POLITICAL PARTIES

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POLITICAL PARTIES
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What is a 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.
• Three components of the party
• governmental party
• organizational party
• voters who ally themselves w/party

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Evolution of the US Parties

• No mention of parties in Constitution.
• Commonly referred to as factions considered
  dangerous
  
• Cleavage between Adams and Jefferson led to our
  first party system
  
• Federalist and Democratic-Republicans

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Democrats and Whigs

• Expanding electorate led to a change in the
  actions of parties....they had to campaign for
  votes
  
• claimed to represent the common people
• Democrats under Andrew Jackson
• Led to development of the Whig party to oppose
  Jacksons increasing power

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Democrats and Republicans

• Antislavery forces in Whig Party led to the
  formation of the Republican Party
  
• 1860 saw the election of Lincoln (Republican) and
  a split in the Democrats
  
• Established our current two-party system
• party control has gone back and forth between
  Democrats and Republicans

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Parties Then and Now, Future

• Parties were stronger in the past
• Machines promoted election turnout
• Whither the parties?
• Government programs instead of parties
• Advent of direct primaries civil service laws
• Issue politics
• Changes in electioneering (tv, consultants)
• Party endure

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Roles of the Parties

• Mobilizing support
• Stability
• Linkage and Accountability
• Electioneering
• Voting and Issue Cues
• Policy Formulation and Promotion

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Party Structure

• National Committees
• Leadership -- Chairs of RNC and DNC
• National Conventions
• States and Localities

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Party in Government

• Congressional Party
• Organize Congress
• Discipline
• Roll call votes
• Presidential Party
• Presidents can use their position to help the
  party
  
• Coattails?
• Parties and the Judiciary

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Party Organization

• Sophisticated communication networks
• National Party Organization
• Deals with the national convention every 4 years
  provides some support to candidates
  
• Republican strengths
• resources, organization
• Democratic gains
• provided more support to candidates

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Party in the Electorate

• Voters who consider themselves to be allied with
  the party.
  
• Party Identification
• Signifies a voters sense of psychological
  attachment to a party
  
• Sources of Identification
• Declining Loyalty
• Differences in loyalties
• geography, gender, race, age, etc.

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Minor Parties in the US

• Bolter Parties
• Formed when factions split off from a major
  (e.g.Wallaces American Independent Party)
  
• Farmer-labor Parties
• Populists, Progressives
• Ideological Parties
• Socialists, Libertarian
• Single-Issue Parties
• Prohibition, Right-to-Life

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Why a Two-Party System

• Electoral System
• Majority Representation -- we have single winners
  chosen by a simple plurality
  
• Contrast with proportional representation
• Institutional Factors
• Political Socialization
• These parties persist simply because they have
  persisted