It’s a Party Up in here!!!
• Today’s Agenda
– Political Parties
Party Time
• The definition of a political party: A
political organization whose goal is to
organize political interest by creating an
ideological platform with the goal of
gaining elected office
• You cannot have democracy without some
form of political parties…they are vital for
democracy
Is it a Kegger or Wine Night?
• Different types of Parties
– Catch-all parties (United States) focus on
attempting to consolidate several areas of
interest under the umbrella of one political
party
– Ideological parties (Europe) stake out an
ideological area, and only represent individuals
who are close to those beliefs. Example: Labor,
Green, or Beer-Drinking Party (no kidding)
Catch-all vs. Ideological parties
• Catch-All Parties
– Broad ideology
– Shifts over time
– More focus on winning
elections and gaining a
clearly plurality of the
electorate
– Tends to not speak
with one voice in
government
• Ideological Parties
– Specific and clear
ideology
– Puts forth consistent
programs despite small
following
– Tends to speak with
one voice in
government
So why do we get the sleazy parties?
• Electoral System
– single member districts
– plurality system (“first-past-the-post” or winner-take-all
elections)
– This favors large catch-all parties since only the party
with the most votes wins
• Alternatives adopted in other countries
– multi-member districts
– proportional representation
If we were British:
A Hypothetical Example
• 54 Representatives Total for Texas NO GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICTS
• Democrats get 41% of the statewide vote
– get 41% of 54 seats, for a total of 21 seats
• Republicans get 50% of the statewide vote
– get 50% of 54 seats, for a total of 27 seats
• Libertarians gets 9% of the statewide vote
– get 9% of 54 seats for a total of 6 seats
Third Parties
• Disadvantages
– Cannot get on the
ballot
– No federal funding
– No name recognition
– Looked to as “messing
things up”
– No organization
• Roles
– Represent new
interests and ideas
– “Call out” the two
major parties when
they aren’t doing a
good job
– Splinter groups
– Ideological
So we have these catch-all things,
but were we supposed to?
• No, not really. James Madison warned
repeatedly of the creation of political parties
in Federalist Paper #10
– Fear of the Majority (Factions)
• However, divisions are bound to occur in
politics and so within five years of the
Constitution being signed we had political
parties
Realignment Theory
• Realignment Theory states that every 32 years…or
so…there is a durable shift in the political
behavior of the public
• These shifts can be brought on by new voters,
depression or war, but once they occur the
political environment is substantively different
than before
• We see evidence of this theory in the development
of political parties
History Lesson
• First Party System (1800-1828)
– Jeffersonian Democrats v. Federalists
• Second Party System (1828-1860)
– Jacksonian Democrats v. Whigs
• Third Party System (1860-1896)
– Republican v. Democrat (split by 1877)
• Fourth Party System (1896-1932)
– Republican v. Democrat
History Lesson
• Fifth Party System (1932-1968)
– Democrat v. Republican
• Sixth Party System (1968-Present)
– Democrat v. Republican (divided government)
• Seventh Party System (2008-???)
– Democratic Era???