Political PartiesKylie HughesJonathan TurciosPeriod 3

Political Parties• Political parties form for the simple purpose of

winning elections.• It is a group of people who share common goals

and attempt to control government.• Difference between political parties and interest

groups is that:• Larger• Address more issues• Nominates and runs candidates for office.• Interest Group- Group of individuals who

strongly support a certain political cause. The cause may be an item of legislation, an industry, or a particular section of society. Such as the NRA.

Political Structure• The basic structure of

the two major political parties in the U.S. are described as coalitional.

• Coalition means each party consists of a variety of groups that come together to win elections.

• These groups usually agree on vague ideas, however there’s a lot of tension that forms.

• Parties in other countries exhibit a structure labeled as ideological.

• This means a group or party that is built around a set of principles.

• Because there is a lot of cultures throughout Texas, ideological groups tend to not work because the political parties need to appeal to a broad sets of ideas.

Conventions•Conventions- are formal party

meetings to select leadership delegates and create platforms.

•Platforms - the statement of principles passed by a political party’s convention.

•There are 4 types of conventions.• State• County• Precinct• Senatorial District

Democratic Party

•One of the first political parties to organize in Texas were the Democrats, who were established in 1884.

•During this period in time, there wasn’t much competition so Democrats fought Democrats in elections. The key group in this would be factions.

•Factions- divisions within a political party•Each faction varied in size but had similar

views on issues.

Factions•Redeemers- got their name because they

wanted to “redeem” the South from the Republicans.

•Liberals- supported Roosevelt's New Deal programs.

•Conservatives- disliked Roosevelt and HATED his New Deal programs.

•Texas Regulars- A conservative faction of the Democratic party during the 1940’s.

•Democrats of Texas- A liberal faction of the Democratic Party during the 1950’s.

Retrenchment• Fun Fact: The victory of Republican Bill Clements in

the 1978’s governor’s race ended 105 years of Democratic control of that office.

• At that point Democrats realized that they no longer have the luxury to fight amongst themselves. They wanted to keep all their supporters which included

• Minorities• Labor unions• Blue collar workers• Rural Conservatives (Yellow Dog Democrats)

• The Democrats still till this day do well among both African Americans and Hispanics.

Democratic Platform•Believe in a strong national government

that protects the interest of individuals while promoting a stronger union. Calls for increased national government spending.

Republican Platform•Believes that decision making should be

closest to the people, with significant powers dispersed to state and local governments. Downsizing the federal government.

Republican Party

• Before 2003, the last republican party that controlled Texas was during the reign of E.J. Davis.

• Although Democrats were dominating, two factors caused the state to turn more Republican.

• One factor was that the national party started to become more liberal but the state party stayed conservative.

• The other factor was the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties in 1952.

Slow Growth

•Senator Tower’s 1961 victory started the foundation for the growth of the Republican Party. He won again in 1966 and 1972.

•In 1978, Tower not only won again, but a Republican Governor was also elected for the first time since Reconstruction.

•Democrats still controlled the legislature though.

The Reagan Revolution

• In 1982, the Republicans took a step back when they lost the governor’s office.

• They rebounded quick in 1984 when Reagan and Bush ran the ticket again.

• Texas couldn’t be considered a two-party state in 1986 because the Republicans showed an inability to win statewide down-ballot races.

• Down-ballot races- contests below the level of the president, governor, or U.S. senator.

• So these include the lieutenant governor, attorney general, Supreme Court justice, railroad commissioner, and comptroller.

Two-Party State

• Texas became a two-party state on Election Day of 1988.

• Texans voted for Republican candidate George Bush.

• Then in the down ballot races, Republicans won 3 Supreme Court seats, chief justice, and railroad commissioner.

Party Politics in the New Millennium

•As the Republican Party has risen, it was plagued with factionalism.

•It’s divided into 3 different factions:•Economic Conservatives- believe in

lower taxes and less business regulation•Libertarian Conservatives- fear

government intrusion on an individual’s life

•Social Conservatives- believe the biggest problems are caused by nation’s moral decay