Lecture – Political Parties

Point 1. What are Political Parties? Political parties, like interest groups, are organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices, thereby controlling government. Interest groups accept government and its personnel as givens and only try to influence policies. Political parties extend popular political participation, promote effective choice, and smooth the flow of political business in Congress. Partisanship is not the United States’ political problem; instead, our parties are not strong enough to function effectively.

Point 2. The Two Party System in the United States. The two party system (a political system in which only two political parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control) has dominated American politics, although which particular parties were in competition has changed over time, culminating with today’s Democrats and Republicans.

Parties form in one of two ways: 1. Party formation by internal mobilization, which occurs when conflict breaks out and public officials seek to mobilize popular support; 2. Party formation by external mobilization, occurring when politicians outside government seek popular support to win governmental power. Today’s Democrats and Republicans are examples of each of these forms of mobilization and have had an important place in American history.

  1. Party Systems. The United States’ political parties compete with one another over offices, policies, and power, and the history of each party is linked to that of its major rival. The term party system to a number of parties competing for power, the organization of the parties, the balance of power, between and within coalitions, the parties’ social and institutional bases, and the issues and policies around which party competition is organized. Over the course of American history, changes in political forces and alignment have produced distinctive party systems.
  1. The First Party System: Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans. In 1790, the first party system emerged and pitted the Federalists against the Jeffersonian Republicans. The Federalists supported mercantilism tariffs, assumption of the states’ revolutionary war debts, creation of a national bank, and resumption of commercial ties with Britain. The Jeffersonians promoted agrarian interests, free trade, and friendship with France. In 1800, Jefferson won the presidency, taking the party to power. The weak Federalists collapsed altogether after being associated with pro British sympathies in the War of 1812. Until the 1830s, the United States went through an “era of good feelings” because of the absence of party competition. The sole political party became known as the Democrats. In the 1830s, Andrew Jackson won two presidential terms while espousing free trade and policies that would make it easier to borrow money. Opposition to Jackson led to the formation of a new political force known as the Whig Party, thus giving rise to the second American party system.
  2. The Contemporary American Party System. The presidential candidate Barry Goldwater helped crystalize what would become the Republican Party themes. In his book Conscience of a Conservative, he argued in favor of reduced taxation and spending, less government economic regulation, and elimination of many federal social programs. Nixon’s “southern strategy” gave the GOP the needed votes to end Democratic political dominance. In the 1980s, Republican President Ronald Reagan added an important coalition to the party: religious conservatives who were offended by the Democratic support for abortion and gay rights.
  1. The Democrats. The world’s oldest popularity based political party can trace its origins back to the Jeffersonian Republicans and later to the Jacksonian Democrats. From 1828 – when Jackson was elected president – to 1860, the Democratic Party dominated American politics. The 19th century Democrats emphasized the importance of interpreting the Constitution literally, upholding states’ rights and limiting federal spending. In 1860, slavery and the Civil War split the Democrats and gave political power to the Republicans. The Democratic Party regained full political strength during the Great Depression. The New Deal coalition – composed of Catholics, Jews, blacks, farmers, intellectuals, and members of organized labor – dominated American politics until the 1970s. Even at the height of its political strength under the New Deal, the Democrats were never fully united. Many conservative southern Democrats opposed the party’s embrace of African Americans and civil rights. The party remained the majority party until the 1980s, when it faced serious problems. The solid southern vote has been lost to the Republicans, but the party gained African American and women’s votes. After the 1990s, Congress was mostly under Republican control. Clinton’s “triangulation” strategy of pursuing a moderate course between Republicans and Democrats took back both houses of Congress in 2006, they have been more vocal in their opposition to Republican national domestic policies and have been more united as a party than in the past.
  2. The Republicans. The Republican Party – known as the “Grand Old Party” (GOP) – was formed during the 1850s as a coalition of antislavery, commercial, and other forces. The party’s nomination and election of Abraham Lincoln as president at the 1860 convention sparked southern secession and the Civil War. Republicans dominated the United States for almost 75 years after the North’s victory in the Civil War. The Republican party came to be closely associated with big business. In 1932, the Great Depression ended Republican hegemony because the voters held the party responsible for the catastrophe. Democrats held sway from 1932 until the 1960s. In the 1960s and 1970s, Democratic support for the civil rights movement divided the Democrats and led many white southerners to join the Republican Party. In 1994, the Republican Party took control of both congressional houses for the first time in four decades. However, tension between the religious right, concerned with opposition to abortion and support for school prayer, and the traditional “country club Republicans,” concerned with economic matters, led to conflict. President George W. Bush sought to end conflict by uniting his party around such core Republican values as tax cuts, education reform, military strength, and family values. Public disapproval of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq led to the Republicans’ to control of both houses of Congress in 2006.
  1. Electoral Alignments and Realignments are the transition points between party systems. An electoral realignment defines the point in history when a new party supplants the ruling party, becoming in turn the dominant political force. There is some agreement among scholars about five different realignments in American history (1800, 1828, 1860, 1896, and 1932). The last realignment took place during the fifth party system, when Democrats under FDR’s leadership took governmental control and maintained it until the 1960s. Since then, Americans party politics has often been characterized by divided government (the condition in American government whereby the presidency is controlled by one party wile the opposing party controls one or both congressional houses). Historically, realignments occur when new issues and economic crises combine to mobilize citizens to reexamine their party loyalties and political parties shifts. Such periods of realignment have had important institutional and policy results.
  2. American Third Parties. Although the United States is defined as a two party system, it has always had some third parties (parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties, giving voice to issues unattended by the major parties). Third parties have influenced American ideas and elections. Important third parties and independents include the Populists, the Progressives, and independents such as Ross Perot (Reform Party), Ralph Nader (Green Party), and the 1998 Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. Some third parties have enjoyed an influence far beyond their electoral size, as did the Progressives, who were later absorbed by the Democrats. This is because large parts of these third parties’ programs were adopted by one or both of the major parties, which sought to appeal to voters mobilized by the new party. Integration into major parties explains third parties’ short lives. An additional reason is Americans’ assumption that only major party candidates can win elections and the resulting belief that a third party vote is wasted. Under federal law, any minor party receiving more than 5 percent of the presidential vote is entitled to federal funds.

Third parties are also hampered by the United States’ single member district (an electorate allowed to select one representative from each district, the normal method of American representation) system. In other nations, the system of multiple member districts (an electorate selects all candidates at large from the whole district; each voter casts a number of votes equivalent to the number of seats to be filled) gives several individuals the opportunity to be elected to represent each legislative district. The voting plurality system is an electoral system in which, to win a seat in the representative body, a candidate need receive only the most votes in the election, not necessarily a majority of votes cast. This system sets a high victory threshold, and candidates must secure more votes than they would in a system of proportional representation (a multiple member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote). For example, in the United States, a candidate needs 50 percent of the votes cast; in Europe, a candidate may need only 20 percent at most. This American feature discourages minor parties.

Point 3. Party Organization. Party Organization is the formal structure of a political party, including its leadership, election committees, active members, and paid staff. Party organizations exist at every government level. State law and party rules prescribe member’s elections at caucuses (normally closed local meetings of a political group to select candidates, form strategies, or make decisions) or as part of primary elections.

  1. National Conventions. At the national level, the party’s most important institution is the national convention, at which the party nominates its presidential and vice presidential candidates, establishes party rules, and writes and ratifies the party’s platform. The platform is a party document that is written at a national convention and contains party philosophy, principles, and positions on issues. The platform is an internal contract in which the party factions state their terms for supporting the ticket. However, this document is seldom read by voters or used by candidates during their campaigns.
  2. National Committee. Between conventions, the party is headed by the national committee. Democrats and Republicans call these committees the Democratic National Committee(DNC) and the Republican National Committee (RNC), respectively. These committees are overseen by the chairperson and raise campaign funds, head off internal party disputes, and enhance the party’s media image. Other committee members include major party contributors and fundraisers. Before the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, the committees raised millions of dollars in soft money (money contributed directly to political parties for voter registration and organization), but the act outlawed the practice. To circumvent BCRA, the parties established “shadow parties.” These groups are sometimes called 527 committees. They are nonprofit independent groups that receive and disburse funds to influence a candidate’s nomination, election, or defeat. They are named after Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which defines and provides tax exempt status for nonprofit advocacy groups. Such 527 committees can raise and spend unlimited money as long as their activities are not coordinated with the party’s formal organization. Although some 527 committees are actually independent, many are directed by former Republican and Democratic party officials and run shadow campaigns on behalf of the parties.
  3. Congressional Campaign Committee. Each party also forms House and Senate campaign committees to raise money for House and Senate election campaigns. Their efforts may or may not be coordinated with those of national committees.
  4. State and Local Party Organizations. Each party has a central committee in each state. Some counties and cities also have precinct committees. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, cities and counties had well organized parties called machines. Machines can be defined as strong party organizations in American cities. These machines were led by “bosses” who controlled party nominations and patronage. Abuse by these machines and their bosses led to reform. Traditionally, party machines depended on patronage to control government jobs. Patronage is defined as the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters. Because of civil service reform, party leaders no longer control all positions. State and local party organizations are very active in recruiting candidates and conducting voter registration drives. In the years prior to BCRA, national parties transferred money to state and local parties to be used for party building at the state and local levels. Although this linked state and local parties to the national party more cohesively, the use of these funds on candidates and campaigns is considered one of the “soft money” functions outlawed by BCRA. Critics of the act argue that it weakens political parties and strengthens interest groups.

Point 4. Parties and the Electorate. Parties are made up of millions of rank and file members. Individuals develop party identification (an individual voter’s psychological ties to one party or another) with the party that reflects their interests. Recently, American partisan ties have declined; but Americans continue to identify with either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. Party identification gives voters a stake in the election, making it attractive for voters to go to the polls. Strong party identifiers become party activists (partisans who contribute time, energy, and effort to support their party and its candidates).

  1. Group Affiliations. The Democrats and the Republicans are America’s only national parties. They draw support from most American regions and citizens. Party identification is associated with a variety of group characteristics including race, ethnicity, gender, religion, class, ideology, and region.
  1. Race and Ethnicity. Since the 1930s, African Americans have mostly identified with Democrats. In contrast, Latinos have not formed a monolithic bloc, although in recent elections the Latino vote has gone more heavily to Democrats. Asian Americans tend to be divided along class lines.
  2. Gender. Women are somewhat more likely to support Democrats, and men are more likely to support Republicans. This difference is known as the gender gap, a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men.
  3. Religion. Jews are loyal Democrats. Catholics, once a strong pro Democratic group, have been shifting to the Republican Party because of moral issue positions on abortion, among other issues. Protestant fundamentalists are more likely to identify themselves as Republicans because of the party’s conservative standards on social and moral issues.
  4. Class. Upper income Americans identify more with the Republican Party; lower income Americans are more likely to identify with Democrats. The divide reflects the parties’ differences on economic issues. In the 1970s, many white working class voters started voting Republican.
  5. Ideology. Conservatives tend to identify with Republicans, whereas liberals support Democrats. This division has increased in recent years as the two parties have taken very different positions on social and economic issues.
  6. Region. Support for Democrats is clustered on the east and west coasts and the upper Midwest. Republicans enjoy support in the Mountain West, the Southwest, and the South.
  7. Age. The Democratic Party has drawn more support in recent years as compared to the Republican Party. However, the gap between Democratic and Republican affiliation is the biggest among younger voters (i.e., those born after 1977).

Point 5. Parties and Elections. Parties’ important electoral roles include providing candidates for office, getting out the vote, and facilitating mass electoral choice.

  1. Recruiting Candidates. Parties recruit candidates for national, state, and local offices. The party leaders identify strong candidates and entice them to campaign. Ideal candidates will have flawless records and the capacity to raise serious campaign money.
  2. Nominations are the processes through which political parties selected their candidates for election to public office. Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution provides for states to have the power to set “time, places, and manner” of elections. It reserves to Congress the power to make such laws if it chooses to do so. However, the laws and the Constitution are silent on nominations, setting only age and citizenship requirements for candidates for national office.
  3. Getting Out the Vote. Election periods are right after nominations. The first electoral step involves voter registration. Then on Election Day, registered voters decide whether to go to the polls and vote for the candidates or referenda on the ballot. Political parties, candidates, and campaigning make a difference in convincing the voters to vote. Parties have developed extensive data files on potential voters.
  4. Facilitating Voter Choice. Parties and campaigns help most by providing information when voters must choose among obscure candidates and vote on unclear referenda.

Point 6. Parties and Government. When the election ends, the winning party can move policy in new directions. This is the case today, because of the ideological party divide.