Political Parties

What is a Political Party? Group that seeks to elect

governmental officials under a given label

The primary goal of a political party is to win control of government

Roles of political parties Electioneering

Nominate candidates Simplify voting choices Serve as voting and issue cue

Provide stability and policy direction “big tents” Coordinate actions of government

officials Propose and pass programs

Why does America have a two-party system? single-member districts instead

of proportional representation Ballot obstacles and funding

challenges Lack of media attention political socialization and dualist

theory absorption of third party issues

Nader campaign 2004

Nader faced numerous lawsuits about ballot access

Campaign spending Expensive presidential campaign Incumbent v. challenger spending

in Wisconsin (finances) Incumbent advantage overall in

2004

Three faces of political parties Party in government Party in the electorate Party organization

Party in government party structures the operation of

government Congressional leaders are chosen on

the basis of the controlling party reason--set the agenda for what

government will do

House Senate

435 Members100 Senators(Vice President votes in case of a tie)

229 Republicans205 Democrats1 Independent

51 Republicans48 Democrats1 Independent

108th Congress

House Senate

435 Members100 Senators(Vice President votes in case of a tie)

232 Republicans201 Democrats1 Independent

Republicans up by 3

55 Republicans44 Democrats1 Independent

Republicans up by 4

109th Congress

House of Representatives House tends to be

more partisan Dennis Hastert

(Speaker) Nancy Pelosi

                       

Senate Bill Frist, Senate

Majority Leader Who is the Senate

Minority Leader? Leadership of

congressional committees goes to the majority party

Party unity Political parties hold members

accountable for voting party will Trends in congressional voting

Figure 12.3 (455) Republican split with president? Ability of parties to raise funds

Party in the electorate Party identification: person’s

affinity for a party, usually resulting in voting for party’s candidates

Roughly split between Republicans, Democrats and Independents

Split-ticket voting

voter chooses candidates from different parties

May lead to divided government

candidate, issue or party centered voting Vast majority of Americans insist

they vote for “the person, not the party”

What are the benefits/weaknesses of each type?

Optional writing assignment visit the websites of the Republican and

the Democratic National Committees (http://www.rnc.org and http://www.democrats.org/) and answer the following: what is the focus for each party? Which site do you prefer, and why? Which party (if either) do you agree with, and why?

Due Tuesday, March 8

Judicial assignment Supreme Court decisions that are

on the docket (www.oyez.org) Choose a case, choose a justice,

predict or describe opinion What happened this week

Political parties (review) Party in government

Ability of party to control leadership positions

Party unity Party in the electorate

Extent people identify with one party Party as voting cue (candidate, issue

or party centered voting)

Democratic party regroups New chair of the Democratic

National Committee What does each speaker (Elaine

Kamarck, Jesse Jackson, Sen. John Breaux, Rep. Tim Ryan) say went wrong?

Party unity Political parties hold members

accountable for voting party will Trends in congressional voting

indicate unity is increasing. Why? Ability of parties to raise funds

However, Congress represents US!

What happens when local and party interests conflict?

Party organization Republican and Democratic

national party committees (national conventions)

State-level committees County-level organizations

Parties appeal directly to voters

DNC RNC

Do these appeals go too far?

Responsible party model Parties are distinct, with clear

platforms People vote according to party Elected officials follow party wishes Party holds elected officials using

label accountable To what extent does this model

describe political parties today?

Redistricting and parties 2000 census requires redistricting Power of parties: state

legislatures/governors