Political Parties and Political Behavior

Parties, Voters, and Political Trends

Political Parties

Definition: A group of people who seek to control the

government through winning elections There is NO Constitutional basis for their creation

or their structure Examples:

The Big Two - Republican (Conservative) Democrat (Liberal)

‘Major’ Third Parties - Constitution, Green, Libertarian

What do political Parties do? G.A.I.N. W.

5. Govern – or conduct the business of government

4. Approve – its candidate(s) to ensure the good performance of its people by seeing that they are qualified and of good character Buttons, bumper stickers, ads, speeches, rallies, conventions—

the media also partially performs this function on behalf of the parties

3. Inform – the people and stimulate their interests and participation in public affairs

2. Nominate – or name candidates for public office Select candidate; present them to voters

1. Act as Watchdogs – over the conduct of the government, particularly criticizing the party in power This is a constant action of the party. They do not have to have a

viable candidate or members in government to be watchdogs.

Why a Two-Party System?

Historical: Parties began with the nation – Federalist v. Anti-Federalists

Tradition: most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system because there has always been one

Electoral System: our method of electing the President is a winner-takes-all system, so people think they are ‘wasting’ their vote by voting for a 3rd party candidate

American Ideological Consensus: Americans, in general have shared ideals, principles, and patterns of belief Agree? Are people becoming ‘sheeple’?

Other Systems

Multi-Party - Several major parties and many lesser parties exist Positives: may better represent needs and concerns of

people Some people say that Republicans and Democrats aren’t

that different (Demi-cans and Republi-crats) Negatives: tend to lead to instability, difficult to win the

support of a majority A big problem in a Democracy – Popular Sovereignty?

One-Party – really means ‘no-party’ Positives: ??? Are there any? Negatives: too many to list…

Minor Parties

Definition: There are numerous, less politically reliable parties in

the US other than the D’s and R’s. 4 types of minor parties:

1. Ideological: based on a particular set of beliefs (Ex: Libertarian – emphasizes individualism)

2. Single-Issue: those concentrating on a single public policy matter (Ex: Right to Life Party opposes abortion)

3. Economic Protest: those rooted in periods of economic discontent

4. Splinter: those that have split away from one of the major parties (from R: Bull Moose; from D: Progressive, American Independent Party)

Although they have no real chance of winning they are still important Spoiler – ‘steal’ votes from a major party candidate

Key Terms

Strong devotion or faithfulness to a party, their beliefs, and/or candidates is called partisanship.

When the two major parties work together on an issue, we call this cooperation bipartisanship.

Despite their differences the two major parties share an ideological consensus, that is they share a general agreement on fundamental issues.

Each of the parties writes out it’s formal stance on major issues. This is called the party’s platform.

People who chose no party affiliation are called independents.

Voter Behavior

Voting Rights History in the US

Party Membership Patterns(Remember: These are TENDENCIES…there are many that do

NOT follow the following criteria)

DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN

Income/Occupation

Lower income / Lower Status in Occupation

& union workers

Wealthy / Higher Status Occupations & members of the

business community

Education Less education More Education

Gender/age Women / 18-30 year

olds Men / 55 years+

Religion Jews and Catholics Protestants

Ethnicity Black White

Geography Northeast and far West; urban

Midwest & increasingly the South; rural

History of Voting in America

Before Constitution Women – in some colonies Free Blacks – in some colonies Slaves – Nope

After Constitution Women, Free Blacks, and Slaves were

initially denied the right or the States decided

Voting…how we got to where we are today

13th Amendment (1865)– outlawed slavery 14th Amendment (1868)– granted citizenship to former

slaves 15th Amendment (1870)– gave African-American males

the right to vote However, later state laws prohibited them from voting…

Ex: Jim Crow Laws (1876-1965) Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of ’64, ’65 – ended Jim

Crow Laws 19th Amendment (1920) – gave women the right to vote

Women’s Suffrage: women’s right to vote 26th Amendment (1971) – lowered the minimum voting

age from 21 to 18

Understanding the Presidential Election Process

Quick video…

A preview/review of the election process http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I7g

6I

Announcing Plan to Run for Office

Get their name “out there” for potential voters to know and remember

Usually 1 to 1.5 (…or 2) years before a presidential election John McCain 2008 election announcement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53caXQKTs9Y Barak Obama’s 2012 announcement:

http://www.barackobama.com/

Candidate campaigns to win delegate support

Competing with members from your own party

Hope to gain popularity and financial support

Also, hope to win the support of party delegates who will vote for a specific candidate at the party’s national convention

Caucuses and Primary elections take place in the states

Primary elections: D vs. D and R vs. R OPEN primary – any qualified voter can take

part in the vote (23 states) CLOSED primary – only declared party

members can take part in the vote (27 states and DC)

Pennsylvania has a closed primary

Caucus – meetings where people decide and discuss which candidate/delegates to support

Nominee for President is announced at the National Party Convention

Cities host to bid Party NOT in power goes first 3 functions:

1. Organize (rewrite Platform: a political party’s formal statement of basic principles, stands on major issues, and goals)

2. “Pep Rally” and a keynote speaker

3. Announce candidate…today it has become simply a formality

Lots of Campaigning…then voting

Voting Day – Tuesday following the first Monday in November (on an even year)

Democrat v. Republican (and a possible 3rd party) We are actually voting for ELECTORS not the

presidential candidate Each state picks D and R electors

A winner-takes-all system - whichever candidate wins, ALL of their (the winning party’s) electors are sent to cast their votes for that candidate

Electors cast their vote on the Monday after the 2nd Wednesday in December

President is Inaugurated

January 20th of the following year (always an odd year) the President officially takes office!