1. Political Parties
Dr. Christopher S. Rice

2. What is a political party?

3. Political Party
Organizations created for the
purpose of winning elections
and governing once in office.

4. “It is the competition of [parties]
that provides the people with an
opportunity to make a choice.
Without this opportunity popular
sovereignty amounts to nothing.”
- E.E. Schattschneider

5. 2

6. Party Coalition
the groups and interests
that support a party

7. The Necessity of
Coalitions

8. Democratic coalition tends to
draw from society’s “underdogs”

9. Democratic Party Coalition
• Blacks • Jews
• union members • Gays and
• the poor Lesbians
• Urban dwellers • and other
• Hispanics minorities

10. Republican Party Coalition
• White, less-educated working-
class (mostly male)
• Upper-class Protestants
• Southern evangelicals
• Socially-conservative Catholics
•

11. Image (c) 2007 Young America Foundation

12. Republican Party Coalition
• GOP tends to do better in the
suburbs, the South and
Midwest, and among white
fundamentalist Christians.

13. The Reagan Coalition
Social
Conservatives
Fiscal Neo-
Conservatives Conservatives

14. Party Organization
the formal organizational
apparatus of a political party

15. Roles and Functions of
Party Organizations
• Primary purpose of a party
organization is to run candidates
for election.
• Aggregate Interests
• Facilitate Participation
• Simplify Alternatives
• Stimulate Interest in Politics and
Government

16. Nomination
selection of individual who will
run as the party’s candidate in
the general election.

17. VS.

18. Change in Nomination Process
+
Decline in Patronage
__________________________
Decline in Party Organizations

19. VS.

20. Democrats:
Ahead of the Game

21. Blogs & the
Emerging “Netroots”

22. Republicans:
Behind the Times
(but can they catch up?)

23. 3
Types of Party Systems

24. One-party system
A political system in which
representatives of one political
party hold all or almost all the
major offices in government.

25. Two-party system
A political system in which
only two political parties have
a realistic chance of
controlling the major offices of
government.

26. Multi-party system
A political system in which
three or more political parties
effectively compete for political
office and no one party can win
control of all offices.

27. Why does the US have
a two party system?
• Electoral Rules
• Restrictions on Minor
Parties
• Attitudes of the American
Public

28. Most democratic nations use a
proportional representation
system.

29. United States uses a
Plurality, Single-Member District
system

30. “Winner Takes All”

31. US system discourages rise of
Third Parties
(cc) 2005 Grant Neufeld - Creative Commons, Some Rights

32. Electoral College

33. Why does the US have
a two party system?
• Electoral Rules
• Restrictions on Minor
Parties
• Attitudes of the American
Public

34. The major parties often establish rules
that make it difficult for other parties to
get on the ballot.
(cc) 2006 Adrian Liem - Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved

35. Qualification rules for third-party
presidential candidates can create
financial difficulties…
(cc) 2006 Steven Hoang - Some Rights Reserved

36. Suspension of the FCC’s “equal time” and
“fairness doctrine” requirements creates
difficulties for third party candidates to get
invited to the debates.
(cc) 2000 Ruby Sinreich - Some Rights Reserved

37. Why does the US have
a two party system?
• Electoral Rules
• Restrictions on Minor
Parties
• Attitudes of the American
Public

38. The broad belief
in The American
Creed leaves
little room for
parties outside
the mainstream.
(cc) 2006 Samuel Eichner - Some Rights Reserved

39. People grow comfortable with the
system they are used to…
(cc) 2006 Mattias Berg - Some Rights Reserved

40. “Human institutions have an
impressive capacity to
perpetuate themselves, or
at least to preserve their
form.”
~V.O. Key

41. Minor parties in the
two-party system

42. PROTEST IDEOLOGICAL
Types of Minor Parties
SINGLE-ISSUE SPLINTER

43. PROTEST IDEOLOGICAL
Types of Minor Parties
SINGLE-ISSUE SPLINTER

44. PROTEST IDEOLOGICAL
Types of Minor Parties
SINGLE-ISSUE SPLINTER

45. PROTEST IDEOLOGICAL
Types of Minor Parties
SINGLE-ISSUE SPLINTER

46. PROTEST IDEOLOGICAL
Types of Minor Parties
SINGLE-ISSUE SPLINTER

47. The Role of Minor Parties

48. Articulate and popularize
new ideas

49. Allow people with grievances to
express themselves in a way not
possible within the major parties.

50. Minor parties are usually not as
cautious as the major parties
• Tend to be loud, unambiguous about
policies, ideologically committed.
• Expand the scope of conflict in
American politics.
• Increase interest and attention among
at least some segments of the public.
• Bring a few more Americans into the
political process.

51. Realignment
When a new party system has
taken the place of the old system
because of a fundamental shift in
the types of groups that support
the parties.

52. Realignment
Why are they caused?

53. Realignment
When do they tend to occur?

54. Critical elections?

55. 1932