Parties: Essential to Democracy

1. Parties: Essential to Democracy • History of parties • Early parties • Jefferson and Madison, Democratic-Republican • Adams and Hamilton, Federalist

2. Party Functions • Organize the competition • Party column ballot vs. Office block ballot • Unify the electorate • Organize government • patronage • Translate preference into policy • Provide “loyal opposition” • “honeymoon”

3. Nominating Candidates • Recruitment • Caucuses & direct primaries • Rise of “candidate-centered” politics

4. Minor (third) Parties • Often personality-driven • Forever a two-party system?

5. Party Patterns • Theory of “Realigning Elections” • The 1932 FDR Realignment • Divided Government

6. Shifting Populations of the Parties • Democrats • New Deal Coalition united low-income, working class whites with minorities • African-Americans – still solidly Democratic • Catholics, Southerners, and Hispanics – once Democratic, now moving Republican • Republicans • White middle- and upper-class Protestants • Major gains in middle class, particularly in the South • Evangelicals – the “Religious Right”

7. Parties as Institutions • Structure: • National Party Convention – every 4 years • Nominate Pres. & VP Candidates • Adopt Party Platforms • National Committee • National Chair • State Organizations

8. Parties in the electorate • Party Registration • Party Identification • Dealignment?