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Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry

Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy


Fourteenth Edition

Chapter 8

Political Parties

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Meaning of Party


Tasks of the Parties

Linkage Institution: the channels through which


peoples concerns become political issues on the
governments policy agenda
Parties Pick Candidates
Parties Run Campaigns
Parties Give Cues to Voters
Parties Articulate Policies
Parties Coordinate Policymaking

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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 and benefits of
possible alternatives

Downs Model

Voters maximize chances that policies they favor


are adopted by government.
Parties want to win elected office.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Meaning of Party

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Party in the


Electorate
Party image

A voters perception of what Republicans or


Democrats stand for

Party identification

A citizens self-proclaimed preference for one


party or the other
Republican, Democrat, or Independent

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Party in the


Electorate
Ticket-splitting

Voting with one party for one office and with


another party for other offices
Independents are most likely to split tickets.
No state or race is completely safe due to split
tickets.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Party in the


Electorate

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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
Due to progressive reforms, urban party
organizations are generally weak.
Revitalization of party organization at county level
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Party Organizations:


From the Grass Roots to
Washington

The 50 State Party Systems

Closed primaries: Only people who have registered


with the party can vote for that partys candidates.
Open primaries: Voters decide on Election Day
whether they want to vote in the Democrat or
Republican primary.
Blanket primaries: Voters are presented with a list
of candidates from all parties.
State parties are better organized in terms of
headquarters and budgets than they used to be.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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 partys platform
National Committee: one of the institutions
that keeps the party operating between
conventions
National Chairperson: responsible for dayto-day activities of the party

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Party in Government:


Promises and Policy
Party members actually elected to
government
Which party controls government has
policy consequences.
Coalition: a group of individuals with a
common interest upon which every
political party depends
Parties and politicians generally act on
their campaign promises.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The Party in Government:


Promises and Policy

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in
American History

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in
American History

1796-1824: The First Party System


Madison warned of factions
Federalists: first political party

1828-1856: Jackson and the


Democrats Versus the Whigs

Modern party founded by Jackson


Whigs formed mainly to oppose Jacksonian
Democrats

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in
American History

1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras


Republicans rose as the antislavery party
1896 election centered on industrialization

1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition


New Deal coalition: forged by the
Democrats; consisted of urban working
class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, the
poor, Southerners

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in American


History

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in American


History
1968-Present: The Era of Divided
Party Government
Divided government: one party controls
Congress and the other controls White
House
Divided government due in party to:

Party dealignment: disengagement of people


from parties as evidenced by shrinking party
identification
Party neutrality: people are indifferent towards
the two parties
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in American


History

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Party Eras in American


History

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Third Parties: Their


Impact on American
Politics
Third parties: electoral contenders other
than the two party parties; rarely win
elections
Third parties are important.
Are safety valves for popular discontent
Bring new groups and ideas into politics

Two-party system

Discourages extreme views


Contributes to political ambiguity
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Third Parties: Their


Impact on American
Politics
Multiparty Systems in Other
Countries

Winner-take-all system: legislative seats


awarded only to first place finishers
Proportional Representation: legislative seats
awarded based on votes received by the party more votes, more seats
Coalition Government: two or more parties
join to form a majority in a national
legislature
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Understanding Political
Parties

Democracy and Responsible Party


Government

Responsible Party Model


1. Parties have distinct comprehensive programs.
2. Candidates are committed to the program.
3. The majority party must carry out its program.
4. The majority party must accept responsibility.
American political parties fall short of these
conditions.
No mechanism for party discipline
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Understanding Political
Parties

American Political Parties and the


Scope of Government

Lack of uniformity keeps government small


Big programs like Health Care (1994) fail

But also makes cutting government


programs difficult

Individuals focus on getting more from


government for their own constituents

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Understanding Political
Parties

Is the Party Over?

Political parties are no longer main source


of information for voters; media are
Yet parties will play an important but
diminished role in American politics
State and national party organizations have
become more visible and active
Majority of people still identify with a party

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Summary
Parties are a pervasive linkage
institution in American politics.

Party in electorate, government, and as


organization

America has a two-party system.


The decentralized nature of
political parties makes major
change difficult and encourages
individualism in politics.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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