Unit 11: Parties Flashcards
Political Parties
A group of people working together to win elections.
Often thought of as being in three related parts:
1) governmental party: office holders & candidates
2) organizational party: activists & workers
3) party in the electorate: voters who identify themselves with the party
Evolution of Political Parties
A) Early parties were weak - usually one candidate trying to take down another.
1) The Civil War led to a period of Republican dominance
2) The Great Depression brought Democrats to power
3) The Rise of the Evangelicals: in the 1970s, conservative Christians upset over the Democrats’ embracing the radical left become politically active for the Republicans. This caused the most recent period of GOP dominance.
Why Political Parties Lost Influence
A) Direct primary elections took the power of nominating candidates away from party bosses and gave it to the voters.
B) Civil service laws (like the Pendleton Act) ended patronage & the spoils system.
C) The end of mass European immigration eventually stopped the old political machines.
D) Politics became less party-orientated and more issue- and candidate-centered.
E) Split-ticket voting became more common.
F) Candidates began to rely more on political consultants than their parties for support and advice.
G) The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) severely limits $ contributions to parties.
Why Political Parties Remain Important
A) They remain effective vehicles for mass political participation.
B) They have adapted to changing times (issues, concerns, etc.).
C) They remain resilient, able to bounce back from even landslide losses.
D) Party polarization is on the rise.
Party polarization
increased ideological consistency & divisions along party lines
The Roles of Political Parties
A) Politicians count on them to deliver automatic support for their policies.
B) They enforce compromise & moderation on politically extreme members.
C) They facilitate cooperation between executive & legislative branches, legislative houses, and state & Federal governments.
D) They are an additional line of communication between people & government.
E) They moderate regionalism and sectionalism by reaching out to all segments of the country in an effort to build winning majorities of voters.
F) They encourage voting, and promote policies to the public.
G) They serve as “political shorthand” for less-informed voters.
H) They screen out unsuitable candidates for office during the nominating process.
The Structure of Political Parties
A) National Committees (DNC & RNC): aid their parties’ presidential campaigns and conduct general party-building activities.
B) Congressional & Senate Committees: focus on increasing their party’s representation in Congress, by raising campaign funds & recruiting candidates.
C) National Chairperson: elected by the National Committee, he acts to reconcile intra-party disputes, raise campaign funds, and as party spokesperson.
D) Informal Groups: party organizations are closely allied with many political action committees (PACs), labor unions, civil rights groups, & “think tanks.”
Political Parties in Government - Congress
A) Their influence is most obvious here, as party caucuses elect partisan leaders (Ex.: Speaker, floor leaders, whips) who organize & operate the Congress.
B) These leaders enforce party discipline, punishing members of Congress who stray too far from the party line.
C) Elections have grown more centered on candidates and less on party, making discipline less effective. Still, members vote with their party about 70%.
Political Parties in Government - The Presidency
A) In public perception, as the President goes, so does his party.
B) Parties help Presidents win Congressional support. Presidents can help their party in Congress by recruiting candidates, raising $, campaigning, or providing “coattails” (attracting votes for their party’s Congressional candidates).
C) Some Presidents (FDR, Bush I) work hard to help their parties; others (Ike, Nixon, Carter) much less so. Some succeed (Reagan) and others fail (Clinton).
Political Parties Today - The Republican Party
A) Most fund-raising done by direct-mail solicitations. These garner mainly small donations, but millions of them.
B) Enjoys dedicated, ideologically-driven grassroots volunteer campaign workers.
C) Focuses on getting existing supporters out to vote, rather than reaching out to undecided voters.
D) Generally has more reliable voter turnout amongst its supporters.
Political Parties Today - The Democratic Party
A) Most fund-raising done from a relatively few big donors and “soft money”
(donations by outside groups) from special interests (PACs, unions, trial
lawyers, environmental groups).
B) Have had improved success in candidate recruitment, supporting:
1) millionaire candidates who can spend their own fortunes campaigning.
2) more moderate candidates in the Southern and Plains states.
Political Trends in the Electorate
A) After a century of one-party rule, Democrats face uphill battles in the South. The GOP has a similar tough time in the Northeast & on the West Coast.
B) Democrats enjoy strong support from women (“gender gap”), Black and
Hispanic Americans, and young people.
C) Business executives, white-collar workers, union members and the jobless are more likely with the Democrats. Non-union blue-collar workers tend to be GOP.
D) Married people lean toward supporting the GOP. Divorced and widowed/widowered people favor the Democrats.
Party Polarization
A) Def: Clear and wide differences between the parties on issues. Caused by:
1) Parties members are more ideologically-driven (very conservative/liberal)
2) Parties increasingly rely on ideologically-driven activists.
3) Gerrymandering: Congressmen run in “safe” districts and can be more extreme.
4) Media focus on ideological extremism.
5) Lower levels of trust or dislike among members of Congress.
6) Direct primaries: most participants are ideological voters.
7) More highly ideological interest groups.
B) Effect is lack of compromise and gridlock (fewer laws passed; confirmation becomes more difficult = greater numbers of vacancies in courts and bureaucracy).
Minor (“Third”) Political Parties
I. Types
A) Sectionalist: favor the interests of one region (Example: the Dixiecrats)
B) Economic Protest: angered by particular economic changes (Ex.: the pro-farmer Populists).
C) Single-Issue: members fight for an idea they believe the major parties neglect (Ex.: the Vegetarian Party, who wanted to outlaw eating meat).
D) Ideological: support “radical” belief systems (Ex.: American Communist Party).
E) Splinter: follow charismatic leaders out of a major party (Ex.: Teddy Roosevelt’s “Bull Moose” Party.)
F) Some parties combine these traits (Ex.: George Wallace’s American Independent Party was partly Sectionalist, Single-Issue, and Splinter).
G) One thing they all have in common: they don’t win elections.
Why Minor Parties Stay Minor
A) “Winner-take-all” Electoral College.
B) Cannot always get enough signatures to get candidates listed on ballots.
C) Difficulties raising money, and limited access to public campaign funding.
D) Not included in debates.
E) Little media coverage.
F) Single-member districts in Congress: only the winners in individual states/ districts win seats.
G) Most voters believe casting a ballot for a minor party is a “wasted vote.”
