Unit 3

1. Unit 3 Political Parties

2. A. What is a Political Party? A political party is a group of citizens who organize to: • Win elections • Hold public office • Operate the government • Determine public policy

3. B. Levels of American Political Parties • The party in the electorate includes citizens who identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans • The party organization includes national leaders, state chairpersons, county chairpersons, and other activities who run the party at the national, state, and local levels. It is important to remember that the national, state, and local party organizations are independent and not centrally controlled. • The party in government includes the party’s candidates and office holders.

4. C. Functions of Parties • Recruiting and nominating candidates for public office • Running political campaigns • Articulating positions on issues • Critiquing the policies of the party in power • Serving as a linking (linkage) institution that connects citizens to government by: • Providing information to voters about candidates running for office • Mobilizing voters to elect party candidates • Raising funds to support party candidates

5. D. Types of Party Systems • One-party system • A political system in which one party exercises total control over the government. • Examples: China North Korea, and Iran all have one party systems

6. Party Systems cont. 2. Multiparty Systems • A political system in which a number of political parties compete for political offices. • Parties in a multiparty system often represent widely different ideologies about government policies. • Examples: France Italy, and Israel all have multiparty systems

7. 3. Two Party Systems • A political system in which two major political parties compete for control of public offices • The United States is one of about 15 nations with two-party systems. Other nations include the United Kingdom, India, and Jamaica.

8. II. Reasons Why America has a Two Party System

9. A. Strong Consensus on Core Political Values • Americans share a strong commitment to a group of core political values that include belief in freedom, political equality, individualism, and equality under the law. • America has never had a strong socialist party dedicated to creating an entirely new political system. • Most Americans identify themselves as moderates who hold beliefs that fall between liberal and conservative views.

10. B. Single-Member Districts • Almost all American elections are held in single-member districts in which only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot • In single-member district elections, the candidate who receives the most votes is the winner. It is important to note the difference between a plurality and a majority. In a plurality election, the winning candidate is the person who receives the most votes. In a majority election, the winning candidate is the person who receives more than half of all votes cast.

11. 3. The winner-take-all, single-member district plurality system is very different than a system based on proportional representation. In a system based on proportional representation, each party is awarded legislative seats in proportion to the vote it receives. For example, in a state with 10 congressional seats, a party receiving 20 percent of the vote would be awarded 2 seats. In contrast, in a winner-take-all, single member district system, the same party would receive no seats.

12. 4. An electoral system based on winner-take-all, single member districts discourages the emergence of minor parties by forcing them to wager expensive campaigns with a minimal chance of winning political offices. 5. The electoral system based on single-member districts produces legislatures dominated by two political parties.

13. C. Legal Barriers to Third Parties • The names of Democratic and Republican candidates are automatically placed on state ballots • In contrast, minor party candidates must persuade registered voters to sign petitions in order to have their names placed on the ballot.

14. D. The Force of Historic Tradition • America has had a two party system since 1800 • The two-party system has generated self-perpetuating laws and traditions. As a result, it is very difficult for a minor party to become a major force in American politics.

15. III. Party Eras in American History

16. A. Key Terms • Party era: Historical periods dominated by one party • Critical election: a national crisis forces voters to confront divisive issues that fracture party coalitions—significant groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty. • Party realignment: triggered by a critical election. The majority party is displaced by the minority party, thus ushering in a new party era.

17. Rise of Political Parties 1789-1800 • The earliest political parties began to develop under the administration of George Washington. • Alexander Hamilton secretary of the treasury supported a strong national government; his followers became known as Federalists. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson supported states rights and a less powerful national government. The class between these two individuals and their supports led to the development of political parties.

18. Democratic Domination 1800-1860 The Jeffersonian Republicans dominated the government form 1800-1824, when they split into factions. The faction led by Andrew Jackson, the Jacksonian Democrats or Democrats, won the presidency in 1828. The major opposition party at this time was the Whig party. From that election until the election of 1860, Democratic dominated American politics. The Democratic party became known as the party of the “common man,” encouraging popular participation and helping to brig about an expansion of suffrage to all adult white males.

19. Republican Domination 1860-1932 The Republican Party began as a third party, developed form a split in the Whig Party. The Whigs had been the major opposition to the Democrats. By 1860 the Whig Party had disappeared and the Republican Party had emerged as the second major party. The Republican Party was composed mostly of former members of other political parties, appealing to commercial and anti-slavery groups. The Republican Party was successful in electing Abraham Lincoln president in 1860, and by the end of the Civil War had become a dominant party. Some times called the Grand Ole Party or GOP, The Republican Party often controlled both the presidency and congress.

20. Return of the Democrats 1932-1968 With the onset of the Depression, new electoral coalitions were formed and the Republicans lost their domination of government. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was able to unite blacks, city dwellers, blue collar (labor union) workers, Catholics, Jews and women to create a voting bloc known as the New Deal Coalition. The election of 1932 brought the Democrats back to power as the dominate party in American Politics. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency an unprecedented four times. From 1932-1968 only two Republican presidents (Eisenhower and Nixon) were elected. Not until 1994 did the Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress.

21. Divided Government 1968-Present • The election of Richard Nixon in 1968 marked the beginning of a period of Republican dominance in presidential politics. With exception of the Carter presidency form 1977 to 1981, the Republicans held the White House form 1969-1993. • Beginning with the election of Richard Nixon in 1968, the Republicans adopted a “Southern strategy” designed to break the Democratic Party’s long dominance in the South. Party realignment gradually occurred as Southern conservatives transferred their loyalty to the Republican Party. By the 2008 election, Republicans held the majority of Southern House and Senate seats.

22. Cont. 3. Nixon’s election also marked the beginning of a new pattern of divided government. For the first time in the twentieth century, a newly elected president moved into the White House as the opposition party in both houses of Congress. 4. The pattern of divided government had dominated American politics since Nixon’s election. From 1969 to 2010, the same party has controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress for just 12 years.

23. Cont. 5. The pattern of divided government has had a number of important consequences: • It has heightened partisanship and make it more difficult for moderates to negotiate compromises. • It has slowed both the confirmation and the legislative processes, thus creating gridlock. • It has increased public frustration, thus contributing to the decline and trust and confidence in government.

24. Cont. 6. The last half century has witnessed a decline in the percentage of voters who identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans and a rise in the number of voters who identify themselves as independents. As a result there has been a significant increase in the number of “split-ticket” voters who support candidates of different parties on the same ballot. This process is called “party dealignment.”

25. Test Tip: Devote special attention to the era of divided government form 1969 to the present. The causes and consequences of divided government have been tested in several free-response questions.

26. IV. Minor Parties • Types of Minor Parties 1. Splinter/personality/factional those that have split away from one of the major parties. Parties dominated by charismatic leaders: • Theodore Roosevelt’s “Bull Moose” Party or Progressive Party split the Republicans, thus enabling the Democrats to capture the White House. • George Wallace’s America Independent Party expressed the Southern backlash to civil right’s demonstrations, urban riots, and antiwar protests.

27. 2. Parties organized around a single issue: • The Free Soil Party opposed the spread of slavery • The Know Nothings opposed Irish Catholic immigration • The Right to Life Party opposes abortion

28. 3. Ideological--Parties organized around an ideology: • The Socialist Party supported labor unions and advocated new laws to regulate big businesses. • The Libertarian Party emphasizes individualism and a reduction of government spending.

29. The winner-take-all format of the electoral college makes it very difficult for a minor party candidate to win the presidency. For example, in 1992 Ross Perot won 19 percent of the vote but did not capture a single electoral vote. Single member districts make it difficult for minor party candidates to win seats in Congress Minor party candidates are excluded form presidential debates. B. Obstacles to Minor Party Candidates

30. Minor parties express strong views on controversial issues Minor parties often push major parties to adopt their ideas. Minor Parties can play a “spoiler role” by affecting the outcome of a presidential election. C. The Importance and Impact of Minor Parties

31. Structure and Organization of Political Parties • A political party must have an effective organization to accomplish its goals. Both of the major parties are organized in much the same manner. Both parties are highly decentralized, or fragmented. The party of the president is normally more solidly united with the opposition. The president is automatically considered the party leader, while the opposition is often without a single strong leader. Usually one or more members of Congress are seen as the opposition leaders.

32. National Convention • The national convention serves as the party’s national voice. Party delegates meet in the summer of every fourth year to select the party’s candidates for president and vice president. They are also responsible for writing and adopting the party’s platform, which describes the policy beliefs of the party.

33. National Committee • The national committee mangers the political party’s business between conventions. They are responsible for selecting the convention site, establishing the rules of the convention, publishing and distributing party literature, and helping the party raise campaign contributions.

34. National Chairperson • The party’s national committee, with the consent of the party’s presidential nominee, elects the national chairperson. The chairperson is responsible for directing the work of the national committee from the national headquarters in Washington DC. The chairperson is involved in fund raising, recruiting new party members, encouraging unity within the party, and helping the party’s presidential nominee win election.

35. Congressional Campaign Committee • Each party has a committee in the HOR and Senate that works to ensure the election or reelection of the party’s candidates by raising funds and determining how much money and support each candidate will receive. The committee often works to defeat an opposition party member who appears weak and might be open to defeat.

36. State and Local Organization • State law largely determines state and local party organization. Differences exist from state to state; however, state and local parties are structured in much the same way as the national party organization. Generally state parties today are more organized and better funded than in previous years. As a result of soft money, money that is distributed from the national political party organization and that does not have to be reported under the Federal Election Campaign Act (1971)or its amendments, state parties have become more dependent on the national party organization and are subject to their influence • cont.

37. In 2002, the use of soft money was significantly restricted by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act. However, in 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that limiting the ability of business, unions and other groups to fund their own efforts to elect or defeat candidates for office is unconstitutional

38. Future of Political Parties The future of political parties in the United States is uncertain. In recent decades, political parties have been in decline. This decline may be attributed to several factors. • Third party challenges-In recent elections third party challengers have taken votes from the major candidates, lessening their ability to win a majority of the vote • Loss of support by party loyalists-An increase in the number of independent voters. • Cont.

39. Future of Political Parties cont. • Increase in split ticket voting-Many voters no longer vote a straight ticket but rather split their vote among candidates form more than one party. • Lack of perceived differences between the parties-Voters often believe there are no major differences in the party or their candidates • Party reforms- Changes within the parties themselves to create greater diversity and openness have allowed for greater conflict within some parties. • Methods of campaigning-New technologies have allowed candidates to become more independent of parties and more directly involved with voters.

40. I. Historical abuses: A. Control of nominations by bosses and caucuses. B. Corruption of political machines, e.g., Tweed, Daley. C. Unrepresentative nature -- young, poor, and minorities often excluded. Party Reform

41. II. Reforms of Progressive Era. A. Direct primaryelections. B. Nonpartisan elections at state and local level. C. Civil Service expansion. D. Initiative, referendum, and recall. E. 17th Amendment.

42. III. Other factors that have weakened the parties: A. Candidate-centered campaigns (esp. after FECA). B. Rise of campaign consultants to take over many of the functions of parties. C. Public disenchantment with parties and politics during the 60s. D. Growth of interest groups -- have taken on some party functions. E. Development of mass media -- candidates rely on media rather than party organization to get message across. The Internet, especially, has become important for candidate fund raising, candidate web sites, candidate MySpace/Face book profiles, candidate advertising on web sites. Candidates can do these themselves and do not need the parties for these things.

43. Evidence of “dealignment:” rejection of parties rather than changing of party membership, as in realignment. A.Growth of political independents . B. Trend to "vote the man, not the party" and rise of ticket-splitting since 1950s. (Go over congressional and presidential elections in last 50 years). C. Counter arguments to dealignment theory: 1. Even though % of independents has increased, 2/3 of “independents” are actually “leaners.” They are, in effect, “closet Democrats” and “closet Republicans.” 2. Same % of pure independents in 1992 as in 1956

44. V. Reforms of the Democratic Party since 1970. A. Prohibited unit rule, in which a state’s entire vote at the convention was cast for the candidate with the most votes from the state’s delegation (winner take all) B. Developed a "quota system" to ensure that the young, women, and minorities were represented in party affairs (esp. the national convention). C. Super Tuesday to give more clout to the South, and perhaps a more moderate nominee

45. D. Superdelegates (those who can attend the convention by virtue of holding public office) give the “party regulars/pros” a chance to do what is good for the party, and not necessarily for the people. These were “created” in 1982 amidst concern that liberal activists and outsiders were taking over the party. E. 1986 Fairness Commission. 1. Complaints from Jesse Jackson that the threshold requirement was too high. He won 18% of the vote in the 1984 primaries, but got only 10% of the delegates). 2. Requirement was lowered from 20% to 15%. Candidates now have to get only a minimum of 15% of the vote to receive delegates

46. Party resurgence. A. National party organizations are better funded than in the past. Soft money donations to national parties, though now banned, were important factors in elections in 1990s. B. National parties compensated for loss of soft money by raising more hard money. C. Both parties, w/better funding, hold training sessions for candidates: how to plan, raise funds, organize. D. Very strong party unity scores (where a majority of 1 party voted against a majority of the other party) within Congress: 70%-80%. E. Party ID is still the best predictor of voting. • Primary Elections Explained – YouTube (one more time…this time with superdelegates)

47. 5 Steps to a 5… Pamela K. Lamb • AP U.S. Government and Politics Crash Course…Larry Krieger