Political Parties
To-Do
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Review for Chapter 7
Chapter 7 Quiz
Quick Review: linkage institutions and political parties
Introduction to Political Parties
15 minutes for mastery and reading
T1-4
The Policymaking System
Review – Linkage Institutions and
Political Parties
 Linkage institutions: the political channels through
which people’s concerns become political issues on
the policy agenda.
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Political parties
Interest groups
The media
Elections
Sample AP Question
 All of the following are examples of a linkage
institution influencing the policy process EXCEPT
 A.) the president delivering the State of the Union
speech
 B.) the Sierra Club lobbying the Environmental
Protection Agency
 C.) the outcome of a congressional election
 D.) an expose by the national media on the housing
crisis
 E.) the Republican Party pursuing a balanced budget
amendment
Learning Objectives
 8.1 – Identify the functions that political parties
perform in American democracy.
 8.2 – Determine the significance of party
identification in America today.
 8.3 – Describe how political parties are organized in
the United States.
 8.4 – Evaluate how well political parties generally do
in carrying out their promises.
The Meaning of Party
 Parties can all agree – goal is to WIN!
 Anthony Downs agrees too: “team of men
[and women] seeking to control the
governing apparatus”
TASKS of Parties as
Linkage Institutions
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Pick candidates
Run campaigns
Give cues to voters (educate voters)
Articulate policies (party platform)
Coordinate policymaking (btwn branches – Obama
wants healthcare – he looks to Dems in Leg. Branch to
make it happen)
How to Win
 Many voters in U.S. stick to the middle of the
road
 Parties must not stray too far from that to
stay afloat
Roles of Political Parties
 Party in the Electorate
 ALL ppl associating with a party
 Party in Organization
 Ppl who work to maintain the strength of party btwn
elections (raise $, organize conventions)
 Party in Government
 Appointed and elected officials who represent the party
(office holders)
Party in the Electorate
 Party image: Voter’s idea of what Dems and Reps
stand for
 Party identification: a self-proclaimed preference for
one party
 Many Europeans countries pay for membership
Party in Organization
 National convention
 Every 4 years to choose pres. candidate and party
platforms
 National committee
 Operates party btwn. conventions
 National chairperson
 Responsible for day-to-day activities – usually chosen by
pres. nominee
Primaries – party organization
 Primaries – to determine who will be the party’s ONE
candidate
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/special/politics/primary-tracker/
 Closed - only vote for party in which you are
registered
 Open – can choose party to vote for that day
Republican Chair
 Reince Priebus was
elected Chairman of the
Republican National
Committee on January 14,
2011, and reelected on
January 25, 2013, putting
him on track to become
only the seventh person
to serve four years as
Republican Party
Chairman.
Democratic Chair
 DNC CHAIR DEBBIE
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ’S
STATEMENT ON
COLORADO RECALL
ELECTION RESULTS
 Press release title
Party in Government
 Party with the control over the most gov’t offices will
have the most influence in determining who gets what,
where, when and how.
 Carry out the policies created at National Conventions
(platforms)