Political Parties
Chapter 8
Introduction
Party competition is the battle between
Democrats and Republicans for control of
public office.
Without this competition there would be no
choice, and without choice there would be
no democracy
The Meaning of Party
 Political Parties endorse candidates for public office
and try to win elections.
 Party leaders often disagree about policy, and
between elections the parties are nearly invisible.
 Political scientists often view parties as “threeheaded political giants”- the party in-the electorate,
the party as an organization, and the party-ingovernment.
Party-in-the electorate
 Individuals who perceive themselves as party
members; many voters have a party identification that
guides and influences their votes.
 American parties do not require due or memberships
cards to distinguish members from nonmembers.
 To be a member of a party, one needs only to claim to
be a member
Party as an organization
 Has a national office, a full-time staff, rules and
bylaws, and budgets.
 Party activists keep the party running between
elections and make its rules.
 American parties are loosely organized at the
national, state, and local levels, but the party
organization pursues electoral victory.
Party-in-government
Consists of elected officials who call
themselves members of the party (such as
president and Congress).
These leaders do not always agree on policy;
but they are the main spokespersons of the
party.
Research Project Due
Wednesday Nov. 7th
 Compare and contrast the role of the parties and
their platforms in the 2000 and 2004 elections and in
the 1948 election of Harry Truman. Pay special
attention to how media, especially television, were
used to promote party goals. Also, focus on the
difference between party-centered and candidatecentered campaigns.
 The information for the research project can be
presented in any form (research paper, powerpoint
emailed to me, brochure, poster).
2 party system
 All political parties have common functions:
-nominating candidates who can develop public policy
-running successful campaigns
-developing a positive image
-raising money
-articulating these issues during the campaign so that the
electorate will identify with a particular party or candidate
-coordinating in the governing process the implementation of the
policies they supported, and
-maintaining a watchdog function if they do not succeed in
electing their candidates
History
 First political parties that formed, Federalists and
Democratic-Republicans, went head to head after
Thomas Jefferson resigned (from cabinet).
 Jefferson’s party, Anti-Federalists, were eventually
called Democratic-Republicans (believed in a more
democratic approach to the governing of the
republic).
 First election in which parties crashed was in 1796
History
 1828 Democratic-Republicans split into the Whigs (later
evolving into the Republican Party), and the Democrats.
 Party eras can be broken down into 4 periods:
-1828-1860 Democrats dominating the presidency and Congress
-1860-1932 Republican era
-1932-1968 success of the New Deal and was dominated by
Democrats
-1968-2008 divided government, characterized by the election
of Republican presidents having to deal with Democratic
Congress
2008 Election
2008 Presidential election may signal the
beginning of a new party era-one party
majority rule.
Obama had the largest congressional majority
since Lyndon Johnson.
Era of divided government has shifted to this
new era of one party dominance of the
executive and legislative branches.
Jacksonian Democracy and
Party Realignment
 Jacksonian democracy resulted in universal white male suffrage,
popular election of presidential electors as a result of the Twelfth
Amendment, national nominating conventions, and the institution of
the spoils system.
 Party realignment, the shift of party loyalty, occurred in 1932 after the
country experienced the Great Depression.
 A new coalition, fed up with trickle-down economics of Hoover,
turned their support towards FDR’s New Deal.
 An unusual alliance of Northern liberals and Southern conservatives
elected Roosevelt to unprecedented 4 terms.
 Growth of the federal government and growth of government
programs became part of the Democratic platform.
Hint to know for Thursday
 Components of the Democratic and Republican party
platforms
 Which demographic groups support which Democratic
and Republican positions based on the above
components
 You will be timed during your multiple choice and essay
on Thursday, so be prepared.
Third Parties
AKA minor parties- played a major role in
influencing the outcome of elections and
political platforms of Democrats and
Republicans
Ideological, single-issue oriented,
economically motivated, and personality
driven
Have been called: Socialist, Libertarian, Right
to Life, Populist, Bull Moose, and United We
Stand
Third Parties
 Successful third-party attempts:
-1840s-1850s Free Soil Party (opposed spread of slavery) and Know
Nothings (opposed Irish immigration to U.S.)
-1892-1908 Populist Party (supported free silver movement, insisted
government take a greater role in regulating monopolies later resulted
in anti-trust legislation)
-1912 Bull Moose Party (played spoiler role in election, T. Roosevelt
formed the party and came in 2nd that year behind Wilson)
-1968 George Wallace’s American Independent (opposed integration
policies of Democratic Party, got 46 electoral votes, contributed to
Hubert Humphrey’s defeat)
-1992 Ross Perot United We Stand Party (called for reducing the nation’s
deficit, used own money to fund his campaign)
Party Dealignment
 Realignment signifies the shifts in the history of party
eras.
 Dealignment is when people gradually move away
from their parties (has become more of a trend in
today’s view of party loyalty).
 People who are strong party loyalists are so because
they believe the party matches their ideology.
 Party organization and support have remained
stronger than party identification
Liberals and Conservatives
 Conservatives: favor government spending on
defense over social welfare programs; favor right to
life; favor moments of silent prayer; favor laissezfaire; critical of many of the Warren Court decision
(rights of the accused); against gay marriage
 Liberals: favor defense cuts; favor choice of
abortion; opposed to school prayer of any kind; see
government as a means of dealing with the
problems facing society; sympathetic to the rights
of the accused
National Committee
 Made up of a combination of state and national party
leaders, is governing body of the political party
 Has limited power and responds to the direction of the
national chairperson
 Chairperson is selected by the presidential candidate
nominated at the convention
 Duties of chairperson include: fundraising, fostering
party unity, recruiting new voters and candidates,
preparing strategy for the next election
Future
 Unlike many foreign countries, American electorate
has not turned out in droves in local or national
elections (we stink as voters)
 Less than half of eligible voters actually vote
 The future of political parties depends on how closely
associated the voters remain with the party (future not
bright for traditional party politics)
 More and more ticket splitting is happening (where
voters cast ballot on individual candidates, not party
lines)
Future
 Impact of special-interest groups and PAC’s (political action
committees) has reduced the need for elected officials to use
traditional party resources.
 Suggestions to strengthen voter identification:
-clearly defined programs on how to govern the nation once their
candidates are elected
-candidates who are committed to the ideology of the party and
who are willing to carry out the program once elected
-alternative views if it is the party out of power
 Winning party must take on the responsibility of governing the
country if elected and accepting the consequences if it fails.