POLITICAL PARTIES

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CHAPTER 7 POLITICAL PARTIES
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This chapter provides a fairly detailed
exploration of political parties, with emphasis
on the two party system that has evolved in the
United States.
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Role of A Political Party

• A party is a group that seeks to elect candidates
  to public office by supplying them with a label.
• Arenas
• A label in the minds of the voters
• Set of leaders in government
• Organization for recruiting and campaigning

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Reasons for differences from European parties

• Federal system decentralizes power
• Early on, most people with political jobs worked
  for state and local government.
• National parties were coalitions of local
  parties.
• As political power becomes more centralized,
  parties become weaker still
• Parties closely regulated by state and federal
  laws
• Candidates chosen through primaries, not by party
  leaders
• President elected separately from Congress

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Decline in Party Identification, 1952-2000
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Cleavages and Continuity in the Two Party
System
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1. Founding 2. Andrew Jackson - 1824 3. Whigs 4.
Progressives and the Era of Reform A. Primary
Elections B. Non Partisan Elections at the
local level C. Strict Voter Registration
Rules D. Civil Service Reform E. Initiative,
Referendum and Recall
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Occurrences change in issues

• 1800 Jeffersonians defeated Federalists
• 1828 Jacksonian Democrats came to power
• 1860 Whigs collapsed Republicans won
• 1896 Republicans defeated Bryan
• 1932 FDR Democrats came to power

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1972-1988 shift in presidential voting patterns
in the South

• Fewer Democrats, more Republicans, more
  independents
• Independents vote Republican
• Now close to fifty-fifty Democratic, Republican
• Party dealignment, not realignment

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Party Structure Today 1. Nation convention
ultimate power, nominates presidential
candidate. 2. National committee composed of
delegates from state manages affairs between
conventions. 3. Congressional campaign
committees. 4. National chair manages daily work.
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The Democrats have evolved into a factional party
emphasizing the mobilization and conciliation of
party activists. (Pluralism). The Republican
party has become a bureaucratic party devoted to
winning elections by focusing on raising money
and providing consulting services to its
candidates.
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Some of the above changed in 1992 and 1994, the
Democrats became adopting direct mail and
sophisticated focus groups and polling to insure
more electable candidates. Republican have
become more isolated on the ideological extreme
be dominated by the Christian Coalition. Is it
better to win or be ideologically pure?
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Consequence of reforms

• Parties represent different set of
  upper-middle-class voters
• Republicans represent traditional middle class
• Democrats represent the "new class"
• Democrats hurt because the traditional middle
  class closer in opinions to most citizens

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State and Local Party Organizations 1. The
Machine 2. Ideological Party 3. Solidary
Groups 4. Sponsored Parties 5. Personal followings
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The machine

• Recruitment via tangible incentives
• High degree of leadership control
• Abuses
• Gradually controlled by reforms
• But machines continued
• Both self-serving and public regarding
• Winning above all else

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Ideological parties

• Principle above all else
• Usually outside Democrats and Republicans
• But some local reform clubs
• Reform clubs replaced by social movements

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Solidary groups

• Most common form of party organization
• Members motivated by solidary incentives
• Advantage neither corrupt nor inflexible
• Disadvantage not very hard working

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Sponsored parties

• Created or sustained by another organization
• Example Detroit Democrats controlled by UAW
• Not very common

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Personal following

• Examples Kennedys, Curley, Talmadges, Longs
• Viability today affected by TV and radio
• Advantage vote for the person
• Disadvantage takes time to know the person

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U.S. Political Parties

• The two-party system
• Rarity among nations today
• Evenly balanced nationally, not locally
• Why such a permanent feature?
• Electoral system winner-take-all and plurality
  system
• Opinions of voters two broad coalitions

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American Parties As Broad Coalitions 1.
Plurality, winner take all system, especially in
the electoral college. 2. Voters agree on enough
issues to make broad coalitions possible, no real
differences like organization of the economy,
prerogatives of the monarchy, and the role of the
church.
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Types of Minor Parties 1. Ideological
parties 2. One issue parties 3. Economic protest
parties 4. Factional parties
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Examples

• Ideological parties comprehensive, radical view
  most enduringExamples Socialist, Communist,
  Libertarian
• One-issue parties address one concern, avoid
  othersExamples Free Soil, Know-Nothing,
  Prohibition
• Economic protest parties regional, oppose
  depressionsExamples Greenback, Populist
• Factional parties from split in a major
  partyExamples Bull Moose, Henry Wallace,
  American Independent

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Are there Significant Differences - Primarily
Between Activists, not between voters. Nominating
A President 1. Are the delegates representative
of the voters? 2. Who Votes in Primaries?
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Are the delegates representative of the voters?

• Democratic delegates much more liberal
• Republican delegates much more conservative

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Who votes in primaries?

• Primaries now more numerous and more decisive
• Stevenson and Humphrey never entered a primary
• By 1992 forty primaries and twenty caucuses
• Little ideological difference between primary
  voters and rank-and-file party voters

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Caucus

• Meeting of party followers at which delegates are
  picked
• Only most-dedicated partisans attend
• Often choose most ideological candidate Jackson,
  Robertson in 1988

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Parties versus voters

• Democrats win congressional elections but lose
  presidential contests
• Candidates are out of step with average voters on
  social and tax issues
• So are delegates, and there's a connection
• Republicans had the same problem with Goldwater
  (1964)
• Rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans differ on
  many political issues, but the differences are
  usually small
• Delegates from two parties differ widely on these
  same issues

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Formula for winning president

• Nominate candidates with views closer to the
  average citizen (e.g., 1996 election)
• Fight campaign over issues agreed on by delegates
  and voters (e.g., 1992 election)

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SELF TEST
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For more information about this topic, link to
the Metropolitan Community College Political
Science Web Site http//socsci.mccneb.edu/pos/pols
cmain.htm