AP Go./Po.

Unit 3

Chapter 7

Political Parties

Warm-up Activity

On a sheet of paper, describe the stereotypes associated with the

Republican, Democratic, and Independent Parties

Watch “Desi States of America” - Parody of Political Parties

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06tS51g08GE

America’s Two-Party System

What is the definition of “political party”?– Edwards Textbook: A “team of men [and women] seeking to control

the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election”

– Wilson Textbook: A “group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label - a ‘party identification’ - by which they are known to the electorate”

• Class definition?

Can be thought of in three parts:1. Party in the Electorate

2. Party as an Organization

3. Party in the GovernmentWill be discussed later

America’s Two-Party SystemWhy Has the 2 - Party System Endured in America?

• Often, on major issues confronting the country there have been two clear sides.

• Ratification of the Constitution• Power of the federal government• Slavery

• This duality helped to initiate a two-party system and has maintained this system through the present.

• Political socialization• Children learn early to identify with either Democrats or

Republicans.• Politically oriented people know the only way to really be

successful in government is to be a Democrat or Republican.

America’s Two-Party System• The Winner-Take-All (Plurality) System: The winner is the

person who gets most of the votes (not a majority)• Presidential Voting – electoral college

– Congressional District method used in Maine and Nebraska

– Only 1 third party candidate has ever won the presidency…?

• State and Federal Laws Favoring the Two Parties• Signatures for ballots

– 1968, George Wallace needed 433,000 signatures (15%) to get on presidential ballot in Ohio

– Supreme Court ruled that such a restriction was unconstitutional (14th Amendment = equal protection)

• Campaign finance laws - discussed later

History of America’s 2-Party System

• The Formative Years: Federalists and Anti-Federalists– Hamilton (Federalists) v. Jefferson (Republicans; Democratic-

Republicans)– Washington’s Farewell Address

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWPGNIzk2fM

• The Era of Good Feelings– Why did partisan politics abate during this time period?

• National Two-Party Rule: Whigs and Democrats– Political participation had become very popular– Caucus system prevented Jackson from winning presidency (even

though he won popular vote)• Party convention was created - more later

History of America’s 2-Party System

• The Civil War Crisis and the Republican Party– National Parties could not prevent split in public opinion

over slavery– Republican party forms as a 3rd party– Most states became one-party states (North =

Republican, South = Democrat)

• The Post-Civil War Period (Era of Reform)– Splits within parties occurred (example - Stalwarts v.

Progressives)– “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion” (1884)

History of “Mascots”Democratic Donkey• 1st used for Andrew Jackson

(opponents called him a “jack-ass”)

• Jackson used it as a symbol (strong-willed)

Republican Elephant

•Invented by Thomas Nast

•In one cartoon, elephant was labeled “Republican Vote”

Tasks of Political Parties

1. Linkage Institution: the channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda

– Other possible linkage institutions?

2. Parties Pick Candidates

3. Parties Run Campaigns

4. Parties Give Cues to Voters

5. Parties Articulate Policies

6. Parties Coordinate Policymaking

Purposes of Political Parties

Party in the Electorate

• Party Image - A voter’s perception of what the party stands for– How is this accomplished?

• Party Identification - who do you identify with?– Is declining…why?– Ticket-splitting - voting for one party for this position, another party for that position

• Made possible by Progressives

• Independents are more likely to split tickets• Creates a “divided government” - Executive and Legislative branch are controlled by

different parties

Party As An Organization

• These are the people that work for the party.

• Party Machines: a type of political party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives

• Patronage: a job, promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than merit; used by party machines

Party As An Organization• The 50 State Party Systems

– Closed primaries: Only people who have registered with the party can vote for that party’s candidates.

– Open primaries: Voters decide on Election Day whether they want to vote in the Democrat or Republican primary.

– Blanket primaries: Voters are presented with a list of candidates from all parties.

– We’ll discuss more in Chapter 8

• State parties are better organized in terms of headquarters and budgets than they used to be.

Party As An OrganizationThe National Party Organizations• National Convention: the meeting of party

delegates every four years (Quadrennial) to choose a presidential ticket and the party’s platform

• National Committee: one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions– Each party has a Congressional Campaign Committee– Work of the Party is managed be a full-time, paid

National Chairperson (elected by a committee)• RNC Chairman = Michael Steele• DNC Chairman = Tim Kaine• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=907aj9ZX0B4

The National ConventionEach party’s committee decides how many

delegates are to be chosen from each state

Democrats

•Takes into account how the states have voted in the past for Democratic candidates + the number of electoral votes for that state

•Extra delegates to large states

Republicans

•Takes into account the number of representatives in Congress and whether the state has cast electoral votes for the presidential candidate + how many elected Republicans in Congress and Governorship

•Extra delegates to loyal states

Establishing Party Platform• What is a “platform”?

– A formal statement of beliefs, opinions, and policy stands tied together by a set of underlying principles based on the party’s ideological orientation.

• Outlined at the National Convention

Republicans 2004•“A Safer World and a More Hopeful America”•2001 and 2003 tax cuts essential•Iraqi invasion necessary for safety•Pro-life•No same-sex marriage; ratify new amendment which says marriage is between a man and a woman

Democrats 2004•“Strong at Home, Respected in the World”•Tax cuts created more deficit•WMD search was a failure•Pro-choice•Opposed Constitutional amendment concerning marriage

Party in the Government

• Congressional Party - very visible

• Presidential Party– Successes and failures reflect the party

• The Parties in the Judiciary– How can this be if judges are “non-partisan”?

Which is most important on election day?

• The Parties at the National Level– National Convention– RNC and DNC

• The Parties at the State Level– State committees

• The Party in the Electorate– Activists– The actual voters

Which is most important on election day?

• The Parties at the National Level– National Convention– RNC and DNC

• The Parties at the State Level– State committees

• The Party in the Electorate– Activists– The actual voters

Party Eras in American History

• Party Eras– Historical periods in which a majority of votes cling to the party in

power

• Party Realignment– The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually

during a critical election…and the change is permanent!

• Critical Election– An electoral “earthquake” where new issues and new coalitions

emerge• Jeffersonians in 1800• Republicans in 1860 (Civil War)• Democrats in 1932 (New Deal)

• De-alignment - a general decline in party identification– Has made Interest Groups more important

So, if we have so many different viewpoints,

Why Does America only have Two Main Political Parties, then??

The answer is the way the Framers set up the Constitution!

For Example…• The Electoral College

– Candidate gets all the electoral votes for one state (in 48/50 states)

• Election rules - winner-take-all system– Proportional Representation would lend itself to

a multi-party system

• The two parties control the primary and election rules

• Our single-member Congressional district

Which brings us back to Third Parties

A third party is an electoral contender other than the two national parties

• They rarely win• 4 different kinds: ideological, social

protest/single issue, economic protest, or splinter party

• Why do they remain minor?• How are they important? (see handout)

Is this true?

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, richer and remove the crab grass on your lawn. .

Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and . . . then they get elected and prove it!

-PJ O’Rourke