Mini - Quiz

1. Mini - Quiz How much do you know about minor/third parties? • How many ‘electoral’ political parties are there in the USA? (i.e. political parties that regularly run candidates in elections) • How many political parties have over 100,000 registered voters? • Name a right wing political party. • Name a centrist political party. • Name a left wing political party. • Name an ethnic-nationalism political party. • Name a single issue political party. • Name a state-only political party.

2. Enquiry Question: How successful are minor parties?

3. Learning Outcomes • To identify and explain the factors which limit success of minor parties • To analyse the impact they have had in state and national politics, particularly in congressional and presidential elections

4. The USA has a system in which two major parties secure the vast majority of the vote during public elections and thus dominate nearly every elected post. • In the USA, the political landscape has come to be dominated by the Republicans and the Democrats who, between them, control both the legislature and executive branch of government. Watch the video clip!

5. Despite the failure to achieve significant electoral successes, minor parties can still have an indirect impact on the US political system. They can: • Achieve success at a local level, securing victory in local or even state-based elections. • Shape the political agenda with their national success, and media profile, pushing certain issues towards the forefront of elections, as with Ross Perot in 1992. • Have an indirect impact on the eventual outcome of the election, thereby taking votes away from either of the main two parties, which could shape the outcome of the election, as with Ralph Nader in 2000.

6. Why do minor parties have limited success? • Third parties face many obstacles in the United States. In all states, the Democratic and Republican candidates automaticallyget on the ballot, whereas third-party candidates usually have to get thousands of signatures on petitions just to be listed on the ballot. • The state and federal governments, which make rules governing elections, are composed of elected Democratic and Republican officials, who have a strong incentive to protect the existing duopoly. • Also, third-party candidates often face financial difficulties because a party must have received at least 5% of the vote in the previous election in order to qualify for federal funds.

7. Coke vs Pepsi • The two political parties are a lot like the two giants of the cola world, Coke and Pepsi. • Although each wants to win, they both recognize that it is in their mutual interest to keep a third cola from gaining significant market share. • Coke and Pepsi, many people have argued, conspire to keep any competitor from gaining ground. • For example, in supermarkets, cola displays at the end of the aisles are often given over to Coke for six months of the year and Pepsi for the other six. • Competitors such as Schweppes and supermarket own brands face an extremely difficult challenge. • The Democrats and the Republicans function in much the same way.

9. Why do minor parties appeal to people? Ideology:People who feel strongly about a particular issue might be drawn to a third party that focuses exclusively on that issue. Example: The Greenback Party focused on the monetary system, and the Prohibition Party sought to ban the consumption of alcohol. The Populist Party, meanwhile, grew out of the Populist movement, and the Republican Party developed primarily out of the abolitionist movement. Dissatisfaction with the status quo:  Some third parties form when part of a major party breaks off in protest and forms a splinter party. Example: In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt led a group of dissidents out of the Republican Party to form the splinter Progressive Party. Geographical location: Third parties can be closely tied to a specific region, which can increase their appeal. Example: Chicago’s Harold Washington Party, for example, seeks to carry on the legacy of Harold Washington, the city’s first African American mayor.

10. Charismatic leaders? Some people join third parties because of the charismatic personality of the party’s candidate. If the leader leaves the party, however, the party often collapses, which is what happened to the Reform Party in the mid-1990s. Founded by Ross Perot after his first presidential bid in 1992, the Reform Party served as Perot’s base for his 1996 campaign. After Perot decided not to run again, however, the Reform Party’s political clout declined dramatically. In 2000, the party split in two over the candidacy of former Republican Pat Buchanan. Neither Buchanan nor his Reform Party rival gained many votes, and the party has largely disappeared from the national stage. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/10/us/ross-perot-fast-facts/index.html

11. The Role of Third Parties What impact do they have? Introduce new ideas: Third parties propose many government policies and practices. Example: The Populist Party introduced ideas that influenced some economic policies of the New Deal, whereas the Anti-Masonic Party was the first party to use a convention to nominate its candidates, in the mid-nineteenth century. Put issues on the agenda: Third parties can force the major parties to address potentially divisive problems. Example: In 1992, neither Bill Clinton nor George H. W. Bush talked much about the budget deficit until independent candidate Ross Perot emphasized it in his campaign.

12. The Role of Third Parties What impact do they have? Spoil the election:Third parties can cost one party an election by playing the spoiler. If a third party draws enough votes away from a major party, it can prevent that party from winning. It is impossible to know for sure what would have happened had the third-party candidate not run, but in some cases, it seems that the third party probably cost one candidate the election. Example: Some pundits argued that Ralph Nader’s bid in the 2000 presidential election may have cost Al Gore the presidency by siphoning away votes in key states such as Florida. Keep the major parties honest:A leftist party can challenge the Democratic Party, for example, on social justice issues, whereas a conservative party can pose problems for the Republican Party. Because third-party candidates usually have little chance of winning, they can speak more frankly than their major party rivals, addressing facts and issues that the major parties would often prefer to ignore.

13. Learning Outcomes • To identify and explain the factors which limit success of minor parties • To analyse the impact they have had in state and national politics, particularly in congressional and presidential elections

14. Third Parties in the 2016 Presidential Election

15. Research Task Impact of Third Parties Aims: • To research and analyse the impact of third parties in congressional elections since 1992 • To research and analyse the impact of third parties in state elections (including governorships and state legislature elections) since 1992 YOUR TASK: • Read the example provided for you on the impact of third parties on presidential elections. • Consider how best to format and layout your research. • Divide up roles and responsibilities.

16. Research Task Feedback Evidence of impact • What evidence is there of third parties having an impact on congressional elections? • What evidence is there of third parties having an impact on state elections? Analysis of impact • What effect do third parties have an elections? • How successful are third parties? • What limits the success of third parties?

17. Learning Outcomes • To identify and explain the factors which limit success of minor parties • To analyse the impact they have had in state and national politics, particularly in congressional and presidential elections

18. How much has there been a revival of political parties in the USA? (45)

19. How much has there been a revival of political parties in the USA? (45)

20. How much has there been a revival of political parties in the USA? (45)

21. Homework Application Task: How much has there been a revival of political parties in the USA? (45) Flipped Learning Preparation Task: Third Parties (Bennett, p138-142) Stretch & Challenge Task: Article: The U.S. has more third-party candidates than it’s seen in a century. Why?