1. Political Parties
Teams of people competing to win public office or influence public policy

2. Are political parties “factions” or mechanisms for unity and action?
What is a political party and why do we have them?
How do parties work in the ideal world?
 Why does the U.S. have a two-party system?
 What role do third parties have in the U.S. system?

3. Political Parties
 Definition(s): a team of people seeking to win office or influence public policy through elections (not to be confused with revolutionary parties that may not use elections or seek to gain office).

4. Three Aspects of Parties
Political Parties
Party in organization
Party in the electorate
Party in government
These can be seen as ways to look at parties or parts of the parties

5. Party in Organization
“Party in Organization”--party "professionals" who run the day-to-day tasks of the party as well as those who hold official offices within the party
National Committees
Campaign Committees
National Conventions
State and local parties

6. Some Important Party Groups
Democratic National Committee
D.N.C. Chair and Members
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Republican National Committee
R.N.C. Chair and Members
National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee

7. Party Platforms
Formal statements of the party’s official principles, beliefs and position on policies and issues.
Drafted and approved at national conventions
Can be used to pressure party’s officeholders to uphold the ideals of party delegates

8. Party in the Electorate
Party in the Electorate--people who identify themselves with the party or register as a member of the party

9. Party in the Electorate
Ideological Parties: parties whose members generally share a single ideology even though they may differ on some specific issues.
Coalition Parties: parties whose members have a relatively diverse set of beliefs or important issues but usually agree enough to act as a team to elect their candidates.

10. The Two Major Parties Are Coalition Parties
Democratic Party
Traditional liberals
Social liberals
Civil libertarians
Pro-Choice
Labor
Environmentalists
“New Democrats”
... and others
Republican Party
Pro-business
Fiscal conservatives
Neo-conservatives
Pro-military
Religious Right
Gun rights
Libertarian
... and others

11. Party in Government
Party in Government--officeholders at any level who affiliate with a political party

12. Why do we have parties? Party Labels Electoral Coordination
Legislative Coordination
Laws and Rules
Voter Mobilization

13. Parties play an important role in turning out voters

14. How do parties work in the ideal world?
Responsible Party Government: the theory that political parties are necessary and good for democracy because they are the means for voters to hold government accountable. It argues that parties advocate clearly different policies, and they try to promote successful policies because voters will reward or punish them based upon their performance in office.

15. Responsible Party Government
Parties advocate clearly different programs
Voters decide between the parties based upon policy positions
Winning party works as a team to enact the policies advocated
Voters reward or punish the party based upon success or failure of policies

16. Problems w/ RPG Rarity of unified government
Parties don’t articulate clear policy choices
Candidates win based on individual appeal and fundraising independent of parties
No strong enforcement mechanisms to make them stick to the platform
Checks and balances and assigning credit/blame
Federalism and assigning credit/blame

17. Why does the U.S. have only two parties?
Natural
Ballot access
Coopting
Duverger's Law

18. Duverger’s Law
Duverger’s Law: Single-member, winner-takes-all districts discourage third parties by squeezing out any party is not a viable threat to win a plurality in the election.  

19. Third Parties Famous Third Parties William Jennings Bryan (1892)
Populist Party
Progressive Party
Socialist Party
American Indep. Party
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Reform Party

20. Third Parties Types of Third Parties Fracture Parties
Ideological Parties
Personality Parties
Single Issue Parties

21. Third Parties Strategies of Third Parties Displace a major party
Pressure major parties
Suggest a new way
Raise important issues
Register a protest vote
Third Parties:
Successes:
1. Party realignment?
Third parties can:
--put policy pressure on major parties – Nader on Democrats and Buchanan on Republicans
--suggest a new way – Perot (government is not run well), Wallace (national government should stay out of states)
--protest vote register dissatisfaction with the major parties
Third parties always run up against strategic voting – voting for them could get you the option you wanted least – (if you don’t care between the other two, you could vote for third party – Ventura with youth and Nader saying there is no difference between Dem/Rep)
Third parties get 12 million if they get more than 5% in most recent election

22. Some thoughts Political parties may have a invidious effect
Democracies seem unthinkable except in terms of political parties
Parties are elected officials, party workers and supporters among the public.
Parties work in an ideal, but we do not match the ideal
The U.S has a two-party system
Conscious choice by parties
Institutional arrangements and Duverger’s Law
Third Parties have a role