Political Parties

1. Political Parties Chapter 5

2. What is a political party? • A political party is a group of people who try to control government by winning elections and holding public offices. • What are the two major political parties in the U.S. today? • Political parties serve as a linkage institution to help link the people and their wishes to government.

3. Functions of a Political Party • Nominate candidates for office and gather support for them • Inform the people and inspire them to participate in public affairs • Ensure candidates and officeholders are qualified

4. Two-Party System • The U.S. is a two-party system. That means the political system is dominated by two major political parties. • There are several reasons for this in the U.S.: tradition, electoral system favors the two-party system because nearly all U.S. elections are single-member elections and the winner is whoever receives a plurality of the votes, much of U.S. election law was created in a bipartisan way by the two major parties, and most voters tend to not vote for minor party candidates.

5. Two-Party System in History • The nation’s first two political parties were formed over the debate over the ratification of the Constitution. • What were these two parties? • The Democratic Party grew out of the Anti-Federalist Party. • The Republican Party formed in 1854.

6. Four Party Eras • 1800-1860: Democrats held power • 1860-1932: Republicans held power • 1932-1968: Democrats held power • 1968-Present: Neither party has entirely dominated politics at the national level

7. Four Types of Minor Parties • Ideological parties are based on certain social, economic, or political ideas. • Single-Issue parties focus on one public policy matter. • Economic Protest parties appear during tough financial times. • Splinter parties are parties that have broken away from one of the major parties.

8. “Spoiler Role” Third parties are sometimes accused of playing the “spoiler role” in elections. This means they have a strong candidate who pulls votes away from one of the two major parties and it weakens that party’s ability to win the election.

9. Third Parties in America • Libertarian Party: favors minimal gov’t regulation in the economy, strong civil liberties, minimal intervention in foreign policy and regulation of border migration • Green Party: committed to environmental causes, non-violence, and grassroots organizing. • Constitution Party: strong belief in federalism and non-intervention by the gov’t but against abortion and illegal immigration • Peace and Freedom Party: advocates free education and abortion, concerned with racial equality and feminism

10. Party Organization at the National Level • The national convention nominates the party’s candidates. • The national committee runs the party’s affairs between elections. • The national chairperson heads the national committee. • Congressional campaign committees work to elect party members to Congress.

11. Party Organization from the Perspective of its Members • Party’s leaders • The electorate or those who usually vote for the party’s candidates in an election. • Party’s officeholders

12. State and Local Party Structure • Largely set by state law • Parties have a central committee at the state level headed by a chairperson. • Local party structure can vary based on districts.

13. Decline of Political Parties • Political parties have been on the decline since the 1960s. • More voters regard themselves as independents. • Split-ticket voting or voting for candidates of different parties in the same election had increased. • The use of tv and internet have made the candidates themselves less dependent on political parties to get their message to the voters.

14. 2012 Election: Presidential Candidates and their Party • Barack Obama (D) • Mitt Romney (R) • Libertarian Party: Gary Johnson • Green Party: Jill Stein • Constitution Party: Virgil Goode • Peace and Freedom Party: Roseanne Barr