Transcript Political Parties and Elections - Pequannock Township High School

Political Parties and Elections
Political Parties
 Political Party: group of people with broad common
interests who organize to…
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Win elections
Control gov’t
Influence gov’t policies
 The U.S currently has a two-party system
 System in which two parties compete for power even though
minor parties exist
 Republicans & Democrats
One-Party Systems
 The party is the government
 Decisions of the party leader set gov’t policy
 Examples:
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Political differences only occur within the party because the gov’t
does not accept any opposition
In elections only the party’s candidates appear on the ballot
 One-party systems are usually found in countries with
gov’t that come into power by force
 Also can occur in countries where gov’t is dominated by
religion (theocracy)
Multiparty Systems
 Parties often represent widely differing ideologies: basic
beliefs about gov’t
 One party rarely gets enough support to control the gov’t
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Several parties often combine forces to obtain a majority a form a
coalition government
 Problem: when groups with different beliefs share power
coalitions often break down and require new elections
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Many nations with multiparty systems are politically unstable
 Examples: France and Italy
Parties in the Great Depression and After
 1932 Dems won control of the White House and Congress
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For next 50 years they remained majority
 Beginning in 1968 Republicans controlled the White
House for 5 of next 8 presidential terms
 1994: Repubs won both houses on Congress for first time
in 40 years
 1995: first time since 1945 that a Dem president worked
with a Repub Congress
Role of Minor Parties
 Third Party: also called minor party
 Common element: belief that neither major party is meeting
certain needs
 Types of third parties:
 Single- issue: focuses exclusively on on major social, moral or
economic issue. Usually short lived- 1840s Free Soil Party
 Ideological: focuses on overall change in society- socialist,
communists, libertarian
 Splinter: splits away from major party because of
disagreement- 1912 Bull Moose Party led by T. Roosevelt
Obstacles to Third Parties
 Difficulty getting on the ballot
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Large number of voter signatures in a short time
 Single-member districts: only one party will win so
majority party usually victorious
 Financing the campaign
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Many reluctant to contribute for fear that third-party cannot will not
win
 Appeal to voters in certain regions or certain groups in
society
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Need wider appeal
Membership and Organization
 Joining a political party is not required in the U.S
 People join a party if they support their ideals and candidates
 Some simply vote while others get more involved by
contributing money or volunteering
 Voter may declare that they are an independent: not
supporting any particular party:
 Political party structure is broken up into local, state
and national
State Party Organization
 State central committee: made up of representatives
from the party’s county organizations
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Choose the party state chairperson with influence from a
governor or senator
 Main function of the committee: elect the party’s
candidate for state gov’t offices
 Also provides assistance to local candidates by
coordinating activities and raising money
National Party Organization
 2 parts:
 National convention
 National committee
 National convention: gathering of local and state party
members every 4 years to nominate party’s pres and vice-pres
candidates
 National committee: large group composed of reps from the
50 states that runs the party
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Party national chairperson: manages daily operations- raises money, PR
and promotes nat’l, state and local cooperation
 Dems and republicans also have independent campaign
committees for Congress
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Assist senators and reps that are running for reelection
Political Party Functions
Recruiting Candidates
 Seek people who have a good chance of being elected
 Political parties select candidates and present them
to the voters
 Often said that political parties are election-oriented
rather than issue-oriented
 Members share general ideology but differ often exist
on specific issues
Educating the Public
 Each party publishes its position on current topics facing the
country
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Press conferences, speeches, pamphlets, ads, interviews
 Sometimes candidates attack their opponents views rather
than stating their own
 When major party candidates fail to address issues, minor
party candidates may force debate
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Green party
 Many Americans not informed about important issues
 Political party affiliation helps voters assess which candidate
will be more acceptable based on their views
Operating the Government
 Congress and state legislatures are organized and
work on basis of party affiliation
 Party leaders make sure members support the party’s
position when considering legislation
 Party also acts as a link between legislature and chief
executive (pres or gov)
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Work through party leaders to promote their administration’s
programs
Dispensing Patronage
 Patronage: favors given to members to reward party
loyalty
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Jobs, contracts, appointments to gov’t positions
 Example: Labor unions or business exes that
contribute to a party may expect them to be
sympathetic to their problems if they come to power
 Laws and court decisions have limited patronage in
recent years but practice remains major way that
parties control and reward supporters
Loyal Opposition
 Party out of power in the legislative or executive branch
become the “watchdog”
 Observes party in power, criticizes and offers solutions to
political problems
 If done successfully, public opinion may swing in the
watchdog party’s favor and return it to power in a future
election
 Makes party in power more sensitive to the will of the
people
Reduction of Conflict
 To win an election a party must attract support from
different groups
 Accomplish this by encouraging groups to compromise
and work together
 Outcome: parties encourage gov’t to adopt moderate
policies with mass appeal
 Parties contribute to political stability by peacefully
transferring power
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Know the party will continue to exist as the opposition party and will
return to power someday
How Candidates Are Selected
Caucuses
 Caucuses: private meetings of party leaders
 Historically caucuses chose all candidates for office
but became criticized as undemocratic because
people had no say
 Modern caucuses: party rules require openness with
selection process
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Selection starts local and works up to national
 12 states use caucuses
Nominating Convention
 Nominating convention: official public meeting of a party
to choose candidates for office
 Local party reps>county nominating convention selects
candidates for county and state> state nominating
convention selects candidates for state and nat’l>national
convention
 Convention system also became undemocratic because
party leaders (bosses) chose delegates and controlled
conventions
 Public reaction against bosses in 1900s led to primary
election as method of selection
Primary Elections
 Direct primary: election in which party members select people
to run in general election
 Closed primary: only members of a political party can vote
 Open primary: all voters may participate even if they do not
belong to a party
 Runoff primary: primary election between 2 candidates who
received most votes in the first primary
 Each state sets date of its primary
 In most states a primary candidate does not need a majority of
votes to win but only a plurality: more votes than any other
candidate
Petition
 Person announces his/her candidacy and files
petitions that a specified number of voters have
signed to be placed on the ballot
 Some states require all candidates file petitions
 Party-backed candidates have an advantage because
party workers will circulate petitions
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Also use financial and organizational resources to back choice
National Convention
Pre-Convention Planning
 National committee chooses site and date
 Also tell each state party org how many votes the
state will have at convention
 In the past electoral votes=convention votes BUT
recently parties have used complicated formulas
National Conventions
1992
New York City
Bill Clinton
Houston
George H.W.
Bush
1996
Chicago
Bill Clinton
San Diego
Bob Dole
2000
Los Angeles
Al Gore
Philadelphia
George W.
Bush
2004
Boston
John Kerry
New York City
George W.
Bush
2008
Denver
Barack
Obama
St. Paul, Minn.
John McCain
2012
Charlotte
Barack
Obama
Tampa
Mitt Romney
Assembling the Convention
 Thousands of delegates assemble in the convention
city
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Media, protestors, spectators
 Many delegates arrive already pledged to a candidate
but those who are not are sought after by the
candidates
 Evening of the opening day has keynote speech:
party member intended to unite the party for the
upcoming campaign
Nominating the Candidates
 Convention chairperson oversees delegates voting
 However, in recent conventions most candidates have
already been chosen
 Partly because TV has helped to narrow candidates in the
primaries- some drop out knowing they cannot continue
on in the primaries
 Party leaders benefit from early victory of one candidate-
have more time to plan the convention and unify the
party
Vice-Presidential Nomination
 Normally takes place on last day of the convention
 Party’s presidential nominee selects a running mate
and convention automatically nominates person
chosen
 Person chosen usually balances out ticket
 Different personal, political, and geographic background from
pres nominee
Acceptance Speech
 Last event of the convention
 Speeches are intended to:
 Unify the party
 Attack the opposition party
 Create a theme for the upcoming campaign
 Appeal to a national TV audience
Election Campaigns
Campaign Strategy & Organization
 270 Electoral Votes to win- focused on states with large
number of votes and swing states
 Campaign strategy questions can include:
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Aggressive attack vs. low-key campaign?
Theme or slogan of campaign?
What issues should be stressed?
How much $ should be spent on: TV, radio, newspaper?
 Strong organization is essential to running a campaign
 Campaign manager: responsible for overall strategy and
planning
TV and the Candidate’s Image
 Image voters have is important- which candidate is
perceived as more “presidential”?
 Mass media can create both positive and negative images
for the candidates
 TV is the most important communication tool- single
most commonly used source of news for most Americans
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Studies have shown that people are more likely to believe what they
see and hear on TV than read in newspapers or hear on radio
 Televised debates first held in 1960
Financing Campaigns
Campaign Finance Rules
 Until 1970s, candidates for public office relied on
contributions from organizations, labor unions and
interested individuals
 This raised concerns:
 Only wealthy individuals and groups tended to have political
power
 Once a candidate won, would they owe special favors to the
people who contributed to the campaign?
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
 Provided a new system of campaign financing for federal
elections based on 3 principles:
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1. public funding for presidential elections
2. limitations on the amounts presidential candidates could spend on
their campaigns
3. public disclosure of how much candidates spend to get elected
 Under these laws businesses and labor unions were
prohibited from making any direct contributions
 However, individuals could contribute up to $1,000 to
any candidates election
Political Action Committee
 PAC: organization designed to support political
candidates with campaign contributions
 An individual may contribute up to $5,000 to a PAC
 A PAC may not contribute more than $5,000 to a
single candidate
Campaign Finance Reform
 During the 1996 campaign for president, fund-
raising became an issue
 Why is campaign reform so difficult?
 The stakes are high- PACs usually give candidates a large
portion of their contributions
 Under federal election laws, candidates, PACs and
political parties must keep records of contributions
and report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
all contributions over $100
Citizens United v. FEC
 January 2010: the decision tossed out the corporate and
union ban on making independent expenditures and
financing electioneering communications
 Basically…the high court’s 5-4 decision said that it is OK
for corporations and labor unions to spend as much as
they want to convince people to vote for or against a
candidate
 The decision did not affect contributions
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It is still illegal for companies and labor unions to give money
directly to candidates for federal office
Influence on Voters
1. PERSONAL BACKGROUND OF
VOTER
2. DEGREE OF LOYALTY TO A
POLITICAL PARTY
3. ISSUES OF THE CAMPAIGN
4. VOTER’S IMAGE OF THE
CANDIDATE
5. PROPAGANDA
Personal Background of Voters
 Age and the differences that come with young vs. old
 Education, religion, and racial or ethnic background
 Cross-pressured voter: one who is caught between
conflicting elements of his/her own life
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Catholics more inclined to vote Democrat
BUT if an individual Catholic voter is also a wealthy business
exec, usually wealthy business people are Republican
Loyalty to Political Parties
 Strong party voters select their party’s candidate in
election after election
 Usually vote straight-party ticket: select the candidates of
their party only
 Weak party voters are more likely to switch their votes to
the rival party from time to time
 Independent voters: don’t think of themselves as
Republican or Democrat
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Number of independent voters has increased over the years
Become important element in presidential elections along with weak
party voters
Issues in the Election Campaigns & The
Candidate’s Image
 Voters are better informed due to:
 TV
 better education on the issues
 greater impact of current events on people’s lives (crime,
inflation, unemployment, personal rights, ect)
 Americans want a president who appears to be
someone they can trust
 Many select a candidate on image alone
Propaganda
 Propaganda: involves using ideas, information or rumors
to influence opinion
 As political campaigns adapted to TV, campaign
managers developed several propaganda techniques:
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Patriotism
Famous actor or musician
Negative labels- ‘liberal’, ‘conservative’, ‘right-wing’
 When political propaganda becomes obviously
misleading, people become skeptical and some analysts
believe the result can be reduced voter participation