Parties and Elections Selections from Chapters 11 & 12
Party Eras in American History Party Eras Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power Critical Election An electoral earthquake where new issues and new coalitions emerge Party Realignment The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election
Party Eras in American History 1796-1824: The First Party System Madison warned of factions Federalists: first political party 1828-1856: Jackson and the Democrats Versus the Whigs Modern party founded by Jackson Whigs formed mainly to oppose Jacksonian Democrats
Party Eras in American History 1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras Republicans rose as the antislavery party 1896 election centered on industrialization 1932-1964: The New Deal Coalition New Deal coalition: forged by the Democrats; consisted of urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, the poor, Southerners
Party Eras in American History 1968-Present: The Era of Divided Party Government Divided government: one party controls Congress and the other controls White House Divided government due in party to: Party dealignment: disengagement of people from parties as evidenced by shrinking party identification Party neutrality: people are indifferent towards the two parties
Parties: What Do They Do?
Tasks of the Parties Linkage Institution: the channels through which people s concerns become political issues on the government s policy agenda Parties Pick Candidates Parties Run Campaigns Parties Give Cues to Voters Parties Articulate Policies Parties Coordinate Policymaking
Third Parties
Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics Third parties: electoral contenders other than the two party parties; rarely win elections Third parties are important. Are safety valves for popular discontent Bring new groups and ideas into politics
Parties that promote certain causes either a controversial single issue such as prohibition of alcoholic beverages or an extreme ideological positions such as socialism or libertarianism
Parties that are an extension of a popular individual with presidential aspirations including John Anderson (1980) and Ross Perot (1992 and 1996)
Splinter parties that are offshoots of a major party such as Teddy Roosevelt s Progressives (1912), Strom Thurmond s States Righters (1948), and George Wallace s American Independents (1968)
Primarily Primaries!
Primaries Closed primaries: Only people who have registered with the party can vote for that party s candidates. Open primaries: Voters decide on Election Day whether they want to vote in the Democrat or Republican primary. Blanket primaries: Voters are presented with a list of candidates from all parties. (declared not constitutional) Jungle Primary What s Up, Louisiana? State parties are better organized in terms of headquarters and budgets than they used to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6i-gyrawm0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mymosjdifdo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd_jao5cfdg
The Electoral College
The Last Battle: The Electoral College oelectoral college actually elects the president founders wanted him chosen by the elite of the country ostates choose the electors owinner-take-all system gives bigger emphasis to more populated states 25
The Last Battle: The Electoral College How it works today: Each state has as many votes as it does Representatives and Senators. Winner of popular vote typically gets all the Electoral College votes for that state Electors meet in December, votes are reported by the vice president in January If no candidate gets a majority (270 votes), the House of Representatives votes for president, with each state casting one vote. 26
The Electoral College & Math 2000 Presidential Election (a small sample of states) Al Gore George Bush 12 1,616,487 Massachusetts 878,502 0 54 5,861,203 California 4,567,429 0 0 2,433,746 Texas 3,799,639 32 0 2,186,190 Ohio 2,351,209 21 4 205,286 Hawaii 137,845 0 0 2,912,253 Florida 2,912,790 25 70 15,215,165 Totals 14,647,414 78
Safe Democratic Toss-Up Safe Republican California New York Colorado Connecticut Oregon Florida Delaware Pennsylvania Iowa Hawaii Rhode Island Nevada Illinois Vermont New Hampshire Maine Washington Ohio Maryland Washington, DC Virginia Massachusetts Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota New Jersey New Mexico 28
Solid Democratic Likely Democratic Leans Democratic Toss Up Leans Republican Likely Republican Solid Republican California Delaware Connecticut Arizona Indiana Kansas Alabama Hawaii Maine (CD 1) Illinois Colorado Maine (CD 2) Louisiana Alaska Maryland New York Minnesota Florida Missouri Mississippi Arizona Massachusetts Rhode Island New Jersey Georgia South Carolina Montana Idaho Vermont Washington New Mexico Iowa Texas Nebraska (CD 2) Washington, DC Oregon Maine (At-Large 2) Kentucky South Dakota Nebraska (4) Michigan Utah North Dakota Nevada New Hampshire North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Virginia Wisconsin Oklahoma Tennessee West Virginia Wyoming