Chapter 9: Political Parties!!!
INTRO TO POLITICAL PARTIES
3 components of parties
1. Party-in-Government Party leaders occupy
positions in:
A. Presidency
B. Congress
C. State governors
D. State legislature
E. Local governments (though
sometimes these are
nonpartisan positions)
POLITICAL PARTIES
2. Party-in-Electorate
A. Registered Democrats
B. Democratic identifiers
or leaners
C. Registered Republicans
D. Republican identifiers
or leaners
POLITICAL PARTIES
3. Party Organizations - Parties are
decentralized, along federal lines
National level
a. National Convention = Highest
authority
b. National Committee. When
convention not in session
c. National Chairperson
d. Congressional Campaign
committees (for House seats)
e. Senate Campaign Committees
f. State Committee
g. Local Committees: city, ward,
precinct levels
POLITICAL PARTIES
Neither DNC or RNC can “punish” state/local
committees if they stray from the party line –
again, parties are decentralized
Functions of Political Parties
A. Nominate candidates
1. Previously: caucuses ---> nominating conventions --->
now primary elections
2. W/expansion of primaries, nominating function now
seriously lessened. Party leaders no longer control
nominations  more candidate-centered politics than
party-centered politics. Contrast with responsible party
system in Europe where officeholders are more
accountable to their parties
Functions of Political Parties
B. Raise and spend campaign funds ---> declining
importance w/advent of "candidate-centered"
campaigns
C. Register voters
D. Simplify decisions for voters: Provide a "shorthand"
through which busy and uninterested voters can base
a voting decision -- use of "party lens" by voters
Functions of Political Parties
E. Unify diverse interests
1. Example: FDR's grand coalition – urban dwellers,
labor unions, Catholics, Jews, poor, South, blacks
and farmers
2. However, to appeal to such a wide variety of party
members, parties must avoid taking strong stands
Charges of "tweedledee/tweedledum" and
"not a dime's worth of difference between
the parties"
3. U.S. not as party-centered as Western Europe
U.S. more of a candidate-centered system
Functions of Political Parties
F. Act as moderating influence on government
1. To win elections, parties must usually nominate
moderate candidates who appeal to the vast center of
the American electorate. Fringe elements squeezed out
2. Again, this is in contrast to the European multi-party
system, where fringe parties and candidates are
common
Functions of Political Parties
G. Reduce diffusion of power in govt
1. In theory, a party brings govt together in order to
overcome the systems of separation of powers and
checks and balance - parties act as a unifying force
2. In reality, people tend to split their tickets ---> divided
government
3. Office-column ballot facilitates split-ticket voting (as
opposed to party column ballot, which facilitates straight
ticket voting)
Functions of Political Parties
H. Provide patronage
1. Rewarding loyal
individuals for their support
through government
positions…
2. But…appointment of
people with political
connections has often
resulted in corruption and
incompetence (e.g.,
Harding's "Ohio Gang,"
Nixon's "Palace Guard")
Functions of Political Parties
I. Inform public through party
platforms
J. Provide “loyal opposition” (after
the “honeymoon period”)
Main purpose: Linking mechanism
between people and
government
PARTY WEAKNESSES
Parties lack strong rank-and-file membership/lack
strong grass roots organization
A. Anyone can join merely by registration
B. No duties or dues
C. Most activities occur only at election time
D. Most Americans are mere spectators, rather
than participants, in party activity
E. Small percentages of “Strong Democrats” and
“Strong Republicans”
F. Increase in percentage of Independents (though
most of these are “leaners”)
Group Work
With a partner choose what you believe to be the
two most important functions of political parties.
Write your functions and your supportive evidence
on a piece of paper.
U.S. Political Parties
The Two Major Parties
• Democratic (DNC)
• Republican (RNC)
The “Big Three” third parties
– Constitution Party
– Green Party of the
United States
– Libertarian Party
Smaller Third Parties
• America First Party
• American Party
• American Independent
Party
• America’s Independent
Party
• American Nazi Party
• American Reform Party
• American Third Position
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Boston Tea Party
Communist Party USA
Freedom Socialist Party
The Greens/Green Party
USA
Independence Party of
America
Light Party
Modern Whig Party
Objectivist Party
Peace and Freedom Party
Prohibition Party
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U.S. Marijuana Party
U.S. Pacifists Party
Workers World Party
Working Families Party
Veteran’s Party of America
Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Labor Party
Socialist Action
Socialist Party USA
RISE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
I. Origins
A. Dangers of factions
mentioned by Madison in
Federalist #10 and
Washington's warning
about the "baneful effects
of the spirit of party"
B. Nevertheless, parties
became necessary in order
to get things done in
government, e.g.,
RISE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
C. Historical development: the Six Party Systems in American history.
Realignment occurs roughly every 36 years or so.
1. 1796-1820: the 1st party system: Federalists v. Jeffersonian
Democratic-Republicans
2. 1824-1856: the 2nd party system: Jacksonian Democrats v.
Whigs
3. 1860-1892: the 3rd party system: Republican dominance as the
party against slavery and the party that put the Union back
together.
4. 1896-1928: the 4th party system: Second period of Republican
dominance with its coalition of big business and the working
classes against the Democratic rural interests.
RISE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
5. 1932-1964: the 5th party
system: Democratic
dominance begun under FDR
and the New Deal
FDR’s grand coalition
included urban dwellers,
labor unions, Catholics,
Jews, the poor, Southerners,
Blacks, farmers
6. 1968-present: the 6th
party system: Era of Divided
Government/Dealignment
Group Outline of
“The Rise and Decline of the Political Party” to
answer the following FRQ…
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P. 194-201
I. The Founding (to 1820s)
II. The Jacksonian (to Civil War)
III. The Civil War and sectionalism (to 1930s)
IV. The Era of Reform (beg. In 1900s but
chiefly since the New Deal)
• V. Party Realignments
• VI. Party Decline
FRQ Question:
• Explain three ways political parties have
changed over time, and discuss the results of
these changes.
Third Parties (Do They Matter?)
A. Types
1. Ideological parties: apply a general philosophy to wide
variety of issues (e.g., Green Party, Libertarian Party)
2. Splinter Parties: rogue factions of major parties (e.g.,
Teddy Roosevelt’s “Bull Moose” Progressive Party)
3. Single-Issue: only concerned with one topic or issue,
usually short lived (e.g., Free Soil Party (slavery); Right
To Life Party (anti-abortion))
4. Economic Protest: motivated by economic discontent
(e.g., Ross Perot's Reform Party)
Third Parties
B.Contributions of third
parties
1.Raise issues that other
parties must address, and
often incorporate into their
own party platforms
2.Voice for the fringe
elements in society
3.Safety valve for discontent
in society
Third Parties
C.Effects of third parties
1. Rarely win elections
2. Influence the outcome
of presidential elections
(e.g., 1968, 1992, 2000):
“spoiler role.”
D. Obstacles
Third Parties
1. Two-party tradition
2. Single-member districts, winner-take-all district
system for congressional seats (more associated with
two party systems), as opposed to the multi-member,
proportional system (more associated with multiparty systems) that is common in Western Europe
3. Electoral college's winner-take-all system, e.g.,
Perot won 19% of the vote in 1992, but had zero
electoral votes since he did not win any states
4. Getting candidates on the ballot
5. Money
6. Media coverage
7. Exclusion from TV debates
IMPACT OF PARTIES ON GOVERNMENT
I. Congress
1. Majority party has a majority on all committees and
subcommittees
2. Majority party has chairmen on all committees
3. Minority party has a “ranking member” on each
committee
4. The ranking member often becomes the chairman
when party control of Congress changes
5. Majority party controls key leadership positions
6. Staffers are partisan
IMPACT OF PARTIES ON GOVERNMENT
II. Executive branch
1. Nearly all appointments to White House Office are
partisan (“political appointees”). Many go to
people from election campaigns
2. Nearly all appointments to top positions in other
parts of executive branch are partisan (“political
appointees”)
3. Development of Civil Service System has greatly
reduced party influence over the bureaucracy
IMPACT OF PARTIES ON GOVERNMENT
III. Judicial branch
Federal
Nearly all appointments are partisan
State and Local
1. Most state govt. positions are
partisan
2. Many local govt. positions (e.g.,
school board, city council) are
nonpartisan
U.S. Supreme Court Chief
Justice John G. Roberts