Presidency and
Political Parties
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Nominations and elections
Symbolic leader of party
Control over national party organization
Partisan support in Congress
Partisan appointments to executive and
judicial branches
President as Symbolic
Party Leader
• Platform and webpage contain
president’s positions
• Public identify president’s issues as
party’s issues
• Executive-centered party versus
headless opposition party
President as Symbolic
Party Leader
Republican party = President George W. Bush
http://www.rnc.org
http://www.dnc.org
Presidential Control Over
National Party Organization
• Past - connections to states
• Today - build support for president’s
programs
• Problems
– divided duties of party leaders
– make president’s policies too partisan
1
President Selects Party Chair
IN
(Rep)
OUT
(Dem)
Ken
Mehlman
Howard
Dean
Conflict with
White House
staff
President Major
Fund Raiser for Party
• Raises money for national party
• Attends fundraisers for party’s
candidates
Bush at May 2004 GOP
fund raiser = $38.5 million
Presidents, Congress
& Parties
• Divided versus unified government
• Unified
– innovative policy
• Roosevelt New Deal
• Johnson Medicare
Presidents, Congress
& Parties
• Divided government
– stalemate
• December 1995, January 1996 government
shutdown
– compromise policy
2
Presidents Attempt to Set
Congressional Agenda
Presidential Success in Congress
100
LBJ
Bush
90
• Speeches
• Bills and budget
Nixon
80
Carter
Ford
70
Clinton
Reagan
Bush
60
– OMB vs.
Congressional
Budget Office
50
40
30
20
George W. Bush
State of the Union
January 2001
10
0
1964 1968 1972 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003
Source: Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports
Presidential Success
Rate in Congress
• Partisanship
– 2/3rds from own party
– 1/2 or less from opposition party
• Bipartisanship
– more on foreign than domestic
Success Rate for George
Bush (1989-1992)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1989
Dem. House
1990
Rep. House
1991
Dem. Senate
1992
Rep. Senate
Source: Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports
3
Success Rate for
George H.W. Bush
Success Rate for Bill Clinton
2001
2002
Dem. House
• Pocket veto (1,066 - 42%)
– Congress adjourns during 10 day period
– Unsigned bills automatically vetoed
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Bush
– 10 days to sign, ignore, or return to
Congress
– Weakness or strength?
– Veto override - 2/3rd vote in both House
and Senate (106 total - 7%)
Rep. Senate
700
FDR
• Regular veto (1,484 - 58%, 1789 to
2001)
Dem. Senate
2005
Number of Presidential Vetoes
Truman
Presidential Vetoes
Rep. House
2004
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports
Hoover
Source: Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports
2003
Bush
2000
Rep. Senate
Clinton
1999
Reagan
1998
Dem. Senate
Ford
1997
Carter
1996
Rep. House
LBJ
1995
Nixon
1994
Dem. House
DDE
1993
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Kennedy
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: Clerk of the House of Representatives
4
Number of Presidential Vetoes
Since 1960
Presidential Vetoes
• Number of vetoes unrelated to party
size in Congress
• Number of veto overrides is related to
party size in Congress
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
Bush
Clinton
Bush
Reagan
Carter
Ford
LBJ
Kennedy
0
Nixon
10
Number of Vetoes Overridden
12
• Policy agreement
• Successful president helps party
• Small favors
10
8
6
4
– fundraisers
– photo ops
Clinton
Bush
Reagan
Carter
Ford
Nixon
Johnson
Kennedy
2
0
Reasons for Presidential Influence
on Own Party Members in Congress
106 out of 1484 vetoes overridden = 7%
5
Reasons for Less Presidential
Influence on Own Party
Members in Congress
• No sanctions
• Little personal contact between
president and rank-and-file members
• Different constituencies
– national
– district/state
Partisan Appointments
• Presidents appoint less than 10% of
executive branch
• Presidents appoint
– Heads of Department/Cabinet
– Executive Office of the President
– About 3,500 people
• 2/3rds along
party lines
Appointment
Not Equal Loyalty
• Other reasons for appointment
• Staggered terms of boards
– Federal Reserve Board
• Some boards require bipartisan
members
– Federal Election Commission, 1/2 from
each
• Appointees “captured” by agency
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