Political Parties

Main Questions

• What is the history of the USA’s two main parties?

• What is the link between the major parties and ideology?

• What is the organisational structure of the major parties?

• What role is played by third parties?• Are the US’s parties in a period of decline or

renewal?

Major Parties and Ideology• Ideology: collectively held set of ideas and beliefs• Wide range of beliefs in each party, you can have

‘moderate Republicans’ and ‘conservative Democrats’ as well as ‘conservative Republicans’ and ‘liberal Democrats’

Bush ran his 2000 campaign under the idea of being a ‘compassionate conservative’. This idea meant while having a conservative Republican philosophy he was more compassionate with ideas on welfare, education, immigration and poverty.

• The Democrats are generally seen as being ‘Liberal’ whereas the Republicans ‘Conservative’. There is no left wing or socialist representation in the main US parties.

• The Democrat party can be seen as having shifted to the right under Clinton

Clinton’s Democratic Shift

• With the Democrat party faltering in Presidential elections between 1968 and 1988 as reflected of a need to shift from old-style liberal Democrats.

• The northern old style liberals sent out in 1968, 72, 84 and 88 all faltered. The only victor in that period was the Southern Jimmy Carter, from Georgia in 76.

• Because of these defeats, the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was formed, who sought to move the party closer to the centre

• The DLC’s candidate, Bill Clinton, was selected in 92 and was a huge success, the first Democrat to serve 2 full terms since FDR.

• However, traditional Democrats remained in the party, with their close links to unionised labour, such as the late Ted Kennedy.

• This can be linked to how Blair followed on from Kinnock in moving the Labour party to the right after failure in 79, 83, 87 and 92.

Does Clinton’s shift still exist now?• At first instance it appears not to have. • Gore did not act as the ‘let us continue’ candidate in 2000, but aimed

to distance himself from Clinton. • Similarly John Kerry was not a Clintonesque New-Democrat, but more

of an old Democrat• Obama is strange in the sense that he is the most liberal candidate the

Democrat party have won with since at least Kennedy, but still keeps the Clintons close to him. Until recently Hilary was Secretary of State and Bill Clinton played a huge role in campaigning for Obama in 2012

Republican Ideology• Ideological conflict within the Republican party is not

strange.• In the 1960’s this was let by the conservative Barry

Goldwater and the more liberal Nelson Rockefeller. This has led to the name ‘Rockefeller Republican’ being given to liberal Republicans.

• The battle between these two wings were evident in every election cycle. In 1976, the moderates had the upper hand, with Ford winning an intensely close race against Reagan for the nomination

• Following his defeat, Reagan was nominated in 1980 and won a re-election landslide in 1984.

• However the succession of Reagan’s VP to the post, as seen as a victory for the moderates. HW Bush appointed people of a similar ideology to him, such as Secretary of State James Baker, and thus signalled a moderate victory in the Republican party.

Rockefeller

W Bush and Recent Developments• W Bush managed to blur the ideological divide within the Republican

party. His ticket of ‘Compassionate Conservatism’ acted as a balance between the Rockefeller ‘Compassion’ and the Reagan ‘Conservatism’

• However, in actuality, Bush appeared to be more ‘conservative’ than ‘compassionate’. His initial moderate cabinet members fell to that of Rumsfeld and Cheney.

• His conservative appointments in the Supreme Court, with Roberts and Alito added to his conservatism

• McCain was not similar to Bush in many aspects in 2008. He was a frequent critic of him, and somewhat of a party maverick. However the real impact of 2008, and then 2012 was the growth of the extreme conservative ‘Tea Party’ faction

• The choice of Palin as VP candidate in 2008, and the selection of Romney with Santorum coming second in 2012 indicated a desire to move back to the right in the Republican party

POLARISATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS

The Break Up of the Solid South• In 1960, the Solid South of intact. The Democrats held a massive hold over the

Southern States, and whether you were black, white, female or male, you voted Democrat

• Many called themselves ‘Yellow Dog Democrats’, as they would elect a Yellow Dog as long as it was a Democrat!

• In the 1960 election out of the 109 Southern members of the HoR 99 were Democrat. All 22 southern Senators were Democrat as well as all 11 state governors.

• However, this ‘solidity’ was about to break apart, even though it was not obvious this was going to happen.

• For the next 10 elections the Democrats didn’t win a majority of the South, except for one occasion, the southerner Jimmy Carter.

• They didn’t even win a majority in 1992 or 1996 with the double southern ticket of Arkansas’ Clinton and Tennessee’s Gore.

• What happened?• In 1964 and 1968 the south changed to

voting for extreme conservative candidates such at the Republican’s Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Independent George Wallace in 1968.

• This breakaway led to Nixon launching his ‘Southern Strategy in 72, wooing ex-Wallace supporters with similar policies and promises to for similar appointments. In 72 he made a clean sweep of all 11 southern states.

• Similarly in 1980 Reagan beat an incumbent president from the south to take 10 out of 11 states for the Republicans.

• In the 90’s Democrats struggled in the South, ignoring Clinton and Bush and decimating the Democrats in Congress, winning a majority full of southern candidates.

Effect on Ideology

• The break up of the Solid South led to the two parties becoming more ideologically distinct.

• The outflow of conservatives from the Democrats to the Republicans led to the Republicans becoming much more conservative and allowing liberals to dominate the Democrats.

• Now a new term is arising, the ‘Solid North East’, where the Democrats have a dedicated base in the North East states, with very few house members coming from there, many less Republican Governors there plus solid Democrat turnout in presidential elections.

50-50 Nation• By the elections of 1996, 2000 and 2004, commentators were talking of a clearly divided

America, a ‘50-50 nation’ or ‘Red States vs Blue States’• These phrases were born out of the 2000 election, with both candidates having around 49%

of the popular vote. The HoR was split 221-212 with 2 independents, and the Senate split 50-50.

• 2004 was only a slight swing to the Republicans, and only 3 states changed hands in the electoral college, with tribal lines being reinforced, with New Hampshire falling to the Democrats, New Mexico to the Republicans, and the Republicans enticing Iowa away from the Democrat Great Lake Bloc.

• Red America was male dominated, protestant, wealthy, suburban and very conservative, concentrating on moral issues and terrorism.

• Blue America was more female, a coalition of white, black, Asian and Hispanic. Less wealthy, urban and liberal, concerned with the economy, jobs and the war in Iraq. House Senate

50-50 no more? – 50 Shades of Purple.

• The Red and Blue debate is very simplistic. There are states that are consistent in support of one party, much like safe constituencies in the UK.

• The two most recent elections have shown that there is a degree of swing in certain seats. In 2008 9 states that voted for Bush voted for Obama, including Indiana, which Bush had won by 21% in 2004. In 2012 however, Romney won it back at 44-54% of the vote!

• Additionally, if you scratch beneath the surface of the electoral college votes, greater diversity is found. West Virginia voted for Romney by 62% to 35%, yet has 2 Democrat Senators, one out of its 3 members of the HoR are Democrat, and a Democrat governor!

• Massachusetts, a traditionally Democrat state, and home to the Kennedy family has had a succession of Republican governors, including Mitt Romney

• The US political system cannot be seen as red and blue, as there is a degree of ‘purple’ in each state, not two hugely opposed sides.

• While many argue partisanship is on the rise, some measures of partisanship have been on the decline, and figures remain much below the levels of partisanship shown in the Republican controlled Congress trying to pass parts of the ‘Contract With America’ in 1995

• Recent updates: With the election of a fairly radical President in the form of Obama, partisanship has increased, and Republicans find plenty of common group to oppose measures.

• 2009 was seen as the most partisan year ever

• Every year, Congressional Quarterly measures the percentage of partisan votes taken in the House and Senate.

• It has hovered around a relatively high 50 percent in the House for the past two decades and stayed there this year, at 51 percent. But in the Senate, it was a whopping 72 percent - the highest percentage of partisan votes ever tallied in that chamber.

Where did the Red-Blue divide come from?

• In today’s partisan landscape, many hark back to a time with much greater bipartisanship

• While you did have your liberal Democrats such as John Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, there were conservatives as well, with Strom Thurmond (until 1975) and later on George Wallace in the Democrat party. The Republican party had conservatives such as Barry Goldwater, but so did they have moderates such as Nelson Rockefeller.

• What caused this change?

• Ronald Reagan:• Reagan was the first clearly ideological Republican president, with

Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford essentially being centrists. Reagan wooed conservatives to the Republicans, while making it awkward for moderates to remain in the Republican party

• End of the Cold War:• Both parties were so similar from the 40’s-80’s as they both agreed on

one main foreign policy issue, the need for unity against the Soviet Union. When that went, the parties had no need to stick together.

• Bill Clinton:• Clinton, like Blair, was a ‘New Democrat’ and adopted Republican

policies, but his presidency proved highly divisive by opening up issues over sex, the role of women the nature of authority and morality

• George W. Bush• Bush tried to be a ‘uniter not a divider’ and did this successfully after

9/11, but split the nation over the Iraq war.• Technology:• As technology evolved, ideologically linked people could

communicate, meaning the conservatives in blue states could become Republicans, rather than being a conservative in the Democrats.

Organisational Structure of the Two Major Parties

• Who is the leader of the Democrat Party?• Obama I suppose..• Who is the leader of the Republican Party?• Can’t be Romney now, so who leads?

National Committees• The only manifestation of party structure at the national

level is the national committees; the Democrat National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC)

• Both have offices in Washington DC, and has a chair elected by fellow committee members.

• The chair of the DNC currently is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and the chair of the RNC is currently Reince Priebus

• Few ordinary people will have heard of these people, but they are the closest the parties have to a ‘leader’.

Wasserman Schultz, looking gormless

Priebus, making the Republican position on Gun Control very clear.

These Committees organise the National Conventions, which are the most public manifestations of the partyHowever these NC have very little impact, with 2,000-4,000 people meeting for 4 days every 4 years.Therefore conventional wisdom would dictate that these national committees have very little power.< Dave Grohl playing at the 2012 DNC

2008 Nominations Crisis• However, in the 2008 primaries, the national party organisation showed its

power.• In 2008, the national committees had set down explicit rules concerning the

dates of between which states could hold primaries or caucuses. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee had stated that only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina could hold primaries or caucuses before 5th February 2008.

• However the state parties in Michigan and Florida scheduled their contest on the 15th and 29th January respectively.

• When this was discovered to be scheduled for this date, the DNC voted in August 2007 to strip the states of their delegates. A later compromise lowered this to Michigan and Florida’s delegates being allowed to attend, but only having half a vote each.

• A similar incident occurred in the Republican party, with breaches of party rules on dating of primaries, and New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Wyoming receiving a 50% cut in the number of delegates.

Congressional Committees• Each party has a series of committees in both houses

of Congress overseeing policy and campaigning.• The then Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

leader Senator Charles Schumer of New York was give credit for the Democrat’s highly successful 2008 Senate campaign, winning 59 seats.

State-Level Organisation• Everything else to do with political parties in the USA is at state level. • There is vast array of organisations, laws and customs involving

parties, where considerable power is given to state governors and mayors of big cities.

• It must be noted that the NATIONAL party convention is merely the coming together of the STATE parties, chosen in STATE run primaries.

• There are State Party Committees and State Party Conventions.• Below that there are party committees at county, city and ward

levels.• State and local parties are dominated by issue activists campaigning

for one particular issue or candidate activists, who have come into politics through working on the campaign of particular candidate.

Two Party System

• Two Party systems usually have 2 parties that win at least 80% of the popular vote at general elections and regularly win at least 90% of the seats in the legislature and alternately hold the executive branch of government.

• The USA easily fills these criteria• In 2012, over 98% of the popular vote were for the 2 main candidates• Only two members of the Senate are independent, both voting with

the Democrats and only facing a Republican opponent in elections.• Surprisingly, one of the independent Senators is Bernie Sanders and

elects himself on the platform of being a Democratic Socialist. He is the first person in Congress to identify as a Socialist in over 60 years. He has a brother, who is a Green party councillor on Oxford County Council, England.

Why Does The USA Have a Two Party System?

• First Past the Post: The electoral system punishes third parties, as support for them is usually widespread, but shallow.

• The two major parties encompass such a wide spectrum of ideas

• Primaries mean candidates are usually reflective of the electorate, taking away third party protest votes.

Does the US Really Have a Two Party System?

• Some argue the US political system has just one party, as they have become so close together. Democrats in the 1990’s were stealing Republican policies such as deficit reduction and welfare reform.

• As well as this, the 2000’s have seen a Republican President expanding the role of the state greatly as well as adding a new executive department to Washington

• However, some see the USA as being a 50 party system, as there are not 2 centralised parties, but rather 50 different undisciplined, uncentralised state based parties with no national leader.

Minor Parties: They DO exist in the USA!

• There are minor parties in the USA, despite the dominance of the Republicans and Democrats

• There are a range of parties, some national, some regional and state basted; permanent and temporary; issue based and ideological.

• There is no clear ‘Third Party’ in the USA, but merely roughly equal large minor parties

• The most notable of these are the Libertarian, Reform and Green party.

Reasons Minor Parties Struggle• Electoral System:

First past the posts limits minor parties as it does with the Liberal Democrats in the UKIn 1992, Ross Perot won no electoral college votes despite gaining 19% of the voteHowever, regional minor parties can do well, with George Wallace winning 45 electoral college votes in 1968 with only 13% of the vote

• Qualifying for ‘matching funds’For federal support for major parties you must raise at least $5000 in 20 states from contributions of $250 or less.However for minor parties, you must gain at least 5% of the vote at the previous electionVery few do this, with only Wallace (1968), Anderson (1980) and Perot (1992 and 1996) achieving this.This hits very hard on temporary parties, who have been set up in response to a certain issue.

• State’s Ballot Access LawsStates can decide how parties qualify to go on the ballot paper, with some being straight forward (Tennessee only requires 25 signature petition) but other states are more demanding. New York demands a certain amount of signatures from every county in the vast state. In 1980, John Anderson needed to gain 1.2 million signatures to get on the ballot in all 50 states, spending around $3 million doing so

• Lack of Media AttentionMinor party candidates cannot take part in many media events, such as the Presidential debate. Only in 1992 has there been 3 candidates in the Presidential debate (with Ross Perot). In 2012 there was a ‘Third Party Presidential Debate’, which managed some attention thanks to Larry King offering to host it, but received little attention as it was broadcast on a little know digital television channel, and only streamed online by Russia Today of all news agencies!

• Extremism of Third Party CandidatesDue to the ‘big tent’ nature of the two main parties, most third parties are quite extreme, with their views outside the realms of the two main parties. For example, the Libertarian candidate in 2012 was Gary Johnson, and initially ran for the Republican candidacy. He represented the libertarian extreme of the Republican party.

Libertarian Party

‘Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom’

Formation: When and Why?

• Formed 1971• Formed by Republicans, Democrats and

newcomers as an alternative to the 2 main parties

• The founding of the party was prompted in part due to concerns about the Vietnam War, conscription, and the end of the Gold Standard

What Does It Believe

• Open Free Markets• Dedication to Civil Liberties• Non-interventionist Foreign Policy

Policies• Economy: Total belief in Free

Markets and total removal of government influence. Hated the bailout of the car industry, and emphasise a balanced government budget. Wants cuts of 43% immediately.

• Foreign Policy: Build positive relationships with an emphasis on free trade. Avoiding negative relations with a non-interventionist attitude. Want to remove troops from Afghanistan now

• Healthcare: Repeal Obamacare and replace it with nothing, and leave healthcare to the free market

• Drugs: Wants to remove prohibitions on taking drugs

• Promotes total freedom of speech, and ability to say anything via any medium, including the internet.

• Belief in free immigration into the USA

Presidential Candidate

• Gary Johnson• Gary Johnson started as

Republican candidate for President in 2012 but on finding very little support he moved to the Libertarian Party candidacy

• He is a former Republican governor for New Mexico

What Success Have They Had?

• They have only ever made a tiny impact in Presidential Elections. The highest score they have ever received is 1 electoral vote in 1972 (due to a rogue elector), and 0.5% of the vote in 1996

• They have never had a Congressman

• The Reform Party was founded in 1995 by Ross Perot. Perot said Americans were disillusioned with the state of politics he said it was corrupt and unable to deal with vital issues

• Texas businessman Ross Perot ran for President in 1992 and 1996. In '92 he received almost 19% of the popular vote, the most received by a third-party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. Following his defeat in the '96 presidential election, Ross Perot spoke about the presidential campaign and his ideas for balancing the budget and reforming the two-party system.

• Perot appeared in the 1992 Presidential Debate

• The party's most significant victory came when Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998. Since then, the party has been torn by infighting and disagreements, which it seeks to overcome

Welfare• Massive redistribution from wealthy to poor. (Nov 1992) Tax Reform• Increase taxes on the wealthy. (Apr 2012)• Disallow mortgage & health deductions for the rich. (Jul 1992) Principles and Values• Perot campaign 1992: the people are the owner of the country. (Jul

1992)Immigration • NAFTA will encourage illegal immigration. (Jan 1993) • NAFTA lets Mexican professionals work in the US legally. (Jan 1993) Heath• Expand Medicare to cover all Americans. (Nov 1992) • Attack AIDS at every level: more education, more research. (Jul 1992) • Short term: cost containment & focus on prevention. (Jul 1992) • Long term: comprehensive national health policy. (Jul 1992)

Families and Children• Prioritize family over business. (Sep 1996) • Place disadvantaged kids in government-funded homes. (Nov 1992) • At EDS, adultery is grounds for immediate dismissal. (Nov 1992) Foreign Policy• Pay attention to developing nations. (Jul 1996) • Russia: reduce nukes; contain imperialism; send aid. (Jul 1992) Environment• This planet is our home; protect it for the future. (Jul 1992) Energy and Oil• Supported 50-cent gas tax to pay off deficit. (Jul 1996)Education• Expand school year from 180 days to at least 210. (Jul 1996) • End adult illiteracy. (Jul 1996) • Test students more; “no pass, no play”. (Jul 1996) • More pre-school, more standards, more teacher respect. (Jul 1992)

Drugs• Can’t overstate the damage that drugs are doing. (Jan 1998) • Never hires people who use drugs or alcohol. (Sep 1996) • Solving welfare by work will reduce crime. (Jul 1996) • Education is a strong anti-crime program. (Jul 1996) • Strong supporter of death penalty. (Jul 1993)

Crime• Solving welfare by work will reduce crime. (Jul 1996) • Education is a strong anti-crime program. (Jul 1996) • Strong supporter of death penalty. (Jul 1993) • Solving welfare by work will reduce crime. (Jul 1996) • Education is a strong anti-crime program. (Jul 1996) • Strong supporter of death penalty. (Jul 1993)

Economy• Building new businesses is key to country's future. (Sep 1996) • Weak dollar means weak America. (Jul 1996) • Lack of Balanced Budget Amendment caused dollar’s decline. (Jul 1996) • Tax incentives to encourage corporate & personal savings. (Jul 1996) • Stabilize dollar with central bank intervention. (Jul 1996) • United We Stand America: Focus on economy & debt. (Jan 1993) • Limit power to tax; expand power to intervene in market. (Nov 1992) • More federal involvement in business. (Nov 1992) • Will balance budget in six years by adding jobs. (Oct 1992) • Change rules to foster small business investment & growth. (Jul 1992) • Congress needs to be held accountable for enormous debt. (Jul 1992

Government Reform• Decision-making process is listening to opponents. (Sep 1996) • Reduce the growth rate of federal government. (Jul 1996) • Long-terms solutions instead of polls. (Jul 1996) • Term Limits linked to Congressional performance. (Jul 1993) • United We Stand America: create government from the people. (Jan

1993) • Electronic Town Hall to replace representative government. (Nov 1992) • End pork; end loopholes; end exit polling. (Nov 1992) • Reduce government perks and staffers. (Nov 1992) • The system is corrupt, not the people in it. (Nov 1992) • Election reform: shorten elections, free air time. (Jul 1992) • Curb PACs, ban soft money, ban electoral college. (Jul 1992) • Cut government waste and start with top heavy bureaucracies. (Jul 1992)

• Mid-term elections of 1998• In 1998, the Reform Party received a boost when Jesse

Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota. According to the League of Women Voters, The Reform Party USA obtained more votes nationwide in 1998 than did any other third party in America (without those garnered by Ventura). Counting Ventura's performance, Reformers took in more votes than all other third parties in the United States combined, establishing the Reform Party as America's third largest party.

1992 presidential candidate result

He campaigned in 16 states and spent an estimated $12.3 million of his own money.

Perot employed the innovative strategy of purchasing half-hour blocks of time on major networks for infomercial-type campaign advertisements; this advertising garnered more viewership than many sitcoms, with one Friday night program in October attracting 10.5 million viewers.[

The Green Party

Majid and Dan

The Ten Key Values 1. Grassroots democracy 2. Social justice and opportunity 3. Ecological wisdom 4. Nonviolence 5. Decentralisation 6. Community-based economics 7. Feminism and gender equality 8. Respect for diversity 9. Personal and global responsibility 10. Future focus and sustainability

Success There success can clearly be seen by the

amount of seats the green party currently has in the WHOLE US Political system…

Their seats currently…

So that’s a grand total of…..

0

However…

Ralph Nader Was drafted as candidate for the Green Party

in 1996 Gained 0.71% of the popular vote (685,297

votes) Refused to spend more than $5000 on his

campaign so that he did not meet the threshold for Federal Elections Committee

Criticised for describing gay rights’ as “gonad politics”

What are the restrictions for the party? Ballot paper restrictions Winner-take-all system means they cant have

proportional seats to there votes. Debate rules restrict them from debating at certain

times and certain other candidates. Because the two main political parties cover all the

options when it come to policy, it is hard for a party like the green party to get seats because there policies are already covered by both policies.

Theories of Party Decline: The Party’s Over

• Reasons why the party’s influence has declined:• Lost control over presidential candidate selection: The ‘smoke

filled room’ politics are gone, and the party has a candidate forced upon them

• No longer the communicator between candidate and voters: Politicians used to communicate through party rallies, but now they can communicate directly through television.

• Campaigns on television have become less party centred and more candidate or issue centred

• Split ticket voting: Voting for candidates from different parties at the same election. This has been on the rise over recent years

Theories of Party Renewal

• Party death has been exaggerated: Republican Party declared dead after Nixon resignation, Democrats after failure from 68 onwards

• Regained some control over presidential nomination process. Introduction of Super delegates means party officials have a sway in the primaries. By speaking out in support of a candidate, they can gain more elected votes in future. However only have true power in a close race

• Nationalised campaigns: Contract with America 1994 and Democrat 6 for 06 campaign