1. Political Parties in Action
AP US Government
Chapter 9

2. State and Local Parties Two Party System Minor Parties
Presentation Outline
State and Local Parties
Two Party System
Minor Parties
Nominating a President

3. 1) State and Local Parties
In every state, there is a Democratic and a Republican state party organized under state law
State central committee - county committee - city, town, and precinct committees
How are these committees selected?

4. Tammany Hall in New York
A Political Machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives – money, political jobs, and opportunity to get favors from government
Tammany Hall in New York
William “Boss” Tweed

5. During the 1870s, 1 out of every 8 voters in New York had a federal, state, or city job

6. The abuses of the machines led to stricter laws and regulations
Stricter voter registration laws reduced fraud
Civil service reforms cut down the number of patronage jobs
Competitive-bidding laws made it harder to award overpriced contracts to favored business
Richard J. Daley

7. At the opposite extreme from the machine is the ideological party – a party that values principled stands on issues above all else
Most ideological parties are independent third parties such as the Socialists, Socialists Workers, Libertarian, and Right-to-Life parties

8. Solidary Groups are groups that people join to respond to solidary incentives – the social rewards that lead people to join political organizations
They enjoy the game, they meet interesting people, and they like the sense of being “in the know”
Most of the people prefer the friendships and interest in politics rather than the issues themselves
Groups tend to be neither corrupt nor inflexible but they also tend not to work very hard

9. A sponsored party is a local or state political party that is largely supported by another organization in the community
The Democratic party in Detroit has been developed, led, and financed by the political-action arm of the United Auto Workers union

10. Most candidates will often try to create a personal following – the political support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks
Sometimes a candidate will try to meld a personal following with an ideological group when candidates need financial backing

11. To form a personal following, a candidate must have an appealing personality, a lot of friends, or a big bank account (Kennedy and Bush families)
Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Senator Ted Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy

12. George P. Bush- future presidential candidate?
President George W. Bush
President George H.W. Bush
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush

13. 2) The Two-Party System
Despite the decentralized party system and lack of a single party identity, it is remarkable that for the most part, the US has a two-party system – an electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections
Only 15 states of the world have a two-party system (195 countries)
Most have a multi-party system

14. At the state and local levels, the parties are not evenly balanced
Parties are not as competitive in state elections

15. Why has the two-party system been a relative permanent fixture in the United States’ political system?
Elections at every level of government are based on the plurality, winner-take-all method
Plurality system – an electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if her or she does not receive a majority
Plurality system versus majority system
(ex. France)

16. In every state except Maine and Nebraska, the candidate that wins the most popular votes, wins all of the state’s electoral vote
Minor parties can not compete under this system - “wasted vote”

17. How are Republicans and Democrats seen as different in recent surveys?
Democrats have been better at handling such issues as poverty, the environment, and health care
Republicans have been seen as better in handling issues such as national defense, foreign trade, and crime
Voters are generally split over who has done a better job handling the economy and taxes
Some states have made it difficult for third party candidates to get on the ballots

18. 3) Minor Parties
The electoral system prevents minor parties from winning but does not prevent them from forming
Minor parties have been a permanent fixture in American political culture

19. There are 4 types of minor parties
Ideological Party – Parties professing a comprehensive view of American society and government that is radically different from that of the established parties (Socialist Party; Libertarian Party)
One-Issue Party – Parties seeking a single policy, and avoiding other issues (Prohibition Party)
Economic-Protest Party – Parties, usually based in a particular region that protest against depressed economic conditions (Populist Party)
Factional Party – Parties that are created by a split in a major party, usually over the identity and philosophy of the major party’s presidential candidate (Bull-Moose Party; Dixiecrats)

20. Few minor parties have ever carried states
1892 – Populist party (5 states)

21. 1948 – States’ Rights Democrats (Dixiecrats)

22. 1968 – American Independent Party (5 states)

23. Factional parties have probably had the greatest influence on public policy
Mugwumps, Bull-Moose, Dixiecrats, and Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996 and Ralph Nader in 2000 and 2004

25. 4) Nominating a President
The major parties face two contrary forces
The desire to win the presidency pushes them in the direction of nominating a candidate who can appeal to the majority of voters and more moderate
The need to keep dissident elements of the party from bolting and forming a third party leads them to compromise with dissident or extremists

26. Who votes in primaries?
Delegates may be unrepresentative of the party rank and file because they are chosen in caucuses and primary elections whose participants are unrepresentative
Before 1972, most delegates were picked by party leaders, primaries were relatively unimportant and voter caucuses were almost unheard-of
Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and Hubert Humphrey in 1968 won the Democratic nomination without even entering a primary
After 1972, the vast majority of delegates were selected in primaries and caucuses

27. Only about half as many people vote in primaries as in general elections
Minnesota

28. In presidential primaries, a good fight draws a crowd
The Democratic primaries in 2008 between Obama and Clinton
February

29. Primaries also differ than caucuses – a meeting of party members to select delegates backing one or another primary candidate