chapter 8
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter 8: Political Parties
• The Meaning of Party• The Party in the Electorate• The Party Organizations: From the Grass
Roots to Washington• The Party in Government: Promises and Policy• Party Eras in American History• Third Parties: Their Impact on American
Politics• Understanding Political Parties• Summary
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• The Meaning of Party• LO 8.1: Identify the functions that political
parties perform in American democracy.
• The Party in the Electorate• LO 8.2: Determine the significance of party
identification in America today.
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Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington• LO 8.3: Describe how political parties are
organized in the United States.
• The Party in Government: Promises and Policy• LO 8.4: Evaluate how well political parties
generally do in carrying out their promises.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• Party Eras in American History• LO 8.5: Differentiate the various party eras
in American history.
• Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics• LO 8.6: Assess both the impact of third
parties on American politics and their limitations.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• Understanding Political Parties• LO 8.7: Evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages of responsible party government.
The Meaning of PartyLO 8.1: Identify the functions that political parties perform in American democracy.
• Tasks of the Parties• Parties, Voters, and Policy: The
Downs Model
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Meaning of Party
• Political Party• A team of men and women seeking to
control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.
• 3 Parts of a Political Party• Party in the electorate• Party as an organization• Party in government
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Meaning of Party
• Tasks of the Parties• Pick Candidates• Run Campaigns• Give Cues to Voters• Articulate Policies• Coordinate Policymaking
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
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The Meaning of Party
• Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model• Rational-choice theory – People act in
their own best interests, weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.
• Downs Model – (1) Voters want policies they favor adopted by government, and (2) parties want to win elected office.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
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The Party in the ElectorateLO 8.2: Determine the significance of party identification in America today.
• Party Image• The voter’s perception of what the
Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism.
• Party Identification• A citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for
one party or the other.
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.2
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Party in the Electorate
• Ticket Splitting• Voting with one party for one office and
with another party for other offices.• It has become the norm in American voting
behavior.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.2
The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to WashingtonLO 8.3: Describe how political parties are organized in the United States.
• Local Parties• The 50 State Party Systems• The National Party Organizations
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington
• Local Parties• Party Machines – Political party
organization that relies heavily on material inducements to win votes and to govern.
• Patronage – A job, promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than merit; used by party machines.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.3
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.3
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington
• The 50 State Party Systems• Closed primaries – People who have
registered with the party can vote for party’s candidates.
• Open primaries – Voters decide on Election Day to vote in the Democrat or Republican primary.
• Blanket primaries – A list of candidates from all parties.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.3
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The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington
• National Party Organizations• National Convention – Meeting of party
delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and the party’s platform.
• National Committee – Keep party operating between conventions.
• National Chairperson – Day-to-day activities of the party.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.3
The Party in Government: Promises and PolicyLO 8.4: Evaluate how well political parties generally do in carrying out their promises.
• Party in Government• Elected officials who call themselves
members of the party.
• Coalition• Individuals and groups that support the
political party.
• Promises and Policies• Parties translate their platform promises
into public policy.To Learning Objectives
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To Learning Objectives
LO 8.4
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Party Eras in American HistoryLO 8.5: Differentiate the various party eras in American history.
• Party Eras• Periods in which a majority of votes cling to
party in power.
• Critical Election• Electoral “earthquake” where new issues and
new coalitions emerge
• Party Realignment• Displacement of majority party by the minority
party, usually during a critical election.To Learning Objectives
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Party Eras in American History
• 1796–1824: The First Party System• 1828–1856: Jackson and the Democrats
Versus the Whigs• 1860–1928: The Two Republican Eras• 1932–1964: The New Deal Coalition• 1968–Present: Southern Realignment and
the Era of Divided Party Government
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Party Eras in American History
• 1796–1824: The First Party System• Federalist Party was the first political party
and capitalists supported the Federalists.• Democratic-Republican Party derived its
coalition from agrarian interests and dominated the era after the 1800 election.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Party Eras in American History
• 1828–1856: Jackson and the Democrats Versus the Whigs• Democrats coalition included Westerners,
Southerners, new immigrants, and settled America.
• Whigs coalition included Northern industrialists and Southern planters.
• Democrats dominated this era.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Party Eras in American History
• 1860–1928: The Two Republican Eras• The main issue of the election of 1860 was
slavery.• The main issue of the election of 1896 was
the economy.• Republicans dominated both party eras by
forming new coalitions and winning both elections.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Party Eras in American History
• 1932–1964: New Deal Coalition• A coalition forged by the Democrats who
dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s.
• Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Party Eras in American History
• 1968–Present: Southern Realignment and the Era of Divided Party Government• 1987 Southern delegates – 39 of 116
House seats and 6 of 22 Senate seats were from GOP.
• 2009 Southern delegates – 70 of 131 House seats and 15 of 22 Senate seats were from GOP.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Party Eras in American History
• 1968–Present: Southern Realignment and the Era of Divided Party Government (cont.)• Divided government – When one party
controls the White House and the other party controls one or both houses of Congress.
• Both houses of Congress and the presidency have been controlled by the same party for just 14 of the 44 years from 1969 to 2012.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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Party Eras in American History
• 1968–Present: Southern Realignment and the Era of Divided Party Government (cont.)• Party dealignment – The gradual
disengagement of people from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
Third Parties: Their Impact on American PoliticsLO 8.6: Assess both the impact of third parties on American politics and their limitations.
• Third Parties• Electoral contenders other than the two
major parties.
• Three Basic Varieties• Promote certain causes.• Splinter parties.• Extension of popular individual with
presidential aspirations. To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.6
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics
• Third Parties Are Important• Bring new groups to electorate.• Serve as safety valves for popular
discontent.• Put many social reforms on the political
agenda.• Bring new issues to the campaign ignored
by the major parties.To Learning Objectives
LO 8.6
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Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics
• Two-Party Governance• Moderation of political conflict.• Contributes to political ambiguity.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.6
Understanding Political PartiesLO 8.7: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of responsible party government.
• Democracy and Responsible Party Government: How Should We Govern?
• American Political Parties and the Scope of Government
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Understanding Political Parties
• Democracy and Responsible Party Government: How Should We Govern?• Responsible party model – A view about
how parties should work.• Party should offer clear choices to the voters,
who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates.
• Party in government should carry out their campaign promises.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.7
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.7
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Understanding Political Parties
• Democracy and Responsible Party Government: How Should We Govern? (cont.)• Blue Dog Democrats – Fiscally
conservative Democrats who are mostly from the South and rural parts of the United States and are resistant to any domestic policy proposals that would enlarge the scope of government.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.7
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Understanding Political Parties
• American Political Parties and the Scope of Government• Lack of uniformity keeps government
small, but also makes cutting government programs difficult.
• Individual politicians focus on getting more from government for their own constituents.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.7
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LO 8.1Summary
• The Meaning of Party• Political parties are a key linkage between
policymakers and people.• They operate in the electorate; as
organizations; and in government.• Political parties pick candidates, run
campaigns, give cues to voters, articulate policies, and coordinate policymaking between the branches of government.
To Learning Objectives
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The core function of a political party is to
A. field candidates for elected office.B. provide a voting cue to the
electorate.C. try to win elections.D. organize a national office.E. guide policymakers’ decisions.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
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The core function of a political party is to
A. field candidates for elected office.B. provide a voting cue to the
electorate.C. try to win elections.D. organize a national office.E. guide policymakers’ decisions.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.1
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LO 8.2Summary
• The Party in the Electorate• Party identification is the most important factor
in explaining the political behavior of voters.• People who do not identify with a party are
political independents, are crucial swing voters who can go either way, are more likely to split their tickets, and are more likely to be young people.
To Learning Objectives
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Party is a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other.
A. competitionB. imageC. identificationD. platform
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.2
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Party is a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other.
A. competitionB. imageC. identificationD. platform
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.2
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LO 8.3Summary
• The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington• Political party organizations are decentralized
and fragmented.• National party can rarely tell state parties what
to do.• State party organizations have a good deal of
discretion as to how to choose their nominees for state and local offices.
To Learning Objectives
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LO 8.3Summary
• The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington (cont.)• Some states have closed primaries and others
have open primaries.• National convention is supreme power of party,
which nominates the president and vice president candidates and sets party policy.
• National chairperson guides party activities between conventions.
To Learning Objectives
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The internal organization of political parties in the United States is best characterized as
A. hierarchical.B. fragmented.C. centralized.D. rigidly determined.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.3
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The internal organization of political parties in the United States is best characterized as
A. hierarchical.B. fragmented.C. centralized.D. rigidly determined.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.3
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LO 8.4Summary
• The Party in Government: Promises and Policy• Political parties affect policy through their
platforms.• Despite much cynicism about party platforms,
they serve as important roadmaps for elected officials once they come into office.
• More promises are generally kept than broken.
To Learning Objectives
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By and large, American political have kept most of their platform promises and translated them into public policy.
A. agendasB. partiesC. interest groupsD. ideologies
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.4
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By and large, American political have kept most of their platform promises and translated them into public policy.
A. agendasB. partiesC. interest groupsD. ideologies
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.4
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LO 8.5Summary
• Party Eras in American History• Throughout American history, one party has
generally been dominant for a substantial period of time.
• The first party era, from 1796 to 1824, was dominated by the Democratic-Republicans, whose agricultural base defeated the business-oriented Federalists.
To Learning Objectives
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LO 8.5Summary
• Party Eras in American History (cont.)• The newly formed Democratic Party dominated
from 1828 to 1856 pushing for power for ordinary individuals.
• The newly formed Republican Party came to power in 1860 and dominated American politics through 1928 by first standing firm against slavery and then successfully promoting the interests of industrialization.
To Learning Objectives
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LO 8.5Summary
• Party Eras in American History (cont.)• The Great Depression led to a reversal of party
fortunes, with the Democrats establishing the New Deal coalition that usually prevailed from 1932 to 1964.
• Since 1968, neither party has been able to hold the reins of power for long, and a frequent result has been divided government.
To Learning Objectives
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A party dealignment is considered to be the
A. fragmentation of a political party into splinter parties.
B. loss of party members as more people identify as Independents.
C. loss of party members to the other party.
D. shuffling of party coalitions.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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A party dealignment is considered to be the
A. fragmentation of a political party into splinter parties.
B. loss of party members as more people identify as Independents.
C. loss of party members to the other party.
D. shuffling of party coalitions.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.5
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LO 8.6Summary
• Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics• Third parties in the United States have brought
new groups into the electorate and have served as a vehicle for sending a protest message to the two major parties.
• The American winner-take-all electoral system makes it hard for third parties to win elections.
To Learning Objectives
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Third parties in American politics typically
A. encourage major party candidates to take extreme positions.
B. win elections in American politics.
C. promote a broad range of moderate policy ideas.
D. bring new groups into politics.
E. replace one of the two major parties during realignments.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.6
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Third parties in American politics typically
A. encourage major party candidates to take extreme positions.
B. win elections in American politics.
C. promote a broad range of moderate policy ideas.
D. bring new groups into politics.
E. replace one of the two major parties during realignments.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.6
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LO 8.7Summary
• Understanding Political Parties• Responsible party government is when parties
offer clear policy choices which generate clearly identifiable outcomes.
• That is, at least in theory, parties say what they plan to do and once in office carry out these plans.
To Learning Objectives
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LO 8.7Summary
• Understanding Political Parties (cont.)• The main disadvantage is that the party
discipline necessary for a party to carry out its pledges requires members of the party in government to toe the line without regard to constituency preferences.
• Individualism in American politics would be stifled by a truely responsible government.
To Learning Objectives
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According to the responsible party model, parties should offer
A. clear choices to the voters.B. money and national health care to
the voters.C. jobs, promotions, and rewards to
the voters.D. inducements and contracts to the
voters.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.7
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According to the responsible party model, parties should offer
A. clear choices to the voters.B. money and national health care to
the voters.C. jobs, promotions, and rewards to
the voters.D. inducements and contracts to the
voters.
To Learning Objectives
LO 8.7
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Text Credits
• Courtesy of Pew Research Center.
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Photo Credits
• 245: AP Photo• 247: Matt Browner- Hamlin• 254: Jean Claude Le Jeune• 258: TOLES c 2000 the Washington Post. Reprinted with permission of Universal
Press Syndicate. All Rights Reserved• 263: The Granger Collection• 266: Neno/PhotoEdit