Political parties 15

Political Parties

Political Parties

• What Are Political Parties?

• The Two-Party System in America

• The Function of Political Parties

• Parties and Elections

• The Role of Minor (Third) Parties

• Parties and Public Policy

• Parties and Democracy

Political Ideology (Belief System)

• A coherent set of beliefs about the role of government, politics, and public policy.

- How the government should operate and what it should do.

Political Parties: The Basics

• Group of people with a similar political ideology who join together to CONTROL the government– Similar ideas– Want their ideas to become public policy– Gain power by winning elections

– United States• Dominated by two parties• Coalition – large group with various interests

Functions of a Party

• Nominating• Government Business• Informer-Stimulator• Seal of Approval• Watchdog

Nominating Candidates Four Ways to Nominate

1.Caucuses- local meetings held to nominate candidates (19 states today- Iowa, Hawaii, Maine, Idaho, Colorado…)2.Nominating Conventions- official public meeting of a party to choose candidates3.Petition- a person announces their candidacy and files petitions (with signatures) to get onto a ballot4.Primary Elections- party members vote to select people to run in the general election (most common today)

Government Business

• Create public policy (make the laws)

Informer-Stimulator

• Informs the public about the issues and stimulates interest and discussion

Seal of Approval

• Approves candidates• Ensure candidates are

qualified

Watchdog

• Party out of power criticizes party in power

State of the Union 2016• President Obama provided his vision for the

coming year and the current “state” of our Union.

– Nikki Haley (Gov. (R) SC) – GOP response

The Two Party System

• Two Party System – A system in which two parties dominate the political system

• US has always had a two party system

-Federalists and Anti-Federalists

• Minor parties exist, but they have a difficult time winning in national elections; minor parties have had success at the local level

American Third Parties

• Third parties have played an important role in American politics.

• Spoiler role – (2000 Election Bush V Gore) Nader Green Party

• The ideas of the third party may be adopted by one of the major parties. (Green Party pushes for major parties to adapt “Green policies”.)

Minor Parties• Single issue – solving one problem

(Prohibition Party)

• Ideological – complete idea of solving all problems in society (Socialist Party)

• Economic Protest – hard economic times(Greenback Party 1876, Tea Party-Present)

• Splinter – splits off one of the major parties (Bull Moose Party- 1912, Libertarian Party- Present Day)

American Third (Minor) PartiesWhy do we have a Two-Party System

1.History and Tradition- we began as two-parties and remained that way.

2.Electoral System- Single-member districts; only one person wins, so a vote for a minor party candidate is seen as a wasted vote. (Winner-take-all system)

3.Consensus- Americans agree on most important matters. Minor parties that disagree with the consensus do not get support

Voting for a Third Party candidate, is seen as a wasted vote!

Political Parties

• One Party Systems– Usually found in authoritarian gov’ts.

– Power through force - Communist China. Theocracies are also usually a one party sys. Iran

• Multi Party Systems– Most common system in the world

– Represent widely different ideologies– One party rarely gets enough support for control– Often combine to form coalitions– These systems can be politically unstable

Political Parties

• Two Party Systems– About a dozen nations have two party systems– Two parties dominate– Minor parties exist

Two Party Systems

• Federalists vs. Anti Federalists (Democratic Republicans)

• Democrats vs. Whigs

• Democrats vs. *Republicans (1860 - 1932)

• 1932 – 1968 Democrats Dominated

• 1968 – Present - Divided Government

Movement Away From the Major Parties

• More independents

• More Spilt ticket voting- voting for different parties in the same election.

Example

Governor- (R) √

Senator- (D) √

Congressmen- (R) √

Sample Ballot