GOVT 2301

1. GOVT 2301 Political Parties

2. This week we come to terms with political parties, their design, evolution and impact on government.

3. Last week we discussed elections, how they are designed in the American governing system and the various purposes they serve.

4. We mentioned that elections are mentioned in the U.S. Constitution and play a role in establishing the relationship between each governing institution and the people.

5. We also mentioned that the Constitution says nothing about political parties. Nevertheless they have evolved into dominant features of government.

6. They exist because they are very good at winning elections.Independent candidates rarely win elections on the national and state levels.

7. Political parties are perhaps the dominant feature of the American political system.

8. Blog TagsParties.Parties in Congress.Parties in the Texas Legislature.Partisanship.Party Activist.Party Base.Party Bosses.

9. Blog TagsParty Coalitions.Party Cohesion.Party Eras.Party Identification.Party Leaders.Party Line Voting.Party Machines.Party Polarization.

10. A Definition of “Political Party” A group of individuals organized around shared political principles with the intent of winning elections to governmental office and organizing governing institutions once in power.

11. Parties are similar to interest groups, but the key distinction between them is that a political party is organized to compete in and win elections.

12. The principle value of a political party is in organizing and mobilizing like minded individuals to impact policy

13. This involves, as we will see below, a great deal of internal compromise. Interest groups can hone in on one issue and not compromise. Parties always have to compromise on something.

14. Due to the winner take all system, parties are collections of factions that sometimes come into fierce competition with each other to define what the party stands for.

15. Currently there are two dominant broad based political parties in the United States and TexasThe Democratic PartyThe Republican Party

16. As we will see, its difficult often to determine exactly what the terms refer to. Due to their decentralized nature, parties can sometimes shift their positions on issues.

17. Parties are sometimes referred to in three different ways:Parties as OrganizationsParties in CongressParties in the Electorate

18. Parties as Organizations: Political parties have complex organizational structures across each level of government and among different actors.

19. Parties in Congress: Political parties are the dominant organizational element in the U.S. Congress and determine what these institutions in fact do.

20. Parties in the Electorate: Political parties provide information and voting cues to those that identify with them.

21. I’ll use this three part breakdown to organize this discussion

22. Parties as Organizations

23. While the U.S. has a two party system, many other parties exist, at least on paper.Click here for a list and description of many of them.

24. None are competitive on an ongoing basis, though on occasion a third party may earn enough popularity to influence a specific election.Here’s a list:

25. 1848 – The Free Soil Party1856 – Know Nothing Party1860 – Constitutional Union and Southern Democrat1892 – Populist1912 – Progressive1924 – Progressive1948 – State’s Rights1968 – American Independent1980 – Independent (John Anderson)1992 – Independent (Ross Perot)1996 – Reform Party2000 – Green Party

26. As we know from the previous lecture, the logic introduced into the electoral process due to the winner take all system makes third parties uncompetitive in the long term.

27. As we know from studying elections, the American electoral system’s winner take all rules tend to support the development of two large parties and discourages support for minor parties

28. Recall that incentives exist against voting for minor parties.

29. A vote for a preferred minor party candidate can take a vote away from a “good enough” major party candidate.People are often encouraged to not “throw their votes away” on a minor party or uncompetitive candidates.

30. Recent examples of third party candidatesRoss Perot – Reform PartyRalph Nader – Green Party

31. Republicans believe Perot pulled votes from George HW Bush in 1992 and Democrats believed Nader did the same to Gore in 2000.Neither party or candidates did well the following election.

32. Recall this general rule from the previous section: Winner Take All Elections=The Two Party System

33. And this:Proportional Representation=Multiparty Systems

34. An Example: Israel KnessetIt’s website shows the list of people each party offers the electorate and also the breakdown between votes and seats in the legislature.

35. People tend to cluster their votes around two top competitors, and have so practically since the first election in American history.A review of American elections, especially presidential results, demonstrates this point.

36. For proof, looks through the election results on the following website. Open up the elections on the left hand column and notice the top vote getters. It’s a great tour through American history.

37. You will be able to see the two elections where each of the current two dominant parties first competed.

38. For the Democrats it was the election of 1828, when Andrew Jackson was elected due to the support of the recently enfranchised non-property owners.He was the first person elected President that was not from a state that was one of the original colonies.

39. For Republicans it was the election of 1856, when John Fremont ran against the expansion of slavery.

40. Since then these two political parties have dominated politics in the U.S.

41. In the intervening 150 years, each party has developed large sophisticated (if sometimes unpredictable and unmanageable) organizations that reach down to each precinct in the nation, and include county and state organizations as well.

42. This guarantees them placement on the ballot in almost all races (so long as they are partisan – some local races do not include party affiliation). Minor parties often have to collect large numbers of signatures to get on the ballot.

43. A word or two on precincts: These were briefly covered in the previous section. They are the lowest level of governing in the nation and serve only to provide a place for people to vote and for votes to be counted and sent up to the county for further counting.

44. Precincts tend to be run by precinct judges and chairmen, which are generally elected by the local Democratic or Republican Party, depending on which party’s candidates’ won the precinct majority in the previous election.

45. A guiding principle of political organization is that a party organization ought to exist wherever elections are held.

46. Here’s the point: Over the previous 150 years, the two parties have effectively controlled the electoral process across the nation down to the precinct level. This gives them a large degree of autonomy.

47. Some related readings: - A Ten Minute Lesson.- Is the Precinct Committeeman the most powerful office in the nation?- The Precinct Project’s Blog.- Brazoria County Precinct Maps.

48. Each party is built up from the precinct level.

49. State and County Links: Texas Democratic PartyBrazoria County Democratic PartyTexas Handbook Online: Democratic PartyTexas Republican PartyBrazoria County Democratic Party Texas Handbook Online: Republican Party

50. The following links take you to the national committees of each party.