1. Organization of Political Parties AP GoPo

2. 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 – How many?

3. 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

4. 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?

5. 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’s in Obama’s Cabinet?

6. 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?

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. Thoughts? What are your thoughts on political parties after creating your own and knowing what you know about the Democrats & Republicans?