Political Parties and Interest Groups

1. Political Parties and Interest Groups

2. Party Functions • Organize the Competition • Unify the Electorate • Help Organize Government • Translate Preference into Policy • Provide Loyal Opposition

3. Organize the Competition Recruit and nominate candidates for office Register and activate voters Raise money Provide candidates with research and voter lists Enlist volunteers

4. Organize the Competition The ability of parties to influence the selection of candidates varies by the nominating system used in the state.

5. Organize the Competition The ability of parties to influence the selection of candidates varies by the nominating system used in the state. Caucus Meeting of party leaders and active members.

6. Organize the Competition The ability of parties to influence the selection of candidates varies by the nominating system used in the state. Caucus Meeting of party leaders and active members. Closed Primaries Require voters to indicate their party affiliation before Election Day.

7. Organize the Competition The ability of parties to influence the selection of candidates varies by the nominating system used in the state. Caucus Meeting of party leaders and active members. Closed Primaries Require voters to indicate their party affiliation before Election Day. Open Primaries Voters choose which party primary in which to participate on Election Day.

8. Organize the Competition The ability of parties to influence the selection of candidates varies by the nominating system used in the state. Caucus Meeting of party leaders and active members. Closed Primaries Require voters to indicate their party affiliation before Election Day. Open Primaries Voters choose which party primary in which to participate on Election Day. Blanket Primaries Voters cast ballots for candidates for any party on Election Day.

9. Types of Ballots Party Column Ballot President p Sam Sludge (Democrat) p Charley Chum (Republican) Governor p Jane Jungle (Democrat) p Randy Rough (Republican) U.S. Senator p Walt Wilt (Democrat) p Don Dandy (Republican) Representative p Lucy Luck (Democrat) p Fred Fiddle (Republican)

10. President p Sam Sludge (Democrat) p Charley Chum (Republican) Governor p Jane Jungle (Democrat) p Randy Rough (Republican) U.S. Senator p Walt Wilt (Democrat) p Don Dandy (Republican) Representative p Lucy Luck (Democrat) p Fred Fiddle (Republican) Types of Ballots Office Block Ballot

11. Unify the Electorate There is a strong incentive in both parties to fight out their differences inside the party but then come together to take on the opposition. In order to win elections, parties need to reach out to voters outside their party and gain support.

12. Help Organize Government Congress is organized along party lines. The political party with the most votes in each chamber elects the officers of that chamber, select the chair of each committee, and has a majority on all the committees.

13. Help Organize Government Patronage Dispensing government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party. Because of the Civil Service Act, patronage is limited to the top posts which number about 4,000 in the federal government.

14. Help Organize Government Patronage Dispensing government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party. Plum Book A list of the patronage jobs in the federal government. Because of the Civil Service Act, patronage is limited to the top posts which number about 4,000 in the federal government.

15. Translate Preference into Policy American parties have only limited success in setting the course of national policy. Because American parties do not control nominations, they are unable to discipline members who express views contrary to those of the party.

16. Provide Loyal Opposition After a polite interval following an election - the honeymoon - the opposition party begins to criticize the party that controls the White House. The length of the honeymoon depends in part on how contentious the agenda of the new administration is and on the leadership skills of the new president.

17. Roles of Political Parties eople Participation rgue for Balance P A R T I E S aise Funds o Lead ssue Identification ducate the Voter elects Candidates

18. Spacial Theory of Elections This theory assumes that all political issues can be represented by a single left-right scale, and that all parties, politicians, and voters can be placed on this scale. Voters know exactly where they and the candidates stand on the issue scale. All people vote choosing the candidate whose views are closest to theirs. Assumptions

19. I beg your pardon, but which one of you is the Democrat?

20. Spacial Theory of Elections Median Voter Hypothesis The best possible position for a politician who cares only about winning elections is the center -- that is, in the position of the median voter. Campaign to the right in primary elections then move to the center in the national election.

21. United States Two-Party System Congress and State Legislatures are divided into districts. Each district elects a single member by plurality as its representative. Third party candidates almost always lose in this type of system.

22. Great Britain Multiparty System Districts are not designated with the Multiparty system. Candidates run at large and the legislatures are divided by the proportional vote a party received in the election. Such a system benefits third party candidates in an election. (Proportional Representation)

23. Parties as Institutions The supreme authority in both major political parties is the … NATIONAL PARTY CONVENTION … which meets every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, and adopt party rules.

24. Parties as Institutions National Committee Rank-and-file operating committee of a political party Committee Chair The top official who leads the National Committee Campaign Committee Congressional and Senate committees who recruit candidates, train them, and assist members with campaign funds.

25. Party Auxiliaries Federation of Republican Women Young Democrats Log Cabin Republicans Parties as Grass Roots State Committee County Committee

26. Party Auxiliaries Federation of Republican Women Young Democrats Log Cabin Republicans Parties as Grass Roots State Committee In recent elections the campaign efforts of state and county organizations have been aided by financial assistance from the party’s national committee, which has distributed millions of dollars in soft money. County Committee

27. Parties in Government Legislative Branch Chairs come from the majority party Leaders of Congress come from the majority party. Congressional staffs are partisan Patronage jobs awarded (Doormen, elevator operator, chaplain, police) Executive Branch Senior White House staff and cabinet members usually come from the president’s party. Cabinet-level appointments, ambassadorships, advisers all come from the president’s party.

28. Parties in Government Judicial Branch Lifetime appointments provide judges with a nonpartisan position. Judges do not sit on the bench by political party. Party identification remains an important consideration in the naming of federal judges.

29. Parties in Government State & Local Levels Parties are unimportant in the government of city councils or school boards. In most states, parties are important to the operation of the legislatures and executive branches. Nebraska’s legislature is nonpartisan.

30. Party in the Electorate Party Registration The purpose of party registration is to limit the participants in primary elections to members of that party and to make it easier to contact people who might vote for their party

31. Party Regulars Place the part first Value winning elections Willing to compromise to reach their objectives. Candidate Activists Followers of a particular candidate. Usually not interested in other party activities Issue Activists They wish to push the party in a particular direction based on issues: abortion; taxes; school prayer; environment; civil rights. Party in the Electorate Party Activists

32. Party Identification An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood, a standing preference for one party over another. Party identification is the single best predictor of how people will vote. Strong Republicans or Democrats participate more actively in politics than any other group. Pure independents vote at the lowest rates and have the lowest levels of interest and awareness.

33. Critical Elections & Part y Realignment Theory CriticalElections Elections that disrupt party coalitions and create new ones in party realignment. Party Realignment A long-term shift in the electoral balance between the major parties.

34. Party Dealignment Party Dealignment A trend in which voter loyalties to the two major parties weakens.

35. First Party System (1796-1824) Federalists • Strong central government • Conservative • Capitalist interests • Broad interpretation of the Constitution History of Political Parties Adams Democratic-Republicans • States Rights • Liberal • Agricultural interests • Strict interpretation of the Constitution Jefferson

36. Van Buren Polk Pierce Buchanan Second Party System (1828-1826) Democrat • “Common Man” • Strong Central Government • Western interests Jackson History of Political Parties Whigs • Anti-Jackson Party • Abolitionists • Anti-Expansion Harrison Taylor

37. Third Party System (1860-1892) Democrat • States Rights • Conservative • Broad interpretation of the Constitution History of Political Parties Republican • Strong Central Government • Liberal • Abolitionists Lincoln

38. Fourth Party System (1896-1928) Republican • Defended business • Supported the gold standard • Opposed the Progressive Movement History of Political Parties McKinley Democrat • Expansion of the money supply - silver • Represented farmers & workers • Supported the Progressive Movement Cleveland

39. Fifth Party System (1932-Present) Democrat • Support New Deal Programs • Opposed “laissez-faire” • Progressive Tax Program History of Political Parties F.D.R. Republican • Endorse “laissez-faire” • Support a flat tax • Endorse the interests of the upper-middle class and the wealthy. Reagan

40. Third Parties Doctrinal Parties Professes a particular doctrine Environment Consumer Protection

41. Third Parties Transient Parties Short-lived which emerge our of economic protests and secessionist movements

42. Party Reforms Australian Ballot Direct Primary Merit Civil Service System

43. Federal Election Commission A bipartisan commission that has responsibility to enforce campaign finance laws and to administer public funding of presidential elections. The six-member commission is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

44. Campaign Rules Contribution Limits •Individuals can give no more than $5,000 a year to a PAC or political party. • Contributions to any candidate is limited to $2,000 per election. • The total contribution is limited to $95,000 per year.

45. Campaign Rules Public Financing • Matching funds for candidates in primary elections up to $5 million. • Public funding is available to presidential nominating conventions. • Public funding is provided for general election campaigning.

46. Campaign Rules Spending Limits • Presidential candidates may spend no more than $50,000 of their own money if they accept public funding. • Candidates are limited to the amount they spend in each state. (16¢ per voting-age resident and adjusted for inflation)