Political Parties

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Political Parties
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Political Parties

• A political party is a group that seeks to elect
  candidates to public office by supplying them
  with labels by which they are known to the
  electorate.
• A party thus exists in three arenas

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Political Parties

• 1. A label in the mind of the voters. A powerful
  party is one in whose label has strong appeal.
• 2. An organization that recruits and campaigns
  for candidates. A powerful partys organization
  can decide who will be candidates and how their
  campaigns will be managed.

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Political Parties

• 3. A set of leaders who try to organize and
  control the legislative branches of government. A
  powerful partys leaders can dominate one or all
  branches of government.

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Political Parties

• All three arenas have weakened
• American parties are much weaker than European
  parties because the only way to run for office is
  to obtain a party nomination.