Political Parties

• Like interest groups, political parties are important linkage institutions

• Even though they were not mentioned in the Constitution, they quickly developed (1790’s) and we still have them today

Our Two Party System

• The First Party System (1790’s to 1820’s)–Hamiltonian Federalists vs. the

Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans–Hamiltonians favored a stronger

federal government–Jeffersonians were states’ rightists

Our Two Party System

• The Second Party System (1830’s to 1850’s)– Democrats vs. Whigs– Jacksonian Democrats (in the Jeffersonian

tradition) vs. Whigs (in the Hamiltonian tradition)– Jacksonians were generally states rightests and

the Whigs more national – The Democratic Party is the world’s oldest

political party

Our Two Party System

• The Third Party System (1850’s to today)–Democrats vs. Republicans–What these parties stood for over 100 years

ago is different than today–FDR and the New Deal played the key role in

this change–The Civil Rights movement and the 60’s

triggered the transition of the South from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party

Third Parties

• Any political party that is not one of the two major parties (aka – Minor Parties)

• Three Largest–Libertarian–Green–Constitution

More Third Parties

• CPUSA – Communist Party USA

• SPUSA – Socialist Party USA• America First Party• Reform Party

Third Parties

• Tend to represent interests that are not being addressed by either of the two major parties

• Some are single issue parties (Green)• Some are splinter parties – People unhappy

with the majority of their party (TR in 1912 (Progressive/Bull Moose), Strom Thurmond in 1948 (Dixiecrats))

Importance of Third Parties

Provide an outlet and alternative for voters

If popular, one of the two major parties usually adopts the issue(s)

Example – Populist Party absorbed by Democrats in 1896

Best Minor Party Showings in U.S. History

Teddy Roosevelt in 191288 Electoral Votes

Ross Perot in 199219% of the Popular Vote (0 Electoral Votes)

Eugene V. Debs (Socialist) in 1912

900,000 votes

Third Parties

• Third parties rarely win elections, but they sometimes determine who wins an election (Ross Perot in 1992)

• Our electoral system works against third parties– Elections are winner-take-all (as opposed to

proportional)– Electoral College is winner-take-all in each state

The Party Organization – The Structure of Political Parties

• Political parties have an organizational structure at the national, state, and local level

• National Party Structure– The President is the defacto head of his party– The National Committee (RNC and DNC)– Raise funds, Deal with conflicts within the

party, Promote the party’s image in the media

DNC Chair

• President always appoint party national committee chair

• Debbie Wasserman Schutlz – Congresswomen from Florida

RNC Chair

• Reince Priebus (Raintz Preebus)

National Party Structure

• The National Nominating Convention– Every 4 years prior to a presidential election (July

or August) – Delegates select the Presidential and Vice

Presidential candidates (little drama in this now)– Delegates write the party platform

• Statement of the what the party believes in• Usually written to please the ideologues and not

always strictly followed by the candidates

National Nominating Conventions

– Delegates approve any changes to the rules and regulations governing party procedures (for example – how delegates to the convention are chosen)

– Conventions have now become spectacles of party unity and patriotism, with very little drama

– Lots of speeches and platitudes (the same old, tired statements said as if they were new)

– They are free, nationally televised advertisements for the parties and their candidates…a celebration of the party, so to speak

Party Identification

• Lean Toward the Democratic Party (The Democratic base)– Black Americans (90+ percent)– Mexican Americans– Puerto Ricans– Asian Americans (in recent elections)– Women– Jews– Catholics have been moving away from the Democratic Party– The Coasts (East and West) and Upper Midwest– The Young– Lower Income

Party Identification

• Lean Toward the Republican Party (The Republican base)– Cuban Americans (Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz)– Men– White Americans– Protestants– Religious Conservatives– Upper class– White working class (Reagan Democrats)– The South, The Great Plains and the Mountain West, The

Southwest– Senior citizens

Party Identification

• Outside Responsibility–Pay attention to the trends in party

identification over the last 80+ years

Campaigns and Elections

• Americans hold elections in regular intervals • National elections are held on the first Tuesday after

the first Monday in November in even numbered years

• Midterm Elections – (aka Off-Year Elections)– 2014, 2010, 2006, 2002, 1998

• Presidential Elections– 2016, 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000

• The States and localities are responsible for organizing and running elections (Federalism)

Types of Elections

• Primary Elections– Held to select each party’s candidates for the

General Election– At the national level, the primaries

determine who the delegates are to the national nominating convention

– A Progressive Era reform designed to give “the people” greater power and reduce the power of party leaders

Types of Primaries

• The Closed Primary– In some states, only registered members of a political party

can vote in that party’s primary• The Open Primary

– In some states like Texas, any registered voter can vote in either primary

• The Runoff– Some states require 50% plus 1 (a majority) or more to win

a primary (As opposed to a plurality)– If not, the top two finishers have a runoff election– Website Page 2 – List of state primaries

The General Election

• The decisive election; the one that determines the final winner

• At the state and local level, can be at any time but is usually paired with the national election in November of even years

Quick PT Review

•Majority•Plurality•Proportional

The Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

• The Progressive Era also led to other election laws designed to increase the power of “the people

• The Initiative– Allows voters to propose their own laws to be

voted on– Usually requires a certain number of signatures

to propose– 24 states allow this (Not Texas)

The Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

• The Referendum– Allows citizens to vote directly on laws proposed by a

legislature (instead of the legislature voting)– A form of direct democracy– 24 states allow this (Not Texas)

• The Recall– Allows voters to remove a government official before

the next election (18 states, Not Texas)– Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor of

California after a recall election removed the previous governor

The Presidential Campaign

• Often begins years before the general election

• Potential candidates establish “exploratory committees” to determine if there is enough support and money to be a serious candidate

Putting Together a Team

• The candidate will then put together a campaign staff– Campaign Manager/Campaign Strategist– Political and Economic Consultants– Media Consultant– Pollsters– Financial Advisor/Treasurer– Staff Director– Press Spokesperson– Webmasters– Speech Writers

The Presidential Election Process

• On top of their staff, they will need grassroots volunteers at the state and local level

• At some point, they will make an official announcement that they are running for President

• Can be over a year before the general election (Romney announced in June 2011)

The Primaries and Caucuses

• The next big step is to achieve the party nomination

• This requires winning enough delegates to represent the candidate at the National Nominating Convention

• A candidate wins delegates by doing well in the party primaries and caucuses (different methods for selecting delegates)

• They (the primaries and caucuses) begin in January of the presidential election year

The Primary vs. The Caucus

• In presidential campaigns, a caucus is a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support and select delegates for nominating conventions. A primary is a statewide voting process in which voters cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates.

Iowa and New Hampshire

• Iowa and New Hampshire have traditionally been the first caucus and the first primary

• These two small states receive a tremendous amount of attention from potential candidates

• A good showing in these early states can ignite a campaign

• A poor showing can destroy a campaign• Look at 2012 Primary and Caucus calendar

The Primaries and Caucuses

• A series of debates are held throughout this process

• Website Page 2 – Republican Primary Debate Highlights

• It’s all about the ability to raise money and pay for TV ads

• As the process moves on, candidates drop from the race as they drop in the polls

The National Nominating Convention

• By the time of the convention (July or August), the candidate with the most delegates to the convention has been determined

• The only drama is who the Vice Presidential nominee will be

The General Election Campaign

• From August to November• Numerous speeches, travel all across the

country• Website Page 2 – McCain defends Obama• Usually 3 presidential debates are held (1 VP

debate too!)• Website Page 2 – Obama and Romney

Debates

The General Election Day

• Candidates cast their votes with the media present

• Exit polling takes place• The major media organizations do not project

winners in the states until the polls have closed in that state

• Why?

The General Election Day

• At some point that night, the loser of the election calls and congratulates the winner

• Concession and Victory speeches are given

The Electoral College

• Presidential elections are state-by-state elections

• It’s all about which candidate wins a plurality of the votes in a particular state

• That candidate’s party gets to select the actual electors that will cast the actual votes for president

• Go to Electoral College map on class website

The Electoral College

• Each state gets electoral votes that equal the number of representatives they have in the House of Representative plus their 2 senators

• The votes a state gets in the Electoral College are adjusted every 10 years as a result of the new census

It Takes 270 to Win!!!!!

• Since there are 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 Senators, and the 23rd Amendment gave Washington D.C. 3 electoral votes ----- there are 538 total electoral votes

• To win the election a candidate must get a majority!

• Presidential elections are all about the

strategy to get to 270 electoral votes

The Electoral Vote

• Electors actually cast their vote for president in their state capital in the December after the November election

• On January 6, the Vice President (presiding over the Senate) opens the sealed votes and the election results become official

• On January 20, the new president is inaugurated

Should the Electoral College be replaced?

No–It has served the nation well for all these years

–It assures that the states count…It preserves federalism

Should the Electoral College be replaced?

–It protects the two party system and discourages fringe third parties

–It gives slim winners in the popular vote the legitimacy to govern

–It protects the small states (California 55 vs. Wyoming 3)

CLOSE POPULAR VOTE

Year Candidate Popular Vote Electoral Vote

1884 Grover ClevelandJames G. Blaine

4, 911,0174,848,334[62,683]

219182

1960 John F. KennedyRichard M. Nixon*Harry F. Byrd

34,227,09634,108,546[118,550]

30321915

1968 Richard M. NixonHubert H. HumphreyGeorge C. Wallace

31,785,48031,275,166[510,314] 9,906,473

30119146

2000 *George W. Bush Albert Gore, Jr.

50,444,15650,997,335[553,179]

271266

Should the Electoral College be replaced?

Yes–Popular vote winner should never lose the election

WINNER DID NOT RECEIVE THE MOST POPULAR VOTES

Year Candidate Popular Vote Electoral Vote

1824 *John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Other Candidates

105,321155,87290,869

849978

1876 *Rutherford B. Hayes Samuel Tilden

4,033,9504,284,757

185184

1888 Benjamin HarrisonGrover Cleveland

5,444,3375,540,050

233168

2000 *George W. Bush Albert Gore, Jr.

50,444,15650,997,335

271266

*1824—Elected by the House of Representatives because no candidate won a majority. 1876—An electoral commission set up to rule on contested election results in three states gave Hayes the presidency.2000—Contested election in Florida decided by U.S. Supreme Court gave Bush the presidency.

Should the Electoral College be replaced?

It distorts the results of presidential elections

No incentive to campaign in “safe” states

It discourages voter turnout in “safe” states

Alternate Plans

The Proportional Plan The Congressional District Plan The National Bonus Plan Straight Nationwide Popular Vote

Proportional Plan

Electoral votes are divided in each state based on the proportion of the popular vote

Texas would have been :– Romney 22 (57.2%)– Obama 16 (41.4%)

Benefits of Proportional Plan

Would increase voter turnout

Would encourage third parties

Candidates would want to campaign everywhere

Problems with the Proportional Plan

How do you divide electoral votes?–Candidate A – 5.5 electoral votes–Candidate B – 5.5 electoral votes

All states would have to adopt the same system

Congressional District Plan

One electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each Congressional district

Maine and Nebraska currently use this

Maine has never split its electoral votes

Nebraska did for the first time in 2008 (Obama got 1)

Nebraska - 2008

Congressional District Pros

Votes would be more representative of people’s vote in each district.

Congressional District Cons

Most districts have been gerrymandered to be safe districts

It would make gerrymandering even more hotly contested

Candidates would only focus on the relatively few competitive districts

National Bonus Plan

Keep the current system but give the winner of the national popular vote a bonus of 102 electoral votes (2 for each state plus 2 for Washington, D.C.)

National Bonus Plan Pros

Would encourage “losing” voters in safe states to vote

Would almost guarantee that the national popular vote winner wins the election

Direct Vote with Plurality Rule

National popular vote winner wins the election even without a majority

Direct Vote with Plurality Rule Pros

Guarantees the candidate with the most votes wins the election

Fits with the basic concept of democracy…would reflect the will of the people

Simple…easy for people to understand

Direct Vote with Plurality Rule Cons

Would diminish the influence of the smaller states (Cal vs. Wyoming)

Candidates would focus even more on big cities

If we ever needed a recount, it’d be nationwide

Could get a winner with a very small plurality of the vote

Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?

Campaign Finance Regulation

• Teddy Roosevelt first called for laws restricting campaign contributions from corporations back in 1905

• Since then, Congress has passed laws designed to limit the influence of the wealthy, regulate candidate spending, and provide for full public disclosure of campaign finances

Campaign Finance Regulation

• In 1971 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) placing further restrictions on money in politics

• In 1974, Congress established the Federal Elections Commission (the FEC) to enforce campaign finance laws (in the aftermath of Watergate)

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

• The FECA was challenged as a violation of free speech

• The Court ruled (7-1)– Spending money to influence elections is a form

of free speech and therefore protected– Yet, limits on individual contributions to a

candidate or campaign are allowed (those limits enhance the “integrity of our system of representative democracy”)

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

• The Court also ruled– No limits can be placed on individual spending on

their own campaigns• Despite the Buckley ruling, money played an

increasingly prominent role in U.S. elections in the 1980’s and 1990’s

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

• Aka – McCain-Feingold• Designed to ban “soft money”

– Unlimited contributions to political parties, not strictly regulated by the FEC, supposedly used for “party building” activities like encouraging people to vote

• Required that all contributions to parties be “hard money” regulated and restricted by the FEC

Senators John McCain (R) and Russ Feingold (D)

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

• Prohibited “issue advocacy ads” by corporations or unions, for or against a candidate, within 30 days of a primary or caucus and 60 days of the general election (PACs were still Ok)

• Also required that ads indicate what organization created them “Paid for by _________”

• As well as the “I am ___________ and I approved this message”

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• Citizens United is a non-profit corporation promoting conservative values (they produce TV ads, DVD’s)

• Citizens United seeks to reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security.

• In 2008, they released a documentary entitled Hillary: The Movie, attacking the candidacy of Hillary Clinton

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• The FEC made it clear that the movie could not be aired within the 30 day period prior to a primary

• Citizens United brought litigation arguing that their 1st Amendment freedom was being violated

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• The case made it to the Supreme Court• The Court ruled (5-4)

– Corporations, like people, have a right to free speech

– Corporations (and Unions) cannot be limited in their spending for or against a candidate

– Therefore declaring that provision of McCain-Feingold unconstitutional

The Mass Media

• Another linkage institution (joins interest groups and political parties)

• ***Spend a lot of time on the “horse race” aspect of politics – who’s ahead, what the polls say

• ***Influences what people think about more than what they think – sets the agenda

The Watchdog Function

• In a democracy, the media plays an important “watchdog” function

• This refers to the job of the media to critically analyze the actions of government and its leaders as a sort of check on power

The Mass Media

• Types of Mass Media

–Print Media–Electronic Media–Digital Media

Types of Media

• The Print Media– Newspapers and magazines– Are they soon to be obsolete?– The New York Times, The Washington Post– Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report– Still, quite a bit of in depth news reporting and

investigative journalism

Types of Media

• The Broadcast Media– Radio and Television (TV is still the #1 source of

news for Americans)– 1990’s rise of talk radio, mostly conservative

• Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Glen Beck

– Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS– National Public Radio (NPR)

Regulation of the Broadcast Media

• No government ownership of the media in the U.S., but there is federal regulation

• In 1934 Congress established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)– Regulates TV and Radio (not satellite radio)– Stations must be licensed by the FCC– Used to enforce the Fairness Doctrine (not since

1987)– Regulates indecency and obscenity

• Almost half of its fines since 1990 have been levied at Howard Stern

Types of Media

• Digital Media– Internet, Tablets, Smartphones, Social Media,

Blogs– Interest group websites, political party websites,

candidate’s websites– See, “Where are people getting their news from

today” from Website Page 2

Concentration of Media Ownership

• Since the 1996 Telecommunications Act, there’s been a trend toward mergers creating fewer media corporations that wield greater power and influence

• This decreases the perspectives and viewpoints presented on radio and TV (why many turn to the internet)

The Big 6 Media Conglomerates

Media Bias

Media Bias

• Corporations are driven by profit and this is what guides most of the decisions of the media outlets

• Yet, numerous studies have shown that journalists are more likely to be liberal than conservative

• There is no question that news can be distorted, twisted, and framed in such a way as to promote a particular ideological perspective

C-SPAN

• The most unbiased television source of news about our political system

• It’s mission is to cover public policy without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view

Pundits, Talking Heads

• Political commentators that appear on political programs that discuss politics