The Party System as a whole

Question 1

coalitions of support

Answer 1

• as a two-party system, the Democrat and Republican Parties need to appeal to a broad range of voters in order to win elections.
• the party with the widest and broadest coalition in a diverse society like the US is likely to be successful.
• in 2012, Obama clearly had the widest coalition of supporters with particular strength in the growing sections of the population e.g. unmarried women and hispanics
• GOP had strong support amongst married white men and evangelical christians

Question 2

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

white men

Answer 2

obama: 38%
romney: 60%

Question 3

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

non married women

Answer 3

obama: 67%
romney: 31%

Question 4

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

white

Answer 4

obama: 39%
romney: 59%

Question 5

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

black

Answer 5

obama: 93%
romney: 6%

Question 6

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

Hispanic

Answer 6

obama: 71%

Question 7

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

Mormon

Answer 7

romney: 78%

Question 8

2012 presidential vote by demographic subgroup:

LGBT

Answer 8

obama: 76%
romney: 22%

Question 9

Political Polarisation

Answer 9

• refers to the divergence of political attitudes to ideological extremes
• when polarisation occurs in a two-party system, like the US, moderate voices often lose power and influence.
• the term polarisation is often used in conduction with the associated concept of partisanship, referring to the stronger psychological identification of Americans with one of the two parties.
• in the House, it is clear that the moderate wing of the GOP has declined significantly
• the traditional liberal wing of the Republican Party, known as the Rockerfeller Republicans, is now practically non-existent at a federal level
• in the Senate, most analysts argue that the most liberal Republican (susan collins) is more conservative than the most conservative Democrat
• on the Democrat side, the ideological centre of gravity has shifted to the left, but to a lesser extent than the GOP
• there is therefore greater ideological diversity amongst House Democrats than House Republicans.
• the moderate and centrist wings of each party have undeniably shrunk

Question 10

evidence to suggest that there is a variety of ideologies within each party

Answer 10

• California republicans (such as Arnold Schwarzenegger) are significantly more liberal than those in Texas or Louisiana.
• Georgian Democrats (such as John Barrow) are significantly more conservative than those in New Hampshire.

Question 11

Red state America vs Blue state America

Answer 11

• this phrase became particularly common around 2004 presidential election, when the result suggested that there were in essence two Americas, one which was socially conservative, religiously observant, predominantly white, rural and another which was socially liberal, secular, ethnically diverse and urban.
• other analysts have pointed out that if split by county the map is in fact more purple
• analysing the 2012 results would suggest that talk of ‘two americas’ is an over simplification

Question 12

party decline and renewal

Answer 12

• David Broder popularised the concept of party decline in the 1970s, suggesting that parties in the USA were declining seriously in their significant.

Question 13

reasons to suggests party significance has been in decline:

Answer 13

• presidential candidate selection: with the use of primaries and caucuses to select Presidential nominees since the 1970s, the national party organisations (the RNC and the DNC) no longer choose candidates. this process is now fulfilled by ordinary voters themselves
• candidate-centred campaigns: Voters in the US tend to vote for candidates rather than a party label. American voters are often issue-voters or valence-voters, and they may therefore be more concerned about an individual candidate’s record on a matter of importance to them, such as abortion, gun rights or the environment. split-ticket voting has also increased
• Media: television and “new media” means that parties no longer communicate directly to voters through traditional methods such as party rallies. Instead, individual candidates and politicians communicate directly to voters through the media
• Pressure groups and social movements: some have argued that pressure groups offer a more attractive prospect in terms of ideological representation than political parties. Certainly the rise of ‘grassroots’ movements such as the Tea Party Protests on the right and the Occupy movement on the left would suggest there is a decline in the importance of and voters’ attachment to parties as a vehicle of protest and social change
• ideological diversity: the Democrats and Republicans are still broad parties, and some have concluded that the US is more of a 50 party system as the parties in each state differ so significantly, suggesting parties on a national level aren’t significant

Question 14

reasons to suggests party significance havne’t been in decline and are undergoing party renewal:

Answer 14

Dominance of the two parties: almost all elected officials are either a Republican or a Democrat. This points to a very high level of stability and suggests that the parties are relatively important
Super delegates: The parties have tried to reassert control over the Presidential nomination process by introducing ‘super delegates’. These are unbound delegates at the National Convention who are retired or professional politicians (usually party elders) who receive a greater weighted vote than the delegates selected during the primary process. In 2008 these super delegates could have made the difference between Obama and Hillary Clinton in winning the Democrat nomination, as in that year each super delegate was worth approximately 10,000 Democrat primary voters.
- nationalised election campaign: Both parties have tightened the rules in terms of the conduct of primaries and caucuses e.g. punishing the phenomenon of front-loading. Moreover, whereas Congressional campaigns were traditionally very candidate-centred, recent elections have been much more national in character, with the GOP publishing a manifesto-style document in 1994 (Contract with America), the democrats publishing Six for 06 in 2006 and GOP fighting essentially national anti-Obama campaign in 2010 (and publishing Pledge to America)
- Partisanship: since Clinton’s presidency there has been a significant increase in Congressional partisanship, with parties voting as a ‘bloc’ much more often. For instance, not a single Republican voted in favour of Obamacare in 2010. The impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998 is often cited as the beginning of this process, as party designation became increasingly important in how Congressman and Senators votes
Polarisation: The parties have become more internally ideologically cohesive since the 1970s and more distinct from one another. While there are still state and regional variations, the differences between the Party Platforms (published every four years) does suggest that the parties are more than a mere label.

Question 15

Third Parties:

The Libertarian Party

Answer 15

• promotes the ideas of libertarianism (negative freedom as a political end:government not providing freedom e.g. not state education, free healthcare) and free market, laissez fair capitalism (very limited
• current policy positions include lowering taxes, allowing people to opt-out of Social Security, abolishing welfare, ending the prohibition on illegal drugs, and supporting gun ownership rights

Question 16

Third Parties:

The Green Party

Answer 16

• emphasises environmentalism, non hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace, and non-violence.
• on the left of political spectrum and left of democrats

Question 17

Thirds Parties:

The Constitution Party

Answer 17

• conservative political party that asserts that the US is a Christian nation founded on the Bible and that US jurisprudence should be restored to what the party claims is its “biblical foundations”. The constitution party advocates a platform which reflects the Party’s understanding of the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the constitution of the US, the Bible, and the Bill of Rights
• right side of political spectrum
• policies reflect authoritarian social attitudes

Question 18

Successes of thirds parties

Answer 18

• although they rarely win, thirds party candidates can have an effect on elections
• in 2000 election, some argued that Al Gore would have won if the Green Ralph Nader had not stood
• sometimes, thirds parties have won votes in the electoral college e.g. in 1968 when ex-Democrat George Wallace stood on a pro-segregation platform as an ‘America Independent’
• Also a third party may be use by the voter to cast a protest vote as a form of referendum on an important issue
• recent electoral victories by third parties include a socialist candidate being elected to the Seattle City Council in January 2014, and the second place finish by the Constitution party candidate in the 2010 colorado gubernatorial election.

Question 19

Barriers to third parties:

Answer 19

• electoral system: FPTP is used in US elections which harms 3rd parties. Ross Perot won 19% of the vote in 1992 but no Electoral College votes, evidence that this harms national parties. regional parties may be able to concentrate support more effectively (e.g. George Wallace in 1968)
• Campaign finance laws: Third Parties can only qualify for federal ‘matching funds’ if they gained 5% of the national vote in the previous election
• state access ballot laws: States have different regulations about how to get onto the ballot paper. In Montana a party must collect the signatures of at least 5% of registered voters to appear on the ballot at the election
• Two party dominance: One of the major parties may incorporate popular third party proposals into their platforms, thus blunting the appeal of the third party itself. Since the growth of the green party from 2000 the democrats have had a notably more environmentalist outlook. many third party candidates are associated with the Democrats or Republicans e.g. the Contitution Party candidate in the 2010 Colorado gubernatorial election, Tom Tancredo, was a former Republican, and rejoined the Republicans in 2011.
• Too ideological: Parties like the Constitution Party and the Socialist Party are often considered on the ideological fringe of US politics
• Media Coverage: The US media rarely cover third parties. For instance, the 2012 Third Party Presidential Debate was not covered by any major US network.