 |
Chapter Twelve: Political Parties
In recent years, political scientists often could be heard bemoaning the weak and ineffectual state of the American political parties. However, recent political policies and election results have convincingly demonstrated that, for better or worse, political parties are a vital and important part of American politics today.
The Framers of the Constitution generally regarded parties as undesirable or even dangerous. Nonetheless, the document they wrote inadvertently provided powerful incentives for like-minded politicians to form permanent coalitions in the government and the electorate. American parties were originally formed in Congress as members attempted to build alliances to take control of the machinery of government. Attempts to build majorities within Congress quickly translated into attempts to elect majorities to Congress. The plurality voting rule established by the Constitution provided powerful incentives for voters and candidates to converge into two dominant parties.
Although the coalitions, characteristics, and even strength of parties have changed over the years, they have become vital to the proper functioning of our system of government. Parties recruit and train leaders, organize the activities of government, and facilitate the collective action necessary for government to translate voter preferences into public policy. They also help combine varying interests and groups into coalitions and help channel and constrain political conflict. Finally, they help politicians of all stripes communicate more effectively with voters.
After reading this chapter, you should understand…
- the functions parties perform in democracies
- the benefits to be derived in the American political system from having a stable majority political coalition, particularly in Congress
- how informative party labels can help candidates and voters
- how the spoils system, political machines, and progressive reforms affected political participation
- the different historical party systems that have existed in the United States
- why politics in the United States has consistently been dominated by two parties despite the periodic challenges of third parties
- how changes in the party nomination process have affected the types of candidates selected
- how the breakdown of the New Deal coalition has affected modern American politics
- why we so often see divided party control of the national government
- the current status of parties and whether they still matter in American politics
- Why didn't the Framers of the Constitution want parties? How did the Constitution help promote the emergence of parties?
- Where did U.S. parties first arise? Why did they prove necessary in this setting? Why did parties spread from there to other areas of politics?
- What incentives did nineteenth-century parties provide to encourage prospective voters and party workers to participate in politics? What changed this system?
- Why do third parties tend to do so poorly in U.S. elections? Why do such parties do so much better in other democracies?
- How have the roles of national and state party organizations changed over time? Are these organizations more or less important than they were in the past?
- How have rates of "ticket splitting" changed over time? How have public attitudes toward the parties changed over that same time? Are Americans more or less partisan in their views and behavior than they were in the 1970s?
- How has the nomination process for party candidates changed over time? If national conventions no longer decide on the party's presidential nominee, why are they still held?
- How do party activists differ from rank-and-file voters of their party? What consequences does this difference have for American politics?
- How has the decline of the New Deal coalition affected recent developments in American politics?
- How do parties affect the fund-raising of candidates? What limitations do they face in giving their members financial assistance?
|