Political parties

1
Chapter 5

• Political parties

2
What is a party?

• Political party- group of persons who seek to
  control government through the winning of
  elections and the holding of public office
• Major Parties- Democratic and Republican

3
What do parties do?

• Link People to government
• Bring conflicting groups together
• Nominate candidates
• Inform and activate supporters
• Bonding Agent- ensure the good performance of its
  candidates and officeholder
• Act as watch dogs

4
The two party system

• Two party system- two major parties dominate
  American politics
• Minor party- one of the political parties without
  wide support

5
Why a two party system?

• The historical basis
• The force of tradition
• Electoral system
• The American ideological consensus

6

• Multiparty system- system with several major and
  lesser parties
• One party system- one of the major parties
  regularly wins most elections in that area

7
Minor Parties

• Minor parties in the U.S.
• Ideological- based on a particular set of
  beliefs- comprehensive view of social economic
  and political matters
• Single issue parties- concentrate on only one
  public policy matter (tend to fade)
• Economic protest parties- disgust with the major
  parties and demand better times
• Splinter party- have split away from one of the
  major parties

8
Why are minor parties important?

• Spoiler role- can pull votes away from one of the
  major parties
• Willing to take a clean cut stand on
  controversial issues
• They bring up important issues to public
  attention

9
Future

• Weaker parties are due to lack of party
  identification, split ticket voting, technology,
  campaign managers, direct mailings, and the
  growth of single issue organizations