Organization of Political Parties AP GoPo

Minor Parties AKA Third Parties Usually organized around: Charismatic candidate Single ideology (Prohibition, Green Party, etc.) Never won presidency Couple of contenders (who??) Very few seats in Congress How many? Do better in gubernatorial elections

Minor Parties Limited impact on government from the inside Very few minor party representatives in Congress Limited impact on policy Can’t make serious changes without players in the game

Parties at the National Level Legislative Branch: Partisanship is important Sway is based on who controls House & Senate Can be an incentive to get things done Is that the case with this Congress?

Parties at the National Level Executive Branch: Staff & Cabinet members typically same party Some Cabinet members come from opposing party to show unity & respect Who was in Obama’s Cabinet? Who’s in Trumps?

Parties at the National Level Judicial Branch: Designed to operate as non-partisan Judge appointments based on party lines Marbury v. Madison Who were Obama’s Supreme Court picks? Who did Trump pick?

Parties at the State Level Parties are decentralized Organizations for each level: national, state, local State & local parties run in a similar fashion to national level State committees headed by state chairs State laws regulate party committees Most committee members come from the local levels

Parties at the State Level Some states have a strong minor party presence New York Right to Life Party; Conservative Party Some states are very active; some county levels are activesome are not at all Nebraska Parties play almost no role State legislature is nonpartisan

Parties at the Local Level County committees Recruit for county offices (treasurer, county executive, etc.) Primary elections typically decide winners

Thoughts? What are your thoughts on political parties after creating your own and knowing what you know about the Democrats, Republicans, and Minor Parties?