Political Parties in America

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Political Parties in America
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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

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AssignmentPolitical 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

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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

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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

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Purpose ofPolitical Parties

• To recruit, nominate and elect officials
• 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 serve as a link between the people and
  government

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Why do we have atwo-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

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Why do we have atwo-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

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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

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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

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Many polls are conducted based on party
identification
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Many polls are conducted based on party
identification
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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.

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History ofPolitical Parties

• 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.

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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
  publics 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

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What if everyone had to join a political party?
What would be the advantages? What would be the
disadvantages?
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Minority Parties in the US
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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

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Minority Parties in the US

• Examples of Third Party Contributions
• Womens Right to Vote
• Child Labor Laws
• Immigration Restrictions
• Reduction of Working Hours
• Income Tax
• Social Security
• Tough on Crime

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Special Interest Groups
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.
Advantages of Special Interest Groups Disadvantages of Special Interest Groups
They help stimulate interest in public affairs They are based on shared attitudes not geography They provide information to the government They provide information to their members They allow people to get politically involved Participation in interest groups is both practical and democratic Membership is constitution-ally protected (Bill of Rights) They may not have the best interest of the nation at heart They may have influence that is far out of proportion to their size It can be difficult to figure out which people some groups represent Some of groups do not repre-sent the views of the people who they claim to represent Some groups use illegal or unethical tactics They spend huge amounts of money
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Interest GroupsCompare and Contrast
Political Parties Similarities Special Interest Groups
Nominate candidates for public office Mostly interested in winning elections Mostly interested in controlling government (interested in the who i.e. the candidates) Concerned about the whole range of public affairs (i.e. whatever concerns the voters) Are accountable to the general public (voters) Both consist of people who unite for a political purpose Both work to influence public policy (law) Both use various tactics to appeal to the people Both allow the public to have a say in public policy Both serve in the Informer-Stimulator role Do not nominate candidates for public office but they do try to affect elections Mostly concerned with controlling or influencing the policies of govern-ment (interested in the what i.e. the issues) Typically concentrate on issues that directly affect their members Not accountable to the general public (private)
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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 1990s

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Arguments For andAgainst Bipartisanship

• 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
• Its tradition (230 years)

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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 Ive
got Republican support And thats what we are
going to need to win, said Obama in February
2008.
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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

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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.