Chapter Twelve: Political Parties Exercises A Switch in Time In 2001 Vermont Republican James Jeffords single-handedly stripped Senate Republicans of their majority by abandoning his party (see Chapter 6 for more discussion of Jeffords's switch). The Internet Archive has material from Jeffords's official Senate Web site for several different dates in the years before his switch. (Note: only the front page and a few deeper links have been archived at the site.) Select four different dates before the switch. How often does Jeffords mention his party affiliation in these pages? How often does he stress his "bipartisanship" or ties to Democrats? Deja Vu All Over Again In 1999 New York representative Michael Forbes stunned Washington insiders by switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party. Review Forbes's dossier (pdf) to determine his compatibility with the voting and background of the Republican Party. Does his voting change over time? Are there any factors that allow you to explain Forbes's action? What happened to Forbes in the 2000 election? Counting Noses Go to the National Election Studies' historical results for party identification. Based on the results of this table, how would you describe the relative popularity of the Democratic and Republican Parties in each decade since the 1950s? Then examine the demographic profile of Republicans and Democrats. Which party had a higher proportion of southerners identify with the party in 1960? Which party had a higher proportion of respondents with college degrees/postgraduate education in 2002? What proportion of conservative respondents identified themselves as Democrats in 1990? In 2002? What proportion of blacks and whites identified themselves as Democrats in 1952? In 2002? It's My Party and I'll Lead if I Want To As Chapter 12 indicated, not all the people who belong to a party agree about what the party should stand for. Among the Democrats, for example, there has long been a split between the liberal and conservative wings of the party. While some of these disputes have been solved by the defection of many conservative Democrats to the Republican Party (particularly in the South), factions within the Democratic Party continue to fight to lead the party. For this exercise, read the online agendas of the Democratic Leadership Council (note: skip down to “A New Agenda for the New Decade”) and the National Democrat Network, two organizations competing to guide the Democrats. What item is at the top of the agenda for each organization? On what items can you find explicit disagreement about policies or goals?