1. Political Parties and Politics
Obj:
1. How did political parties come to exist?
2. Describe the structure of today’s political parties.
3. How do political parties influence our lives today?

2. EQ:
How did political parties come to exist?

3. The U.S. Constitution says nothing about political parties

4. Washington’s Warning Against Political Parties
George Washington warned that there should be no political “factions” in our government
Warned against “Internal Dissensions”

5. What is a Political Party?
Group of voters with common interests who want to elect candidates who share the same interests
Parties form because people have different opinions about political issues
Political parties allow people with similar views about political issues to support candidates who will work for laws that agree with their supporters’ views

6. Polit. Party Membership
Is not required by law – you may choose to be a party member or not
You do not have to be a party member to vote

7. Why do people choose one party over another?
People choose to belong to a polit. party b/c it shares their beliefs about politics & the role of govt.
The party members pick, or nominate, candidates who also share their beliefs
Parties then try to convince other people to vote for their candidate

8. U.S. has a Two Party System
Only two major polit. parties in U.S. since 1860
Democrats
Republicans
Each party has millions of members
Since 1860, either the Dem. P. or the Rep. P. have held the presidency

9. Abraham Lincoln First Republican to become U.S. president
Won election as the first Republican president in 1860, the same year the Civil War began

10. Advantage of the 2-Party System
Since Civil War, Dems & Repubs have had almost equal strength
Both tend to offer ideas & policies that are not too extreme and come as close to public opinion as they can
Purpose: Attract and keep as many voters as possible with their own party
If they become too extreme, voters would flock to the other party

11. Third Parties No 3rd party has ever won a presidential election
They rarely win other major elections (U.S. Senate/House, governorships, etc.)
All have one thing in common: they believe the Dems. and Repubs. are not meeting certain needs

12. Nationally Organized 3rd Parties Today
Ralph Nader, Green Party
Reform Party
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Constitution Party (formerly the U.S. Taxpayers)
Natural Law Party
Each of these five parties has received 100,000 votes or more for at least one of its candidates in the past 20 years. (No other currently existing third party in America has done so.)
Harry Brown, Libertarian Party
Pat Buchanan, Reform Party
Howard Phillips, Natural Law Party
John Hagelin, Constitution Party

13. Third Parties, Cont’d.
2 third parties in Amer. history had an impact on our political system

14. Third Parties Cont’d. Progressive (or Bull Moose) Party
Broke away from the Republican Party
Led by Teddy Roosevelt, who had already been President of the U.S. for two terms
T.R. ran again as a Progressive, instead of as a Republican
Third Party as “spoiler” – Roosevelt took so many votes from Taft, the Repub. candidate, that the Democratic candidate, Wilson, won the election

15. Single-Issue Parties
3rd Party that’s formed only to promote one social, economic, or moral issue
They form to address a single issue
Prohibitionist Party of 1872: Wanted to outlaw alcohol
Single issue parties usually don’t last long

16. Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s nominee for president, 2008
Ideological Parties
Focus is on changing society in major ways
Green Party
Opposes the power of big corporations and favors decision-making at the local (grassroots) level
Socialist Labor Party & Communist Party USA
Support govt. ownership of factories, farms, transportation, and utilities like electricity, telephones, etc.
Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s nominee for president, 2008

17. Ideological Parties Cont’d.
Libertarian Party – Wants to cut size of the fed. govt. to increase individual freedoms

18. Independent Candidates
Sometimes a 3rd Party forms around a person who cannot get support from the Dems or Repubs
John Anderson and the Independent Party
Ross Perot and the Reform Party
Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party’s nominee for president, 2008

19. Difficulty for Independent Candidates
1) Rarely have enough $$$ to compete with Dems. or Repubs.
2) Must have a certain number of voter signatures to get their name on the ballot in each state
Dem. and Repub. candidates names are automatically put on presidential ballots
Ron Paul, presidential candidate in 2008 election

20. Difficulty for Independent Candidates, Cont’d.
3) Congressional districts only get to elect one member to the HOR
Since most people vote as Dem. or Repub., only candidates from those parties win seats in Congress

21. Other Party Systems Multi-Party Systems (MPS’s):
3 or more political parties compete for control of the government
Most other democracies have MPS’s
If all parties have equal support from the people, none can win a majority of votes, so two or more parties must form a coalition

22. Multi-Party Systems, Cont’d.
Coalition: When 2 or more polit. parties agree to compromise & work together so one can get elected
Advantage: All members of coalition can get something for the people who support them
Problem: Parties often disagree after the election and coalition breaks down, so nothing gets done in the govt. while that coalition is in office
Ex: Canada has three major parties; Israel has more than 20; Germany has five major parties

23. Multiparty Systems Cont’d.
Volatile situation that breaks down easily and becomes politically unstable
This means that nothing gets accomplished in the govt. legislature
Hitler – German National Workers Party

24. One Party Systems The political party and the govt. are the same thing
China – Communist Party – only party allowed to exist in China, and only Communist candidates can be elected to office
Iran – Muslim religious leaders control only polit. party (the Islamic Republican Party.)
All major opposition parties are outlawed

25. Today’s Major U.S. Parties
Major difference among Dems. and Repubs. is their belief in how much the govt. should be involved in the lives of Americans
Ex: Dems. believe the govt. should be more involved in the economy and in making sure that poor people have housing, income, education and jobs
Ex: Repubs. believe that if they help the economy grow , poor people will have a better chance of helping themselves without govt. assistance
Repubs. favor less govt. regulation of the economy as the best way to promote growth in production

26. How Political Parties are Organized Today
Describe the structure of political parties today

27. Dem’s. & Repub’s.: How They are Organized on Nat’l Level
Each party has a nat’l committee
50 reps per nat’l party committee – one from each state
Democratic National Committee Chairman, Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia
Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele

28. National Committees Cont’d.
Committee helps raise $$$ for pres. elections & organize party’s nat’l convention (held every four years to nominate party’s candidate for pres.)

29. Party Organization Cont’d.
Each nat’l committee has a nat’l party chairperson
Runs the committee, manages the main office, directs committee staff, lead fundraising efforts
Howard Dean, former chairman of DNC

30. National Convention
Event where party nominates its candidates for Pres. and V.P.
Delegates (elected party members) from each state meet & vote for party’s nominee for pres. candidate

31. Polit. Party Platform
Delegates write the party’s “platform” at the convention
Platform: Document that says what the party believes & its positions on election issues
Plank: Each individual part of the platform
Ex: Positions on abortion rights, taxes, education, military spending, etc.
Democratic Party Platform 2008
Republican Party Platform 2008

32. Two Ways Delegates are Chosen from each State
Presidential Primaries
State Caucuses

33. State and Local Organization
Current N.C. lieutenant governor, Bev Perdue, Democrat
Each party has a state-level committee in ea. of the 50 states
Goal of each:
Elect their party’s candidates to state offices like governor, state legislators, etc.
They also try to get their candidates into national offices (like pres., v.p., etc.)
N.C. Democratic Party Website
N.C. Republican Party website
Republican Charlotte mayor, Pat McCrory

34. Local Precincts
City or county is divided into election districts called precincts
All voters in a precinct vote at same place
Each precinct has a precinct captain who is in charge of trying to get voters registered to vote and to the polls on election day

35. Ward Several adjoining precincts
Party members from the ward choose a volunteer to represent their party on the county level

36. County Committees County chairperson Ea. major party has one
Runs county committee
Has lots of political power in the county

37. Grassroots Support Grassroots
“On the local level”
County Party Committees drum up support for the local level

38. Political Machines Name for a strong polit. party organization
Tammany Hall - notorious example of a political machine in NYC