Government Chapter 5

How can minor parties impact elections today?

Minor parties can still impact election today because even if they don't win the election, they still pull away some votes from the other major parties and have an effect of them.

Local Party Organization

Local party structures vary In some places local party organizations are active year- round, but usually they focus their efforts on the few months before an election.

National Chairperson

leads the national committee. is chosen after the national convention by the presidential nominee directs the work of the party headquarters and professional staff in D.C.

Raising Funds

•Both parties spend a great deal of effort to make sure the party's officeholders stay in power.

What role have minor parties played in American politics?

-they have fallen into four broad categories: ideological parties, single-issue parties, economic protest parties, and splinter parties. -they can play a spoiler role in elections by taking critical votes from a major party. -They can also be the first to bring key issues to public attention with their campaigns.

1. National chairperson in Presidential election years 2. national chairperson in Other years,

1. national chairperson's work involves the presidential campaign. 2. the chairperson works on building party unity, raising money, and recruiting new voters for the next election.

Compared to a multiparty system, how does our two-party system help our democracy?

Our two-party system helps our democracy compared to a multiparty system by the fact that we have a stable government. One party is able to win the majority of voters. Our two-party system is a single-member district and allows for an ideological consensus.

Two Party System in History- Origin:

battle for the Constitution: Federalist vs. Anti Federalists

radical

favors extreme change to create an altered or entirely new social system

reactionary

favors extreme change to restore society to a earlier, more conservative state

The National Committee

handles party issues in between conventions.

moderate

holds beliefs that fall between liberal and conservative views, usually including some of each

The most important role of minor parties is to

raise public awareness of controversial issues. ○Women's suffrage, income tax, and regulation of banking and railroads were all first championed by minor parties. ○Minor parties challenge the major parties to take action on issues, often accusing them of being part of the problem. ○The more successful minor parties' efforts are to raise awareness of an issue, the more likely it is that major parties will put the idea into their own campaign platforms.

conservative

seeks to keep in place the economic, political, and social structures of society

The National Convention

● The national convention is held every presidential election year. ● The convention names the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates, adopts the party's rules, and writes the official party platform. ● The convention does not name candidates for other offices and has no control over the actual policies supported by candidates.

The Nominating Process

● The nominating process can lead to competition within the parties. ● Nominations are made within the party and can divide party members if there is a dispute over nominees.

Ideological Parties

● based on a particular set of beliefs that usually involve society, politics, and the economy. ● Most of these parties have involved Marxist ideas, such as Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, and Communist parties ● The Libertarian Party calls for the elimination of most government functions and programs. ●these parties rarely win many votes, but can last for many years.

Eras of single party dominance from 1800-1968

-Democrats: 1800-1860 (1860 Lincoln and Civil War) -Republicans: 1860-1932 (1932 FDR! liberal. The Great Depression- New Deal) -Democrats: 1932-1968 (1968- Vietnam War) -Divided Government: 1968- present

Some U.S. states and districts are "modified one-party systems" which means

-In these places, one party repeatedly wins most of the elections and dominates government.

The Two-Party System

-The Republican and Democratic parties dominate American Politics -only the candidates from the two major parties have a chance to win most elections

Why might a group create a minor party even if their chances for winning are much smaller than a major party?

A group may create a minor party because they can still effect elections and set standards or rules the other parties don't. A minor party first used the idea of having a national convention to select presidential candidates and minor parties are often the ones to take a solid stand on controversial issues the major parties are too scared to talk about. They even bring some issues to American's attention and then the major parties proceed to "steal away" what the minor party did all the work for.

What is a political party?

Defined: A political party is a group of people who seek to control the government through winning elections and holding public office

Why do direct primaries create more conflict within parties than the other forms of the nominating process?

Direct primaries create more problems because nominations are made within the party and the process can cause a lot of disagreements. The process pits members of the same party against each other, which causes more unrest and conflict.

What do Political Parties Do?

Nominate candidates: find, recruit, prepare, gain support for candidates ● Inform and inspire supporters: inform and try to shape public opinion by using media to campaign in favor of their own policy issues and against their opponents. ● Encourage good behavior among members: by holding their candidates in office accountable ● Govern once in office ● Oversee government actions to ● ensure they are being carried out properly

How does our two-party system limit democracy?

Our two-party system limits democracy because some believe it is not responsive to the will of the people and many voters think a vote for a minor party candidate is a "waste of a vote."

Why is party unity harder to achieve for the party out of power than the one in power?

Party unity is harder to achieve for the party out of power because they do not have a solid distinguishable party leader, which the party in power has, the President.

Why do splinter parties develop? What usually happens to them.

Splinter parties develop because usually someone with a strong personality who failed to win the presidential nomination in their major party splits off from that party and forms the splinter party. These parties have faded or collapsed when the leader steps away.

Why the two-party system?

Tradition -Once established, parties became part of tradition. -The election process supports the two-party system • elections take place in single-member districts--the candidate who wins the largest number of votes gets elected to office • this works against third-party candidates • the two major parties write election rules that discourage non-major parties • both major parties try to be moderate and build consequences -both parties tend to have a few major areas of policy differences while being rather similar in other areas -both parties must compete for voters in the middle of the political spectrum

Multiparty systems

are used by many democracies. -They have several major and many smaller parties. -Each party is based on a particular interest (i.e. environment) •they tend to represent a more diverse group of citizens.

liberal

believes that gov/ must take action to change economic, political, and ideological policies thought to be unfair

The Democratic National Committee (DNC)

includes the party chair and vice chairperson from each state, additional party members from the larger states, and up to 75 at large members chosen by the DNC

The Republican National Committee (RNC)

now seats the party chairperson for each state as well as representatives from various Republican groups and the U.S. territories

Campaign Committees

•Each party has this for each house of Congress. •These committees work to get party members elected or reelected to Congress. It is easier to get reelected

Economic Protest Parties

● Arise in periods of economic trouble and call for economic reforms. ○ The Populist Party of the 1890s arose from the Greenbacks. They demanded public ownership of railroads, telephone, and telegraph companies along with political reforms. ● These parties disappear when hard economic times end

A Decentralized System

● Political parties do not have a chain of command running through all levels of government. ○ The President is the nominal (in name only) leader of the party. People look up to him/her, act as the leader, but they are not the official leader ad there is not a law that says they must be in charge ○ The party of the President is often better organized than the rival party ○ The President's media exposure ○ power to make appointments is valuable, but does not give complete authority over all party activities. help further their political careers

State Party Organizations

● State law determines party organization at the state level ● Most states have a central party committee headed by a chairperson. ○ Committee members selected through: primaries, caucuses, or state conventions try to promote party unity, find candidates, and raise funds committee members select a chairperson, who has a lot of independence in conducting party affairs

What makes up a political party?

● The Party Organization are the party professionals who run the party by contributing their time money and skills ● The Party in government are the candidates and officeholders who serve at all levels of the government ● The Party Electorate the millions of voters who identify strongly with a particular party and support its policies

The Bull Moose Party

● The Progressive parties of Theodore Roosevelt and Robert La Follette split from the Republican Party and Roosevelt's party was nicknamed this

Federalism

● The federal system is decentralized. ○ There are more than half a million elective offices in the United States spread across federal, state, and local governments. ○ A wide range of voters makes it difficult to have a unified party message.

Minor Party: Influence

● they can play a spoiler role. ○ By winning electoral votes or even enough popular votes to affect the outcome in a key state, they can affect the outcome of an election. ● It is NOT common for their candidate to shift the outcome of a presidential election. ● Ralph Nader's Green Party may have cost Democrat Al Gore the very close presidential election of 2000 by gaining votes in swing states such as Florida.

Single Issue Parties

● they emphasize one public policy issue. ○ i.e. the Free Soil Party opposed the spread of slavery to the West. Most of these parties fade away when their issue is resolved/ no longer has public interest

Splinter Parties

● they split away from one of the major parties. ● They are often centered on a particular candidate who fails to win his or her major party nomination, or arise from a strong disagreement within a major party. Splinter Parties (2) ● The Dixiecrat and American Independent parties split from the Democratic Party over states' rights and civil rights issues. they tend to break up when their leaders step aside.