Political Parties

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Political Parties

• Linkage Institution

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Unit 3 comprises the following

• In this unit, students will research the
  strongest influences on public opinion and how
• Americans organize to express their opinions.
  Historical and current opinions of political
• parties, interest groups, and the media will be
  analyzed. Focus will be placed on the structure
• and history of these groups. Group activities
  will be used to emphasize the need for
• compromise amongst groups.

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Chp 7 Political Parties

• In this chapter we will cover
• What is a Political Party?
• The Evolution of American Party Democracy
• The Roles of American Parties
• One-Partyism and Third-Partyism
• The Basic Structure of American Political Parties
• The Party in Government
• The Party-In-The-Electorate

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Take Five

• Who warned against political
• parties in his Farewell Address?
• What was the warning?

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What is a political party?

• A political party is a group of
• voters, activists, candidates, and
• office holders who identify with
• a party label and seek to elect
• individuals to public office.

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Take Five

• What were the first two political
• parties and why did they emerge?

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The Evolution of AmericanParty Democracy

• Hamilton and Jefferson, as heads of the
• Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups
• respectively, are often considered
• 'fathers' of the modern party system.
• By 1800, this country had a party
• system with two major parties that has
• remained relatively stable ever since.

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Goal of a Political Party?

• WIN ELECTIONS

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Party Structure

• National Convention meets every 4 years,
  nominates President
• National Committee manages party affairs on
  daily basis
• Congressional campaign committee supports
  partys candidates
• National chair manages daily work

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Function of Parties

• Connecting citizens to government (linkage
  institution)
• -Political Efficacy citizen participation level
  and awareness of government decisions
• Run candidates for political office
• Inform the public help voters decide who to
  vote for in elections
• Organizing government coordinate government
  policy-making

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Why 2 parties?

• Winner-take-all system
• Winner receives a seat while loser receives
  nothing
• 3rd party usually joins one of other parties
• Opposite Proportional Representation of
  votes is directly applied as the of
  representatives

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Take Five

• From your brochure assignment
• and textbook readingswho
• first invented the mascots for
• each major political party?
• Historically, what were they supposed to mean?

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Democrats and RepublicansThe Golden Age

• From the presidential elections of 1860 to the
• present, the same two major parties have
• contested elections in the United States
• Democrats and Republicans.
• Reconstruction -- Republican dominance
• Republican party formed 1854 by anti-slavery
  activists
• 1876-1896 -- closely competitive
• 1896-1929 -- Republican dominance
• 1930s and 1940s -- Democratic dominance
• 1950s and 1960s -- closely competitive
• 1970-2000 -- neither party dominant
• Election of 2008Democratic dominance
• CurrentlyDemocrats losing ground in
  Congressional elections

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Grass Roots

• Grass Roots parties can also reach the voters
  personally and get-out-the-vote on a local level

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One-Partyism

• A significant trend of recent times is the demise
• of one-partyism (one party dominance of
• elections in a given region).
• The formerly "Solid South" is no longer only
• Democratic.
• Many individuals split their vote between the
• parties, and sometimes vote for third parties.

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Ave. margin of victory for the past 5
Presidential elections
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Results of the past 4 Presidential elections
RedThe Republican candidate carried the state in
all four most recent presidential elections
(1996, 2000, 2004, 2008).PinkThe Republican
candidate carried the state in three of the four
most recent elections.PurpleThe Republican
candidate and the Democratic candidate each
carried the state in two of the four most recent
elections.Light blueThe Democratic candidate
carried the state in three of the four most
recent elections.Dark blueThe Democratic
candidate carried the state in all four most
recent elections
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Minor Parties Third-Partyism

• Minor parties are not a threat to the two major
• parties.
• Only eight third parties have won any electoral
• votes in a presidential contest.
• The third parties that have had some success are
• 1996 and 1992 Ross Perots Reform Party
• 1968 George Wallaces American Independent
  Party
• 1924 Robert LaFollettes Progressive Party
• 1912 Teddy Roosevelts Bull Moose Party
• 1856 Millard Fillmore's American Party

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Minor Parties

• Third Parties have played a role in politics
• Types
• Individual personality those dominated by one
  figure head (Ex. 1912 Theodore Roosevelt
  Bull-Moose, 1968 George Wallace American
  Independent Party)
• Long-lasting goal or ideology (Ex.
  Abolitionists, Prohibitionists, Socialists)

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The Golden Age of Political Parties 1874-1912

• Party stability-rare
• Big city and big party organization-political
• machines Chicago
• Party was viewed as government-party
• provided social services directlypatronage
• and allegiance
• Intense devotionhigh voter turnout 76 or
• better in elections form 1876-1900

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Take Five

• Who is this guy???? And what
• does he represent?

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Boss Tweedthe ultimate political machine and
example of corruption in politics
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Modern Era

• 1930s-social services began to be provided
• by national gov. not parties
• Direct primaries meant power of party
• diminished
• Loose ties between candidate and party
• Post WWII-issue oriented politics
• Individual candidate became focus
• Interest groups rather than party stepped into
• void
• More ticket splitting-voters vote for candidate
• as much as the party

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Party Identification

• Dealignment weak membership, more
  independents or moderates popular trend in
  the last 50 years
• Strait ticket voting strong party membership,
  support all candidates for one party
• Ticket splitting voting for candidates from
  multiple parties

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Loyalty Trends - Republican

• Chambers of Commerce tend to vote Republican
• The Mid-West tends to be more Republican
• Men tend to split fairly evenly between the two
  parties
• Cuban Americans are generally Republicans
  (anti-Castro)
• Professionals, executives, and white collar
  workers
• tend to be Republican
• High status Protestants tend to be Republican
• Married couples tend to be Republican
• Conservatives tend to be Republican

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Loyalty Trends - Democratic

• Labor union members tend to vote Democratic
• Democrats have a lead in garnering the women's
• votes
• Over 80 of African Americans
• Hispanics vote 3 to 1 Democratic
• Young people (18-24) are more Democratic
• Most blue collar workers and unemployed are
• Democrats
• Catholics and Jews are mostly Democrats
• The widowed are mostly Democrats

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Declining Party Loyalty?

• Dealignment-general decline in partisan id
• The number of independents in the U.S. rose
• from 19 in 1958 to 37 twenty years later.
• Identification with the two major parties today
  is
• in the mid 80 range.
• Pollsters often find that many self declared
• independents often 'lean' quite strongly to
  either
• the Democrat or Republican party.
• Leaners do feel party affiliations, but choose
• not to self-identify with a party.

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Realignment

• A shifting of party coalition groupings in
• the electorate that remains in place for
• several elections
• Jefferson formed Dem-Rep party
• Whig dissolved, Republican emerged won pres.
  1860
• Great Depression-many voters realigned to
• Dem

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More on Realignment?

• Gridlock Congress and Presidency controlled
  by different parties
• 2004 - Republican sweep of Congress and
  Presidency - party loyalty stronger?
• 2006 - split the Presidency and Congress again
• 2008 - brought a Democratic sweep
• Mid elections 2010backlash from economy and BP
  oil spill Tea Party MAY see a shift back
  towards Republican party