Unit 2Political Behavior: Government

by the PeopleChapter 5

Political Parties

Page 116

The main purpose of the major political parties is to control government by winning election to public office.

Political Party – a group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

Major Parties – Democrat and Republican parties.

What do political parties do?

1. Nominate candidates2. Inform and activate

supporters3. Acts as a bonding agent4. Governing5. Acts as watchdog

Nominating Candidates

The biggest duty of a political party is to nominate, or name, candidates for public office.

The parties help select candidates then present them to the public for election.

Informing and Activating Supporters

A party tries to shape positions that it takes in order to attract as many voters as possible while offending the fewest voters as possible.

Parties use pamphlets, signs, buttons, stickers, media like the Internet and television, speeches, rallies, conventions and other means.

The Bonding Agent Function

In the business world, a bond is an agreement which works to protect a person or a company against loss caused by a third party.

A political party acts as a bonding agent to ensure the good performance of its candidates and officeholders.

Governing

The government of the US works along party lines. Public officeholders are chosen on the basis of party, and the pretty much do what their party wants while in office.

Partisanship-the strong support of a party and its policy stands.

Acting as Watchdog

Parties act as watchdogs when it comes to overseeing the conduct of the public’s business. The party out of power tends to really watch the party in power like a hawk.

Party in power – the party that controls the executive branch of the government

People run all the time on a third party ticket or as independents. For example, Earl dodge ran as the presidential candidate for the Prohibition Party in 1084, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004.

Minor Party – a political party without wide voter support.

Two-Party System – Two major parties, Democrats and Republicans, dominate American politics.

Why does the United States have a two-party system?

1. The Historical Basis2. The Force of Tradition3. The Electoral System4. The American Ideological

Consensus

The Historical Basis

The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to a political party system. However, when the fight to get the Constitution ratified occurred, two sides formed over the issue: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. This formed the first two American parties: the Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Anti-Federalists led by Thomas Jefferson.

The country started with a two-party system.

The Force of Tradition

Most Americans accept the two-party system because that’s the way it has always been. Tradition runs deeply in human culture.

Most Americans resist supporting a minor, independent, or third party because they see that support as a waste of their vote.

The Electoral System

270 votes needed to win…

The Electoral System

The system itself tends to support the existence of two major parties.

Single-Member Districts – only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot. They are winner-take-all elections.

Plurality – the largest number of votes cast.

Note that a single-member district can be won with a plurality…not a majority of the vote.

Single-Member Districts work toward promoting the two-party system.

The Electoral System

Another reason why the two-party system is so firmly entrenched is the two parties write the rulebook about they system.

Bipartisan – the two major parties find common ground and work together.

Republicans and Democrats act in a bipartisan way in writing election law.

The American Ideological Consensus

Normally, American people share many of the same ideals, basic principles, and patterns of belief.

Pluralistic Society – a society consisting of several distinct cultures and groups.

The United States is a pluralistic society.

Despite all the differences, there normally is consensus – a general agreement among various groups. The United States. This consensus is a major reason why the two-party system has longevity in the US.

Multiparty Systems

There are those that would like to see the United States adopt a multiparty system like European and other world democracies have.

Multiparty – a system in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete for, and actually win public offices.

Coalition – a temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority and so to control a government.Multiparty systems can be instability in government if there is not a clear winning party. Hence, there is a need for coalitions.

One-Party System

Dictatorships allow only one political party. With this in mind, a one-party system is in reality a no-party system.

Why do individuals identify with a political party?• Family• Major events like the Great

Depression.• Economic status• Level of education• Place of residence

History of the Two-Party System

The beginnings of the US two-party system goes back to the organizations formed to ratify or oppose the Constitution.

The first two parties were the Federalists—led by Alexander Hamilton. These were “the rich and the well-born” who supported the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists were led by Thomas Jefferson and were sympathetic to the “common man.”

What are the four major eras of American Parties?

1. The Era of the Democrats, 1800-1860.

2. The Era of the Republicans, 1860-1932

3. The Return of the Democrats, 1932-1968

4. A Mixed Era, 1968 to Present

The election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 marks the beginning of the Era of the Democrats, 1800-1860.The party at first was known as the Democratic-Republicans, and they were often unopposed in national elections.

In the mid-1820s, the party split into factions – conflicting groups.

Three changes by the Jackson Administration:• Voting rights for all white males• A huge increase in the number

of elected offices in America• The spread of the spoils system

The only competition the Democratic party had was the Whig Party led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. They did manage to get two presidents elected who were war heroes: William Henry Harrison in 1840 and Zachary Taylor in 1848.

In the 1850s, the growing outcry against slavery split both major parties. The Whigs fell apart and the Democrats split into two camps: North and South.

The Republican Party was born from Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats. The Republicans won their second election in 1860, becoming the only party to go from minor party to major party.

The Era of the Republicans, 1860-1932

The Civil War was the beginning of the Era of the Republicans.

The really key election was in 1896 when William McKinley beat William Jennings Bryan. The Republicans drew a huge response from the electorate-the people eligible to vote.

William Jennings Bryan was able to stop the sectionalism that was plaguing the country. Sectionalism-a devotion to the interests of a particular region.

The Return of the Democrats, 1932-1968

The Great Depression, which began in 1929, ushered in the Return of the Democrats.

Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. World War II and the Great Depression combined made Roosevelt feel the need to run for reelection.

The only two elections the Republicans won were both taken by World War II war hero Dwight David Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956.

The Start of a New Era, 1968 - ???

In 1968, Richard Nixon won the election for the Republicans. Nixon routed Senator McGovern in 1972, but his presidency fell apart with the Watergate Scandal.• Gerald Ford R• Jimmy Carter D• Ronald Reagan R• George Bush R• Bill Clinton D• George Bush R• Barack Obama D

Minor Parties in the United States

Libertarian, Reform, Socialist, Prohibition, Natural Law, Communist, American Independent, Green, Constitution.

What are the four types of Minor parties in the US?

• Ideological Parties-based on a particular set of beliefs.

• Single-Issue Parties-focus on only one public-policy matter.

• Economic Protest Parties-these parties appear in periods of economic discontent

What are the four types of Minor parties in the US?

• Splinter Parties-parties that have split away from one of the major parties.

Why are minor parties important?

• Affects change-the Anti-Masons were the first party to use a national convention to nominate a candidate.

• Impacts election outcomes (spoiler role)-turn to page 135 in the book

• Helps draw attention to issues

Party Organization

Most people think the Democrats and Republicans are highly organized parties. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Neither party has an effective organization linking the national level to the state, county, or precinct levels.

Usually, the most organized and united party is the one with a president seated in the White House. The President is automatically the party leader. The other party has no one with the same level of power as the president.

What is the root reason why political parties are not centralized?

Federalism is the chief reason.There are over 500,000 elective offices in the U.S., and these offices are widely spread through the national, state, and local levels.

Because the government system is highly fragmented, so too are the major parties that serve the government system.

Give another reason why parties are fragmented.

The Role of the Nominating Process

In fighting for their Party’s nomination,

candidates and their supporters attack one another viciously, often making the process highly divisive. Normally, Republicans battle Republicans and Democrats battle Democrats during the nomination process. It can get very messy.

The structure of both major parties at the national level has four basic elements. What are those elements?

1. The National Convention2. The National Committee3. The National Chairperson4. The Congressional Campaign

Committees

The National Convention meets during the summer of an election year. It’s main goal is to nominate a presidential and vice presidential candidate. It also adopts the party’s rules and the writing of its platform, which is what the party stands for and intends to accomplish.

The National Committee

During the four years between conventions, the National Committee works basically on the next convention. Membership varies by party…but both begin with a base of a committee man and woman from each state and territory.

Pictured above is the National Committee Chairwoman for the Democratic Party—Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Florida.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

The National Chairperson

The national chairperson is the leader of the national committee. He or she is chosen for a four-year term.

By the way, the book’s information on page 139 is wrong.

Michael Steele of the RNC

Debbie Wasserman Schultz of the DNC

The Congressional Campaign Committees

Each party uses a Congressional Campaign Committee to• Reelect incumbents to Congress.• Assure that retiring members seats stay

in the party.• Participate in campaigns to unseat

incumbents in the other party.

Members of the Committees come from both Houses of Congress and are chosen by their colleagues. They serve two years.

State and Local Party Machinery

Although the national party organization is based on customs and rules adopted by the national conventions, the state and local laws are based mostly on State law.

Ward-a unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members.Precinct-smallest unit of election administration.

The Three Components of the Party

1. The party organization-party’s leaders, its activists, and its hangers-on.

2. The party in the electorate-this includes the party’s loyal voters who regularly vote a straight ticket.

3. The party in government-party’s officeholders who hold elective or appointive offices.

The Future of the Major Parties

The two major political parties have been in a state of decline since the late 1960s.

What five factors account for the weakening state of the parties?

1. A sharp drop in the number of voters for either party and a growing number of independents.

2. A big increase in split-ticket voting-voting for candidates of different parties for different parties for different offices in the same election.

3. Changes made to the election process, such as the introduction of the direct primary in the early 1900s to recent campaign finance laws.

4. Changes in the technology of campaigning for office. Candidates can now use television and the Internet to speak directly to the public.

5. The growth of single-issue organizations in politics.

Turn in your books to page 144.Take out a sheet of paper, put your name, date, and page 144 Classwork on the paper.

Answer 1-14 using the supplied directions. Answer questions 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, and 29.