Chapter 12 – Political parties

1. Party platforms – Pro-choice vs pro-life: no common ground a difference of opinion that cannot be breeched. No wonder that young people see this as the only difference in the parties Green energy vs drill, baby, drill: alternative solutions for increasing availability of energy. Close corporate tax loopholes and reduce tax burden on families. These would seem to be two compatible goals – unless you believe that corporations are people. Note: “Democrats in the House of Representatives finally secured enough votes to assure that the PPAA” would pass. Democrats had passed a bill that included a public option months earlier and had waited for months while the Senate came up with a bill they were finally able to pass through reconciliation. Once it had been passed in this manner through the Senate, the House was quick to pass it as is to keep it out of Conference Committee. Chapter 12 – Political parties

2. Profound distrust of parties/factions. This can be seen in Madison’s Federalist #10. They tended to agree with Rousseau that parties formed to gain control would invariably polarize the population to where all considerations are made for political, ideological reasons rather than pragmatic, rational reasons. However, they also came to realize that unless they worked together, they would cede power to the opposition who was organized. Parties were a necessary evil to be tolerated for expediency rather than embraced. Early founders

3. Typically corrupt, offered quid pro quo financial benefits for party support. For lower income voters this could mean jobs, food, and housing. For political supporters of means, this meant government contracts and positions that could produce substantial income. Political machines

4. Chester A Arthur, 21st President had been appointed the Collector of the Port of New York in 1871. He paid the Republican Party for the privilege for which he was the best-paid government official in the country, earning more than the president one year. He was removed from this office by Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878 in an attempt to reform the federal patronage system. Arthur became the running mate of James A. Garfield to appease Senator Roscoe Conkling (a Stalwart) of New York. When Garfield appointed a Blaine man to the post as collector of the Port, the Stalwarts broke with Garfield. Republicans were fighting Republicans over who would get the spoils of the spoils system. July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by a Stalwart supporter who had not been given a government job. “I am a Stalwart! Arthur is president!” This marked the beginning of the end of the spoils system. Chester A Arthur

5. The demographics of immigration shifted significantly in the early part of the 20th century. From Northern and Western Europe to Southern and Eastern Europe. The new wave of immigration shifted from Protestant populations to an influx of Jewish and Catholic peoples. The resurgence of the KKK in this period was particularly hostile toward these two religious groups. The Immigration Act of 1924 was written to seriously curtail further immigration of Catholics, Jews, and Slavs. Remember, this was the period in which Henry Ford paid for the printing of the pamphlet “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. Immigration slowed dramatically in the 1920s

6. Interest groups and lobbyists step into the void. Social issues: split between parties Economic issues: Labor vs corporations Life in suburbia With population growth, representatives move further and further from the people With a growth in income disparity politicians set up a schedule to make sure they shake the hands of those with the most to contribute Its not about greed and corruption, its about adaptation and survival in the existing environment. Parties weakened

7. 1980s and 1990s: while racial issues may explain a shift of the South to the GOP, it fails to explain the shift of Middle America from pro-labor to pro-business sentiments. The reframing of the oil supply shock to the “failure of the New Deal” and the implementation of the plan outlined in the Powell Memo goes a long way to explaining this shift. “The invisible hand of the market” appeals to religious sensibilities. Pay attention to this year’s election cycle. It may well be a “critical election” that your grandchildren may ask you about some day. Party realignments

8. In the election of 1928, Democrats ran a Catholic, Alfred E. Smith. A product of the Tammany Hall system but untouched by corruption, Smith was a Progressive reformer who arrived on the scene about four years too early. In 1928, the KKK and their anti-Catholic sentiments were particularly potent. The boom of the 1920s had also not yet busted by 1928, although economists were already recognizing that there were serious problems with the economy as the real estate market was already in steep decline and foreclosures were on the rise. Hoover vs Smith

9. The book focuses primarily on the presidential race. We have discussed how a unified government can make substantial reforms. The elections of the 1930s were a repudiation of laissez-faire economic policies. Critical elections of the early 1930s Republicans facing extinction, change their tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3RHnKYNvx8

10. Democrats: labor unions, progressive groups, teachers, African American and women’s groups. Also, hispanic groups. Democrats have historically enjoyed support from Catholics, but this support has been eroding since Roe v. Wade. Republicans: Businesses, the US Chamber of Commerce (which receives a good deal of foreign money for lobbying), fundamentalist Christian organizations, and some anti-abortion groups. Add to this the NRA. Black voters used to vote more heavily for Republicans until Hoover’s Southern strategy (he won by a landslide) played on racial hatred in Southern states. Black voters began shifting to the Democratic Party. This tendency was increased following the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Interest group support

11. In 1968 the Democratic Party changed its rules to nominate a candidate by popular voting rather than by party insiders by implementing recommendations of the McGovern-Fraser Commission. McGovern won the nomination in 1972 on his anti-Vietnam stance dividing the party and losing the election to Nixon. Carter was nominated under the same conditions, but in 1980, the Democratic Party was split again and Republicans took control of the White House for the next 12 years. Democratic Party leaders introduced the superdelegates to regain some level of control over the nominating process. superdelegates

12. Superdelegates include Congressmen who will have to vote for or against the president’s proposed policies. They have greater knowledge than the general electorate regarding issues of unintended consequences and political feasibility. Formally or informally, the president becomes the leader of the party and these individuals will be forced to voice an opinion regarding these policies. They would much rather have a candidate whose policies they can support, thank you very much. Other superdelegates are those in state and local organizations who are needed to get out the vote. These individuals would like to have someone whom they believe in as the best possible candidate available, not the lesser of two evils. superdelegates

13. When it comes to selecting a candidate who best represents the Democratic Party and its values, should the party give greater consideration to members who have shown a long-term commitment to the party, or people who may have remained uninterested in politics for years and will soon return to their state of disinterest? superdelegates Republican nomination process is similar but more party-oriented. More delegates are given to states and districts that have voted Republican in the last elections.

14. These were developed in the wake of the Powell Memo and have produced the desired effect. Offering “scientific”, “expert” evaluations of policy issues with a conservative bias. They produce information at a rate of about 4 to 1 in comparison to liberal think tanks. It is a numbers game. If you are looking for information on a policy issue, you have a 75% chance of finding research provided by a conservative think tank. Note that the Brookings Institution prides itself on being nonpartisan, yet in the conservative world it is a liberal think tank. Think tanks

15. For uninformed voters, this is often the only distinction they have between the two parties. As discussed in the first slide “close corporate tax loopholes and reduce tax burden on families” would appear to be compatible goals. This would suggest that the two parties are very close on economic issues and voters might then make their decision based on social issues like abortion or gun control. 11-18-11 –Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa) announced a deficit reduction plan that would reduce or eliminate tax deductions for “mortgage interest, charitable donations, and state and local taxes” raising the taxes paid by the middle class. This would be combined with across the board tax cuts and would drop the top rate from 35% to 28%. The bottom rate would be reduced from 10% to 8%. What effect might there be if state and local taxes are no longer deductible? Would the removal of tax deductions on mortgage interest have a negative impact on an already struggling real estate market? How would charitable organizations be impacted? National party platform

16. The majority party will pursue their agenda in whichever House they succeed in winning a majority of seats. Which of the planks of their platforms are their priority can be demonstrated by the legislation they propose and pass when they hold a majority. Jobs or abortion? Congressional majority

17. Previous Courts have been careful to at least appear nonpartisan and impartial by not moving beyond stare decisis, giving deference to the legislature, and by not going beyond the case in front of them to make law. The idea is that a Supreme Court Justice has great respect for the law. In order to retain the legitimacy of the court system, the Court cannot be seen as a source of arbitrary power. The respect for the Court has been in decline over recent years as 5-4 votes have become predictable based on the political ideologies of the justices. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have attended annual conservative strategy meetings put on by the Koch Brothers and attended by conservative lawyers who would be arguing cases in front of them. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/06/opinion/la-oe-turley-clarence-thomas-20110306 Parties in the judiciary

18. It is easier to corrupt a state government than the federal government. As indicated in the textbook, governors can hold a significant amount of power in the state. Patronage positions, line-item vetoes, and the appointment of committee chairs all add up to significant leverage over the legislature. Power that is, for good reason, denied the president. Power in state government

19. Party Identification – 1990-2010 As we have discussed in the past, any new policy is likely to advantage one group while disadvantaging another. The numbers given in this Pew Research table are consistent with the findings of similar surveys, that more Americans identify themselves as having some level of support for Democrats than Republicans. Wealthy, educated individuals are more likely to vote regardless of inconvenience, where poor voters can be easily discouraged from voting. Which party would you think would push for policies that make it easier to vote like early voting and same day registration? Which party would seek to disenfranchise minority and poor voters through voter ID laws, reducing early voting opportunities, and having insufficient polling places for the population? Analyzing visuals

20. Read through the demographic group affiliations. What group is most likely to be a Democrat, least likely to be a Democrat? Independent? Republican? How have Hispanics changed in terms of self-identification between the PEW research figures of 2007 (page 407) and the election of 2008 (page 409)? Why does the textbook say they have changed? Group affiliations by demographic factors

21. Proportional representation: “US has a single-member, plurality electoral system, often referred to as a winner-take-all-system.” This is why we have a duopoly system. The electoral college and financing elections makes the viability of a third party much more difficult to achieve. third parties Third party candidates are more likely to take away votes from the party closer to them on the ideological spectrum than they are to actually achieve an electoral goal.

22. Independents are not necessarily the middle of the road. There is some argument as to whether Independents who lean toward one party or another are actually more partisan than those who identify themselves as weak partisans. Seven point scale. Independents: low of 19% in 1958 to a peak of 40% in 2000. How does this look when we consider consensus government as described by Anthony Downs vs today’s polarized government. independents