Parties at the Founding

•      The Constitution contains no provision for political parties

–   The Framers did not consider them to be necessary

•      Washington warned against the rise of parties in his Farewell Address

•      Federalists 10 and 51 warn against “factions”

o    Why did they form and why do they persist today?

ΰ They are useful to candidates and to voters

 

Roles of Political Parties

•             Organize elections

–          Nominate candidates and compete for office

–          National, State and Local Committees

•             Provide Voting Cues

–          Help deflect information costs

•             Connect citizens to government

–          Help elected officials create packages of policy

•          Ex: Contract with America

•             Crucial to organization of the legislative branch

 

 

Evolution of Party System and Critical Elections

•      First Party System: Jeffersonian

–   1796-1824

•      Second Party System:  Jacksonian Democracy

–   1828-1856

•      Third Party System: Civil War Period

–   1860-1892

•      Fourth Party System: Industrial Republican

–   1896-1928

•      Fifth Party System: New Deal

–   1932-1964

•      Sixth Party System: Divided Government

–   1968-Present

 

 

Two Party System

•      Other nations:

–   Multi-member districts, proportional representation

How Does the American electoral system reinforces two-party system?

•      Structure of elections:

–   Single-member, simple plurality system

•    “First past the post” elections

•      Other factors:

–   Media attention (or lack thereof)

–   Contributions and Federal Funding

–   Debates

 

Problems with Two Party System:

•      Almost all third parties are marginalized

 

•      Natural incentive for parties and candidates to be similar to each other

 

•      Divided Government and gridlock

 

 

Why Are Parties So Similar?

 

 

Spatial Model:
Model of Political Competition

•      Median Voter Theorem

 

•      Median Party Position

 

•      “Race to the Middle”

 

•      Other uses of Spatial Model (elections, congressional votes)

Divided Government

•      What is divided government?

•      Trends of Divided Government

–  On national level, divided governments has existed for all but 6 years between 1969-2000

•      How do we get divided government?

–  Split-ticket balloting (intentional divided gov’t)

•      Does Divided Government cause gridlock?

 

 

Traditional Constituencies:
Democratic Party

•      Draws support disproportionately from:

•    Urban, big-city voters

•    Labor

•    Minorities voters

•    Ethnic voters

•    Catholics

•    Women

•    Low-income/ Poor

•    Highest and Lowest Education groups

 

Traditional Constituencies: Republican Party

•      Draws support disproportionately from:

•    Rural, small-town voters

•    Suburban voters

•    Protestants

•    Business people and professionals

•    Upper-class/ Wealthy

•    College educated

 

Constituencies for Parties in 2000 Election

 

 

Parties on State Level

•      At the state level, the importance of political parties varies greatly from one state to another

•      In one-party states, it is obvious that parties exercise little discipline over legislative voting (and little effect on policymaking)  AL and LA

–   Factions within parties are more important in these states

•      In states like Connecticut and Michigan, both parties are active and cohesive ΰ In these states, the parties have considerable influence