Chapter 9: Political Parties AP Classes, Oct. 21, 2013

1. Chapter 9: Political PartiesAP Classes, Oct. 21, 2013

2. Democrats v. RepublicansAccording to Dave Barry “The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They’re the kind of people who’d stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. “The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn’t bother to stop because they’d want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club.”

3. Why an elephant and a donkey? The donkey (for the Democrats): The donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass, and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.

4. Why elephants and donkeys (cont.) The elephant for the GOP: In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party.

5. Roles of Parties • Select candidates. • Recruit, develop, etc. candidates. • FYI, the Alabama Democratic Party is struggling. • See “Any Democrats Want to Run for Governor of Alabama? Anyone? Anybody Out There?” (http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/any-democrats-want-to-run-for-governor-of-alabama-anyone-anybody-out-there-20130705) • This role is becoming less important. Don’t need to please party bosses to raise money, spread message. • As a result, winners don’t own the party much.

6. Roles of parties (cont.) 2. Inform and activate supporters. In the book’s lingo, parties provide a label that, in turn, provides cues for voters. • Mobile Republican Party site: http://mobilegop.com • Mobile Democratic Party site: http://www.mobiledems.org • Other parties as well; check out Project Vote Smart site (http://votesmart.org/political-parties/AL#.UjXZTxZU5UQ) • But again, the role of the parties here is waning. When was the last time you visited these sites? • As independents increase, the “label” role wanes.

7. Roles of parties (cont.) 3. Act as a “bonding agent” – ensure good performance of the politicians by selecting good people to begin with and holding them accountable. • But note the increased role of alternatives, like factcheck.org (http://www.factcheck.org), Snopes (http://www.snopes.com) and PoliticFact (http://www.politifact.com) • Interest groups also do this. See, e.g., League of Conservation Voters “scorecard” (http://scorecard.lcv.org)

8. Roles of parties (cont.) • Participate in governing. • Leaders in Congress selected along party lines. Many decisions made based on partisanship. • But see Syria and debt ceiling debates; see also articles like “The House GOP revolts: John Boehner officially has no control over his caucus” (http://theweek.com/article/index/245960/the-house-gop-revolts-john-boehner-officially-has-no-control-over-his-caucus) • Parties also provide channels of communication for all 3 branches. • President will work with the leadership of both parties on issues, enlist their help in communicating with others.

9. Roles of parties (cont.) • Act as a watchdog, particularly if you’re in the minority. • Can force the majority to tack to the middle. • See following excerpt from Mitch McConnell interview with the National Journal (10/23/10): • McConnell: The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president. • NJ: Does that mean endless, or at least frequent, confrontation with the president? • McConnell: If President Obama does a Clintonian backflip, if he’s willing to meet us halfway on some of the biggest issues, it’s not inappropriate for us to do business with him.

10. Another way of thinking about parties • As linkage institutions (remember those?) • Between citizens and government • Identification of issues • Means to gain access • Between branches of government • Partisan affiliations of leaders • Judicial appointees get nominations based on party affiliation • Between state, local, and fed’l government • Intersecting party relationships aid cooperation between levels of gov’t and help form public policy • Governors have strong influence in party politics

11. What does our Owner’s Manual say about parties? • Zip. The U.S. Constitution does not mention political parties. • Recall that Federalist #10 warned of factions. And Madison wasn’t alone in his concerns.

12. Warnings Washington’s farewell address: “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.”

13. And yet the warnings went unheeded Overview of political parties’ history: • http://www.hippocampus.org/homework-help/American-Government/Political%20Parties%20and%20Voting%20Behavior_Party%20Realignment%20and%20Dealignment.html

14. An overview with more detail… … if you really want to know more about the history of parties in the U.S., check out http://flhspatterson.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/7491564/politicalparties%5B1%5D.htm

15. History of parties in U.S. • Note: as we go through these, look for realignments and dealignments. • A realignment period (a/k/a a “critical period”) is when there is a big and lasting shift in support from one of the major parties to another. • A dealignment is when support for all parties declines. A major increase in independents signals a dealignment.

16. Four Major Eras of Parties • Creation (founding to 1820s) • First big “party” battle fought over the ratification of the Constitution • Federalists (Adams, Hamilton) wanted to ratify it. • Anti-federalists (Jefferson) wanted more guarantees of individual freedoms. TJ’s followers called themselves “Republicans” to distinguish from “monarchists.” TJ’s inaugural address: “We are all republicans, we are all federalists.” Well, not really. • After TJ, the federalists fell out of favor and parties largely ceased to exist for awhile.

17. Election of 1800

18. 1820s-1860 Whigs emerge (a lot like Federalists), but… …Democrats largely control the White House. • Ds were led by Jackson; a coalition of the South and West; the party of the little guys. Jackson ushered in 3 big changes: • Voting rights for all white males (“universal manhood suffrage”) • Huge increase in number of elected offices • Spread of the spoils system

19. 1820s-1860s (cont.) • Political participation became a mass phenomenon. Grew from 365k in 1824 to 2mm in 1840. • National convention invented; delegates voted for nominee (as opposed to party leaders selecting nominee). • Impending Civil War split both parties. Clay died, taking the Whig Party with him. The Ds split along north/south lines. • Rs successfully courted northern Ds and former Whigs. R Party founded in 1854. Honest Abe their first president. • Voters realigned according regional differences centering on slavery and states’ rights.

20. Election of 1860

21. 1860-1932 Realignment for the Republicans. They win most of the presidential elections during this period. • Rs supported by b’ness, farmers, laborers, freed slaves. • Ds had a “solid south” but could elect only one president – Grover Cleveland, in 1884 and again in 1892. • Rsstubbed their toe in 1912 when they nominated Taft and ticked off Teddy Roosevelt, who left the Rs to form the Bull Moose Party. That split the Rs, giving election to Woodrow Wilson. • But that didn’t last long. Harding won in 1920, then Silent Cal, and then Hoover before the Great Depression. • Rs seen as the party of b’ness, industry.

22. 1932-1968 • Another realignment, this time towards the Ds. FDR wins big in 1932 (see electoral map, next slide) and 3 more times after that; Ds win every presidential race except when Ike ran. • Many people’s attitudes towards the gov’t change. • New electoral base for Ds: south, small farmers, blacks, unions, liberals (among others).

23. Election of 1932

24. Today • Since 1968, it’s been pretty evenly split, with the Rs having a slight edge in the presidential election (6-5) • 2012 election: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/election-map-2012/president/ • Our Congress is very polarized and getting polarized-er(see next slide).

25. Polarization in Congress

26. Congressional polarization (cont.) • So what that Congress is polarized? Does it affect policymaking? If so, for better or worse?

27. Why just 2 major parties? Some possible reasons: • Tradition. We have it b/c we have it. It may be a completely wacky system but it’s our completely wacky system. • Ideological consensus (maybe). Some say we are basically homogenous in a pluralistic society, and two parties are seen as doing a decent job representing us.

28. Why just 2 major parties (cont.) • Electoral laws are huge factor. • Single-member districts • Closed primaries • Electoral college • Ballot access • Debate access

29. On the point of ballot access… … Alabama has one of the highest hurdles in the nation for ballot access. • To run for Congress as someone who is not the nominee of the R or D parties, you need to get signatures from at least 3% of the people who actually voted (as opposed to registered voters) in the last gubernatorial election. • To run for president as the nominee of a minor party, you need roughly 45,000 signatures.

30. So, should we have a multiparty system? • Resolved: The interests of all Americans would be more effectively represented if we had a multiparty system.

31. Some Pros of 2-party system • It tends to have a moderating and stabilizing influence on politics. To get elected, you need to cater to a wide range of views. • Tends to clarify the issues. • Since there are only two major parties we are assured of having a majority government in the executive and legislative branches. This (theoretically, at least) leads to a more stable government with fewer shifting alliances.

32. Some cons of the 2-party system • It is difficult for third parties to elect officials to public office. The Republicans and Democrats have an effective monopoly on electing officials, so meaningful dissent and new points of view are lost. • Party members and officials are at times accused of being overly partisan. • They may put the interest of their party ahead of the interest of the nation. • To succeed in Congress, you must play ball with the party leaders.

33. To be one of the 2 main parties… …you have to be pretty darned inclusive. Take a look at this graphic: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/weekinreview/20061001_HERDS_GRAPHIC.html

34. Some generalizations Democrats Republicans Men Older people Wealthy Whites Business Protestants Rural The south and “flyover states” • Women • Young people • Poor • Minorities • Unions • Jews and Catholics • Urban • Northeast and west coast

35. Party decline: the rise of the independent voter

36. Party decline (cont.) • More people are voting “split ticket” ballots – i.e., voting for candidates of different parties on the same ballot. • Ex: voting for the R candidate for President but the D candidate for Senator. • The alternative is to vote “straight ticket” – i.e., voting for all the candidates of a particular party on the ballot. • Split-ticket voting was made easier by the office-bloc ballot (which is a type of Australian ballot; remember all those?).

37. Party decline (cont.) • Increasing influence of the media reduces parties’ role as source of information. • “Front-loaded” primaries hurt parties. • Laws designed to minimize power of party machines. • Pendleton Act: Can’t hire or fire for political reasons. Civil service jobs are to be awarded based on merit. • Hatch Act: Federal employees cannot engage in many political activities, including -- • Running for office • Campaigning at work • Serving as party officer

38. As party machines have declinedin clout… …what has taken their places? In other words, what might motivate someone to join a party if not the spoils of a machine? Your book identifies 4 options: • Ideological parties (and factions within main parties) Value principle above all else (contrast party machines). Parties have become big tents to try to accommodate the various social movements; has allowed factions to grow. The social movements are the farm clubs for the parties. Factions have become very powerful and have limited what party leaders can do.

39. Machines’ competition (cont.) • Solidary groups • Members are joiners; people who like people and/or the game of politics. • Not rigid, but also not very committed to the cause • Maybe people join because their friends did. • Like a social club.

40. Competition for machines (cont.) • Sponsored parties • When an organization supports a major party in the community. Ex: UAW supporting the Ds. • A fairly rare phenomenon.

41. Competition for machines (cont.) • Personal followings • Can fill the void left by vanishing party machine. • A network of people and organizations that support an individual based on personal popularity. • Name recognition is very helpful. See, e.g., the Kennedys, the Wallaces. • Candidates less beholden to the party, making party less powerful.

42. The point of the previous 4 slides • As party machines have waned, people who join parties do so for other reasons. • Sometimes they join the Rs or Ds. • Other times they join a third party, which is next up on your hit parade.

43. Are there minor parties? Yup. See http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm 4 different types: • Ideological parties. Based on a set of beliefs. • Often built around Marxist ideas, although some at the other end of the spectrum, too. • Long-lived, short on votes.

44. Minor parties (cont.) • Single-issue parties. • Ex: Prohibition Party, Right to Life Party. • Most fade into sunset, either b/c goal is achieved or interest wanes.

45. Minor parties (cont.) • Economic interest parties. • No clear ideological bent. Just mad at someone – fat-cat bankers, foreigners, etc. They disappear when happy times return. • Ex: Ross Perot’s Reform Party

46. Minor parties (cont.) • Splinter parties. • See, e.g., TR’s Bull Moose Party, George Wallace’s American Independence Party. • Usually formed around a strong personality and thus fade when the “great man” dies.

47. Do Third Parties Matter? Yes, for several reasons. • Can change the logistics. See, e.g., Anti-Masons and their first-ever party nominating convention. • Can be a spoiler. Think Ralph Nader in FL in 2000, TR in 1912. • Can be important voices as critics and innovators. They are unencumbered by the risk of winning and thus can speak their minds. If they are on to something, their ideas often get co-opted by the Ds and Rs.

48. Do Third Parties Matter (cont.) • Can provide a safety valve for discontent. • Can expand political participation. • But they can’t win elections (see next slide)

49. Third-Party Success (or lack thereof) Third-Party and Independent Presidential Candidates Receiving 5 Percent or More of Popular Vote since 1900 CANDIDATE PARTY YEAR % OF POP VOTE ELECTORAL VOTE Ross Perot Reform Party 1996 8.5 0 Ross Perot Independent 1992 18.9 0 John Anderson Independent 1980 6.6 0 Wallace American Ind. 1968 13.5 46 Rob’tLaFollette Progressive 1924 16.6 13 T. Roosevelt Bull Moose 1912 27.4 88 Eugene Debs Socialist 1912 6.0 0

50. The mathematics of the spoiler