AP Gov/Pol Political Parties

Critical election of 1860 (name the people, issues, and party changes)

Abraham Lincoln vs. 3 opponents Issues: - What should current states do about slavery? - Should slavery spread into new states? Party Changes: - Whig Party and Democratic Party lost power - Republican Party formed and gained power under Lincoln, who made abolition arguments that appealed to whites, saying that slavery was harmful for everybody in the country economically and politically

Critical Election of 1932

FDR (D) vs. Herbert Hoover (R) Issues: - Hoover's unwillingness to provide govt support to citizens during Great Depression Party Changes - Democratic Party changed its agenda and aimed to help people in the midst of disaster. They embraced a series of new policies and agencies that drastically expanded the power of the federal government - Many people realigned from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party

How political parties make party platforms

Leading candidates and other party leaders appoint members onto the party platform committee, which drafts and publishes the official party platform at the national convention of the party

party era

periods of time where one party dominates the political sphere

robocalls, voter registration drives

robocalls: prerecorded messages used in widespread push polling voter registration drives: when small groups of volunteers canvass on foot in neighborhoods to try and gain votes ^ two examples of ways political parties try to persuade on-the-fence voters

3 main functions of political parties

1. Educate/mobilize voters 2. Establish agendas and party platforms that define goals 3. Recruit candidates and manage campaignsHow

4 barriers to 3rd parties in US politics

1. Single-member districts: (affects third parties in elections for state reps) Every district is represented by one officeholder (the person who wins the most votes in that district). This means that there are no rewards/incentive for second or third place. The alternative to this is proportional representation, in which a third party who receives 10% of votes in a district would receive 10% representation in that district 2. Money/resources: Campaign finance law says that only parties that received a certain percentage of votes in the previous election qualify for government funding in the current election. Third parties also don't have massive donor networks and fundraising events because they don't have enough supporters or enough power. Also to get a candidate on the ballot, a party has to provide a petition with huge amounts of signatures, and third parties don't have enough registered voters to dispatch into communities to collect signatures. Finally, the media doesn't cover third parties as much as it does the major parties. 3. Winner take all (affects third parties in presidential elections): All of a state's electoral votes go to the party who wins the state's majority vote, which third parties cannot do 4. Swing states (affects third parties in presidential elections): the only states third parties could ever win would be swing states, yet third parties can't match the investment by Democrats/Republicans in winning swing states.

Critical election of 1828 (name the people, issues, and party changes)

Andrew Jackson vs. John Quincy Adams Issues: - Public resentment over stolen election of 1824 (in which Jackson won the popular vote and the electoral college by plurality but not majority, so Congress decided the election in favor of John Quincy Adams) - Public resentment over political power of elites over the public Party Changes - Jackson formed the Democratic Party, which focused on laissez-faire economics and decentralization - Opposition of Jackson's policies lead to Whig Party, which took after Federalist Party and supported centralized currency and commerce, as well as national investment in infrastructure - First election in which the winning candidate used widespread campaign strategies to appeal to the mass electorate, as opposed to simply appealing to socially elite "political friends". - Jackson established the spoils system, in which political allies are rewarded with civil service positions.

Hill Committees

Committees orchestrated by both parties in each house of Congress. These committees are made up of Congress members, and the chair of each party's Hill Committee holds a leadership position in their respective chamber. These committees don't make or draft laws, instead they recruit candidates, raise money, and overall strategize how to win seats in Congress for their party. There are 4 Hill Committees: National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Note that hill committees refer to national political parties

How can political parties contribute to federal candidates' campaigns

Each political party (whether it be a political party at either a district, local, state, or national level) must register with the FCC and campaign contributions to federal candidates are capped at $5,000 per election

Arguments for and against superdelegates

For: - Superdelegates exist so that party leaders and elected officials don't have to run against grassroots activists in elections. - Superdelegates have never actually determined the Democratic nominee - Superdelegates give the party some power over the people to make sure that the party doesn't nominate somebody too radical or somebody who is opposed to the core ideas of the party. After all, primary elections have lower turnout than general elections, and thus more radical voters will have more say in a party's nominee than the "average voter". The superdelegate system balances this. Against: - Superdelegates make it harder for underdog challenging candidates to receive the nomination over established, powerful party members - Superdelegates are undemocratic because they can directly and arbitrarily affect U.S. elections. - Superdelegates favor/represent the elite instead of the common person, as superdelegates are all members of the elite.

Four types of third parties

Ideological parties - parties that follow a specific political ideology (ex: Libertarian Party, Socialist Party) Splinter parties - Parties that break off from major parties Economic protest parties - parties formed specifically to protest certain economic events Single-issue parties - parties formed specifically to advocate for a single issue

2018 Changes to Superdelegates

In 2018 the DNC agreed to reduce the power and influence of superdelegates by not allowing them to vote on the first DNC ballot. Superdelegates can now only vote in contested nominations, on subsequent ballots

2016 Superdelegate Controversy

In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton had the vast majority of Superdelegate votes compared to her opponent and underdog Bernie Sanders. The controversy was in the fact that the Superdelegates pledged their votes to her before the primary elections had even started.

How do political parties manage campaigns?

In the early phase of elections, parties oversee their respective nomination process (by conducting polls, holding primary elections, etc.) Once a nominee has been chosen, the party unites to help the candidate fundraise, gain popularity and media attention, and perform well at debates and other speaking events

How parties inform both voters and office-holders

Parties inform voters about certain issues, while also informing candidates/office-holders about what members of the party want

How are political parties organized across the country?

Political parties exist at the district, local, state, and national levels. For instance, there is the GOP (national), the Washington Republican Party (state), and the King County Republican Party (local). At any level, political parties perform similar functions. However, money from national parties is not streamlined downwards to state and local parties. Lower level parties must fundraise independently. Additionally, national, state and local parties may disagree on issues.

(Debated) Critical Election of 1968

Richard Nixon (R) vs. Hubert Humphrey (D) vs. George Wallace (I) Issues: - Protests and civil unrest in streets due to MLK assassination, and disregard for the Vietnam War - Democratic Party divided by generation (younger Democrats wanted US out of the war at all costs, older Democrats were more moderate) Party Changes: - Republican Party changed strategy to appeal to the "silent majority" of middle-class white Americans fearful of social change - Republican Party also used "Southern Strategy" which focused on appealing to Southern States by opposing civil rights laws - This election signaled the end of the Democratic Party Era that started in 1932

Critical Election of 1980

Ronald Reagan (R) vs. Jimmy Carter (D) Issues: - Centralized federal govt vs decentralized (states)? - How much morality/values should be protected by legislature? - How much government involvement in economy? Party Changes: -Republican Party switched to focus on becoming the party of "morality" and also to focus on returning power to the states

DNC Superdelegates

Superdelegates are delegates who can vote for any candidate in the Democratic Party's nomination process. They are in contrast to pledged delegates, who must vote in accordance with the popular vote in state primaries and caucuses. Superdelegates make up a portion of total DNC delegates, and are automatically assigned as delegates due to either their status as elected officials, or status as high ranking party leaders.

What happened at the 1968 Democratic Convention, and what was created because of it?

The Democratic Party delegates nominated the moderate Hubert Humphrey for president, over his two anti-war opponents, despite the fact that Humphrey had not won a single primary. During the convention many younger citizens took the streets, as they could not vote yet they sharply opposed the Vietnam War. Seeing the discontent and division among its members, the party sought reform, and thus founded the McGovern Fraser Commission in hopes of appealing to the Democratic base.

1972: McGovern Fraser Commission

The commission first examined the party and its rules, and then gave advice on how the party could reform itself to make the nomination process more democratic, and less up to the discretion of party leaders. Over time, the commission evolved and began recommending ways that the party's delegates could better represent underrepresented groups such as women, minorities, and youth. Initially the Commission recommended that the party assign delegates based off of primary election results. Additionally, it recommended that party officials and officeholders no longer be automatically assigned as delegates.

Party Principle

The idea that a political party exists as an organization distinct from its elected officials or party leaders, and that candidates who win office can reward those who helped the campaign with government positions. Established by Jackson and his Democratic Party (spoils system)

How do the main political parties incorporate third party agendas?

The main party's must attempt to incorporate third party ideas into their respective party platforms, or risk (a.) third party voters voting for the opposite party or (b.) losing undecided voters to third parties

Party Chairperson

The primary strategist and spokesperson for the party. Appears on TV and at major party events, oversees the party's day-to-day operations, and leads the recruitment process of candidates. Each political party (at each level) has a chairperson

Critical election of 1800 (name the people, issues, and party changes)

Thomas Jefferson vs. John Adams Issues: - Public disapproval of Federalist Party (its size, political dominance, and absolutist values Party Changes: - First time the Federalist Party lost an election - This election switched power to the Jeffersonian-Party (democratic-republicans, provided roots for future Republican Party) - Federalist Party never regained dominance

party dealignment

When large groups of people leave a certain party, without joining another

party realignment

When large groups of voters switch from one party to the other

Divided government

When one party controls the White House and the other controls Congress

Critical election of 1896 (name the people, issues, and party changes)

William McKinley (R) vs. William Jennings Bryan (D) Issues: - Civil War weakened political parties - Corruption in large industries (agriculture, railroad, banking) - Republican Party losing rural votes to populists - Democrats had monopolies in the South Party Changes - The Republican Party shifted its focus from its egalitarian roots to become the party of American capitalism and industry, aiming to grow America's economic power in the world - Republican Party changed prime demographic from rural to urban voters (manufacturers and skilled workers)

critical elections

elections that lead to major party realignments or foundational shifts in a party's principles, and break up party eras