Chapter 7: Political Parties

  1. Political Parties
  2. A group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label by which they are known to the electorate
  3. Functions
  4. Linkage – connects citizens to government
  5. Running candidates for office
  6. Informing the public about issues
  7. Organizing the government – similar partisan ties between officials create connections between different branches and agencies
  8. Find them in following areas
  9. A label in the minds of the voters
  10. Set of leaders who try to organize and control the government
  11. Organization that recruits and campaigns for candidates
  12. American parties have become weaker in all three areas
  13. As labels -- there are more independents
  14. As organizations -- much weaker since the 1960’s and less control over the nominating process
  15. As sets of leaders -- the organization of Congress less under their control
  16. Differences from European parties
  17. Parties much stronger and more control over the election process
  18. Must be nominated by the party
  19. Party controls campaigns
  20. Expected to work with and vote with other party members
  21. Reasons why U.S. parties are different
  22. Federal system decentralizes power
  23. Early on, most people with political jobs worked for state and local government.
  24. National parties were coalitions of local parties.
  25. As political power becomes more centralized, parties become weaker still
  26. Parties closely regulated by state and federal laws
  27. Candidates chosen through primaries, not by party leaders
  28. President elected separately from Congress
  29. Political culture
  30. Parties unimportant in life; Americans do not join or pay dues
  31. Parties separate from other aspects of life
  1. Historical development of American political parties

BIG PICTURE:

**Characterized by long periods of dominance by one party followed by a long period of dominance by the other

**Eras begin and end with shifts in voting populations called realignments that occur because issues change and new divisions form between groups

  1. The Founding (to the 1820s)
  2. Founders disliked factions
  3. Hoped to avoid the mischief of political factions when they envisioned a government with enough points of influence to make parties unnecessary
  4. Madison’s Federalist #10  political factions are necessary evils to be controlled by federalism and the separation of powers
  5. Wanted to avoid the parties like those found in Great Britain
  6. Federalists & Anti-federalists
  7. Federalists
  8. Led by Alexander Hamilton
  9. Represented urban, business-oriented men who favored elitism and a strong central government
  10. Anti-federalists
  11. Led by Thomas Jefferson
  12. Favored strong state governments, rural interests and a weaker central government
  13. Became known as Democratic-Republicans
  14. Major issue was ratification of the new Constitution
  15. Issue resolved with addition of Bill of Rights but parties did not disappear
  16. Jefferson emerges as popular president and Democratic-republicans emerge as only party (Federalists disappear) during “Era of Good Feeling”  dominance lasts until mid-1800’s but as the Democrats
  17. Jacksonian Democracy (to the Civil War)
  18. Democrats
  19. Represented by Andrew Jackson
  20. Coalition of voters from South and West (rural, anti-bank, small farmers)
  21. Influenced by universal suffrage for men
  22. Initiated tradition of national convention to nominate presidential candidates (instead of caucuses made up of a handful of party leaders meeting in secret)
  23. Begin to allow more local control
  24. Whigs
  25. Not ideologically coherent group made up of old federalist interests as well as wealthy, rural southerners
  26. Had some success by nominating and electing war heroes – William Henry Harrison & Zachary Taylor
  27. The Civil War and sectionalism
  28. Whig Party falls apart under economic and social tensions of slavery
  29. New Republicans become dominant and end era of Democrat dominance
  30. Abraham Lincoln and Republicans on Union side
  31. Southern states (and many supporters of Democratic party) secede
  32. REALIGNMENT  Regional differences and conflicting points of view regarding expansion of slavery and states’ rights
  33. Republican Era (1861-1933)
  34. All presidents except for two (Grover Cleveland & Woodrow Wilson) during this era
  35. Also dominated the legislature
  36. Laissez-faire policy that advocated a free market and few government regulations on business
  37. Favors the new industrialists like John Rockefeller & Andrew Carnegie
  38. In most states one party comes to dominate which causes factions to develop within the parties
  39. Party professionals, or "stalwarts," one faction in GOP
  40. Mugwumps, Progressives, or "reformers" another faction
  41. REALIGNMENT  caused by Great Depression

  1. Early 20th century reforms/Progressive Movement
  2. In response to party machines and use of patronage
  3. Reforms
  4. Candidate nominations taken from party leaders and given to rank-and-file voters
  5. Primary elections established
  6. Civil service created (jobs assigned by merit not loyalty)
  7. Direct election of senators
  8. Women’s suffrage
  9. Initiative and referendum
  10. Effects
  11. Reduces worst forms of political corruption
  12. More power to voters
  13. Weakening of political parties
  1. Second Democratic Era (1933-1969)
  2. FDR and coalition of eastern workers, southern & western famers, blacks and the liberal
  3. Also dominated legislature
  4. Establish a government more actively involved in promoting social welfare
  5. Era of Divided Government (1969-2003)
  6. With a few exceptions control of legislature and presidency has been divided or split between the parties since the election of Richard Nixon
  7. Causes gridlock in decision-making as well as policy-making
  8. Caused by weakening power of political parties???
  9. Republican hold on presidency (1969-1993)
  10. Paid more attention to power of electronic media and importance of paid professional consultants
  11. Convert into well-financed, efficient organization that depended on professionals to find the best candidates
  12. Computerized mailings for fundraising
  13. Democrats focus on grassroots representation or the common man
  14. Reaction to 1968 Chicago convention – party seen as highly factionalized and leaderless
  15. McGovern-Fraser Commission reviews the party’s structure and delegate selection process  increased representation of minorities, women, youth and poor; number of superdelegates reduced
  16. Divided Government Today
  17. Democrats adopt Republican strategies of computerized mailings, lists, opinion polls and paid consultants
  18. Bill Clinton elected (1993) but Congress (1994) controlled by Republicans until 2001
  19. GW Bush elected and Republicans gain control of Congress in 2004
  20. Beginning of another realignment?
  21. Split between red states (Republican) and blue states (Democratic)
  22. Stronger party loyalties apparent
  23. Breakup of Solid South complete
  24. Democrats regain control of Congress  divided government returns!

  1. Realignment vs. Dealignment
  2. Realignment is a sharp, long-lasting shift in voting patterns
  3. Major party disappears and is replaced by another (1800 & 1860)
  4. Voters shift from one party to another (1896 & 1932)
  5. Can be caused by change in issues
  6. Slavery in 1860
  7. Economics in 1896
  8. Depression in 1932
  9. Dealignment refers to the weakening of political party identification among voters and the increase of “independents”
  10. More split ticket voting
  11. Growing emphasis on electronic media campaigns, professional consultants and direct mail recruitment have decreased importance and need for political parties
  12. Candidate organizations more important

  1. National Party Structure
  2. Parties similar on paper
  3. National convention meets formally every four years to nominate presidential candidate
  4. National committee composed of delegates from each state and territory
  5. National chairman manages the day-to-day work of the party
  6. Congressional campaign committee assists both incumbents and challengers
  7. Party structure diverges in the late 1960’s
  8. RNC moves to bureaucratic structure; a well-financed party devoted to electing its candidates
  9. Democrats move to factionalized structure to distribute power
  10. RNC uses computerized mailing lists to raise money
  11. Money used to run political consulting firm
  12. Democrats still manage to outspend GOP
  13. Public opinion polls used to find issues and to get voter response to issues and candidates
  14. RNC now tries to help state and local organizations
  15. Democrats remain a collection of feuding factions
  16. National conventions
  17. National committee sets time and place of convention and issues call setting number of delegates for each state
  18. Formulas used to allocate delegates
  19. Democrats shift the formula away from the South to the North and West
  20. Republicans shift the formula away from the East to the South and Southwest
  21. Result: Democrats move left, Republicans right
  22. Democratic formula rewards large states and Republican-loyal states
  23. Democrats set new rules
  24. In the 1970’s the rules changed to weaken party leaders and increase the influence of special interests
  25. Hunt commission in 1981 reverses 1970’s rules by increasing the influence of elected officials and by making convention more deliberative
  26. Consequence of reforms: parties represent different set of upper-middle-class voters
  27. Republicans represent traditional middle class
  28. Democrats represent the "new class"
  29. Democrats hurt because the traditional middle class closer in opinions to most citizens
  30. To become more competitive, Democrats adopt rule changes
  31. In 1988 the number of superdelegates (or elected officials & party leaders) increased and special interests decreased
  32. In 1992 three rule changes
  33. Winner-reward system (which gave the winner of a primary or caucus extra delegates) was banned
  34. Proportional representation was instituted (divides a state’s delegates among all candidates who received at least 15% of vote)
  35. States that violate rules are penalized – lose 25% of national convention delegates
  36. Conventions today only ratify choices made in primaries.

  1. State and local parties
  2. Party machines
  3. Recruitment of members via tangible incentives including money, political jobs and political favors (patronage)
  4. High degree of leadership control
  5. Abuses
  6. Gradually controlled by reforms such as strict voter registration laws, civil service reform and competitive bidding laws
  7. Hatch Act made it illegal for federal civil service employees to take active part in political management or campaigns (could still vote and make campaign contributions)
  8. But machines continued
  9. Winning above all else – no interest in issues
  10. Power weakens as voters become more educated and no longer need voting “advice”
  11. Ideological parties
  12. Principles above all else
  13. Contentious and highly factionalized
  14. Usually outside Democratic and Republican Parties – Socialist, Libertarian, Right-to-Life
  15. But some local reform clubs
  16. Reform clubs replaced by social movements in 1960’s and 1970’s – civil rights, peace, feminism, environmentalism, libertarianism, abortion
  17. Solidary groups
  18. Most common form of party organization
  19. Members motivated by solidary incentives such as socializing
  20. Advantage: neither corrupt nor inflexible
  21. Disadvantage: not very hard working
  22. Sponsored parties
  23. Created or sustained by another organization in the community
  24. Example: Detroit Democrats controlled by UAW
  25. Not very common
  26. Personal following
  27. Group of people/volunteers that work for candidate during campaign and then disband until next election
  28. Candidate needs appealing personality, lots of friends and/or lots of money
  29. Used successfully by the Kennedys, the Talmadges, the Longs, the Birds, the Bushes
  30. Viability today affected by TV and radio
  31. Advantage: vote for the person
  32. Disadvantage: takes time to know the person

  1. Two-party system
  2. Two major parties dominate political scene – Republican Party & Democratic Party
  3. Rarity among nations today (one of 15 in the world)
  4. Compare/contrast multi-party system in which more than 2 parties compete for political power; need for coalitions; stronger political parties
  5. Compare/contrast one party systems in which the one party is the government (China, Cuba, North Korea)
  6. Evenly balanced nationally, not locally
  7. Why a two party system?
  8. Broad consensus of basic political values – liberty, equality & individualism; both major parties support the Constitution and the election process
  9. Influence of history – Federalists & Anti-federalists
  10. Winner-take-all and plurality system
  11. Winner of election is one who receives the largest number of votes in each voting district
  12. Majority system different – requires winner to win by having 51% of vote
  13. Proportional representation different – percentage of votes is applied a percentage of representatives in legislature
  14. Strongly discourages minor parties
  15. Minor parties
  16. Types
  17. Ideological parties: comprehensive, radical view; most enduring
    Examples: Socialist, Communist, Libertarian
  18. One-issue parties: address one concern, avoid others; issue usually stolen by major party
    Examples: Free Soil, Know-Nothing, Prohibition
  19. Economic protest parties: regional, oppose depressions & economic conditions
    Examples: Greenback, Populist
  20. Factional or splinter parties: created by split in a major party
    Examples: Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose, Henry Wallace’s Progressive Party, George Wallace’s American Independent (backlash against civil rights movement)
  21. Movements not producing parties; either slim chance of success or major parties accommodate and incorporate their issues
    Examples: civil rights, antiwar, labor
  22. Factional parties have had greatest influence on public policy; most influential minor party = Populist
  23. Impact
  24. Affected outcomes of elections
  25. TR & Bull Moose took Republican votes so Dem. Woodrow Wilson won
  26. Ross Perot as an independent took Republican votes from GH Bush in 1992
  27. Ralph Nader & Green Party took Democrat votes from Al Gore in 2000
  28. Introduce controversial issues into mainstream

  1. Nominating a president
  2. Party's desire to win motivates it to seek an appealing candidate who appeals to the middle-of-the-road, but its desire to keep dissidents in party forces a compromise to more extreme views
  3. Delegates NOT representative of the voters
  4. Democratic delegates much more liberal than rank-and-file voters
  5. Republican delegates much more conservative than rank-and-file voters
  6. Explanation of this disparity
  7. Not quota rules regarding minority groups -- quota groups have greater diversity of opinion than do the delegates
  8. Maybe because delegates chosen in caucuses and primary elections that are not representative
  9. Who votes in primaries?
  10. Primaries now more numerous and more decisive -- by 1992 forty primaries and twenty caucuses
  11. Little ideological difference between primary voters and rank-and-file party voters
  12. Caucus: meeting of party followers at which delegates are picked
  13. Only most-dedicated partisans attend
  14. Often choose most ideological candidate: Jackson, Robertson in 1988
  15. Who are the new delegates?
  16. However chosen, today's delegates are a new breed unlikely to resemble average citizen: issue-oriented activists
  17. Advantages of new system
  18. Increased chance for activists within party
  19. Decreased probability of their leaving the party
  20. Disadvantage: may nominate presidential candidates unacceptable to voters or rank and file
  21. Parties versus voters
  22. Democrats win congressional elections but lose presidential contests; opposite problem for Republicans
  23. Candidates & delegates are out of step with average voters on social and tax issues
  24. Rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans differ on many political issues, but the differences are usually small -- need middle-of-the-road candidate to win votes
  25. Formula for winning president
  26. Nominate candidates with views closer to the average citizen (e.g., 1996 election)
  27. Fight campaign over issues agreed on by delegates and voters (e.g., 1992 election)