Chapter 12 – Political Parties

 

Political Parties

            Government Party (politicians)

            Organizational Party (organizers)

            The Electorate (voters)

           

The Early history of American Political Parties

            Federalists and Anti-Federalists

            Hamilton and Jefferson

                        Washington and “factionalism”

            About principles, about personalities

           

The Democrats and Whigs

            Jacksonian Democracy and the extension of the Franchise

            Spoils system

            Civil war

 

Origins of Modern Parties

            Post civil war U.S.

            Party “machines”

            Social and economic functions of the parties

 

Modern Parties

            Civil service reform

            The bureaucratic state

 

What do parties do?

            Gather Power – perpetuate themselves

                        Coalition forming

            Unify politicians across institutions

            Elections

            Voting and Issue Cue (Information purposes)

            Policy formulation and promotion

 

Structure of Parties

            National Committees

                        On down

 

The Party in government

            Congressional Parties

            Ideological Cohesion

            Personalities, Ideas, and “national elections”

Presidential Party

            President as party leader

            Pro-party presidents, triangulation

State party organizations

            Governors and Ideology

            State party Unity; patronage or ideology

 

The Modern Parties

            The need for money

                        Money and Politics

            Organizing

                        Republican Organizational Advantages

                                    Grass roots

                                    Small Donations

                                    Specific interests groups

                                    Sundays

                        Democratic Organizational Advantages

                                    Social Activists

                                    Large Donations (Net-roots)

                                    Specific Groups

                                    Unions

                                    Institutional Advantages

           

The party in the electorate

            Party Identification

Parties as information sources

“Non-partisan”

            Sources of party identification 

                        Declining loyalty?

 

Sources of Identification

            Gender

            Race and ethnicity

            Age

            Social and Economic Factors

            Religion

            Marital Status

            Ideology

 

Third Parties

            Greens, Libertarians, Socialists

            Reform Party

            Reflections of popular will……

            Organizational and institutional problems with third parties

           

 

Median Voter Theorem