Topic 6Political PartiesI. The General Nature of Political PartiesA. Definition1. Organization that nominates and runs candidates for office under party label to win governmental offices, and enact policies favored by the party2. Are parties a type of interest group? NoB. Differences between Political Parties and Interest Groups1. The method of influencing politics (most important difference)a. Parties nominate and run candidates for office under the party labelb. Interest groups do not run candidates for officei. Influence politics in other ways – “lobbying”ii. Active during elections and between elections2. Breadth and scope of issue concernsa. Parties – take positions on a broad range of issues to appeal to votersb. Interest groups – narrow range of issues of concern to their members3. Quasi-public vs. Private organizationsa. Parties – Quasi-publici. Not part of governmentii. But can’t prohibit citizens from participating in party activitiesiii. Because party primaries select nominees for general election, “action of the party is action of the state” (Smith v. Allwright 1944)b. Interest groups – private organizationsi. Set whatever membership requirements they wantC. Membership in American Political Parties1. No formal party membership in the US2. Define political party as three overlapping elements (V.O. Key 1964)a. Party in the electoratei. Ordinary citizens who identify with a party and usually support the party’s candidates with their votes and campaign contributionsb. Party in governmenti. Those who hold elected and appointed government offices who are considered representatives of the partyc. Party organizationi. Party professionals who hold official party offices (ex: convention delegates)ii. Party activists (ex: financial donors and unpaid volunteers)II. Functions of Political PartiesA. Facilitate participation in the democratic process1. Aggregate individual interests into broad coalitions2. Simplify alternativesa. Each party winnows a long list of candidates down to one nomineeb. Only viable alternatives in the general election = two major party candidatesc. Considerable voter dissatisfaction“Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum”; “Vote for the man, not the party”d. Would democracy would work better if voters had more choices in the election?i. Increase “costs” of voting – requires lots of information about issues and candidatesii. Few voters have enough information to distinguish among many candidatesiii. Most voters know differences between Democrats and Republicansiv. Information necessary to make the “right” choice – printed on ballote. Makes it possible for millions of citizens to cast meaningful votes3. Stimulate interest in government and public affairsa. Participation necessary for democracy to workb. Party activities mobilizes votersB. Agents of accountability1. Organize government and promotes policy agenda2. Minority party scrutinizes activities of majority partyIII. How Strong are Political Parties in the U.S.?A. U.S. Parties Week Compared to Those in Parliamentary Democracies1. Responsible Party Government Model (e.g. Great Britain)a. Highly disciplined parties present coherent platforms to the electorateb. High cohesion – All party candidates support their party platformc. Voters choose which party’s platform they preferd. Winning party enacts proposed policiese. Voters decide whether they like what government has done in the next election2. U.S. Parties Do NOT Fit This Modela. U.S. Parties ideologically diverse – no consensus on party positionsb. Relatively low party cohesionc. Party nominees chosen in direct primaries not by party leadersd. Government structure make is difficult for majority party to enact programsi. Separation of powersii. Representatives chosen by different constituenciesiii. Overlapping termsiv. Divided governmentB. Strength of Partisanship in U.S. Politics Varies Over Time1. Party decline thesisa. Some argue that parties have been getting weaker since the 1950sb. Rest on several pieces of evidence:i. Electorate’s attachment to political parties has weakenedii. Rise of candidate-centered campaignsiii. Party voting in Congress occurs less frequently than it once didiv. Party organizations cannot determine who runs under the party’s label2. Other Scholars disagreea. Parties have weakened, but still a pervasive influence in U.S. politicsb. How strong parties are depends oni. Which element you loot at, andii. At what point in time you lookc. Present evidence thati. Party decline trend reached a low point in the 1970s but then reversedii. Party in the electorate and party in government show signs of increasing strength from the 1980s to the presentC. Strength of Party in the Electorate1. Measuresa. Party identificationi. “Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or what?”ii. (if R or D) “Would you call yourself a strong R/D or a not very strong (R/D)?”iii. (if Ind.) “Do you think of yourself as closer to the R or D party?” – referred to as Independent “Leaners”iv. 7-point scale: SD WD ID I IR WR SRv. More strong partisans, fewer independents = stronger partisanshipb. Vote choice – consistent support for party candidates2. Strong Partisans in the Electorate (Figure 7.3)3. Independents (Figure 7.4)a. Where to put the “leaners”?b. Independent leaners vote as partisan as weak partisans4. Straight Ticket Voting (Figure 7.5)D. Strength of Party in Government1. Measuresa. Divided Governmenti. One party wins the president; other party wins majority seats in Congressii. If voters choose different parties for different offices, it’s hard to determine which party should get credit or blame for government policiesb. Party voting in Congressi. Percentage of party votes in Congressii. Party vote – Majority of one party vote against a majority of the other party2. Divided Government (Figure 7.6)a. Relation to party strength is ambiguousb. Alternative interpretation: Two strong parties, but at different levelsE. Strength of Party Organization1. Political machinesa. Strong party organizations led by a party “boss”i. Party “boss” decided who was nominated for various officesii. Ward “captains” mobilized voters to support party slate in their wardiii. “Spoils system.” Used “political patronage” to reward supporters with government jobs and contractsiv. Widespread corruption – vote buying, illegal votes,