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Chapter 14: Political Parties
Roles of Political Parties
Party in the electorate: Refers to all individuals who associate themselves with a particular political party.
Party in government: Refers to elected and appointed officials at the national, state, and local levels who represent a party.
Party in organization: Refers to individuals who work to maintain the strength of the party between elections, help raise money, and organize party functions.
Party Systems
One-Party System: Only one party exists or has a chance of winning elections.
Membership is often not voluntary, and party leaders must approve candidates for political office.
The result is a dictatorial government.
Two-Party System: Several political parties exist, but only two major political parties compete for power and dominate elections.
Minor parties generally have little effect on most elections, especially at the national level.
This system tends to enhance governmental stability and promote a general consensus among citizens about the basic principles of government.
Multi-Party System: Several major parties and a number of minor parties compete in elections, and any of the parties stands a good chance of winning.
This type of system can be composed of 4 to 20 different parties, based on a particular region, ideology, or class position.
The multi-party system tends to promote instability in government, especially when coalition governments are formed.
The idea behind multi-party systems is to give voters meaningful choices.
This system is usually the result of a proportional representation voting system rather than one with single-member districts.
What Do Political Parties Do?
Recruit candidates who are interested in running for public office.
Nominate and support candidates for office by helping to raise funds and run campaigns.
Develop and support the goals of party members through an established platform.
Inform the voters about the candidates and encourage participation in the election.
Organize the government, as political party control often determines the organization of Congress and state legislatures, and political appointments are often made based on political party affiliation.
Party Identification and Membership
American political party membership is voluntary and doesn't involve any payment or dues.
Political party identification is based on personal beliefs and views.
Most states require citizens to identify their political party when registering to vote.
Several factors influence party identification, including ideology, education, income, occupation, race or ethnicity, gender, religion, family tradition, region of the country, and marital status.
A significant number of Americans choose not to join any political party and register as independents.
Two-party tradition in America
The United States has had a two-party political system for much of its history.
The country's Constitution did not anticipate political parties, but factions emerged early on.
The Federalist Party, which advocated for a strong national government, and the Democratic-Republican Party, which favored states' rights and a weaker federal government, were the country's first political parties.
Several factors have contributed to the enduring two-party system in America.
Historical roots, including the country's British heritage, Federalist, and Anti-Federalist divisions, played a role.
The electoral system, which features single-member districts where only one candidate wins, and varying election laws across states, which make it challenging for minor parties to get on the ballot in many states, also contribute to the system's stability.
The first political parties emerged during George Washington's presidency, when Alexander Hamilton and his followers formed the Federalist Party, and Thomas Jefferson and his supporters created the Democratic-Republican Party.
The Democratic-Republicans dominated American politics from 1800 to 1824 when they split into factions. Andrew Jackson's faction, the Jacksonian Democrats, won the presidency in 1828.
The Whig Party emerged as the major opposition to the Democrats, but it was only able to win the presidency twice, in 1840 and 1848.
From 1860 to 1932, the Republican Party dominated American politics, electing Abraham Lincoln and controlling both the presidency and Congress.
During the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt united various groups to create a voting bloc known as the New Deal coalition, bringing the Democrats back to power in 1932.
From 1932 to 1968, only two Republican presidents were elected.
Since 1968, a divided government has been a hallmark of American politics.
The presidency has been controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress.
This division often leads to gridlock, with opposing parties and interests blocking each other's proposals.
In the 2000 election, George W. Bush won the presidency, and the Republican Party won control of the House of Representatives and Senate.
The Democrats regained control of Congress in 2006, and in 2008, they won control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.
Electoral dealignment occurs when significant numbers of voters no longer support a particular political party, and they identify as independents.
Electoral realignment has occurred when new coalitions of party supporters have formed, resulting in the dominant party losing power and a new dominant party taking its place.
Several elections, called critical elections, have been considered to be realigning elections.
Third or Minor Parties
Third parties refer to minor political parties that operate alongside the dominant Republican and Democratic parties.
Third parties have struggled to get candidates elected to office, but have had some success at the state and local levels.
While a few minor party candidates have been elected to Congress, no third-party candidate has ever been elected president.
Minor parties have faced obstacles in the electoral process, which has limited their success.
Third parties have often been influential in introducing important reforms that have been adopted by the major parties.
Third parties can be divided into several types: ideological, splinter/ personality/ factional, single issue, and protest parties.
Ideological parties are based on a particular set of social, political, or economic beliefs, such as communism, socialism, or libertarianism.
Splinter/personality/factional parties have split away from one of the major parties, often formed around a strong personality who does not win the party nomination.
Single-issue parties concentrate on a single public policy matter, such as the Free Soil party, which opposed the expansion of slavery, or the Prohibition party, which advocated for the ban on alcohol.
Protest parties usually arise during periods of economic discontent and may be sectional in nature, such as the Greenback and Populist parties, which emerged in response to economic hardship in the late 19th century.
The Tea Party, which supported many candidates in the 2010 congressional elections, has been categorized by some observers as a protest party.
Structure and Organization of Political Parties
A political party must have an effective organization to accomplish its goals. Both major parties in the U.S. are highly decentralized, or fragmented.
The president is automatically considered the party leader, while the opposition is often without a single strong leader.
The national convention is held every fourth year to select the party's candidates for president and vice president, and to adopt the party's platform.
The national committee manages the political party's business between conventions, such as selecting the convention site, publishing party literature, and helping raise campaign contributions.
The party's national chairperson is responsible for directing the work of the national committee, fundraising, recruiting new party members, encouraging unity within the party, and helping the party's presidential nominee win election.
Each party has a Congressional Campaign Committee in the House of Representatives and Senate that works to ensure the election or re-election of the party's candidates.
State and local party organizations are structured similarly to the national organization, but differ from state to state. Generally, state parties are better funded than in previous years, and may be influenced by the national party organization.
Campaign finance laws restrict how political parties nominate candidates and raise and spend funds.
Future of Political Parties
Political parties need to modify their policies and messaging to appeal to diverse demographics of voters.
Political parties have been declining in recent decades due to several factors:
- Third-party challengers have taken votes from major candidates.
- Loss of support by party loyalists, and increase in independent voters.
- Increase in split-ticket voting.
- Lack of perceived differences between parties and their candidates.
- Party reforms that create greater diversity and openness, leading to greater conflict within some parties.
- New technologies allowing candidates to become more independent of parties and appeal directly to voters, weakening the role of parties in the nomination process.
- Candidate-centered campaigns in which candidates, not parties, have most of the initiative and influence.