Unit 3 Topic 2 - Political Parties Flashcards
Give an overview of US political parties
• Political parties are considered weak and ill-disciplined:
o Primaries. Weakens the authority of the party, as the voter chooses the nominee. Also the development of mixed and open primaries
o Patronage. Jobs no longer the product of patronage e.g. now calls for US ambassadors to be professionals
• Brogan: ‘like two empty bottles, with different labels, both empty’, they are umbrella parties – ideologically indistinct
• The trend has been towards American seeing the parties as far more distinct à1972, 46% said there were important differences in what the Republicans and Democrats stand for compared to 78% in 2008
• From 1960 to 1994, the Democrats always had a majority of southern House Representatives, southern senators and southern governors
• 1994, Republicans had a majority in each of these southern positions. In 2012 all 11 southern governors were Republican and held 98 out of 138 southern house seats
• In just 50 years political landscape shifted. Has led to polarisation of US politics
Explain the national organisation of parties
- The USA has a federal system of government. Federalism is a decentralised form of government. The more centralised the government, the more centralised the party system. Thus, US political parties are decentralised. Certainly there is some national organisation but it does not amount to much. US political parties are principally state-based.
- The two major US parties – Democrats and Republicans – do have something of a national organisation, but it is fairly limited. Each has a National Committee. The Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee are each headed by a party chairman. He or she acts as a spokesperson for the national party, especially in the media, and is responsible for the day to day running of the party. Although the DNC and RNC meet in full session only twice a year, they are permanent organisations with offices in Washington DC. Each party holds a National Convention every 4 years.
- Not only are there national committees, but each party has Congressional committees. Both parties have committees in both houses of Congress that oversee policy making and campaigning (e.g. Senate Democratic Policy Committee; National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee; Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee).
Explain the state organisation of parties
• Everything else is done at state or local level. At that level, the organisation of each party looks something like this:
o State Party Convention
o State Party Committee (headed by the state party chairman)
o County Committees
o District Committees
o City Committees
o Ward Committees Precinct Committees
• So it is worth noting that US political parties really have no one who can truly be called the ‘party leader’. The President might be said to be the ‘leader of the party’, but this carries little weight. The party not in control of the White House does not even have that level of national leadership. Except for the period – once every 4 years – between the National Party Convention and the holding of the Presidential Election, when both parties do have someone who maybe looks and sounds like a national leader, US national political parties are pretty leaderless. Parties have leaders in Congress – speaker of the House, majority and minority leaders in each chamber and so one – but their power, such as it is, rarely extends beyond Capitol Hill.
• The power of the state parties can be seen at election time in the process of selecting candidates for elections to Congress. Take, for example, the Republicans’ nomination for the open Senate seat in Delaware in 2010. The national party’s preferred candidate was the Congressman – and former state governor – Mike Castle, a moderate Republican. But he lost in the state Republican primary to Christine O’Donnell, a Tea Party backed conservative. It is the state party that invariably holds the upper hand. Power in the parties rests at state level, not national level.
Explain the ideology of the two main parties
o The Democrat Party is usually associated with being liberal, a view that seeks to change the political, economic and social status quo in favour of the well-being, rights and liberties of the individual, especially those who are generally disadvantaged
o The Republican party is normally thought of as being conservative, a view that seeks to defend the political, social and economic status quo, and therefore tends to oppose changes in the institutions and structures of society
o Yet Democrats traditionally come in many shades – ‘liberal democrats’, ‘moderate democrats’, ‘New democrats’ and even still a few ‘conservative democrats’
o Likewise there are ‘moderate republicans’, ‘conservative republicans’, ‘Christian conservatives’ and ‘compassionate conservatives’
• Much of this is to do with geography
o In the Northeast – state like New York, Massachusetts and Maine – one would tend to find ‘liberal democrats’ and ‘moderate Republicans’; the same is true on the west coast in states such as California
o In the South you would tend to come across ‘conservative democrats’ and ‘conservative Republicans’
o Both parties took on different ideological colours from region to region; if not, they would not have become national parties
o It seemed that both parties contained people from right across the left-right ideological spectrum
o Democrats have lost most their conservatives to the Republicans, whilst moderate Republicans have moved to the democrats
Explain some main Republican ideas
● Individualism. Hoover spoke of ‘rugged individualism’ – i.e. freedom comes from standing on two feet. E.g. hatred of Obamacare as many believe they will become clients of government. However, ideas of personal liberty have problems with the anti-gay marriage stance.
● Limited government. Reagan said ‘Government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem’. However, this hard to deliver e.g. No Child Left Behind involved increased spending federal spending on education. Bush didn’t talk about limited government towards the end of the campaign trail
● Business entrepreneurship. They are the party of the free market, but some issues. E.g. TPP hated by Republicans even though it encourages free trade. E.g.2 bailouts in 2008 (EECA and TARP) were disliked by many Republicans but they had to be done
● Internationalism. Used to be isolationist but movements to greater defence spending and America as ‘world police’. However, they are anti-immigration
Explain some Republican denominations
Social Conservatives. Believe humans are inherently selfish and so need clear moral guidance through strong family units and a good education with punishments in place for those who do wrong. Social Conservatives began to emerge in 1970s’ – they thought there had been a ‘downward moral spiral’ as there was more free sexual expression, rising divorce rates and single parent families. Roe vs Wade (1973) were abortion was constitutionalised also increased social conservatism. They are anti-abortion. They aim to reduce access to inappropriate material i.e. Miley Cyrus. They would like schools to be based on Biblical principles: i.e. they would like to see Engel v Vitale (1962) Supreme Court decision overturned which ruled that school prayers were unconstitutional in publically funded institutions because the 1st amendment keeps gov out of religious matters, are suspicious of sex education, are creationist (cthis approach was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Edwards vs Aguillard (1987) on the basis that it promoted a religious viewpoint.) This led to the development of an alternative; Intelligent Design but this too was rendered unconstitutional in December 2005 as it advances a version of Christianity
Two avenues have emerged for families who feel they cannot get an education that respects their values:
(1) School voucher scheme offered in some states; It provides families with a voucher equivalent in value to the cost of educating a child in a community school and can be used in private schools
(2) Home schooling – there are about 2 million taught this way
They are anti-gay marriage. In the case of Lawrence Vs Texas (2003) the Supreme Court ruled that laws banning homosexual sex were unconstitutional. This paved the way for gay marriage being constitutional in many cases. This led to ballot initiatives banning same sec marriage in 13 states
Fiscal Conservatives. Believe that selfishness can be harnessed to produce a dynamic, productive society. Believe people can be trusted to make economic decisions without involvement of gov. Believe society need well-resourced law enforcement agencies and punishments. Came to prominence in the 70s when there was low economic growth and inflation issues. Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman from the University of Chicago argued this was due to government intervention – had created welfare dependency and undermined incentives for wealthy to invest. Want small gov – low taxes, less regulations. Also advocates of gun rights are anti gov intervention. Ronald Reagan became president 1981 – ‘Government is not the solution to the problem. Government is the problem’. They believe it will also lead to reduced irresponsible behaviour (less single parents, better role models). George W Bush introduced to massive tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 but federal spending increased. Want balanced budget amendment. Want to promote school vouchers so that market forces can improve poor schools. Anti-Affirmative Action = Supreme Court Case Grutter Vs Bollinger (2003) left the constitutional position unchanged. Protecting gun manufacturers from law suits i.e. Oct 2005 president signed into law a bill that protects the gun industry from lawsuits by victims of crimes in which their weapons have been used.
Reduce environment regulations i.e. George Bush withdrew USA from Kyoto Protocol on Global. Warming in 2001. Want to increase defence spending and challenge regimes hostile to US interests and values
Moderate Conservatives. Known as Rockefeller conservatism are paternalistic in nature, agree on low taxes but understand need for welfare. Leading Rockefeller, conservative John McCain criticised social conservatives as ‘agents of intolerance’. Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg (now independent) and Arnold Schwarzenegger = all organised in a faction called the Republican Main Street Partnership. Nomination of John McCain as Republican president candidate 2008 argued as continuing influence of the Rockefeller’s but they are a relatively small group
Nativists. Have existed for a long time. Essentially are anti-immigration as they believe that immigrants have forced wages down and are using up resources which doesn’t work
Explain some main Democrat ideas
• Differences within party.
o E.g. 75% of Bernie Sanders contributions come from small contributions but only 17% for Hillary Clinton. E.g.2 Blasio campaigned for municipal taxes on high income earners but NY governor Cuomo campaigned for cutting taxes.
• Social liberalism.
o Women: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, women now allowed to hold any position in the armed forces and pro choice due to repeal of the ‘Mexico City’ policy
o Minorities: Fair Sentencing Act and attempts to pass the Dream Act
• Dovish foreign policy
o Committed to talks without ‘preconditions’ with Iran
o ‘Reset’ in relationship with Russia
o ‘Leading from behind’ in Libya
o Thawing of relationships with Cuba
Explain some main Democrat denominations
• Progressive wing
o Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within Democratic party. They are strong e.e when they last controlled the House, half of the committee chairmen were CPC members. They argue for big government to stimulate growth, build infrastructure etc.
• Liberal wing
o The liberal faction was dominant in the party for several decades, although they have been hurt by the rise of centrist forces such as President Bill Clinton. Clinton and Obama are examples
• Centrist wing
o Represented by the New Democrat Coalition. The New Democrat Coalition is a pro-business, pro-growth and fiscally conservative wing in the party. Compared to other Democratic factions, they are mostly more supportive of the use of military force, including the war in Iraq, are more supportive of free trade, and are more willing to reduce government welfare, as indicated by their support for welfare reform and tax cuts. The DLC disbanded in 2011, much of the former DLC is now represented in the think tank Third Way
Blue Dog Democrats. Most conservative faction. Focus on ensuring a ‘deep commitment to financial stability’ and ensuring laws can be funded without increasing taxes/ government borrowing. 111th congress starting Jan 09 there were 47 democrats in the blue dog coalition
Democratic Leadership Council. Centrist members of the Democrats founded this in 1985 .Often identified with Bill Clinton who became its leader in 1990. Has adopted a position of advancing traditional left-wing goals such as protecting the interests of the poor such as boosting opportunities through economic growth. Has come to be seen as embodying all of the weaknesses of the modern Democratic Party: failing to provide and inspiring vision for America and only winning elections when opponents were unpopular .111th congress there were 58 members of the New Democrat Coalition.
Explain the increasing partisanship in US politics
• There was a time when the southern states were referred to as the ‘Solid South’, as voters in the south voted solidly for the democrat party
• This was a consequence of the civil war, fought in the 1860’s, the Republicans were thought of as the party of the north and vice versa the democrats
• For a century people used the slogan ‘vote as you shot’
• From 1960 to 1990 a slow breakdown occurred in the Solid South, in 1960:
o House members from the South comprised 99 democrats and just 7 republicans
o All 22 senators from the South were democrats
o All 11 state governors in the South were democrats
• By 1992 the Democrats still had a majority in each of these groups but a much reduced one
• 1992 – 2012 a huge collapse in southern democrat support
o House: Democrats – Republicans, from 61-64, to 40-98
o Senate: From 9-13, to 6-16
o Governors: From 5-6, to 0-11
• The result has been to:
o Widen the differences between the two major parties and lessen the differences within them
o Cause both parties to become more ideologically cohesive
o Increased partisanship in Congress
Explain the differences between red and blue America
Red (Republican) America is portrayed as: More male than female, Overwhelmingly White, Protestant and, specifically, born-again evangelical, Wealthy, Rural (and maybe suburban), Southern or Midwestern Conservative
Blue (Democrat) America is portrayed as: More female than male, A rainbow coalition of white, black, Hispanic and Asian, Catholic, but not especially church-going, Less Wealthy, Predominantly Urban, North-eastern, great lakes or west coast, Liberal
• Commentators also noticed increased partisanship in US politics – be it in voting behaviour among the electorate, or the tone of debate and voting in Congress, a number of factors were said to have contributed to this increase in partisanship:
o The shift of southern conservative democrats to the Republican Party
o The end of the Cold War consensus in foreign policy following the demise of the soviet union
o The polarising presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama
o The effect of the ‘new media’ such as direct mail talk radio, cable television and the internet
Explain the two party system
• Two Party System: A party system in which two major parties regularly win the vast majority of votes in general elections, regularly capture nearly all of the seats in the legislature and alternatively control the executive branch of government
• The facts:
o Every president since 1856 has either been a democrat or a Republican
o In every presidential election since 1916, the combined Democrat and Republican vote has exceeded 80% of the total votes cast
o In 22 of those last 26 presidential elections, the combined Democrat and Republican vote has exceeded 90%, reaching 99% in 1984 and 1988
o In January 2013 very member of the US senate belonged to one of the two main parties except Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King who are independents but usually vote with the democrats
o At the same time, all of the 435 members of the House of Representatives are either Democrats or Republicans
o Of the 50 state governors 49 are either Democrats or Republicans and the one independent governor, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, is a former Republican senator
• Reasons:
o The First Past the Post, winner takes all electoral system
o The all-embracing nature of the two parties, which allows little room on the political spectrum for third parties
• Other analyses:
o Some commentators have suggested that the USA has a 50 party system, each individual state has its own party system
o Another analysis suggests that some states appear to have a one party system, in such states one party dominates to the extent that the other seems to hardly exist, e.g. Massachusetts – Democrat, the Republicans have won the state in only one presidential election in the last 50 years, Reagan winning it by just 3000 votes out of 2 ½ million in 1980; in Wyoming, the Republicans have won all bar one presidential election (1964) and dominate the state at all levels
o Due to the decline in the importance of political parties, the USA might have a o party system
o Voters – about one third of US voters call themselves independent
Explain the theory of party decline
• Party Decline: Refers to the theory popular in the last three decades of the 20th century that political parties were in decline in terms of membership functions and importance
• The late David Broder who popularised the idea of party decline in the 1970’s publishing a book ‘The party’s Over’, amongst others, Broder has proposed a number of reasons as to why the USA’s parties are in serious decline
• The theories:
o Parties have lost control over presidential candidate selection, with the rise in importance of presidential primaries parties no longer choose the candidates, this is done by voters in the primaries E.g. Trump is dislike by the RNC
o Television, opinion polls and ‘new media’ have bypassed parties at the medium by which candidates communicate with voters. Party rallies were the traditional way in which candidates spoke to and heard from voters. The party was therefore the most important vehicle of communication between politicians and voters. Nowadays, politicians talk increasingly to voters through the media of television and the internet, and voters ‘talk back’ through opinion polls
o Campaigns are more candidate-centred and issue-centred than they were. Voters tend to vote more for a particular candidate, or because a candidate holds a certain view on an issue of importance to the voter (e.g. abortion, environment), than for the party label. There was a rise in split-ticket voting (voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election) and of ‘independent’ voters
o The emergence of ‘movements’ such as the Tea Party and Occupy movements also show the decline in people’s attachment to traditional political parties as vehicles of protest and change
o Communication with voters. Parties lost traditional function as communicator between politicians and voters. Previously, politicians communicate with voters at party rallies also giving voters a chance to communicate with question and answers, heckling etc. Today, politicians communicate their message through television, while voters ‘speak back’ to the politicians through opinion polls
o Candidate and issue centred voting. Voters cast ballots, not for a party, but because they are attracted either to a candidate or issue they are espousing. Has led to an increase in split ticket voting which peaked in the 70s and 80s though is on the decline. Also led to more voters identifying as ‘independent’ which is around a third currently
o Emergence of ‘movements’. Tea Party and Occupy movements shows many Americans are more prone to ‘movements’ than to joining a traditional party. These movements seek to influence the main parties, thus voters seek to influence their parties from without than within. The extent to which the Tea Party has managed to get its preferred candidate chosen in certain races is another example of party decline e.g. Sarah Palin.
o Campaign funding. Ban in 2002 of ‘soft money’ means that parties are unable to influence a presidential campaign as much as they have done in the past. Groups such as the NRA Political Victory Fund take an active role in mobilising the electorate and encouraging them to vote for certain candidates at election time.
Explain the theory of party renewal
• Party Renewal: Is the theory that suggests that parties, far from being in decline, are increasingly important in elections, fundraising and organisation, and in Congress
• More recently however, many commentators have been arguing that American political parties are undergoing renewal:
o The party decline theories are somewhat exaggerated. When all is said and done, it is still true that all the presidents elected in the 20th century were either Democrats or Republicans, virtually all members of Congress are either Democrats or Republicans, so too are the vast majority of state governors
o The parties have fought to regain some control over the presidential candidate in the selection process. The Democratic Party introduced super delegates at their 1984 National Convention. These are professional elected politicians who are given a vote at the Convention ex officio. By 2008, these super delegates accounted for almost 20% of the Delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention. In that year, Democratic Party super delegates played a major role in the choice of Barack Obama over Hilary Clinton in the presidential nominations race
o There have been moves towards the ‘nationalising’ of campaigns. The national parties have been stronger at laying down national rules for the timing and conduct of the presidential primaries in both 2008 and 2012. Not only has this nationalising been seen in presidential elections, it was also seen dramatically in the 1994 mid-term congressional elections when the Republican Party launched its Contract with America. In 2006, the Democrats had a national policy agenda for that year’s mid-term elections entitled ‘6 for 06’ which accompanied their retaking control in both houses of Congress after 12 years in the minority. In 2010, the Republicans published their ‘Pledge to America’ in advance of that year’s mid-term elections, which listed policies they would bring to the floor in 2011-12 if they became the majority party in either house
o There is now much evidence of increased levels of partisanship in Congress. This came to a crescendo during the impeachment and trial of President Clinton in 1998 and early 1999. Partisanship continued during the presidency of George W Bush, especially over issues such as the war in Iraq, stem cell research and the State Children’s Health Insurance Programme (S-CHIP). Not a single Republican voted for President Obama’s healthcare reform legislation in 2010
o Increased party involvement in presidential nominations.
E.g. introduction of ‘super-delegates’ by the Democrats who by 2000 accounted for 20% of the vote at the National Convention.
E.g. 2 the importance of the party establishment. For example, in 2000 Bush, the choice of the Republican ‘establishment’ triumphed over McCain, the choice of many rank-and-file Republicans.
E.g.3 Parties have issued regulations regarding timing of primaries and causes and the selection of delegates by states
o Nationalisation of campaigns. In the 2006 mid-terms the Democrats launched their ‘Six for 06’ agenda which accompanied their retaking control of both Houses after being 12 years in minority. This involved a 6 point plan covering topics from security to energy to healthcare.
o Increased partisanship in Congress. Partisanship in Congress (both chambers) has been on the rise for decades, peaking in 2013. This leads to members voting for on party lines, therefore making difficult for certain pieces of legislation to pass.
Explain third parties
• There a number of different types of third party in the USA:
o National (e.g. Reform Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, Natural Law Party)
o Regional (e.g. George Wallace’s American Independent Party – 1968)
o State (e.g. New York Conservative Party)
o Permanent (e.g. Green Party, Libertarian Party)
o Temporary (e.g. American Independent Party, Reform Party)
o Issue based (e.g. Green Party)
o Ideological (e.g. Socialist Party, Constitution Party)
• What these parties stand for:
o Constitution Party
Founded as the US Taxpayer’s Party in 1992 and renamed in 1999; it is a collection of formerly separate right-wing independent parties and is strongly anti-gun control, anti-tax, anti-immigration, protectionist, anti-UN anti-gay rights, pro school prayer and ‘pro-life’
o Green Party
The informal US affiliate of the European Greens, ideologically on the left of US politics
o Libertarian Party
Stands for total individual liberty and is pro-drug legalisation, ‘prochoice’, pro-gay-marriage, pro home schooling and anti-gun control. It also stands for total economic freedom.
• What the USA does not have are national, permanent third parties that regularly win at least 5% of the popular vote in general elections. US third parties are either national and permanent, but insignificant (such as the Libertarians), or not national and permanent. Even Ross Perot’s Reform Party, after impressive nationwide performances in 1992 and 1996, disintegrated in 2000. The most successful third party candidate in the 2008 Presidential election was Ralph Nader, who gained just 0.32% of the popular vote.
Explain the impact of third parties
• In recent Presidential elections third parties have enjoyed limited success. The last third party candidate to gain more than 5% of the popular vote was Ross Perot for the reform party in 1996. The last third party candidate to gain any Electoral College votes was George Wallace with 46 in 1968. Third parties have also had limited representation in Congress:
1993: House/Senate, Bernie Sanders, Independent, Vermont
July – October 1999: Senate, Bob Smith, US Taxpayers, New Hampshire
2000-02: House, Virgil Goode, Independent, Virginia
2001-06: Senate, James Jeffords,Independent ,Vermont
2007-12: Senate, Joe Lieberman, Independent, Democrat Connecticut
2013 - : Senate, Angus King, Independent, Maine
• They don’t do much better when it comes to elections for state governors. As of January 2011, 49 of the 50 State governors were Democrats or Republicans – all except Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, a former Republican senator and the first independent governor of Rhode Island since 1790.
• Ross Perot won 19% of the popular vote and contributed to Bush’s defeat. Likewise, the Green Party’s success contributed to the defeat of Al Gore
• Both Wallace and Perot, though losing, had an impact on policy debate during and after their elections. E.g. Wallace on issues of race, and Perot regarding the economic and federal budget deficit
• Some states such as Alaska, Maine etc. have vibrant third parties who play a significant role in state and local issues e.g. Alaskan Independence Party
Years, Name, Party, State
1991-95: Walter Hickel, Alaska Independent, Alaska
1991-95: Lowell Weicker, A Connecticut Party,Connecticut
1995-2003: Angus King, Independent,Maine
1999-2003: Jesse Ventura, Reform, Minnesota
2011-:Lincoln Chafee, Independent, Rhode Island
