Political Parties

1. Political Parties Chapter 9 P. 197-229

2. Political Parties • Political party—a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by providing them with a label (party identification) • Label—a party identification by which a party is known to the electorate • Parties exist as a • Label • Organization • DNC • RNC • Set of leaders Nancy Pelosi D-CA Speaker John Boehner R-OH Senator Harry Reid D-NV Senator John McCain R-AZ

3. Parties Here and Abroad

4. Powerful vs. Weak Parties • Label has a strong appeal to voters • Elaborate and well-disciplined organization • provides money and workers to candidates • Voters are very loyal • Party chooses the candidate and how the campaign will be managed • Leaders dominate one or all branches of government • Europe • Label has a weaker appeal • Many voters are independents • Voters split tickets • Weak organization has little control over who gets nominated • Federal system decentralizes power • Closely regulated by state and federal laws • Weakens parties • Candidate centered elections and campaigns • Chosen by primaries not party leaders • Leaders who organize government (especially Congress ) remain somewhat strong • U.S.A

5. Reasons for the Weakness of American Political Parties • Federal system decentralizes political authority • State and local governments made the most important governmental decisions for two centuries • Education, criminal justice, land use, business regulation and public welfare • Power rested in local and state parties who could ignore the national party leaders • Party that wins the Congress does not have the right to choose the chief executive • Direct primary elections is the method for choosing candidates for office • This removes from party leaders their most important source of power over officeholders • Parties play almost no role in the cultural life of the average citizen • Social, business, working and cultural lives are almost entirely nonpartisan • OLDEST parties in the world • WEAKEST they have ever been

6. Rise and decline of parties

7. Overview of rise and decline of parties • Founders disliked parties • Viewed them as factions • Jacksonian era • Political participation became a mass phenomenon • Civil War until the 1930s • Most states were dominated by one party • Progressives • Pushed measures to curtail parties’ power and influence

8. History ofAmerican Political Parties Four Broad Periods • 1789-1820 Founding to Jackson • 1820s-1861 Jackson to the Civil War • 1865-1930 Civil War to New Deal • 1930-2009 New Deal to present

9. 1789-1820s Founding to JacksonFirst Party System • Founders disliked factions • Motivated by ambition and self interest • Washington dismayed by quarreling in his cabinet by Hamilton and Jefferson • Jefferson’s followers to opposed Hamilton’s policies • Republicans/South • Suggesting their opponents were secret monarchists • Hamilton’s followers • Federalists/New England • Implying their opponents were enemies of the Constitution • Loose caucuses of political notables • Caucus methodused to choose the presidential candidate • Built from the top down • Heterogeneous coalitions (then and now) • After 1804 election, Federalist party ceased to exist Thomas Jefferson Alexander Hamilton

10. 1820s – 1861 Jackson to the Civil WarSecond Party System • Political participation is a mass phenomenon • Presidential politics truly national • 1824—365,000 popular votes cast • 1828—over one million votes cast • 1842—over two million votes cast • Party system built from the bottom up • Democrats—followers of Jackson • Whigs—opponents of Jackson • Both parties straddled the slavery issue • Nominating conventions replace the caucus as the method to select the presidential candidates • 1831 Anti-Masonic Party –first to use nominating convention • Allows some local control • No other nation uses this method Andrew Jackson

11. Methods for choosing candidates for President • 1788-1832 Caucus • 1832-1960 National nominating conventions • 1960-present Direct primary elections

12. 1865-1930 Civil War to New DealThird Party System • Emergence of the Republican Party • Began as a third party • Became a major party as a result of the Civil War • Dominated national politics for 75 years with only occasional interruptions • Two events gave the Republican Party a marked advantage • Civil War polarized attitudes • Republicans supported the Union • Democrats opposed the union and supported the Confederacy • Candidacy of William Jennings Bryan (D) 1896 • Bryan alienated voters in the populous northeast • Bryan attracted voters in the south and west • Deepened the split in the country especially North vs. South • 1896-1930 • North solidly Republican • South solidly Democratic Abraham Lincoln William Jennings Bryan

13. 1865-1930 Third Party System • Solid Republican North • Solid Democratic South • RESULTS • Most states are now one-party states • Competition for office at the state level went on within a single dominant party • Two major factions within each party • Stalwarts—the Old Guard • Built up the party organization (machinery) by developing party loyalty and dispensing jobs and favors • Skills in organization, negotiation, bargaining and compromise • Great interest was in winning • Progressives/mugwumps—reformers • Opposed party machinery and emphasis on patronage • Feared influx of immigrants • Skills in advocacy • Great interest in principle

14. 1865-1930 Third Party System • Era of Reform 1890-1920 • Progressives called for • Direct primary elections to replace national nominating conventions • Nonpartisan elections at the city and state level • One in which the candidates are not identified by a party • Strict voter-registration requirements • Civil service reform • Successful in • California/Governor Hiram Johnson 1910 • Instituted the direct primary • Adopted initiative and referendum • Wisconsin/Governor Robert La Follette

15. Results of reform • Worst forms of political corruption were reduced • All political parties were weakened • Parties became less able to hold officeholders accountable or to coordinate across the branches of government

16. Decline in Party Identification1952-2002

17. Party Realignments • Critical or realigning periods • When a major, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting both parties (turning points in the strength of the major parties) • Electoral realignment occurs when a new issue of utmost importance cuts across existing party divisions and replaces old issues that were formerly the basis of party identification.

18. TWO Kinds of Realignments • Major party so badly defeated it disappears and a new party emerges • 1800 Federalist Party disappeared • 1856 an1860 Whig Party collapses • Slavery issue • 1856 Republican Party formed as a third party • Clear cut opposition to slavery • 1860 Democratic Party split in half • Steven Douglas in the North • John Breckinridge in the South • Two existing parties continue but voters shift their support from one to another • 1896 Economic issues • Falling farm prices • Parties of economic protest • Greenback Party 1876-1884 • Populist Party 1892-1908 • Cultural Issues • Fundamentalists and farmers • Old North v. South is replaced in part by East versus West • City versus farmers • 1932 Economic Depression • New Deal Democrats • urban workers, northern blacks, southern whites and Jewish voters

19. FIVE Major Realignments • Election 1800 • Jeffersonian Republicans defeat Federalists • Election 1828 • Jacksonian Democrats come to power • Election 1860 • Whig Party collapses • Republicans under Lincoln come to power • Election 1896 • RepublicansWilliam McKinley defeat William Jennings Bryan • Election 1932 • Democrats under Franklin Roosevelt come to power

20. Party Realignment Election 1800 • Power Shift • Jefferson unseats Adams • Republicans defeat Federalists • Jefferson set a precedent for post election unity declaring, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.”

21. Party Realignment Election 1828 • The Birth of Populism • Beat the elite! • Andrew Jackson over John Quincy Adams • Jackson styled himself a man of the people • Jobs to loyal backers White House patronage in style ever since

22. Party Realignment Election 1860 • Fury, Then Freedom • Altered America more than any other election in history • Abraham Lincoln’s new antislavery Republican Party • Fractured Democratic Party

23. Party Realignment Election 1896 • A Business Party • William McKinley and the Republican Party defeat Bryan’s populist loose money platform • Differences in economic philosophy defined the campaign • Coalition of Eastern business patrons for the gold standard

24. Party Realignment Election 1932 • A New Deal Dawns • F.D.R. defeats Hoover • Tackles economic disaster • Democrats repudiate conservative economic policies and set stage for New Deal initiatives

25. Three Clearest Cases of realignment • 1860 • Slavery issue fixed new loyalties in the popular mind • 1896 • Economic issues shifted loyalties to East vs. West, city vs. farm split • 1932 • Economic depression triggered new coalition for Democrats

26. Alignment? • 1980: a new realignment? • Reagan won in 1980 because he was not Jimmy Carter • Could not have been a traditional realignment because Congress was left in the hands of the Democrats • Major shift that has occurred • Shift in presidential voting patterns in the South • 1972-2004: South has been more Republican than nation as a whole • If continues, will constitute a major regional realignment

27. Party Decline • Proportion of people identifying with one or the other party declined between 1960 and 1980 • Proportion of voters split-ticket voting increased • 1940s 1/5 of congressional districts split their votes • 1988 ½ of all congressional districts split their tickets • Split ticket voting was greatest in the South

28. Party Decline • Split ticket—voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election • Creates divided government • Helped Democrats keep control of the House from 1954 to 1994 • Unheard of in the 19th century • Straight ticket—voting for candidates who are all the same party • Office-bloc ballot—lists all candidates of a given office under the name of the office; called a Massachusetts ballot • No way to vote a straight party ticket by making one mark • States using office-bloc have more ticket splitting • Party-column ballot—lists all candidates of a given party together under the name of the party; called an Indiana ballot • Encourages straight ticket voting

29. Party Decline • Evidence that parties are declining, not realigning • Proportion of people identifying with a party declined between 1960 and 1980 • Proportion of those voting a split ticket increased • Was almost unheard of in the 19th century, because voters were given ballots by the parties • Became more common with the adoption of the office-bloc ballot (listing candidates by office instead of party)

30. 1930-present National Party structure TODAY • Two party system remains strong • Voters registered Democrat vote Democrat • Voters registered Republican vote Republican • National, state and local parties • At each level a separate and almost entirely independent organization exists • National • National convention—a meeting of party delegates held every four years • National committee—delegates from each state and territory who run party affairs between national conventions • Selects the time and place for the next convention • Determines the number of delegates each state and territory has • Sets the rules under which delegates are chosen • Allocation formulas show the tendencies of the two parties to move in opposite ideological directions • Congressional campaign committee—a party committee in Congress that helps members of congress who are running for reelection and would be members by providing funds • National chairman—day-to-day manager elected by the national committee

31. Cleavages and Continuity in the Two-Party System P. 209

32. National party Structure Today National Conventions State and Local Parties The Machine Personal Following

33. RNC Republican National Committee • 1960s and early 1970s • Convert party to a • Well-financed and highly staffed organization • Devoted to finding and electing Republican candidates especially to Congress • Bureaucratized • Took advantage of computerized mailings • Built file of names of donors raising big budget for the national party • National political consulting firm • Legal and financial advice • Studies issues • Analyzes voting trends • Conducts national advertising campaigns • 1968-1988 • Won five out of six presidential elections • Took control of the Senate • White collar voters

34. DNC Democratic national Committee • 1960s and early 1970s • Changed rules on how presidential candidates are nominated • Altered the distribution of power within the party • Factionalized • 1968-88 • Lost five out of six presidential elections • Blue collar voters • Since 1972 • Make the party more democratic • Rules designed to weaken control of local party leaders • Increase the proportion of women, young people, African Americans and Native Americans • 1980s played catch-up • Same computerized direct-mail techniques as Republicans • Changed rules to increase influence of elected officials • Superdelegates—elected officials • 1988 number of superdelegates increased • By 2004 Democrats outspent the Republicans • Money to state organizations • Soft money—funds to aid parties and their ads and polls • Financed television advertisements

35. State and Local Parties • Every state has a Democratic and Republican state party organized by law • State central committee • County central committee • City, town or precinct committees • Members are chosen by • Primary elections • Conventions • Building block process • People elected to serve on precinct or town committees choose the county committee who chooses the state committee • Strong party bosses

36. The Machine • Political machine—a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives—money, political jobs, favors from government—and that is characterized by a high degree of leadershipcontrol over member activity • Supreme expression of the value of organization • Republican machines helped elect Lincoln and Harding • Democratic machines helped elect F.D. Roosevelt and Kennedy • Examples • Tammany Hall, NYC • Began as a caucus • By late 19th century a machine organized on the basis of political clubs in each assembly district • Got out the vote • Abundant rewards • 1870s one out of every eight voters in New York had a federal, state or city job • NYC Customs house employed thousands • Chicago, Philadelphia and Albany—machines in place today

37. Minor Parties

38. Minor Parties • Minor Parties • Third parties • Permanent feature of American political life • Examples • Ideological • One-issue • Economic protest • Factional

39. Ideological Parties • Values principle above all else • Extreme opposite of the machine • Examples • Socialist Party 1901-1960s • Socialist Labor Party 1888-present • Communist Party 1920s-present • Libertarian Party1972-present • Right-to-Life Party 1970-present • Green Party 1984-present

40. One issue Parties • Seeks a single policy usually revealed by the name • Avoids other issues • Examples • Free-Soil Party 1848-1852 • Prevent the spread of slavery • Know-Nothing Party 1856 • Opposed immigration and Catholics • Prohibition Party 1869-present • Ban the sale of liquor • Women’s Party 1913-1920 • Obtain the right to vote for women

41. Economic protest parties • Usually based in a particular region, especially involving farmers, that protest against depressed economic conditions • Tend to disappear as conditions improve • Examples • Greenback Party 1876-1884 • Populist Party 1892-1908

42. Factional parties • Created by a split in a major party, usually over the identity and philosophy of the major party’s presidential candidate • Examples • Split from the Republican Party • “Bull Moose” Progressive Party 1912 • Teddy Roosevelt • La Follette Progressive Party 1924 • Split from Democratic Party • States’ Rights “Dixiecrat” Party 1948 • Henry Wallace Progressive Party 1948 • American Independent (George Wallace) Party 1968 • Split from Democrats and Republicans • Reform Party 1992, 1996 Teddy Roosevelt Robert La Follette George Wallace Ross Perot

43. Solidary GroupsSponsored Parties • Solidary Groups • Formed because people enjoy the game of politics and are looking for companions and status • Advantages of these groups are that they are neither corrupt nor inflexible • Disadvantage—don’t work hard • Uncommon in U.S. • Sponsored Parties • Local or state political party that is largely supported by another organization in the community • Detroit • Political action arm of the UAW

44. George, George W, Jeb Bush, TX Personal Following • Personal following—the political support provided to a candidate on the basis of popularity and networks • Requires • Pleasing personality • Lots of friends • Big bank account John, Robert, Edward Kennedy, MA Jerry and Pat Brown, CA Hubert Humphrey, MN Birch and Evan Bayh, IN Huey and Russell Long, LA

45. Two-Party System Plurality System

46. Two-Party System • Two-party system—an electoral system with two major dominant parties that compete in national elections • U.S.—rather evenly balance • 1888-2008 presidential elections • 17 Republican victories • 14 Democratic victories • Rare—only fifteen nations have it • Most European nations have a multi-party system • Proportional representation encourages minor parties

47. Reasons for aTwo-Party System • Plurality system—an electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if he/she does not receive a majority • Parties must make alliances before the election • Parties must be broadly based if they want to have any hope of winning • Used in almost all American elections • Winner-take-all feature • Best example is the Electoral College • Exceptions—Maine and Nebraska • Minor parties cannot compete under this system • Voters are reluctant to “waste their vote” on a minor-party candidate • Distribution of public opinion • Rough parity between the two parties • Prevailing economic system accepted by masses • Church and religion are private matters • State laws • Make it difficult to get on the ballot

49. American Political Parties