Political Parties

1
Political Parties
A group of people who seek to control government
through the winning of elections and the hold of
public offices.
2
Key Issues and Questions

• What are political parties and what do they do?
• Why do we have a two party system and how does a
  two party system differ from a multiparty system?
• What differentiates our major parties an how have
  they evolved over time?

3
Party Functions

• Organize the Competition
• Unify the Electorate
• Inspire and Inform Voters
• Translate Preferences into Policy
• Provide Loyal Opposition
• Organize Government
• Help Govern
• Act as Watchdogs
• Nominate Candidates
• Ensure Candidate Quality

4
Party Systems

• One Party Systems
• Two Party Systems
• Multi-party Systems

5
Why America Has Only TwoDominant Parties?

• Historical circumstance
• The stability of two
• Laws that preserve the two party monopoly
• Informal institutional supports

6
First Era Organization of New NationOrganization
of Parties
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As Americans evaluated the proposal for
government, two factions emerge
Timeframe 1787-1800
Federalists Proponents of the Constitution Support
ers of a strong central government and
ratification
Anti-Federalists Opponents of the
Constitution Feared increasing the powers of the
central government and no formal bill of rights
And the CHANGE- After influential NEW YORK and
VIRGINIA bring ratifying States total to 11,
there is not much sense remaining as an
Anti-Federalist, so.
7
Second Era Two-Party System emergesand the
fights begin.
Timeframe 1790-1816
Leading Federalists
Leading Dem-Reps
Vicious rancor rears its ugly head as parties
begin to vie for office and the support of the
electorate.
George Washington presides without holding to one
specific party, and upon his decision to renounce
serving a third term partially due to the
emerging parties squabbles, he warns the
fledgling nation
Adams
Jefferson
Madison
Hamilton
However combinations or associations...may answer
popular ends, they are likely...to become potent
engines by which cunning, ambitious, and
unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the
power of the people and to usurp for themselves
the reigns of government, destroying afterwards
the very engines which have lifted them to unjust
dominion. -Farewell Address Sept. 19, 1796
Democrat-Republicans (Farming) Advocated
States rights Strict Interpretation Inclined
toward France Supported by agrarian West and South
Federalists (Business) Advocated Strong,
central government Loose Interpretation Inclined
toward England Supported by commercial Northeast
NOPE!
BUT DID WE LISTEN???
And the CHANGE- The Federalists implode opposing
the War of 1812, changing Americas political
landscape and the nature of political parties.
8
Party Systems

• Multiparty
• Coalition government is necessary
• Minor parties have an incentive to persevere
• Proportional representation
• Governments tend toward instability
• Choice
• Difficult to come to a consensus
• Parties are more distinctive

• Two party
• Winner-takes-all system
• Wasted vote syndrome discourages minor parties
• Government tends toward stability
• Parties tend to be umbrella parties
• Truly competitive elections
• Voters limited to two choices

The U.S. is a two-party system most other
democracies have a multiparty system
9
American Party History

• Federalist Party
• Anti-Mason Party
• Two minor anti-slavery
• parties in the 1840s
• Liberty Party
• Free-soil party
• Greenback Party
• Peoples Party
• American Socialist Party
• Socialist Labor Party

10
Why America Has Only TwoDominant Parties

• The Stability
• It just so happened that two major factions
  emerged in our early years. However, once this
  happened, it became difficult for any third
  faction to for a third party to survive. This is
  because a third group would steal votes from one
  of the other existing parties, thus splitting the
  votes and dooming both of them. Thus, new groups
  usually merged into one of the two existing
  factions.

11
Why America Has Only TwoDominant Parties

• Informal Institutional Supports
• Media Coverage
• Voter Loyalty
• Ability to Raise Cash
• Public Perception (third parties are just for
  wackos)

12
Why America Has Only TwoDominant Parties

• Laws that Preserve the Two Party Monopoly
• Single member districts/winner take all
• Vs. a proportional system

13
Multi-Party System

• In Multi-party states, its difficult for any one
  party to win a majority. Coalitions with similar
  parties become necessary. But coalition partners
  may resign over particular government policies,
  so this system is less stable.
• Example of government instability Italy, from
  1945 to 1995, had 44 different coalition
  governments.

14
Example Israeli Elections 2006

• March 2006
• Election outcome
• Kadima Party
• wins the most with
• 28 seats in the
• Knesset. The new
• Prime Minister
• must form a coalition
• government.

15
Single Member Plurality (SMP)

• The candidate who wins a plurality of the vote
  prevails a majority is not needed. Only one
  seat per district. No way for voters to
  designate their 2nd choice. Tends to produce a
  two-party system unless a small partys voters
  are concentrated in a district.
• Used in the U.S., Canada, India, Britain, New
  Zealand, Germany.

16
Single Member Plurality (SMP) system

• Electoral College Presidential candidates must
  win 270 electors (out of 538) to win office.
• Example Ross Perot Reform Party in 1992 won
  19 of the popular vote but not one elector.

17
Proportional Representation (PR).

• Each district has multiple seats. Each
  political party wins the same proportion of seats
  as the vote it wins.
• Favors the development of multiple political
  parties.

18

• Assume the following vote distribution in
• a district with 10 parliamentary seats
• Quisenberry Party wins 50
• Wiggins Party wins 30
• Baker Party wins 20
• How many seats does each party win?

19

• Wiggins Party wins 50
• Quisenberry Party wins 30
• Baker Party wins 20
• SO
• Wigginistas gain 5 seats
• Quisenberries win 3 seats
• Bakerites gain 2 seats

20

• Would the U.S. be better off
• with a multi-party or two party system?

21
Two Party vs. MultipartySystems

• Both systems, being democratic, rest on
  compromise.
• In a two party system, compromise takes place
  prior to elections as parties select moderate
  candidates who they believe can win a majority.
• In multiparty systems, ideologically pure
  parties are forced to compromise after elections
  in order to form a majority coalition to pass
  laws (and often select a prime minister).

22
Two Party vs. MultipartySystempros and cons

• Two party systems tend to be more stable.
• Multi-party systems offer voters more choice.
• Having only two choices may dampen voter
  turnout.
• Two Party Systems narrow legislative debate
• Even if outvoted, small parties if represented
  are likely to raise issues the other parties
  wouldnt otherwise discuss.
• Two Party Systems may be more polarizing
• Parties in multiparty systems must work
  together and form coalitions which forces members
  to reach across party lines.

23
One-Party Systems

• Dictatorships
• Areas dominated by a party
• Government party closely linked. No opposition
  parties permitted.