Political Parties

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Political Parties

• Chapter 8

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What are Parties

• Political Party
• A team of men and women seeking to control the
  governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly
  constituted election.
• Parties can be thought of in three parts
• Party in the electorate
• Party as an organization
• Party in government

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Democrats and Republicans
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The Role of Parties

• Tasks of the Parties
• Linkage Institution The channels through which
  peoples concerns become political issues on the
  governments policy agenda.
• Parties Pick Candidates
• Parties Run Campaigns
• Parties Give Cues to Voters
• Parties Articulate Policies
• Parties Coordinate Policymaking

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How people choose parties

• Parties, Voters, and Policy The Downs Model
• Rational-choice theory Assumes that individuals
  act in their own best interest, weighing the
  costs benefits.

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Do people really see a difference?

• Do People See Differences Between the Parties?
  (Figure 8.2)

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The Party in the Electorate

• Party identification is a citizens
  self-proclaimed preference for one party or the
  other.
• Ticket-splitting
• Voting for candidates of different parties.

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The Party in the Electorate
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The Party Organizations From the Grass Roots to
Washington
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Local Parties

• These are the people that work for the party.
• Local Parties
• Party Machines A type of political party
  organization that relies heavily on material
  inducements to win votes and to govern. Big city
  politics. Daley Machine 40,000 patronage jobs
  10 votes each 5 of salary went to party.
• Patronage A job, promotion or contract given for
  political reasons rather than merit. Used by
  party machines.
• Now urban party organizations are generally weak.
• County organizations have partially filled the
  void.

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State Party Organizations

• The 50 State Party Systems loose aggregate of
  parties no two are alike.
• Closed primaries voters must be registered with
  their party in advance and can only vote for that
  party
• Open primaries voters decide on election day
  which party to participate in, and then only that
  party
• Blanket primaries voters get a list of all
  candidates and can vote for one name for each
  office, regardless of party label
• State party organizations are on an upswing in
  terms of headquarters and budgets.

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National Party

• The National Party Organizations
• National Convention The meeting of party
  delegates every four years to choose a
  presidential ticket and the partys platform.
• National Committee One of the institutions that
  keeps the party operating between conventions.
• National Chairperson Responsible for day-to-day
  activities of the party. MONEY

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The Party in Government Promises and Policy
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• These are the party members actually elected to
  government.
• Candidates are less dependent on parties to get
  elected, but they still need help.
• Coalition
• A group of individuals with a common interest
  upon which every political party depends.
• Parties politicians generally do what they say
  they will do.

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Party Eras inAmerican History

• Party Eras
• Historical periods in which a majority of votes
  cling to the party in power.
• Critical Election
• An electoral earthquake where new issues and
  new coalitions emerge.
• Party Realignment
• The displacement of the majority party by the
  minority party, usually during a critical
  election.

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Party Eras inAmerican History

• 1796-1824 The First Party System
• Madison warned of factions
• First party were the Federalists
• 1828-1856 Jackson and the Democrats Versus the
  Whigs
• Modern party founded by Jackson
• Whigs formed mainly in opposition to Democrats

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Party Eras inAmerican History

• 1860-1928 The Two Republican Eras
• Republicans rose as the antislavery party
• 1896 election revolved around the gold standard
• 1932-1964 The New Deal Coalition
• Forged by the Democrats - relied upon urban
  working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews,
  the poor, Southerners

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Party Eras in American History

• Party Coalitions Today (Figure 8.3)

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Party Eras in American History

• 1968-Present The Era of Divided Party Government
• Party dealignment- disengagement of people from
  parties
• Party neutrality- people are indifferent towards
  the two parties

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Party Eras in American History

• Partisan Control of State Governments 2003
  (Figure 8.4)

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• The partisan era since 1969 has been
  characterized by divided party government. How
  has this made recent American politics different
  from previous partisan eras? In what ways has
  divided party government affected policymaking
  and policy implementation?

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Third Parties Their Impact on American Politics

• Political parties other than Democrat or
  Republican
• Rarely win elections
• But, they bring new groups and ideas into
  politics
• Two-party system discourages extreme views

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• Three kinds
• Parties that promote causes
• -- Parties that are splinters
• -- Parties that are and extention of popular
  individuals. Ross Perot

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Third Parties Their Impact on American Politics

• Winner-take-all system
• Legislative seats awarded only to first place
  finishers.
• Proportional Representation
• Legislative seats awarded based on votes received
  by the party- more votes, more seats
• Coalition Government
• Two or more parties join to run government

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Understanding Political Parties

• Democracy and Responsible Party Government
• 1. Parties have distinct comprehensive programs.
• 2. Candidates are committed to the program.
• 3. Majority party must carry out its program.
• 4. Majority party must accept responsibility.

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Understanding Political Parties

• Individualism and Gridlock
• Easier to pass the buck than bite the bullet
• Lack of uniformity even within parties
• American Political Parties and the Scope of
  Government
• Lack of uniformity keeps government small
• But, it also makes cutting government programs
  harder to do

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Understanding Political Parties

• Is the Party Over?
• No longer the chief source of information for
  voters
• But, state and national party organizations are
  getting stronger
• Majority of people still identify with a party,
  but still split their tickets
• Parties will continue to be around