Chapter 5 Notes Political Parties

Chapter 5 Notes: Political Parties Characteristics of American Political Parties Distinct Chartstics of the American Political Party System: 1) two-party system 2) Pragmatism 3) decentralization Two-Party System ● Competition usually between Democrats and Republicans ● Single-member districts Two-party system: A political system characterized by two dominant parties competing for political offices. In such systems, minor or third parties have little chance of winning. Single-member districts: Election districts in which one candidate is elected to a legislative body. Pragmatism ● Valence issues ● Position issues ● Growing polarization Pragmatism: The philosophy that ideas should be judged on the basis of their practical results rather than on the purity of their principles. Valence issues: Issues on which virtually all of the public agrees, for instance, such as peace and prosperity. Position issues: Issues on which the public is divided. Decentralization The diagram shows the semi-independent relationship that exists among national, state, and local party organizations and the increasingly important services and funds provided by the national party organization. The Development of the Texas Party System ● The One-Party Tradition in Texas ● Ideological Factions in America and Texas ○ Conservatives ○ Liberals ➢ Under the Republic of Texas, there was little party activity. Political divisions were usually oriented around support of, or opposition to, Sam Houston, a leading founder of the Republic. After Texas became a state, however, the Democratic Party dominated Texas politics until the 1990s. ➢ Conservatives believe that individuals should be left alone to compete in a free market unfettered by government control; they prefer that government regulation of the economy be kept to a minimum. ➢ Liberals believe that it is often necessary for the government to regulate the economy and to promote greater social equality. ● Conservatives and Liberals and Texas Democrats ○ The rise of the Republican Party ■ The Republicans become competitive Pivotal events in the rejuvenation of the Republican Party in Texas: ● 1961: John Tower elected to the U.S. Senate ● 1978: Bill Clements elected governor ● 1992: Republicans hold both U.S. Senate seats ● 1998: Republicans win every statewide election Changes in the Number of Republican and Democratic Officeholders in Texas The Rise of the Republican Party Republican support is strong in these areas: ★ Houston suburbs ★ Fort Worth area ★ Midland-Odessa area ★ Northern Panhandle ★ East Texas rural counties ★ Hill Country-Edwards Plateau area And are weaker in these areas: ★ South Central Texas ★ Central cities of Austin, Houston, and San Antonio ★ South and Far West Texas Republican party typically appeal to: ➢ White voters ➢ Regular churchgoers ➢ Businesspeople ➢ Higher-income families ➢ Retired military officers ➢ Residents of suburban and rural/small towns ● The era of Republican dominance ○ Party realignment ○ Partisan identification ○ Dealignment Party realignment: The transition from one dominant party system to another. Partisan identification: A person’s attachment to one political party or the other. Dealignment: When increasing numbers of voters choose not to identify with either of the two parties and consider themselves to be independents. Conservatives and Moderates and Texas Republicans ● Evangelical (fundamentalist) Christians ● Party platform ● Tea party ● Can the Democrats still compete? ○ Tipping ○ Swing voters Evangelical (fundamentalist) Christians: A bloc of conservative Christians who are concerned with such issues as family, religion, abortion, gay rights, and community morals, and often support the Republican Party Party platform: The formal issue positions of a political party; specifics are often referred to as planks in the party’s platform. Tea Party: A faction or groups of very conservative Republicans generally resistant to compromise of its principles. The Functions of Political Parties V. O. Key’s Three Main Faces of Parties A. The party in the electorate B. The party as organization C. The party in government The Pary\ty in the Electorate ➔ Identification of citizens with the parties ➔ It influences what voters do and how they view the political world ➔ This leads to the influence of party organization and party in government Temporary-Party Organization ● Precinct convention ● County and senatorial district conventions ● State conventions ○ Presidential preference primary Precinct convention: A gathering of citizens within a precinct—where people vote—who voted in the party’s primary. Presidential preference primary: A primary election that allows voters in the party to vote directly for candidates seeking their party’s presidential nomination. The chart shows the three levels of state party organization in Texas and the ties of the state organization to the national party organization. Permanent-Party Organization ● Precinct-level organization ● County-level organization ● State-level organization ● The party in the Electorate ○ The party in the electorate refers to the identification of citizens with the parties. ● The Party as Organization ○ The party as organization is the formal structure of the party itself. ● The Party in Government ○ The party in government consists of the elected officials in government and what they do while there. Chapter Summary Identify the characteristics of American political parties. There are three fundamental characteristics of political parties in the United States: 1) The two-party system 2) Pragmatism 3) decentralization We have two major parties in the United States and Texas partly because the electoral system— specifically, single-member districts and plurality elections—makes it hard for third parties to succeed. Election laws put in place by the two major parties make it hard for third parties to emerge in the first place. Parties in the United States and Texas traditionally have been pragmatic, focused on performance more than policy positions. This is largely the result of there being two parties, which makes it necessary to build majority coalitions to compete and to appeal to voters who are moderate and focused on performance. Recently, however, parties in the United States and Texas have become more programmatic, and Democrats and Republicans have become easier to distinguish. Parties in the United States and Texas are decentralized, with much of the control of the nominating process (the primary) and party machinery in the hands of state and local leaders and voters. Understand the evolution of the party system in Texas. For much of its history, Texas was a one-party Democratic state. Until recently, one-party dominance meant that the election to select the Democratic Party’s nominees—the Democratic primary—was the most important election in Texas. Moderate and conservative factions within the Democratic Party became the key political players. After years of domination by the Democratic Party, Texas began to experience strong two-party competition in the 1980s, and in the late 1990s, the Republicans became the dominant party in Texas. By the turn of the century, political realignment was fairly complete. By 2003, the GOP controlled the governor’s office, all other statewide offices, and both chambers of the state legislature; in 2004, Republicans captured a majority in the state’s congressional delegation. The Republicans will no doubt remain dominant in the near future; what will happen in the long run is less clear, particularly as the state’s Latino population grows and becomes more involved in politics. Evaluate the importance of party organization. Political parties consist of permanent organizations that manage operations in between elections and the temporary structures which are the conventions that convene only in election years. Party primary voters attend precinct conventions that select delegates to county or district conventions which, in turn, choose delegates to the state convention to write the party platform and the rules that govern the party’s ongoing operations. Assess the functions of political parties in American and Texas politics. Despite the hostility of the Founders to political parties, they have become an important part of American political life. Parties perform critical functions in a democracy. They nominate and elect their candidates to public office, educate and mobilize voters, and run the government at the different levels (local, state, or national).