
• scandals
• ineffective policy-making
• constant partisan bickering
• general decline in trust of government
• also in decline due to direct primary and end of
  patronage

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LARRY J. SABATOWHEN PARTIES LOSE, WHO WINS?

• Special Interests
• Wealthy and Celebrity Candidates
• Incumbents
• News Media, Particularly Television News
• Political Consultants

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CONSEQUENCES OF WEAK PARTIES

• Gridlock
• Inability of Government to Deal with Problems
• More Difficulty Developing Popular Support for
  Political Programs/Legislation
• Less Citizen Influence
• Decline in Voter Turnout
• Increasing Volatility in Elections

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PARTY IDENTIFICATIONHARRIS POLL
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VIEWS OF PARTIES---GALLUP POLL
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STRENGTHS OF PARTIES---VARIOUS POLLSwww.pollingre
port.com
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INDEPENDENT VOTERSAn independent is a guy who
wants to take the politics out of politicsAdlai
StevensonResults from www.cnn.com
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DO PARTIES DIFFER?YES, THEY DO!!!