POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 15 Outline of Last Lecture I Political Parties introduction Outline of Current Lecture II Why are the US parties so similar III Primary Elections IV Responsible Party System V Is the party over VI Political Party Competition VII Interest Groups Current Lecture Why are U S Parties so similar Most people are on the center then the rest are either on the left or right Politicians gravitate to the center in order to win votes Centrist voters are key During the primaries however politicians move to extreme views because strong Republicans are the ones who vote in primaries not centrists Mitt Romney in 2012 didn t have enough time to gravitate back towards the center and lost out Primary Elections Closed o Only registered partisans can vote Dems vote in Dem primary and Rep in Rep primary Open o Anyone can vote but you can only vote in one of the two primaries o Leads to strategic voting A Rep will vote in the Dem primary for a bad candidate to try and affect the vote Not enough of these to make a difference Mixed o Registered Independents can choose to vote in one primary o Some are open and some are closed Top two o Take the top two who had the most amount of votes Louisiana No primary Responsible Party System America is NOT American political parties are not responsible parties that is they cannot completely control nominations campaign financing or party members adherence to the party platform No clear policy consequences Because you have to adhere to the party platform Is the party over Decline in party attachments Primary elections weakened parties New style politics o Advertising campaign is media based o Negative campaigning mud Turns off voters o swift boating o branding making a name for yourself Impact of the party in control Democrats o Liberal Programs Larger tax burden R 38 Greater spending per capita R 12 No correlation Fewer restrictions on abortion R 46 Generous welfare benefits R 14 No correlation Unified partisan control one party in control Easier to pass policies Texas is from 50 70 unified Political Party Competition and State Policies Tax Burden State and Local Expenditures Per Capita TANF Benefits for Family of Three Restrictiveness of Abortion Laws Correlation With Index of Lower Chamber Competitiveness 06 17 19 01 Doesn t matter if it is competitive or not there is no difference in party policy States do not create sudden policy changes Summary No consistent pattern between partisan control of state legislature and policy No relationship between long term partisan control and policy only regional difference for TANF for southern states No evident policy changes with party change No public policy influences with interparty competitiveness Interest Groups Organizations of individuals who share one or more interests Try to influence the political system o Examples PETA NRA Interest groups are strong regardless of the party in power Interest Group Assets Large numbers Size is an asset useful for electioneering and communicating preferences to government officials But smaller groups easier to organize easier to stimulate participation Wealth Funding Status Visibility and expertise Interest Groups Activities Electioneering Get members for certain people policies Elect friends defeat enemies Lobbying Government for policy change Sharing information with their members Propagandizing Public for support Interest Groups Representation Who is organized o Organized interests are much more powerful i e relevant to the policymaking process than those that are not organized Economic producing groups are more likely to be organized than are consuming groups People with more education and income are more likely to join groups than are people with less education and income Those who join groups out of personal involvement tend to feel strongly about the issue around which the group is organized Wealthy White and Male Involved in business Interest Groups in the Political Process Contributions or Bribery Contributing money to politicians is the best way to ensure personal access to legislators Money is contributed in a variety of ways o Interest groups spend money entertaining legislators and executive officials at parties lunch award ceremonies and other events o Groups give money to politicians in the form of campaign contributions Interest groups are eager to give money in the hope that they will be rewarded with favorable laws rulings and policies Texas ranks in the top three states for the number of lobbyists representing the energy insurance banking real estate health care and agriculture industries o The saga of Enron illustrates the point that the actions of a rich interest group wielding the power of money to gain access and influence over policymakers are typical and systematic A PAC is a committee formed by an organization industry or individual for the purpose of collecting money and then contributing that money to selected political candidates and causes PACs concentrate the financial clout of large numbers of individuals and can therefore influence public policy more effectively than can a single ordinary individual While some states such as Maine and California limit the amount of money that PACs can contribute to state elections in Texas these groups may give as much as they wish Most politicians are sensitive to private as opposed to public interests due to the reality of electoral financing not personal dishonesty Lobbying To lobby is to attempt to influence policy makers face to face Making direct personal contact with legislators is the best lobbying technique While everyone has a right to influence government officials it is corporations and trade organizations that employ the most lobbyists Who Are the Lobbyists Citizen lobbyists as opposed to professional lobbyists who are willing to get organized inform themselves and spend time talking to politicians can have an impact on policy such as bicyclists did in 2001 Many of the most successful lobbyists are former state legislators or executives There are also public interest lobbyists who promote their conception of the common good and take home a modest salary but due to the biases in the interest group system most of the people who do most of the lobbying serve narrow wealthy interests Interest Group Strength Correlation With Pressure Group Influence Tax Burden 30 State and Local Expenditures Per Capita 04 TANF Benefits for Family of Three 31 Restrictiveness of Abortion Laws 09