Chapter 12: Political Parties

"Pure" Independents

"Pure" Independents are less likely to vote in general.

Sixth party system

(c. 1950s-1960s?)...

Downs' (20th century)

- a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.

National Party Convention

A gathering of delegates to select a party's presidential and vice presidential ticket and to adopt its national platform

Burke's (18th century)

Burke's (18th century) - A body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed.

Technology of modern campaigns is expensive

But more people are investing in politics as the government's role has expanded into their lives and businesses.

Despite disdain,

Despite disdain, voters still rely heavily on party cues.

Despite it all,

Despite it all, parties continue to dominate electoral politics.

Party entrepreneurs

Party entrepreneurs have simply redesigned party organizations to operate more effectively in today's media-based, candidate-centered electoral arena.

Our system of elections where only a single winner is chosen by plurality vote, generally reduced competition to two.

People tend to vote strategically Duverger's Law

Political parties are groups of individuals organized for the purpose of electing candidates to public office. The Constitution contains no mention of parties, and the Framers regarded them as undesirable or even dangerous. Nonetheless, the federal structure and electoral institutions they created give ample incentives for party building.

The first American parties formed during the first few decades of the Republic as congressional members attempted to build stable coalitions to control the machinery of government. These attempts quickly spilled over into the electoral arena. With the plurality voting rule penalizing all but a few serious candidates for each office, the two-party pattern of electoral competition quickly emerged. Two-party competition lapsed briefly during the Era of Good Feelings but revived following the 1824 presidential election and has endured without interruption ever since.

Party labels

as long as the labels are informative.offer a shorthand cue that keeps voting decisions cheap and simple

Second party system (1824-1860):

basic organizational structures set

First party system (1790-1824):

creation of national parties

Fifth party system (1932-?):

pattern of coalitional nature of American parties clearly illustrated

Third party system (1860-1894):

rise of party machines.

The more accurately a candidate's label predicts behavior in office,

the more useful it is to voters, and the more it will continue to be used.

Australian Ballot

A ballot prepared and distributed by government officials that places the names of all candidates on a single list and is filled out by voters in private. First adopted in the United States in 1888, the Australian ballot replaced oral voting and partysupplied ballots

Caucus

A closed meeting of a political or legislative group to choose candidates for office or to decide issues of policy

Political Party

A coalition of people who seek to control the machinery of government by winning elections. Not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, political parties make mass democracy possible by, among other functions, coordinating the group activities necessary to translate public preferences into public policy

Superdelegates

A delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is eligible to attend because he or she is an elected party official. The Democrats reserve a specific set of delegate slots for party officials

Progressive Era

A period of American history extending roughly from 1880 to 1920 and associated with the reform of government and electoral institutions in an attempt to reduce corruption and weaken parties

Two-Party System

A political system in which only two major parties compete for all of the elective offices. Third-party candidates usually have few, if any, chances of winning elective office

Allow

Allow citizens to hold their elected agents collectively responsible for what the government does.

Primary Election

An election held before the general election in which voters decide which of a party's candidates will be the party's nominee for the general election

New Deal Coalition

An electoral alliance that was the basis of Democratic dominance from the 1930s to the early 1970s. The alliance consisted of Catholics, Jews, racial minorities, urban residents, organized labor, and white southerners

In the 19th century, many state and local parties could be classified as party machines—hierarchical organizations controlled by a single boss. Party machines operated under an exchange relationship: politicians provided favors and services to people in exchange for continued electoral support. During the Progressive Era, reforms were implemented to weaken machine rule. The most important of these were civil service laws, the Australian ballot, and primary elections.

Diverse party alliances formed during the New Deal helped illustrate the coalitional nature of American politics. As new issues emerged, these coalitions began to unravel. Trends such as increased indifference to the parties, growing vote shares won by independents and third-party candidates, and divided control of government suggested parties were on the decline. However, the Democratic and Republican Parties continue to dominate electoral politics, and partisanship has resurged among voters over the past two decades. While the characteristics and strength of American political parties have changed over time, they continue to perform vital functions in our system of government. Parties recruit and train political leaders, organize the activities of government, and facilitate the collective action needed to translate voter preferences into public policies. For voters, they provide useful cues and mechanisms for holding elected officials accountable. Thus, despite the disdain that many citizens and politicians profess for them, their usefulness ensures that political parties will continue to thrive.

Help

Help channel and constrain political conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution.

An alternative to the American system is one based on proportional representation.

Here a party receives legislative seats in proportion to its share of votes. The system helps to preserve smaller parties Votes for their other candidates are not wasted

Higher-income voters

Higher-income voters are more likely to be Republicans.

Convention is important = image of the party that it portrays.

In 2008 both parties' conventions became venues for patching up party divisions arising from the bruising primary season as well as for trumpeting the candidates central themes for the fall.

Independents

Independents have increased.

Knit

Knit citizens and leaders together in electoral and policy coalitions.

partisans-Large majority-party

Large majority of voters are willing to identify themselves as partisans, of whom a very large majority vote loyally for their party's candidates. Party remains the central organizing instrument in government.

Lower-income

Lower-income voters are still more likely to be Democrats.

Two party system norm in U.S.

Most modern democracies have more than two parties.

Most people

Most people still call themselves Republicans or Democrats.

Office-seekers

Office-seekers thus tend to join one of the two competitive parties rather than pursuing office as independents or third-party nominees.

Organize

Organize the activities of government, facilitating the collective action necessary to translate public preferences into public policy. In short, they make democracy possible.

Over the past two decades,

Over the past two decades, partisanship revived somewhat modestly.

Parties

Parties are still indispensable to elected officials, candidates, and voters.

Display at convention is not without risk.

Party activists often hold more extreme views on the issues of the day than do ordinary party voters.

THE CONVENTIONS EVOLVE

Primaries decisive Convention obsolete

Recruit

Recruit and train leaders, foster political participation, and teach new citizens democratic habits and practices.

PARTY DIFFERENCES

Republicans: Democrats

Candidates: personal stake in value of label

Require some sacrifice of preference Threat of collective punishment govern to please voters

Advent of television and its use as a campaign medium was one of the most important changes that occurred.

Ross Perot in 1992 Spent a great deal of money and won 19.2 percent of the vote

Party Machines

State or local party organizations based on patronage. They work to elect candidates to public offices that control government jobs and contracts, which, in turn, are used by party leaders (often denigrated as "bosses") to reward the subleaders and activists who mobilize voters for the party on Election Day

Patronage

The practice of awarding jobs, grants, licenses, or other special favors in exchange for political support

The proportion of strong partisans declined

The proportion of strong partisans declined between the 1950s and 70s, but has since rebounded.

Ticket splitting

Ticket splitting has fallen to 1960s levels

party coalition

Today the party coalitions still retain strong traces of the New Deal alignment.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Two major parties have never been healthier.

Voters steadily less neutral

Voters steadily less neutral about the major parties since 1980. More likely to express positive or negative views of the major parties.

The crucial changes -

White southerners moving into the Republican camp. African Americans strongly loyal to the Democratic party. Reinforced by the Obama presidency

Fourth party system (1894-1932):

fall of party machines.

Weakening of party influence on voters

hastened by the influence of new technologies the availability of resources outside of party organizations