POLITICAL PARTIES

1. POLITICAL PARTIES Chapter 12 O’Connor and Sabato American Government: Continuity and Change

2. POLITICAL PARTIES In this chapter we will cover… • What is a Political Party? • The Evolution of American Party Democracy • The Roles of American Parties • The Basic Structure of American Political Parties • The Party in Government • The Modern Transformation of Party Organization • The Party in the Electorate • One-Partyism and Third-Partyism

3. What is a Political Party? A political party is a group of voters, activists, candidates, and office holders who identify with a party label and seek to elect individuals to public office.

4. The Evolution of American Party Democracy • Hamilton and Jefferson, as heads of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups respectively, are often considered “fathers” of the modern party system. • By 1800, this country had a party system with two major parties that has remained relatively stable ever since.

5. Democrats and Republicans: The Golden Age • From the presidential elections of 1860 to the present, the same two major parties have contested elections in the United States: Democrats and Republicans. • Reconstruction -- Republican dominance • 1876-1896 -- closely competitive • 1896-1929 -- Republican dominance • 1930s and 1940s -- Democratic dominance • 1950s and 1960s -- closely competitive • 1970-present -- neither party dominant

6. The Roles of the American Parties • The two-party system has been used to resolve political and social conflicts. • Mobilizing Support and Gathering Power • A Force for Stability • Unity, Linkage, Accountability • The Electioneering Function • Party as a Voting and Issue Cue • Policy Formulation and Promotion

7. The Basic Structure of American Political Parties • The organizational structure of America’s political parties remains fairly simple with aspects of national, state, and local influence: • National Committees/Conventions • State Central Committees • Local City/Precinct Committees • Informal Groups: Think Tanks and Reform Groups

8. The Basic Structure of American Political Parties

9. The Party in Government • The Congressional Party • The Presidential Party • The Parties and the Judiciary • The Parties and State Government

10. The Modern Transformation of Party Organization Republican Party Strengths: • Party Staff – several hundred operatives stationed in key districts • Voter Contact – telephone canvassing and bulk mailings • Polling • Media Advertising – in-house media division • Staff Training and Research

11. Political Party Finances, 1978-2002

12. The Party In The Electorate • The ‘party in the electorate’ is the mass of potential voters who identify with a specific party. • American voters often identify with a specific party, but rarely belong formally. • Party identification is often a voter’s central political reference symbol. • Party identification generally comes from one’s parents. • However, party identification can be affected by a number of factors such as education, peers, charismatic personalities, cataclysmic events, and intense social issues.

13. Declining Party Loyalty? • The number of independents in the U.S. rose from 19% in 1958 to 37% twenty years later. • Identification with the two major parties today is in the mid 80% range. • Pollsters often find that many self-declared independents often “lean” quite strongly to either the Democratic or Republican party. • “Leaners” do feel party affiliations, but choose not to self-identify with a party.

14. Loyalty Trends - Democratic • Labor union members tend to vote Democratic. • Democrats have a lead in garnering the women's vote. • Over 80% of African Americans and Hispanics vote Democratic. • Young people are once again more Democratic. • Most blue-collar workers and unemployed are Democrats. • Catholics and Jews are mostly Democrats. • The widowed are mostly Democrats. • Liberals tend to be Democrats.

15. Loyalty Trends - Republican • Chambers of Commerce members tend to vote Republican. • The West tends to be more Republican. • Men tend to split fairly evenly between the two parties. • Cuban-Americans are generally Republicans (anti-Castro). • Professionals, executives, and white-collar workers tend to be Republican. • High-status Protestants tend to be Republican. • Married couples tend to be Republican. • Conservatives tend to be Republican.

16. Websites Major Parties • Democratic National Committee • www.democrats.org • Republican National Committee • www.rnc.org Third Parties • Third Party Central • www.3pc.net/index.html • Libertarian Party • www.lp.org • Reform Party. • www.reformparty.org

17. One-Partyism and Third-Partyism • A significant trend of recent times is the demise of one-partyism (one-party dominance of elections in a given region). • The formerly "Solid South" is no longer only Democratic. • There are no exclusively Republican or Democratic states at this time. • Many individuals split their vote between the parties, and sometimes vote for third parties.

18. Minor Parties: Third-Partyism • Minor parties are not a threat to the two major parties. • Only eight third parties have won any electoral votes in a presidential contest. • The third parties that have had some success are: • 1996 and 1992: Ross Perot’s Reform Party • 1968: George Wallace’s American Independent Party • 1924: Robert LaFollette’s Progressive Party • 1912: Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party • 1856: Millard Fillmore's American Party