1 / 17

Political Parties

Political Parties. Chapter Nine. The Role of Political Parties in a Democracy. Political Parties- Organizations that try to win control of government by electing people to office who carry the party label. Party Platform- The party’s statement of its position on the issues.

zarek
Télécharger la présentation

Political Parties

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Political Parties Chapter Nine

  2. The Role of Political Parties in a Democracy • Political Parties- Organizations that try to win control of government by electing people to office who carry the party label. • Party Platform- The party’s statement of its position on the issues. • Popular Sovereignty & Political Equality: • Keep Elected Officials Responsive- Party Platform • Stimulate Political Interest • Ensure Accountability • Help People Make Sense of Complexity in Politics • Make Government Work

  3. The American Two-Party System • The U.S. comes closer to having a “pure” two-party system than any other nation in the world. • Most western democracies have a multi-party system. • Major Political Parties in American History: • The Federalist Party (1788-1816) • The Democratic-Republican Party (1800-1832) • The Democratic Party (1832- Present) • The Whig Party (1834-1856) • The Republican Party (1854- Present)

  4. Why a Two-Party System? • Electoral Rules: • Most Western Democracies: • Proportional Representation- The awarding of legislative seats to political parties to reflect the proportion of the popular vote each party receives. • United States: • Winner-Take-All • Plurality Election • Single Member Districts • Electoral College • Restrictions on Minor Parties

  5. The Role of Minor parties in the Two-party System • Types of Minor Parties: • Protest Parties • Ideological parties • Single-Issue Parties • Splinter Parties • History of Minor Parties in America

  6. Shifts in the American Two-Party System • Realignment- The process by which one party supplants another as the dominant party in a political system. • The New Deal Party Era: • New Deal- The programs of the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. • Democratic Party Dominance (1932-1964) • New Deal Coalition- The informal electoral alliance of working-class ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, urban dwellers, racial minorities and southerners that was the basis of the Democratic Party dominance of American politics from the New Deal to the early 1970s.

  7. The Dealignment Era • Started in 1968 was completed in 1980 • Democratic Party support for civil rights revolution: new anti-discrimination laws, school busing, minority set-asides, affirmative action. • Democratic Party support for: feminists, gay & lesbian equal rights and a strict interpretation of separation of church and state. • Democratic Party opposition to the Vietnam War. • Divided Government- Control of the executive and legislative branches by different political parties. • Dealignment- A gradual reduction in the dominance of one political party without another party supplanting it.

  8. The Parties at War Era • Republican control of both houses of Congress in 1994. (First time since 1946) Newt Gingrich was House Speaker and gets credit for this. • The impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998 and the near removal of him from office in 1999. (The vote in both cases was mostly along party lines.) • The public was evenly divided: 1/3 Independent, 1/3 Democrat. 1/3 Republican • The Bush-Gore Presidential Election of 2000 • Democrats have claimed a new shift with the 2006 and 2008 election victories, but the poor economy gave Republicans a boost in the 2010 elections.

  9. The Democratic and Republican Parties Today • American political parties are NOT top down organizations. • Party Membership vs. Party Identification • Party Base: • Republicans- Whites, South, Rocky Mountains, conservative Christians, Mormons, religious, business community (small and corporate), economic conservatives, social conservatives, rural areas, high income groups. • Democrats- African Americans, Jews, Hispanics (non-Cuban), secular, post-graduate degrees, union households, economic and social liberals, West Coast, Northeast, lower income, university towns, technology research centers

  10. The Democratic and Republican Parties Today • Swing Voters: • Catholics • Independents • Loosely Organized Parties- Candidate Centered, not Party Centered • Party Conventions: • Governing Bodies • Held Every Four Years • Write Party Platform • Nominate President and Vice-President

  11. National Party Committees • Congressional Campaign Committees • State Party Organizations • Interest and Advocacy Groups

  12. Party Ideologies • Political Ideology- A coherently organized set of beliefs about the fundamental nature of a good society and the role government ought to play in achieving it. • Both major American parties are Broad Coalitions (winner take all elections) • Core of loyal supporters and party activists • Core beliefs of all Americans: • Free Enterprise • Individualism • Constitution • Bill of Rights

  13. Party Ideologies • Public Perceptions: • Democrats- Liberal, pro-government, pro-choice, pro-environment, protecting the poor and civil rights. • Republicans- Conservative, opposing government activism, supporting business, opposing abortion, opposing same-sex marriage.

  14. Party Ideologies • Party Platforms • Republicans- talk more about opportunity and freedom. • Democrats- talk more about poverty and social welfare. • Party Activists • Republican activists are more conservative than Republican voters • Democratic activists are more liberal than Democratic voters

  15. Party Ideologies • Democrats- liberal wing and centrist wing (Blue Dogs) • Republicans- Social conservatives and economic conservatives. RHINOs and Tea Party

More Related