Unit III: Political Parties,
Interest Groups and Media
Chapter 8: Political Parties
Voting? Party System?
Influence?
– 2000 presidential election
• 48.4% (Gore) versus 47.9% (Bush)
• 2.7% (Nader)
• 267 EV (Gore) versus 271 EV (Bush)
– Split ticket/power in Institutions=Party ID?
• 2006-2010= Democrats (H, S, E)
• 2010-2012= Democrats (E); Republican (H,S)
• 2012-2016= Democrats (E,H); Republican (S)
Necessary Evil?
• Federalist Paper #10
• George Washington's Farewell Address
• Federalist v. Anti-Federalist
Political Parties contribute to the
democratic government through the
function they perform for the political
system: the set of interrelated
institutions that link people to the
government (this unit is about this!!!)
Political Parties and their
Functions
- What is a political party?
– Political Party: an organization that sponsors
candidates for public office under the
organizations name
– Nomination: designation as an official candidate
of the party
– This is not an Interest Group as IGs do not
nominate/run candidates
– You cannot have a representative democracy
without at least 2 political parties and regularly
scheduled contested
Political Parties and their
Functions
- Party Functions: There are 4
1. Nominating Candidates
2. Structuring the Vote choice
3. Proposing alternative government
programs
4. Coordinating the actions of
government officials
Nominating Candidates
• Is everyone qualified?
• Should everyone run for office? Lottery
system?
1. Parties ensure the minimum
qualifications of candidates through the
peer review process
2. Sometimes they even recruit
individuals to be candidates
Structuring the Vote choice
• Are too many options a good thing?
• Who should you vote for?
1. Parties reduce the number of
candidates to those who have a
realistic chance of winning (winner
takes all)
2. They also reduce the amount of
information voters need to make a
rational decisions
Proposing alternative
government programs
• What issues are related to me?
• How do I know that this candidate will
relate to my personal concerns?
1. Types of policies advocated by a candidate of
one party tend to be different than policies
advocated by a candidate of the other party
2. Candidates tend to favor policies that their
party advocates –look to Voter choice
Coordinating the actions of
government officials
• How do we know that elected officials will do what I want?
• With all the branches of government (and their different
responsibilities), how will government work together to make
decisions based on my concerns?
1. Parties help bridge the separation of powers by a shared
philosophy of government direction
2. Candidates’ and office holders’ political fortune are linked to the
party so cooperation with others of the party is advocated and
supported for future
3. Officials with same party affiliation tend to have the same
philosophy, so voluntary cooperation usually happens.
Study Guide Stop
• What is a political party, and why were the Framers of the
Constitution concerned about the influence of political
parties?
• Why does the US have a two-party system?
• What are the prospects of a viable 3rd party in the US?
• How has America’s two-party system changed, and how
does it differ from the party systems of other
representative democracies?
• How much do parties affect how American’s vote?
• Did the Founding Fathers think political parties were a
good idea?
• How, if at all, should America’s two party system be
reformed?
History of US Political Parties
Interesting points to consider
1. Constitution mentions nothing of Political Parties.
Zilch
2. Federalist #10: factions inevitable, but dangerous
3. Started out with 2… today
– 2 major parties
– 3 major-minor parties
– Close to 50 minor parties
So what happens between 1787 and
2015?
Pre-Party Period 1787-1796
1. Constitution mentions nothing of
Political Parties
2. Factions
– Groups pursuing common political interest
– Inevitable and dangerous (Fed. #10)
– Factions were not yet parties: they did
not sponsor candidates for offices
Pre-Party Period 1787-1796
3. Elections were decided by a few
political leaders
–
–
–
Electoral college: body of electors chosen by
voters to cast ballots for president (POTUS) and
vice president (VPOTUS)
In most states electors are chosen by the
legislatures
Legislators met to choose electors in caucus: a
closed meeting of the members of the political
party to decide questions of policy and the
selection of candidates for office
1st POTUS of the US
Unanimously elected 2 times to
POTUS, then stepped down
1789-1792 (1790-1793)
1792-1796 (1793-1797)
War Hero
Pre-Party Period 1787-1796
4. Factional politics grew during
Washington’s presidency
–
Federalists: Alexander Hamilton
•
•
–
Took title hoping the other side would be labeled as
“Anti-Federalists”
Those that supported the Constitution
Democratic Republicans: Thomas Jefferson
•
•
•
Took title hoping the other side would be labeled as
“secret monarchists”
Those that supported many aspects, but concerned
about a strong national government
Not the Republicans of today!!
Tommy J. v. John Adams
1st Party System: 1796-1824
Feds v. DemReps
1. Election of 1796
– Feds supported J. Adams for POTUS
– DemReps supported T. Jeff for POTUS
– Adams POTUS, Jefferson VPOTUS
Constitution had not anticipated contest=
candidates from opposing parties… as
parties did not exist!
1st Party System: 1796-1824
Feds v. DemReps
2. Election of 1800: parties begin to nominate
candidates more systematically
– Run a POTUS and VPOTUS candidate
– Feds: Adams and Pickney
– DemReps: Jefferson and Burr
**DemReps won, but TIE between Jefferson and Burr=
go to the House to vote because electors casted their
votes equally for both candidates!!!! Jefferson won the
House after 7 days and 36 ballots!
1796 Electoral College (70 EV
out of 138 EV)
1st Party System: 1796-1824
Feds v. DemReps
3. 12th amendment: provided separate
electoral college votes for POTUS and
VPOTUS
4. By 1820 the Federalists had ceased to
exits; DemReps had no opposition in
presidential election
Called the Era of Good Feelings led to
a lack of nominating candidates (oh
1st Party System: 1796-1824
Feds v. DemReps
4. Election of 1824
– DemReps split into factions and there was
an intraparty competition for POTUS
•
JQ Adams, Jackson, Crawford and Clay
– 1st election in which voters in most states
selected the electors
•
Expansion of suffrage (property rights,
religion) Chapter 7
Johnny Q. v. Jackson v. 2
other dudes
1st Party System: 1796-1824
Feds v. DemReps
–
No one won the electoral college
• 4 candidates for 1 party decreases ability to
get a majority of electoral votes
• Jackson won popular vote, but not the
electoral vote
– House has to determine winner from top 3
candidates according the electoral process
• JQ Adams won in the House and became
POTUS
• Did Adams bribe? Did being a war hero=
POTUS?
1824 Electoral College (131
EV out of 231 EV)
1st Party System: 1796-1824
Feds v. DemReps
• DemReps split into two over this election….
– Jacksonian Democratic Republics=
Democrats
– Adams Democratic Republicans= National
Republicans
2nd Party System: 1824-1856
1. The election of 1828
– The Democrats are formed (1st election as
titled)
•
•
Jacksonian faction
Represented southerners and westerners
– The 1st mass election, involving more than
a million voters
2nd Party System: 1824-1856
2. National conventions and party
platforms came into use in the early
1830s
– National convention: a gathering of
delegates of a single party from across
the nation to choose candidates for
POTUS and VPOTUS and to adopt a
party platform
– Party platform: the statement of policies
of a national party
2nd Party System: 1824-1856
3. The Whigs were formed in 1834 to
opposed POTUS Jackson, who they
thought governed as a king
– Issues of slavery and sectionalism killed
the Whigs
– Were unable to field a candidate in 1856
election
3rd party system: 1856- to
today
1. The Republican Party was formed in
1854 in opposition to slavery
– Ran Lincoln in 1860
– Won because of splits in the Democratic
Party
3rd party system: 1856- to
today
2. Critical elections have marked the
present party system
– Critical election: an election that
produces a sharp change in the existing
pattern of party loyalty among a group of
voters; the changed pattern is called
electoral realignment
3rd party system: 1856- to
today
3. The election of 1860 was the 1st critical
election
•
•
•
The Republican Party dominated the North
Democrats dominated the South
Pattern sayted in place in the South until
Eisenhower’s victory in 1952
Eras of Party Dominance
1. Election of 1860 established the TwoParty System
– Two-party system: a political system in
which 2 major political parties compete for
control of the government; candidates
from 3rd parties have little chance of
winning
– 3rd party more successful at state/local
level
1st critical election
2. 1860-1894
– Republicans won 8/10 POTUS
• LINCOLN WINS DUE TO SPLIT OVER
SLAVERY IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
– North dominated Southern politics
– Balance of control in Congress
– North= Rep, South=Dem
2nd critical election
3. 1896-1930- Republicans become true
majority party!!!
– Republicans win 8/10 POTUS again
– Republicans now supported with industrial
interests of East and Midwest
– Republicans continuously control government
(except Wilson) until crash of 1929
• A. WILSON GETS ELECTED DUE TO SPLIT IN
REPUBLICAN PARTY OVER FIGHT BETWEEN TR
AND TAFT (BULLMOOSE PARTY)
3rd critical election
4. 1932-1964-Democratic Party take over
with the election of FDR
–
Democrats win 7/9 POTUS
•
–
–
FDR elected due to Great Depression (crises= need
for increased federal government)
Democrats supported by new national majority
of urban workers, middle-class liberals,
European immigrants and
southerners.CONTINUED SOLID SOUTH!
Congress controlled by Dems
4th critical election?
5. 1968 -1994
- decline of the Solid South (Republicans
win in the south now)
-Party control more mixed in congress
ELECTORAL DEALIGNMENT?:
lessening importance of party loyalty in
voting “I’m independent”
CRITICAL ELECTION #5?
Some politicial scientists question if we
are realigning back to parties again….
1994-today= Republican control
increased in Congress as wells as
increase in Republican POTUS’… but
not marked by a single critical election.
Study Guide Stop
• What is a political party, and why were the Framers of the
Constitution concerned about the influence of political
parties?
• Why does the US have a two-party system?
• What are the prospects of a viable 3rd party in the US?
• How has America’s two-party system changed, and how
does it differ from the party systems of other
representative democracies?
• How much do parties affect how American’s vote?
• Did the Founding Fathers think political parties were a
good idea?
• How, if at all, should America’s two party system be
reformed?
The American Two Party
System
1. Minor Parties in America
•
Ideological: Party that attacks the established system. (Reject the
prevailing doctrines and propose radically different principles within
their party platform
–
–
•
Split (bolter): Party that forms by factions that split from one of the
major parties. (Disagree with one or more issues/candidates of major
party, propose alternative candidate or way to address issues of
concern
–
•
Socialist Party
Libertarian Party
Bull Moose Party (Teddy Roosevelt) v. Republican (Taft)
Single Social/Economic Issue: Party that forms to promote one or
two major principles rather than a general philosophy of government
–
Prohibition Party
What are the prospects of a
viable 3rd party in the US?
1. Minor parties have not generally fared
well as vote getters
2. Minor parties have a better record as
policy advocates
– Most useful function of a minor party is
as a safety valve for the political system
– Allows discontented groups to argue for
their policies within the political system
Why do we have a 2 party
system?
1. Electoral system
–
Majority representation: the system by which one office,
contested by two or more candidates, is won by the single
candidate who collects the most votes
Winner takes all (or 1st past the post)
–
•
•
–
Majority representation of voters through single-member districts is
how the House and most state legislatures are chosen
Major parties benefit from state laws that list candidates on the ballot
based on the % of the vote the party won in the previous election
An alternative is proportional representation: the
system by which legislative seats are awarded to a party
in proportion to the vote that party wins in an election
Why do we have a 2 party
system?
2. Importance of Presidency
– Cause diverse groups across nation to coalesce
into the same two parties within each state
– Even uncomfortable group coalitions persist
– Electoral college
3. Socialization
– We are taught that 3rd parties are not serious and
can’t raise money; Third parties can’t raise money
so they are not taken seriously
Federal basis of the party
system
• Electoral patterns in states often buck
national trends
• Even if POTUS candidate suffers
defeat, a party can still claim many
victories for state offices
Republicans v. Democrats
Inclass handout and discussion
So where do we link up to
Parties?
Party identification: not voting pattern,
but your psychological attachment to a
party in a given election
Voting is a behavior, identification is a
frame of mind
Party identification over time
1952- present facts:
1. R/D together outnumber I in every
year
2. D consistently higher than R
3. D shrinking over time, to the benefit
of both R and I; the 3 groups are now
almost equal
Party ID by Social groups?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Jews/African Americans= D
Low socioecomic= D
High ed= D
Women= D
South= D
50% young= parents; the other half= I
Young in 1980s=R; Older= D
Study Guide Stop
• What is a political party, and why were the Framers of the
Constitution concerned about the influence of political
parties?
• Why does the US have a two-party system?
• What are the prospects of a viable 3rd party in the US?
• How has America’s two-party system changed, and how
does it differ from the party systems of other
representative democracies?
• How much do parties affect how American’s vote?
• Did the Founding Fathers think political parties were a
good idea?
• How, if at all, should America’s two party system be
reformed?
How are parties
organized?Pyramidal??
National Level
State Level
Local Level
Organization
National Level has 4 components
1. National Convention (4 years)
- nominate POTUS/VP candidates
- party platform
- rules of governing
- designates national committee
Organization
2. National Committee
- select date and place of convention
- comprised of party officials and reps from
states
- Chairman picked by Pres. Winner and
ok’d by committee (chairman of losing
party picked by party members
RNC: Reince Preibus (WI)
DNC: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)
Organization
3. Congressional Party Conference (or
caucus)
- selection of party leader and
committee assignments at the
beginning of the Congressional term
Organization
4. Congressional campaign committees
- collect funds for candidates
http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/index.php?c
mte=&cycle=2000
Past raising???
For 2012 POTUS candidates only
RNC: $78,547,627
DNC: $86,425,605
Organizational power-national
Up until the 1970s, national committees did not
have much power
(congressional and state committee on own; do
not direct POTUS campaigns)
RNC: focused on organizational reform
- fundraising, research and service roles
DNC: focused on procedural reform
- affirmative action guidelines for
candidates(1972)
Organizational Power-state
Party Machine: a centralized party
organization that dominates local
politics by controlling elections
- patronage/social service functions
were decreased by federal gov’t
-Most machines lost their ability to
deliver votes
Progressive era-New Deal reforms :)
Organizational Powerstate/local
State/Local party organizations vary in
strength and resources
Regional power??
National org. generally does not interfere
in state operations except to give
funding or other forms of support.
Decentralization?
PP’s are not centralized (US factor)
However, PP is an organization due to voting
patterns, funding, and media
Most call themselves “independent”, so even
though PP’s gaining as organization, people
not strongly identifying with them.
Bibliography
www.gop.com
www.democrats.org
www.opensecrets.org
http://politicsstudio.wetpaint.com/page/Party+Aff
iliation#at
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/po
lls/#USP00p1
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/presid
ent/exit-polls.html