1. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Political Parties Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Fourteenth Edition

2. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Different types of political systems: One Party- most common Two-Party: America Multi Party: Many European countries

3. 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

4. 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

5. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Libertarian Party  Opposes international dealings  Opposes government taxes  Opposes government intrusion into private lives

6. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Green Party Not just an environmental single-issue group anymore…

7. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Constitution Party The mission of the Constitution Party is to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity through the election, at all levels of government, of Constitution Party candidates who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations.

8. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Political Party Vocabulary Linkage institutions: Translate input from the public into outputs from policymakers; sift through all issues, identify pressing concerns and put these onto the government agenda ( Parties, elections, interest groups, media) Rational-Choice Theory: Explain actions of voters as well as politicians; assumes that individuals act on their own best interest; carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives Party Identification: Self-proclaimed preference for one party over another Ticket splitting: Voting with one party for one office and the other for other offices

9. 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.

10. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. nominating a president through the party process Open primaries (or pick-a-party) are those in which voters of any affiliation may vote for the slate of any party. Closed primaries are those in which only the voters affiliated with a party may vote in its primary. Blanket primaries (or "jungle primaries") The blanket primary was struck down in 2001 by the Supreme Court in CA Democratic Party v. Jones. PRIMARIES

11. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Meaning of Party

12. 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

13. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. FIVE Party Eras 1. 1796-1824: 2. 1828-1856: 3. 1860-1928: 4. 1932-1964: 5. 1968-Present: Each had a Critical election that changed the party in power

14. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Party Eras (shift in demographics) 1. 1796-1824: Federalists V. Democratic- Republicans Jefferson, Madison, etc. 2. 1828-1856: Democrats V. Whigs Jackson, rural farmers, etc. 3. 1860-1928: Republican Era Lincoln, abolition, etc. 4. 1932-1964: Democrat Era FDR, New Deal Coalition, etc.

15. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Today’s Party Era (1968-present) 5. 1968-Present: The Era of Divided Party A. Divided government: one party controls Congress and the other controls White House B. Flip flops back and forth between party in power CAUSES: Divided government due in party to: Party de-alignment: disengagement of people from parties as evidenced by shrinking party identification Party neutrality: people are indifferent towards the two parties Split ticket voting

16. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Party Eras in American History

17. 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

18. 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.