introduction to political parties in the u.s

Political PartiesPolitical Parties

“A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both necessary elements of a healthy state of political life.”

- John Stuart Mill (1859)British Philosopher

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Parties and What They DoParties and What They Do

“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

- Vince Lombardi

This can be said for the attitudes of the Democratic and Republican parties

Competing and Winning are two main goals of political parties

Political Party – a group of people who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office

The two Major Parties in the U.S. are:

Republican

Democratic

Political parties are essential to democratic government

They are the medium through which options are presented to the people

Serve as a link between the people and their government

Some argue they are the principle means by which the will of the people is made known to government

5 Major Functions5 Major Functions

Nominating Candidates for public Nominating Candidates for public officeoffice THE major functionTHE major function

Select candidate and present them to the Select candidate and present them to the votersvoters

Work to help their candidate win electionsWork to help their candidate win elections

Best tool for finding candidates and Best tool for finding candidates and gathering supportgathering support

Sets political parties apart from other groups Sets political parties apart from other groups in politicsin politics

Informing and Activating SupportersInforming and Activating Supporters Activate interest and participation in public Activate interest and participation in public

affairsaffairs Primarily by:Primarily by:

Campaigning for their candidatesCampaigning for their candidates Taking stands on issuesTaking stands on issues Criticizing the candidates/positions of their Criticizing the candidates/positions of their

opponentsopponents Inform voters the way THEY want them to be Inform voters the way THEY want them to be

informedinformed AdvertisingAdvertising

Act as a Bonding AgentAct as a Bonding Agent Ensures the good performance of its Ensures the good performance of its

candidates and officeholderscandidates and officeholders Tries to make sure they are men and Tries to make sure they are men and

women who are both qualified and of good women who are both qualified and of good charactercharacter

Prompts its successful candidates to Prompts its successful candidates to perform well in officeperform well in office If they fail to do so, both party and candidate If they fail to do so, both party and candidate

may suffer the consequences in future may suffer the consequences in future electionselections

GoverningGoverning Public officeholders are regularly chosen on Public officeholders are regularly chosen on

the basis of partythe basis of party Congress and State legislatures are Congress and State legislatures are

organized on party linesorganized on party lines PartisanshipPartisanship – government action based – government action based

on firm allegiance to a political partyon firm allegiance to a political party Legislative and Executive branches must Legislative and Executive branches must

cooperate in order to accomplish anything:cooperate in order to accomplish anything: Political Parties provide the channel for these Political Parties provide the channel for these

branches to work togetherbranches to work together

WatchdogWatchdog The party NOT in power closely watches the The party NOT in power closely watches the

actions of the actions of the party in power*party in power* **Party that controls the executive branch of Party that controls the executive branch of

government; i.e., the Presidency at the national government; i.e., the Presidency at the national level, or the governorship at the State levellevel, or the governorship at the State level

Party out of power tries to convince the Party out of power tries to convince the voters that they should be the ones making voters that they should be the ones making the decisionsthe decisions

Often makes those in power more responsive Often makes those in power more responsive to the wishes and concerns of the peopleto the wishes and concerns of the people

The Two-Party System

Two’s company, but three’s a crowd!

The two major political parties dominate American politics

&

The minor parties* do not have nearly as much power and influence as the major parties *political parties without widespread support Examples of minor parties include:

Libertarian Party, Communist Party USA, Green Party of the United States

Historical Basis

U.S. has historically always been a two-party system Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists after the

ratification of the Constitution Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans

formed at the beginning of John Adam’s presidency (Federalist)

Set the model for the Democrats vs. Republicans we know today

The Force of Tradition Human institutions often become self-

perpetuating The fact that the nation began with a two-party

system is a leading factor for the retention of it

Most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system simply because there has always been one. Can explain why challenges from minor parties

have made very little headway

The Electoral System Features of the American electoral

system promote the existence of two major parties Single-member districts – elections are

contests in which only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot

Discourages minor parties Voters often see votes for a minor party as a

wasted vote because of the influence of &

Much of American election law is purposely written to discourage non-major party candidates Nearly all election law in this country is State

law Almost all of the 7,600+ State legislators are

either or

The two major parties deliberately shape election laws to preserve, protect, and defend the system in a bipartisan* way

* Bipartisan – two major parties find a common ground on an issue

Both major parties are generally alike Both tend to be moderate Both are build on compromise Regularly seek to occupy the “middle of the

road” Seek the same prize: the votes of a majority of

the electorate To do so, they both must win over essentially

the same people Take policy positions that do not differ from one

another

But they do have their differences…

Much more likely to:

Favor the play of private market forces in the economy

Argue that the Federal Government should be lessextensively involved in social welfare programs

More likely to support:

Social welfare programs

Government regulation of business practices

Efforts to improve the status of minorities

One-Party Aspects of the U.S. Effective two-party competition has

spread rapidly in the past 40 years or so Until the 1950s:

dominated the South had controlled much of New England and

Mid-West

Now: win offices in every Northern state are heavily influential in the South

About 1/3 of the States can be said to have a one-party system*

* One of the major parties regularly

wins most elections in those states

Party Membership Patterns

Each of the major parties ( & ) have always been composed of a cross-section of the population

However, some segments generally tend to align themselves with one or the other : white males, Protestants, and business

community, historically higher income

: African Americans, Catholics and Jews, Union Members, historically lower income

Minor Parties in the U.S. Sometimes difficult to describe and classify

because of their number and variety

Some limit their efforts to small geographic regions, while others try to influence the nation

Most are short-lived, but a few have existed for decades

There are four distinct types of interest groups

Ideological Parties Based on a particular set of beliefs

Social, economic, and political matters Built around some variety of Marxist thought

ex: Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, Communist parties

Emphasize individualism Call for doing away with most of

government’s present functions and programs

ex: Libertarian Party Rarely are able to win any votes

Single-Issue Parties Concentrate on only one public-policy matter Names usually indicate their primary concern ex: “Know Nothing” Party, Right to Life Party

Do not stick around very long: Die away as events pass by Themes often fail to attract voters One or both major parties take their key issues as

their own

Economic Protest Parties Rooted in periods of economic discontent Proclaim their disgust with the major parties

and demand better times Focus their anger on such real or imagined

enemies as: The monetary system “Wall Street bankers” Railroads Foreign Imports

Draw their strength mostly from the agricultural South & West

Tend to fall away as the nation climbs out of the difficult economic period in which that party arose

Splinter Parties Parties that have split away from one of the

major parties Most of the more important minor parties in our

politics have been splinter parties Most splinter parties are formed around a

strong personality Most often around someone who has failed

to win his/her major party’s nomination These parties most often fade or collapse

when the leader steps aside