Chapter 5: Political Parties

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Chapter 5 Political Parties

• Section 1 Parties and What They Do

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• What is
• a political
• party?
• Its NOT what you attend at a friends house

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What Is a Party?

• A group of persons who seek to control government
  by winning elections and holding public office.

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Why would people want to create parties?
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FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

• Nominating Function
• Informer-Stimulator Function
• Bonding Agent Function
• Governmental Function
• Watchdog Function

Pretty boring slide, eh?
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NOMINATING FUNCTION

• Sets political parties apart from other political
  groups
• The Democratic and Republican parties are
  election-oriented rather than issue-oriented.

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Informer-Stimulator Function

• Share this with news media and interest groups

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BONDING AGENT FUNCTION

• party encourages candidate to perform
  well---FUTURE ELECTIONS
• Parties take a stand on issues and criticizes
  the other partys stance

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Governmental Function

• Party connections help executive and legislative
  branches of government to cooperate with one
  another

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Parties watch each other--the WATCHDOG FUNCTION

• The party in power is the party in charge of
  the EXECUTIVE branch
• If parties are watching each others actions, how
  will that help the people?
• If parties are watching each other, how will that
  hurt government processes?

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the WATCHDOG FUNCTION
The party NOT in power has a responsibility to
criticize the party in power. This is what is
know as loyal oppositionor partisan
politics. Partisan Along party
lines Bi-partisan Two-parties
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The Two-Party System

• Who is Earl Dodge?
• The Prohibition Parties candidate for President
  of the US in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000.
• Why dont you know him?
• Democrats and Republicansdominate American
  politics

What does it mean?
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The Two-Party System

• What do you think were the first political
  parties in America?
• Why do we have a two party system today?

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• What is a ?one of the many political parties that
  does not
• Minor/third receive wide voter support
• Party?
• Why a
• two-party
• system
• Thats the way it has always been
• Force of Tradition
• Electoral System
• State election laws are written to
  discourage minor parties.
• Americans tend to agree on important issues
• We have a pluralistic society range of
  culture/groups
• BUT, there is still a broad consensus
• Major parties tend to take
  moderate stands on issue

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Other types of political systems

• Multiparty systems
• One Party systemswhat comes to mind when you
  hear this?
• Which country would be more stable a country
  with a two party system or a country with many
  parties?

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Two Major Parties

• Democrats LIBERAL
• Republicans CONSERVATIVE
• GOP Grand Old Party

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Party Membership Patterns

• Purely voluntary!
• Democrats
• Republicans

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PartyFollowings

• Traditionally, many parts of the United States
  have been dominated by one party.
• What party dominates in Chicago?
• What party dominates Lake County?
• What party dominates Illinois?

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• Red Republican
• Blue Democrat

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Eras for Presidents

• 1800-1860 Democrats
• 1860-1932 Republicans
• 1932-1968 Democrats
• Start of a New Era Era of Divided Government
  1968-present

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Former Democratic Presidents
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
President Harry S. Truman
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President John F. Kennedy
President Lyndon B. Johnson
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President William Jefferson Clinton
President Jimmy Carter
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Former Republican Presidents
President Abraham Lincoln
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
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President Ronald Reagan
Richard M. Nixon
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President George W. Bush
President George H.W. Bush
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Minor Parties in the United States

• Ideological parties
• Single issue parties
• Economic parties
• Splinter parties
• Examples

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What do third parties do?

• Improve the system by focusing on issues
• Act as a spoiler in an election.
• What do you think happens if a third party gains
  a lot of support?

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• Organization
• of political
• parties
• Impact of Federalism
• Parties have offices at local, State and federal
  levels.
• The Role of the President
• The President is the leader of his or her
  party.
• The party not in power has no comparable
  leader.

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NATIONAL PARTY MACHINERY

• National Convention Committee
• The National Committee
• The National Chairperson
• The Congressional Campaign Committees

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Three Basic Elements /Levels

• Party in the Electorate Voters
• Party Organization Workers
• Party in Government Office Holders

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Characteristics of Political Parties

• Parties are like HUGE businesses
• Have leaders
• Leaders fight within the business
• Pyramid structure
• Have workers
• Have meetings/ conventions

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The Future of the Major Parties

• Political parties have been in a state of decline
  since the late 1960s.
• HOWEVER, Parties are unlikely to disappear as
  long as they continue to perform necessary
  functions.