POLS Chapter 6 Lecture 10 3 12 Parties and Interest Groups Political party Organized groups of individuals that support nominate and run candidates for office Interest groups Seek to influence those elected to office on behalf of specific companies or causes Evolution of Political Parties Beginnings o Federalists Strong central government John Adams was the only Federalist president o Democratic Republicans Anti Federalists Self governance Civil War o Democratic party Self governance o National Republican party Civil rights Strong central government Lincoln was the first Republican president New Deal 1932 1933 FDR o Democratic dominance Strong central government Civil rights o Decline of democratic presence in south Population migration Minorities moved north to big cities and republicans from the north migrated south White flight o Yellow dog democrat Very strong southern conservative History of Political Parties Political party machines o Promised jobs or helped the community in return for votes o Patronage and political corruption Whatever it takes to get into office mindset o Nonpartisan ballots Most states treated parties as private associations and didn t regulate them during the 1800 s Australian ballot is the ballot that we use It is a secret ballot Modern day Party Politics Candidate centered politics Rise in swing votes o People vote more for the candidate Decline in voter identification Responsible party model o 2 plus competitive political parties o Actively seeking to fulfill promises o Voters who pay attention Candidates get reelected by fulfilling promises Elections General elections Primary elections Contemporary Party Politics Changing role of state and local parties Consultant role Fundraising role o Campaigning Dealignment Realignment Campaign Regulation and Finance Reform Registration and regulation of elections Campaign finance reform o Independent expenditures o Closed primaries People register with a party beforehand and ONLY vote for that party Cross over voting o Open primaries Do not have to register with a party Walk up and are handed a ballot o Blanket primaries o Run off Primaries Holds a second primary that has a faceoff between the top two candidates Campaigning ads without the knowledge of the candidate or party No limit o Political action committees PAC s o Soft Money Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act 2002 Set limit for soft money given to political parties They can give 2500 to candidate per election Buckley v Valeo 1874 Money is free speech You can individually spend as much as you want on your own campaign Interest Groups and Lobbies Political activity Increased political power Contract lobbyists v cause lobbyists Direct lobbying v indirect lobbying Incumbent support
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