Political Science 100

Political Parties
 8.1
Meaning of Party

Tasks of the Parties

Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs
Model
 8.1
Tasks of the Parties

Parties pick candidates

Parties run campaigns
Parties give cues to voters
Parties articulate policies
Parties coordinate policymaking
 8.1
Parties, Voters, and Policy: The
Downs Model

Rational-choice theory
■ Political scientist Anthony Downs’ model-centrism

Most voters are moderate

■ Center of political spectrum

Parties seek voter loyalty

■ Position themselves to left and right of center
FIGURE 8.1 The Downs model: How 8.1
rational parties position themselves near
(but not at) the center of public opinion

continued on next slide

FIGURE 8.1 The Downs model: How 8.1
rational parties position themselves near
(but not at) the center of public opinion
 8.2
The Party in the Electorate
Party membership is psychological
Citizens think they know what parties
stand for
Choose parties based on affinity with
personal preferences
More Americans identify as independents
FIGURE 8.2 Party identification in the 8.2
United States, 1952–2012
 8.3
The Party Organization: From
the Grass Roots to Washington

Local Parties
The 50 State Party Systems
The National Party Organizations
 8.3
Local Parties

Once main party organization

Party machines
■ Rewarded voters
■ New York and Chicago

Patronage
■ Jobs for voters and contributors
■ Progressive reforms ended this system
 8.3
The 50 State Party Systems

No two exactly alike

■ Some well-funded, some weak
■ Permanent headquarters
■ Provide technical services

Open or closed primaries

Straight-ticket voting
Single column or random list of candidates
 The National Party 8.3
Organizations

National convention
■ Meets every four years
■ Writes party platform
■ Formal nomination of candidates

National committee
■ Operates between conventions
■ Led by national chairperson
 8.4
The Party in Government:
Promises and Policy

Party in power determines policy

Coalitions support parties
Most presidents fail to implement
campaign promises
But they do live up to some of them
Party platforms are blueprints
Table 8.1 Party platforms, 2012 8.5

continued on next slide

Table 8.1 Party platforms, 2012 8.5
 8.5
Party Eras in American
1796–1824:History
The First Party System
1828–1856: Jackson and Democrats
Versus the Whigs
1860–1928: The Two Republican Eras
1932–1964: The New Deal Coalition
1968–Present: Southern Realignment
and the Era of Divided Party
Government
 8.5
1796-1824: The First Party
System

Madison warned against factions

Hamilton and the Federalist Party
■ Capitalist support, Northeast
■ Short-lived
■ Ideas of loyal opposition and rotation of power new

Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans

■ Agrarian support, South
■ Torn by factions
 8.5
1828-1856: Jackson and
Democrats Versus the Whigs

General Andrew Jackson as leader

■ Democratic-Republicans v. Democratic Party
■ New coalition in election of 1828
■ Westerners, Southerners, poor whites
■ Broaden suffrage

Martin Van Buren

■ Theory of loyal opposition
■ Whig Party
 8.5
1860-1928: The Two Republican
Eras
1850s: Slavery dominated politics
■ Split both parties
■ Republicans rose as anti-slavery party
■ Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War

Second party realignment

■ Lasted 60 years
■ Democrats controlled the South

1896: Second Republican era

■ Democrats and “free silver”
 1932-1964: The New Deal 8.5
Coalition

Hoover loses to FDR

■ FDR promises New Deal
■ New coalition formed

Elements of New Deal coalition

■ Urban dwellers
■ Labor unions
■ Catholics and Jews
■ The poor
■ Southerners
■ African Americans
The Roosevelt realignment 8.5

The Granger Collection, NYC

FIGURE 8.3 Party coalitions today 8.5
 8.5
1968-Present: Southern
Realignment and the Era of
Divided Party Government

Nixon’s Southern strategy

■ Support for states’ rights, law and order, strong
military posture
■ Win Southern Democrats
FIGURE 8.4 Realignment in the South 8.5
 8.5
1968-Present: Southern Realignment
and the Era of Divided Party
Government

Republicans did not have Congress

■ New pattern
■ Divided government now normal
Dealignment
 8.6
Third Parties: Their Impact on
American Politics
Three types of third parties
■ Cause parties
■ Offshoots of major parties
■ Vehicles for individual candidacies

Rarely win office but can affect elections

Why only two parties?
A successful third party candidate 8.6

Neno Images/PhotoEdit, Inc.

 Understanding Political 8.7
Parties

Democracy and Responsible Party

Government: How Should We Govern?
American Political Parties and the Scope
of Government
 8.7
Democracy and Responsible Party
Government: How Should We
Govern?

Responsible party model

■ Distinct governing programs
■ Internal cohesion and commitment
■ Major party must implement program
■ Major party must accept responsibility
Party leadership weak in U.S.
■ “Blue Dog Democrats”
■ Is this good or bad?
TABLE 8.2 Partisan divisions on key roll 8.7
call votes during the Bush presidency
 8.7
American Politics and the Scope
of Government

Not as broad as in Europe

■ Health care example
■ Parties not disciplined

Hard to cut spending

■ Not disciplined enough to say “no”
■ Get more for own constituents
 Discussion Questions
8
How did the modern two-party system
develop in the United States? What are
party realignments and when have they
occurred? What role do parties play in
American democracy?
 9.1
The Nomination Game

Competing for Delegates

The Convention Send-Off
 9.1
Competing for Delegates

National party convention

■ State delegates meet and vote on nominee
■ Nomination process more democratic today
■ McGovern-Fraser Commission
 9.1
Competing for Delegates

National party convention

■ Superdelegates
 9.1
Competing for Delegates

The invisible primary

■ Woo support out of the public eye
■ Craft positive personal image
■ Distinguish themselves from other candidates
■ Seek media attention but avoid blunders
 9.1
Competing for Delegates

The Caucuses and primaries

■ Iowa caucus
■ New Hampshire primary
■ Proportional versus winner-take-all primaries
 9.1
Competing for Delegates

Evaluating the primary and caucus system

■ Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and
primaries
FIGURE 9.1 A count of Clinton and Obama 9.1
events during the 2008 nomination campaign
 9.1
Competing for Delegates

Evaluating the primary and caucus system

■ Prominent politicians find it difficult to take time out from
their duties to run
■ Money plays too big a role in the caucuses and primaries
■ Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and
unrepresentative
■ The system gives too much power to the media
 9.1
The Convention Send-Off

Winner foregone conclusion

■ Reduced TV coverage

Party infomercial
■ Carefully scripted

Party platform
■ Policy goals for next four years
 9.2
The Campaign Game

The High-Tech Media Campaign

Organizing the Campaign
 9.2
The High-Tech Media
Campaign
Main means of reaching voters is TV and
internet
Direct mail now digital
Digital campaigning via Twitter, Facebook
■ Obligatory for the modern campaign

Two ways to get attention

■ Television advertising
■ News coverage
 9.2
Organizing the Campaign
Get a campaign manager
Get a fund-raiser
Get a campaign counsel
Hire media and campaign consultants
Assemble a campaign staff
Plan the logistics
Get a research staff and policy advisers
Hire a pollster
Get a good press secretary
Establish a Web site
 9.3
Money and Campaigning

Regulations on Campaign Contributions

Regulations on Independent Political
Expenditures
Are Campaigns Too Expensive?
Does Money Buy Victory?
 9.3
Regulations on Campaign
Contributions
Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)
■ Who contributed
■ How money spent
■ Limits on individual and interest group contributions
■ Federal Election Commission (FEC)
■ Public financing
Loopholes
■ No limits on spending own money
■ Soft money
Figure 9.2 How Obama raised more 9.3
campaign money by declining federal funds
 9.3
Regulations on Independent
Political Expenditures
527 groups
■ New route for soft money
■ Independent expenditures
■ Endorsements forbidden

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

 9.3
Citizens United

Evan Vucci, FILE/AP Images

 9.3
Regulations on Independent
Political Expenditures
527 groups
■ New route for soft money
■ Independent expenditures
■ Endorsements forbidden

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

501(c) groups
Super PACs
 9.3
Are Campaigns Too Expensive?

Yes
■ 2012 federal elections cost $6.3 billion
■ Fundraising distracts from official duties

No
■ Only .05% of GDP spent on elections
■ About the cost of one DVD per person

How to reform system?

 9.3
Does Money Buy Victory?

Is there a link between money and votes?

■ Some say no
■ Spend more only when weak

Doctrine of sufficiency
■ No need to outspend opponent to win
 9.4
Impact of Campaigns
How important are campaigns?
■ Reinforcement
■ Activation
■ Conversion
Campaigns mainly reinforce and activate
Why are conversions rare?
■ Selective perception
■ Party identification
■ Incumbent advantage
Wedge issues
 9.5
Whether to Vote: A Citizen's
First Choice
Deciding Whether to Vote
Registering to Vote
Who Votes?
2008 Minnesota Senate race 9.5

Evan Vucci, FILE/AP Images

 9.5
Deciding Whether to Vote

Does one vote matter?

Voting is costly
■ Tuesday is a workday

Is it rational to vote?
■ Policy differences
■ Political efficacy
■ Civic duty
 9.5
Registering to Vote

Voter registration laws differ by state

■ Motor Voter Act (1993)

Voter ID laws
■ Show government-issued photo ID to vote
 9.5
New voter ID laws

John Cross/Mankato Free Press/AP Images

 9.5
Who Votes?
Education
■ Main factor
■ Increased sense of political efficacy
■ Ease of clearing bureaucratic hurdles

Age
■ Older are more likely to vote
■ Younger citizens less settled

Race and ethnicity

■ Black and Hispanic turnout lower

Gender, marital status, govt. employment

TABLE 9.1 Reported turnout rates for 9.5
groups of U.S. citizens in 2012 and 2010
 9.6
How Americans Vote:
Explaining Citizens' Decisions

Party Identification
Candidate Evaluations: How Americans
See the Candidates
Policy Voting
2012 A Battle for the Middle-Class Vote
 9.6
Party Identification

Provide perspective
■ Similar to sports teams and religion
■ Cue to who is on one's side
■ Simplifies candidate selection

"My party—right or wrong”?

■ Floating voters
■ Likely to be younger
 9.6
Candidate Evaluations: How
Americans See the Candidates
Image is key to getting votes
■ Integrity
■ Reliability
■ Competence

Superficial and irrational?

 9.6
Policy Voting

Voting based on issue preferences

■ Clear sense of policy preferences
■ Know where candidates stand on issues
■ Differences between candidates on issues
■ Vote for candidate closest to own preferences
■ Preferences may not line up with one candidate
■ Candidates deliberately ambiguous
 9.6
2012: A Battle for the
Middle-Class Vote
Obama's "titanic struggle" for reelection
■ Economy and voting behavior

Change versus experience

■ McCain linked with unpopular Bush in 2008
■ Obama linked with economic woes in 2012
FIGURE 9.3 Electoral College and exit poll 9.6
results for 2012
 9.6
% voting for Obama in 2012
 9.7
The Last Battle: The Electoral
College
Unique American institution
■ Most people want it abolished
■ Archaic and undemocratic

Founders' plan and revisions

■ President elected by elites
■ Electors is equal to the number of Congressmen
■ 48 states are winner-take-all

Battleground states
 9.8
Understanding Campaigns and
Voting Behavior
Are Nominations and Campaigns Too
Democratic?
Do Elections Affect Public Policy?
Do Campaigns Lead to Increases in the
Scope of Government?
 9.8
Are Nominations and
Campaigns Too Democratic?
Outsiders have a way in
■ Candidates chosen by voters, not party elites

The permanent campaign

■ Voters overwhelmed
■ Lengthy process discourages candidates
■ Fundraising is worrisome burden
 9.8
Do Elections Affect Public
Policy?
Two-way street
■ Elections affect public policy to some degree
■ Public policy decisions affect electoral outcomes to
some degree
■ Depends on policy differences between candidates
 9.8
Do Campaigns Lead to
Increases in the Scope of
Government?

Local promises add up

Government as servant rather than master
Discussion Questions 9
Who votes and who does not in America?
What factors influence whether or not
someone is likely to vote? Why is voter
participation lower in the United States
than in most other democracies?