Political Parties

Political Parties Chapter 5

Parties and What They Do?

Political Party • Is a group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and holding of public office. • Major Parties • Republican • Democrat • Both parties are no primarily principle or issue oriented. • ??????? • They are election oriented. What Is A Party?

Nominate Candidates • Name candidates for public office • Parties select candidates and the present them to the voters. • Informing and Activating Supporters • The parties inform the people, and inspire and activate their interests and participation in public affairs. • The Bonding Agent Function • Bond- is an agreement that protects a person or company against loss caused by a third party. • The party acts as a bonding agent to ensure the good performance of its candidates and officeholders. • Governing • Congress and state legislatures are organized on party lines, and they conduct much of their business on the basis of partisanship. • Acting as Watchdog • Parties act as watchdogs over the conduct of public’s business. • It plays this role as it criticizes the policies and behavior of the party in power. What Do Parties Do?

The Two- Party System

Historical Basis • Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists • George Washington’s Farewell Address • The Force of Tradition • Accept the idea of a two party system, simply because there has always been one. • The Electoral System • Single member districts- candidate is elected to each office on the ballot. Winner takes all. • The American Ideological Consensus • Republican- in favor of private market forces in the economy and to argue that the Federal Government should be less extensively involved in social welfare programs. • Democrats- vote for a candidate who supports social welfare, government regulation, of business practices, and efforts to improve the status of minorities. Why a two-party system?

Replacement of a two party system • They would replace it with a multiparty system, which several major and minor parties exist, seriously compete for, and actually win public offices. • Would this work in America? Multiparty Systems

This is really a no party system. • Democrats and Republicans go back and forth as far as popularity. • States also have their party that they are affiliated with. • The State of Utah??? One Party Systems

This is purely voluntary. • Its what they choose to be. • Parties must be able to attract supporters. • Supporters can be young, old, city-dwellers, suburbanites, and rural residents among it members. • They can also be any age to support any political party. • Different Parties • The Libertarian Party • Prohibition National Committee • America First Party • The Constitution Party • The Natural Law Party • The Socialists Labor Party • Green Party of the United States • The Communists Party Party Membership Patterns

The Two-Party System In American History

Federalists • Formed around Alexander Hamilton • Party of the rich and the well born • Most of them supported the Constitution • Worked to create a stronger national government. • Appealed to Financial, manufacturing, and commercial interests. • Liberal interpretation of the Constitution. • Jeffersonian • Followers of the Common Man • Very limited role for the new government. • Congress should dominate that new government. • Its policies should help the nation’s small shopkeepers, farmers, laborers, and planters. • First election in which they clashed was in 1796 • John Adams beating Jefferson by 3 votes. The Nation’s First Parties

Era of the Democrats 1800-1860. • Thomas Jefferson’s election marked the beginning . • This will last until the Civil War. • The Era of the Republicans 1860-1932. • The Civil War sparked the beginning for a one party domination. • McKinley • Grover Cleveland • Taft • Roosevelt • The Return of the Democrats 1932-1968 • Franklin Roosevelt • Truman • The Start of a New Era • Richard Nixon-Republican • Gerald Ford-Republican • Jimmy Carter- Democrat • Ronald Reagan- Republican • George Bush- Republican • William Jefferson Clinton- Democrat • George HW Bush- Republican • Barack Obama- Democrat American Parties: Four Major Eras

The Minor Parties

Ideological Parties • Parties based on a particular set of beliefs. • Single Issue Parties • They focus on only one public-policy matter. • Economic Protest Parties • They have been rooted in economic discontent. • Splinter Parties • They have split from one of the major parties. Minor Parties in the United States

Still have an impact on American politics and on the major parties. • Minor parties continue to be active today. • Many minor parties also seek seats in Congress or run for various State and local offices. Why MinorParties Are Important

Party Organization

The Role of The Presidency • The President’s Party is usually more organized than the opposing party. • President is automatically the party leader. • The Impact of Federalism • Federalism is one major reason for the decentralized nature of the two major parties is to gain control of the government. • They do this by winning elective offices. • The Role of the Nominating Process • Plays a central role in the life of political parties. • First: Candidate selection is an intraparty process. Nomination within the party. • Second: The nominating process can be a divisive one. Fight over the nomination. • Prime process is making of their nomination. The Decentralized Nature of the Parties

The National Convention • The Party’s national voice • The National Committee • The parties affairs are handled • The National Chairperson • Leader of the national committee. • Chosen in a four year term • The Congressional Campaign Committees • Each party also has a campaign committee in each house of Congress. These committees work to reelect incumbents and to make sure that seats given up remain in the party. National Party Machinery

The State Organization • At the State level, party machinery is built around a State central committee, headed by a State chairperson. • Chairperson and committee work together to further the parties interests. • Local Organization • Ward- is a unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members. • Precinct- Is the smallest unit of election administration; the voters in each precinct report to one polling place. State and Local Party Machinery

1- The Party Organization • These are the party leaders • Activists • All who give their time, money and skills to the party. • 2- The Party in the electorate • The party’s loyalists who vote on a straight party ticket. • Party Members • 3- The Party in Government • Party’s officeholders • Those who hold executive, judicial, legislative offices in the federal, state and local levels. The Three Components of the Party

The present, weakened state of the parties can be traced to several factors: • 1- A sharp drop in the number of voters wiling to identify themselves with their party. • 2- A big increase in split-ticket voting. Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election. • 3- Various structural changes and reforms that have made the parties more open but led to internal disorganization. • 4- Changes in technology of campaigning for office. Television and internet. • 5- The growth in both numbers and impact, of single issue organizations in our politics. The Future of the Major Parties

Political Parties