Today’s Agenda

1. Today’s Agenda • Electoral Institutions (Elec. College) • Are Political Parties like sports teams? • What happens to voters when the “teams don’t wear uniforms?” • If so, are interest groups like Nike, Reebok, and Adidas?

2. Why would we do this, instead of a national election? Comes from state sovereignty Individual states are important! Why is it so hard to change? (you know this one) Who has an incentive to change it? Electoral College

3. How does it work? • Basically each state gets to choose their preferred candidate • Each state gets a # of “votes” for President • 2 for each Senator (100 total) • # of House members (435 total) • DC gets 3 votes • 100 + 435 + 3 = 538 total electors (These are the elites who choose our President!)

4. How does it work? • When you vote for president, you are simply choosing electors who have promised to vote for your party’s candidate. • Whichever candidate gets 270 electoral votes wins! • (See how that works? Majority of 538? See?)

5. How does it work? • 48 states use the winner-take-all • (CO too!) • 7 House members • 2 Senators • 9 votes!

6. How does it work? • 48 states use the winner-take-all • Nebraska and Maine are special • Swing states (battleground states) get a LOT of attention • Strong partisan states are ignored

7. What are Political Parties? • A political party is a group of voters, activists, candidates, and office holders who identify with a party label. • They recruit and run candidates for public office under the party label. • They try to organize and coordinate the activities of government officials under the party name.

8. What are Political Parties? • A political party is a group of voters, activists, candidates, and office holders who identify with a party label. • They recruit and run candidates for public office under the party label. • They try to organize and coordinate the activities of government officials under the party name. • They want to win elections!

9. Party Websites • Democrats • http://www.democrats.org/ • Republicans • http://www.gop.com/ • Libertarians • http://www.lp.org/ • Green Party • http://www.gp.org/

10. The Role of Political Parties in a Democracy • Many political scientists believe that parties are essential to democracy.

11. The Role of Political Parties in a Democracy • Many political scientists believe that parties are essential to democracy. • The political party is seen by some as the main instrument of popular sovereignty and majority rule.

12. The Role of Political Parties in a Democracy • Many political scientists believe that parties are essential to democracy. • The political party is seen by some as the main instrument of popular sovereignty and majority rule. • Parties provide a way for the people to keep elected officials responsive and responsible through competitive elections.

13. Parties and Majority Rule • Parties’ mobilize and educate people about politics.

14. Parties and Majority Rule • Parties’ mobilize and educate people about politics. • Elections create an incentive to include as many voters as possible, with a majority being the goal of each party.

15. Parties and Majority Rule • Parties’ mobilize and educate people about politics. • Elections create an incentive to include as many voters as possible, with a majority being the goal of each party. • Parties try to broaden their appeal by running candidates from many ethnic, racial, and religious groups.

16. The Two-Party System • Most nations have either one-party systems or multiparty systems. • Most Western democracies have multiparty systems. • But two parties have dominated the political scene in the United States since 1836.

17. Why Only 2 American Parties? • Winner-take-all system: • Legislative seats awarded only to first place finishers. • Losers get nothing • People do not want to “waste” vote on third place finisher • Single-member districts • Parties have incentive to gobble up third parties close to them

18. What happens in other Democracies? • “Proportional representation” • Each party gets a share of the votes they receive in the election • So the Senate and House would be made up of the percentage of votes each party received. • Germany

19. Tradeoffs? • Proportional representation means MORE groups given a seat at the table • Small parties get some voice • Two-party system means less participants, but perhaps more efficient. • Less bargaining with fewer people

20. Parties getting worse? • Scandalmonger

21. Historical animosity • On May 22, 1856, Congressman Preston Brooks, wielding a walking stick, strode into the U.S. Senate chamber. Seated at his desk, answering routine correspondence, was Senator Charles Sumner, whose oration earlier that week had energized anti-slavery activists in the North. • The South Carolinian strode to Sumner's desk and struck the senator across the head with his cane. As Sumner, dazed and bleeding, struggled to get to his feet, Brooks continued to rain blows upon him for about a minute, until his wooden cane shattered. • Sumner was stitched up by a doctor, but took years to fully recover. Brooks was arrested and released on bail, and was considered a hero throughout the South. People sent him canes to replace the one he had broken beating Sumner.

22. Parties getting worse?

23. Parties getting worse?

24. Grover Cleveland – Democrat or Republican? • United States President Grover Cleveland vetoed an expenditure that would have provided $10,000 of federal aid to drought-stricken Texas farmers. When explaining to Congress why such an appropriation of taxpayer money was inappropriate, he stated:I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution; and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadily resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people. ... The friendliness and charity of our fellow countrymen can always be relied on to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood

25. Realignment – Democrat or Republican? • United States President Grover Cleveland vetoed an expenditure that would have provided $10,000 of federal aid to drought-stricken Texas farmers. When explaining to Congress why such an appropriation of taxpayer money was inappropriate, he stated:I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution; and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadily resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people. ... The friendliness and charity of our fellow countrymen can always be relied on to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood

26. Party Advertising – negative? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zTN4BXvYI • Citizen’s United • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtjFY29-4FY • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoG1fbu3IYA • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWKTOCP45zY

27. Party organization – mass, elites • May’s law of curvilinear disparity

28. Party Responsibility • What institutional factors help parties be responsible? • Western Europe versus the U.S. • Regional differences – note regionally, the distribution of preferences differ – what effect does that have on party responsibility. • Effect of party responsibility on voting • The expensive turkey sandwich (according to Dr. Baird)

29. Party Decline?

30. Interest groups • Like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, interest groups like to be on the winning team (regardless of who that is).

31. What is the difference? • Interest groups DO NOT run their own candidates for office (they don’t own a sports team). • They typically do NOT seek mass membership like Political Parties do

32. What are Interest Groups?Three Definitions • Neutral: Private organizations or associations that seek to influence government policies as a way to protect or advance some interest or concern. • Negative: Special interests that seek advantage over other groups and against the public interest. • Positive: Another way by which Americans can influence their government.

33. Questions: Assessing the Role of Interest Groups • Do interest groups, on balance, help or hurt the practice of democracy in the United States? • Do interest groups, on balance, help or hurt the fashioning of coherent and effective public policies?

34. What are factions? “… a number of citizens (either a majority or minority number) who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens…” James Madison, Federalist #10

35. Madison on “Factions” “There are two methods of curing the mischief of faction:” • “By removing its causes” • “By controlling its effects” James Madison, Federalist #10

36. Madison on “Factions” “There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction:” • Get rid of individual liberty • Make everyone think the same (Both are B-A-D) James Madison, Federalist #10

37. More on interest groups… • Teams Without Uniforms • Interest groups are EVIL • Interest groups are key to a healthy democratic government • What do interest Groups DO?

38. Non-Partisan Elections • What happens when “teams don’t wear uniforms?” • When is this?

39. Non-Partisan Elections • What happens when “teams don’t wear uniforms?” • When is this? • Primaries • Local elections • What does this allow us to do?

40. Non-Partisan Elections • What happens when “teams don’t wear uniforms?” • When is this? • Primaries • Local elections • What does this allow us to do? • Test for Partisan Effects! Yeehaaa!

41. Non-Partisan Elections • What happens when “teams don’t wear uniforms?” • People switch to other “cues” • Gender • Race/ethnicity • Profession • Past experience • Etc.

42. Non-Partisan Elections • What happens when “teams don’t wear uniforms?” • People switch to other “cues” • Gender • Race/ethnicity • Profession • Past experience • Lower turnout! • Less interest! • Elite voters determine your lives!

43. Assessing the Role of Interest Groups http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBELC_vxqhI&feature=related

44. Assessing the Role of Interest Groups http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrBurlJUNk

45. Theories of Interest Group Politics • Elite Theory • Pluralist Theory • Hyper-pluralist Theory

46. Theories of Interest Group Politics: Elitism • Societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, • regardless of the formal niceties of government organization. • The presence of many groups means nothing, the power is not equally divided among them • some groups have more.

47. Theories of Interest Group Politics: Elitism • Power is strengthened by a system of interlocking agreements between corporations and other institutions. • Lobbying is a problem because it benefits the few at the expense of the many.

48. Interest Group Ratings • ACLU (Am. Civil Liberties Union) • http://action.aclu.org/site/VoteCenter?congress=109&location=S&page=congScorecard • ACU (American Conservative Union) • http://conservative.org/ratings/ratingsarchive/2011/unified.html#CO

49. Theories of Interest Group Politics: Elitism • Power is in the hands of elites • Money • Access • Officeholders in their pockets • They control what policies we get • Average people have no chance at influencing policy

50. Theories of Interest Group Politics: Pluralism • Definition: • Groups provide the key link between the people and the government. • Politics is mainly a competition among groups, not individuals, • Many centers of power exist with many diverse groups competing for power.