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GOVT 312: Parties and Campaigns

GOVT 312: Parties and Campaigns. Lecture 5: Party Activists. Three Aspects of Parties. Organization – how parties organize as an entity unto themselves Electorate – parties and voters Government – how parties organize in government, especially the legislature.

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GOVT 312: Parties and Campaigns

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  1. GOVT 312: Parties and Campaigns Lecture 5: Party Activists

  2. Three Aspects of Parties • Organization – how parties organize as an entity unto themselves • Electorate – parties and voters • Government – how parties organize in government, especially the legislature

  3. Why voluntarily participate in any activity? • Consider the Collective Action Problem: • Personal costs are high for an individual to volunteer • The contribution of an individual to the outcome is small; it makes no difference if the person volunteers or not • The individual will receive the outcome of public policy (Public good) regardless of the outcome

  4. Selective Incentives • The Solution is to provide “Selective Incentives”: to provide benefits (or costs) to the individual that are not directly related to the public good • Unions: baseball bats • AAA: insurance • Government: IRS • Sierra club: singles outings

  5. Selective Incentives Provided by Political Parties • Material Incentives • Patronage • Elected Office • Preferment • Social Incentives • Purposive (Issues) Incentives

  6. Patronage • Patronage is still alive in American politics. • For a president, governor, or legislature to carry out their policy goals, they need loyal persons to help implement their policies. • The Federal government has millions of employees. The top 2,000 or so are presidential patronage appointment: Cabinet members, White House staff, other persons who head parts of the bureaucracy. • Civil Service is bad?!? • Insulated from public policy prevents change (example: Department of Homeland Security)

  7. Who Are Activists? • People from Political Families • Higher “Socio-economic status,” i.e., income and education. • Seem to be more driven by narrow interests • More ideologically extreme

  8. Professional Pragmatic Want material rewards Focus on winning elections Like a hierarchical organization Automatically support party candidates SES: Average to above average Amateur Purist Want issues Loyal to candidates Like an open organization Support only candidates they agree with SES: Above average Two Type of Activists

  9. Tensions with Party Activists • Are more ideologically extreme, yet, candidates need to moderate to win elections. • Amateur activists want weaker party organizations so their influence can be increased

  10. Case Study: The Deaniacs • Were an extreme within the Democratic Party • Demographically (p.157) • On the issues (p.160-161) • Dissatisfied with Democratic organization, tend to favor outside organizations (MoveOn.org?) • Obama the new Dean? http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28360

  11. Gallup Polls (June, July, and August, 2007)

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