Mr. Tuccillo AP Government
Chapter 8
Political Parties
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to understand the roles of the party-in-the-electorate, the party as an organization, and the party-in-government.
2. Students will be able to examine how political parties in a democracy serve as key linkage institutions to translate inputs from the public into outputs from the policymakers.
3. Students will be able to determine how political parties function as important “cue-givers” to voters.
4. Students will be able to describe Anthony Downs’ rational-choice theory as a working model of the relationship among citizens, parties, and policy.
5. Students will be able to trace the development of the American two-party system.
6. Students will be able to describe what is meant by party eras, critical elections, and party realignment.
7. Students will be able to examine the significance of divided government and explain how the recent pattern of divided government may explain party dealignment.
8. Students will be able to differentiate between the ideology or party philosophy of the Democratic and Republican parties.
9. Students will be able to explain how electoral rules such as the “winner-take-all” plurality system have helped to maintain a two-party system in the United States.
10. Students will be able to evaluate the impact of third parties on American politics and the American party system.
11. Students will be able to determine the consequences or effects of the American two-party system as contrasted with a multi-party system.
12. Students will be able to understand the significance of the weak and decentralized character of the American party system.
13. Students will be able to evaluate proposals that call for a “more responsible two-party system.”
Outline:
I. Introduction
A. Party Competition: the battle of the parties for control of public offices
1. ups and downs of the two major parties are one of the most important elements in American politics
B. without this competition there would be no choice, and without choice there would be no democracy
1. the two-party system started in American in the early 1800s
II. The Meaning of Party
A. Political Party: according to Anthony Downs, a “team of men (and women) seeking to control the government apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election”
B. party leaders often disagree about policy, and between elections the party organizations seem to all but disappear
C. a widely adopted way of thinking about parties in political science is as “three-headed political giants” : (1) the party in the electorate; (2) the party as an organization; (3) the party in government
1. party in the electorate: by far the largest component of an American political party that consists of individuals that perceive themselves as party members
a. American parties do not require dues or membership cards, you become a member by simple saying you are one even if you vote for the opposite party
2. party as an organization: each party has a national office (also state and local offices), a full time staff, rules and bylaws, and budgets
a. there are leaders of the party who are the people that keep the party running between elections and make its rules
b. the party organization always is pursuing electoral victory
3. party in government: consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party
a. these leaders are the spokespersons for the party
b. they do not always agree with each other
D. Tasks of Parties
1. Linkage Institutions: the channels or access points through which issues and people’s policy preferences get on the government’s policy agenda
a. in the U.S. there a four: elections; political parties; interest groups; and the mass media
b. linkage institutions help ensure that public preferences are heard
2. tasks performed by parties
a. Parties pick candidates: a person needs to be nominated, or endorsed, by their party
b. Parties run campaigns: parties coordinate political campaigns, although with new technology it is easier for candidates to campaign on their own (ex. Ross Perot)
3. Parties give cues to voters: many people rely on the party to give them the cues for voting
a. Party Image: the voter’s perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism
4. Parties articulate policies: within the electorate and within the government, each political party advocates specific policy alternatives
5. Parties coordinate policymaking: parties are essential for coordination among the branches of government; when a public official needs support to get something done, they look to their fellow partisans
E. Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model
1. Anthony Downs has provided a working model of the relationship among citizens, parties, and policy, employing a Rational-choice theory
2. Rational-Choice Theory: a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians; it assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives
a. voters want to maximize the chance that policies they favor will be adopted by government
b. in order to win offices, the wise party selects policies that are widely favored
c. since the majority of the electorate are in the middle, successful parties rarely stray far from the midpoint of public opinion
d. there is frequent criticism that there is not much difference between the Democrats and the Republicans, however, given the nature of the American political market, they have no choice
e. parties do differentiate themselves to some extent in order to forge different identities and build voter loyalty
f. more than half of the population currently believes that important differences do exist between the parties
III. The Party in the Electorate
A. In American parties differ from that of Europe
1. there is no formal “membership”
2. the party in the electorate consists largely of symbolic images and ideas
3. for the most party the party is a psychological label
B. Party Identification: a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
1. a party’s image helps to shape people’s preferences
2. the clearest trend in party identification over the last four decades has been the decline of both parties and the resultant upsurge of Independents
(mostly at the expense of the Democrats)
a. in 1998: 35% of the population called themselves Independents
3. virtually every major social group, with the exception of African Americans, has moved toward a position of increased independence
4. African Americans are solidly Democrats, only about 5% of African Americans identify themselves as Republicans
5. young people are usually the most likely to call themselves Independents
C. Decline of Party Loyalty
1. Ticket-Splitting: voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices
a. it has become the norm in American voting behavior
2. the result ticket-splitting has been a divided party government at both the national and state levels
IV. The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington
A. as organizations, American political parties are decentralized and fragmented
1. political parties have very little power over their members
2. they can use campaign funds as rewards or punishments, but only to a small degree
a. candidates in the U.S. can get elected on their own, without help from their party
B. Local Parties
1. the urban political party was one the main political party organization in America
2. Party Machine: a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern
a. these dominated America from the late 19th century through the New Deal
b. they reward members in some material fashion
c. Patronage: one of the key inducements used by machines; a patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone
3. urban party organizations are no longer very active
a. progressive reforms placed jobs under the merit system and there are now rules concerning contract bidding
4. partly filling in the void created by the decline of the party machine has been a revitalization of party organization at the county level – particularly in affluent suburbs
a. they distribute yard signs and campaign literature, get out the vote on election day, and help state and local candidates any way they can
b. for candidates trying to get less visible offices, with low budgets, the local party organization can provide crucial assistance