Political Parties
Chapter 7
The Meaning of Party
 Political Party:
 A “team of men [and women] seeking to control the
governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly
constituted election.”
 Parties can be thought of in three parts:
 Party in the electorate
 Party as an organization
 Party in government
The Meaning of Party
 Tasks of the Parties
 Linkage Institution: The channels through which
people’s concerns become political issues on the
government’s policy agenda.
 These translate input from the public into outputs from the
policymakers.
 Parties Pick Candidates
 Parties Run Campaigns
 Parties Give Cues to Voters
 Parties Articulate Policies
 Parties Coordinate Policymaking
The Meaning of Party
 Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model
 Rational-choice theory: Assumes that individuals act in their
own best interest, weighing the costs & benefits.
 Policies closest to the views of a majority of voters.
The Party in the Electorate
 Party identification is a citizen’s self-proclaimed
preference for one party or the other.
 Recent party id trend: decline in both parties and growth of
independents.
 Ticket-splitting:
 Voting with one party for one office and with another
party for other offices.
 Ticket-splitting has become the norm in American
voting behavior.
-Divided party government
The Party Organizations: From the
Grass Roots to Washington
 These are the people that work for the party.
 Local Parties
 Party Machines: A type of political party organization that relies
heavily on material inducements to win votes and to govern.
 Patronage: A job, promotion or contract given for political
reasons rather than merit. Used by party machines.
 Now urban party organizations are generally weak.
 County organizations have partially filled the void.
The Party Organization: From the
Grass Roots to Washington
 The 50 State Party Systems
 Closed primaries: voters must be registered with their party in
advance and can only vote for that party
 Open primaries: voters decide on election day which party to
participate in, and then only that party
 Blanket primaries: voters get a list of all candidates and can vote
for one name for each office, regardless of party label
 State party organizations are on an upswing in terms of
headquarters and budgets.
The Party Organizations: From the
Grass Roots to Washington
 The National Party Organizations
 National Convention: The meeting of party delegates
every four years to choose a presidential ticket and the
party’s platform.
 Supreme power within each of the parties
 National Committee: One of the institutions that
keeps the party operating between conventions.
 National Chairperson: Responsible for day-to-day
activities of the party.
The Party in Government: Promises
and Policy
 These are the party members actually elected to
government.
 Candidates are less dependent on parties to get elected.
 Coalition:
 A group of individuals with a common interest upon which
every political party depends.
 Parties & politicians generally do what they say they will
do.
 For every broken promise, many more will be kept.
Party Eras in
American History
 America is a two party system.
 Party Eras
 Historical periods in which a majority of votes cling to the
party in power.
 Critical Election
 An electoral “earthquake” where new issues and new coalitions
emerge.
 Party Realignment
 The displacement of the majority party by the minority party,
usually during a critical election.
Party Eras in
American History
 1796-1824: The First Party System
 Madison warned of “factions”
 First party were the Federalists
 Democratic-Republicans were the party that defeated the
Federalists.
-led by Jefferson, Madison, & Monroe
 1828-1856: Jackson and the Democrats Versus the Whigs
 Modern party founded by Jackson, who forged a new political
coalition.
 Whigs formed mainly in opposition to Democrats
Party Eras in
American History
 1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras
 Republicans rose as the antislavery party
 1896 election revolved around the gold standard and
silver
 Resulted in party realignment and entrenched republicans another
generation
 1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition
 Forged by the Democrats - relied upon urban working
class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor,
Southerners, and African Americans.
 LBJ’s Vietnam policies tore Democrats apart
in 1968.
Party Eras in American History
 Party Coalitions Today (Figure 8.2)
Party Eras in American History
 1968-Present: The Era of Divided Party Government
 Nixon started the era of divided party gov’t.
 Continued with Reagan, Bush, and eventually Clinton.
 Political Scientists believe we could be seeing an era of
party dealignment.
 Party dealignment - disengagement of people from parties
Party Eras in American History
 Partisan Control of State Governments: 2005 (Figure
8.3)
Third Parties: Their Impact on
American Politics
 Parties other than Democrat or Republican
 3 types of third parties
 Parties promoting single issues
 Splinter party
 Parties that are extensions of popular individuals with
presidential aspirations.
 Rarely win elections
 Third parties bring new groups and ideas into politics
Understanding Political Parties
 Democracy and Responsible Party Government
 Responsible Party model:
 Parties must present distinct, comprehensive programs for governing the
nation.
 Majority party must implement its programs, and minority party must
state what it would do if it were in power.
 Majority party accepts responsibility.
 Voters would know who to blame!
 Critics:
 Believe its not appropriate for the type of limited gov’t that the founders
sought to create.
Understanding Political Parties
 American Political Parties and the Scope of Government
 Lack of uniformity keeps government small
 But, it also makes cutting government programs
harder to do
Understanding Political Parties
 Is the Party Over?
 One of the key problems for political parties is that
they are no longer the chief source of information for
voters.
 Television allows voters to find out about candidates
without party information.
 Parties still have a role in articulating policies.