Chapter 5
POLITICAL PARTIES :
WHAT DO THEY DO?
THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
MINOR PARTIES
PARTY ORGANIZATION
DO NOW: DEFINE THE VOCABULARY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
POLITICAL PARTY
MAJOR PARTIES
PARTIANSHIP
MINOR PARTIES
TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
INCUMBENT
FACTIONS
ELECTORATE
What do Parties do?
Nominate Candidates
1.



Select candidates to run for office
Continuously searching and recruiting
The nominating process is exclusively a political parties
responsibility
2. Informing and Activating Support

Inform through campaigning, taking a stand on issues and
criticizing opponents

Biased information educates public to its own advantage

Goal of political parties is to win elections and hold office
What do they do?
3. The Bonding Agent:

Ensures good performance of its candidates & office holders

Chooses candidates are of good character or at least that they
are qualified to hold the office
4. Governing:

Government is organized along party lines

Appointments to offices are also made with party
considerations
What do they do?
5. Act as a Watchdog
5.
Observe the conduct of the public’s business
6.
Particularly true of the party out of power
7.
Party out of power frequently criticizes the party in power
8.
Party in power controls the executive branch at the national
level
The Two-Party System
 Traditionally, the US has had a two-party system
– only the Republican or Democrat candidate
has a reasonable change of winning.
 However, minor parties – a party without wide
support

Minor parties include:
Green Party
 Independent Party
 Conservative Party
 Right to Life Party
 Libertarian Party

Minor Parties
 Some minor parties limit themselves to a particular location
or issue.
 Most are only short-lived.
 There are four types of minor parties:

Ideological: based on a particular set of beliefs
Built on a shade of Marxist thought
 ie: Socialist and Communist Parties


Single-Issue: focus only on one public policy matter
Their name usually indicates their concern
 Free Soil Party or Right to Life Party


Economic Protest: rooted during periods of economic discontent
Proclaim the disgust with the major parties and demand better times
 Disappear when conditions improve


Splinter: split away from one of the major parties
Most form around a strong personality
 Party fades when leader steps aside

Party Organization
 Decentralized Parties
 Parties are fragmented and struggle with factions and internal
squabbling (ie: Tea Party)
 There is no chain of command from National down to local
party leadership
 Role of the President
 The President’s party is usually more united than that of the
party out of office.
 He is automatically the leader of the party and creates lots of
media attention to the Party.
The Future of the Party
 Political Parties have been declining since the late
1960’s.
 There are several factors for this decline:




Fewer votes identify themselves as one party or another
Split-Ticket Voting: voting for candidates from different
parties
Structural changes and reform have made the parties more
“open” but also create more conflict
Changes in campaigning technology have made candidates less
dependent on party organizers.