American Government Political Parties

Political Parties & the Founders Political parties are complicated, important informal institutions of government that are difficult to evaluate in the American context A. Many of the Founders were profoundly uncomfortable with the notion of parties 1. they wanted some type of government by consensus where parties would play little in any role 2. summarized by George Washington in his 1796 farewell address: "Let me warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally." B. That general distaste for parties has echoed through American history 1. many Americans equate parties with back room deals, smoke filled rooms, corruption, etc. 2. it is common to hear both Democrats and Republicans wail against partisanship and to equate following the "party line" with voting against the best interest of the people 3. Tocqueville concurred: “Parties are an evil inherent in free governments”

Parties in Perspective: PoliSci C. Contrast that with the attitude of most political scientists, who believe that political parties are essential to democracy 1. E. E. Schattschneider: "political parties created democracy" 2. His argument  parties form a critical link between the public and the institutions of government 3. Parties serve to educate, mobilize, crystallize, and organize public opinion, and 4. to discipline the officials who serve in government 5. Without parties, politics becomes chaos and democratic politics becomes impossible

Parties Defined A political party  is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. Political parties  organizations that seek to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label by which they are known to the public Political parties  mechanism through which voter preferences can be translated into coherent public policy Notice: 1. different from interest groups 2. parties supply the labels; they contest the elections; they structure the public debate — they aggregate

Characteristics of Political Parties: 1 Let's place American parties in perspective by considering SIX characteristics that distinguish them. First, there are only two major parties 1. primarily a function of moderate, unimodal electorate and single member district electoral structure (also electoral college) 2. structure provides incentive for parties to be large, inclusive, and for composite groups to make deals under the party umbrella, before an election -contrast with PR systems, where deals are made between parties after an election -results in coalition governments 3. one of the results is that "3rd parties" are small and relatively unimportant in U.S.

Types of Third Parties Types of 3rd Parties: -ideological — e.g., Socialists (last longest) -single issue — e.g., Prohibition (fade with their single issue) -economic protest — e.g., Populists (fade as economy improves) -factional — Bull Moose, Dixiecrats (usually single election phenomena) Generally, minor parties are subsumed by the two major parties, who adopt their ideas

Characteristics of Political Parties: 2 Second, parties are decentralized organizations 1.For most purposes, parties are organized at the state level 2.National party HQ provides little coordination 3.Principal purpose of national party is to nominate presidential and VP candidates — only every four years 4.Generally speaking GOP is more centrally organized than the Democrats

Characteristics of Political Parties: 3 & 4 Third, leadership is diffused 1.power is split between organizational leaders and public office holders 2.incumbent president names national party leaders Fourth, American parties are less ideological than parties in most other developed countries 1.Parties are more pragmatic than ideological — seek to win elections first and foremost 2.a function of our system — both parties seek to appeal to moderate voters in the middle 3.Less true of party out of power Smaller parties tend to be more homogenous and hence more ideological parties

Prominent Theories of Party Competition One of the most important theories of party competition is the Median Voter Theorem (MVT). The theorem was first articulated in Duncan Black's 1948 article, "On the Rationale of Group Decision- making" and popularized by Anthony Downs's 1957 book, An Economic Theory of Democracy. Simply put, the MVT suggests that parties will gravitate towards the center of a unimodal electorate, because victory can only be found in the middle (where the median voter is located). Parties that locate elsewhere (say, at the extremes) will lose, as voters choose the party closest to them.

Parties Gravitate to the Center One possible model; here, if parties A and B want to catch the median voters, they should move to the centre. The red and blue areas represent the voters that A and B expect they have already caught.

Characteristics of Political Parties: 5 Fifth, American parties are less responsible than parties in most western democracies Responsible parties are parties whose elected officials are disciplined, vote a straight party line, and can collectively be held responsible by the public.

Characteristics of Political Parties: 6 Sixth, Americans are not committed to party politics 1. Generally, politics is not as passionate as in other places (see Tocqueville: Americans would rather make money) 2. Specifically, not as committed to parties a. social mobility undermines b. we value independence c. parties require nothing in exchange for membership

What Parties Do What do parties do? Generally speaking, primary purpose is to facilitate government 1. party in power — staffs government, controls policy 2. party out of power — loyal opposition, offers an alternative Fulfill this purpose at three levels 1. party in the electorate 2. party as organization 3. party in government

Party in the Electorate Party in the electorate performs three functions: 1. provide an identification 2. socializes the population a. educates voters about issues and candidates b. motivates and mobilizes participants to turn out and vote 3. channels the political energies of the population a. parties help guide and focus a messy, multi-faceted political process b. parties help people make sense of politics by -serving as an economizing device — vote on the basis of party ID, less need to collect other information (people are “cognitive misers”) -serving as a perceptual screen — they screen out some information, lower cognitive dissonance, makes action easier In sum, help the people articulate their core interests

Party as Organization Party as organization helps with the nomination and election of candidates 1. recruit potential candidates 2. serve as a cue giver to the public A label to rally around A signal-giver on important issues of the day 3. provide resources

Party in Government Party in government performs two basic functions 1. Organize governmental machinery when in the majority a. staff the leadership of Congress b. fill posts in the executive branch c. fill vacancies in the judicial branch 2. Serves as loyal opposition when in the minority a. watches the majority to keep it honest b. provides the public with an alternative ready to take power

Parties in American History The history of political progress in the U.S. is largely the history of partisan change A.The "mainsprings" of political development are realignments B.Loosely defined as events that result in the emergence of a new majority party, or in the reshuffling of coalitions with-in parties to change the nature of the majority party C.There have been five in American history D.Each has been associated with major changes in policy

Realignments: What & Why Party realignments 1. Definition: sharp, lasting shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties 2. Occurrences: change in issues that distinguish the parties, so supporting voters change Often characterized by a “critical election” where majority party looses a substantial number of seats and control of government There have been 5 major “party systems”…each precipitated by a realignment (though not necessarily a critical election). Types: 1. Major party disappears and new party emerges (1800,1860) 2. Voters shift from one party to another (1896, 1932)