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Political Parties in the US
- The electorate is divided by ideology, demographics, and "Rep-Ind-Dem"
- Polarized more, especially in the past four years
The gov reflects this
- "Divided Government": different parties control House, Senate, Pres.
- possibly governors' differences
- Streamlining of government isn't voted for.
What is a political party, in general?
- A group of activists who organize to win elections, operate the
government, and determine public policy
- Controlling the government requires a broad band of beliefs
- Can't be narrowly focused like a special interest group
All political parties:
1) Recruit Candidates
2) Organizing and running elections
- Funding
3) Presenting alternative policies
Only major parties (Dem and Rep, in US):
4) Operate Government
5) Organize Opposition
- Sometimes minor parties get governance in states
Are parties still doing this effectively?
- Morris Fiorina sees a "decline in all duties and accountability." Why?
- Party Organization used to shape almost all political behavior
- Now, the Dem establishment (ex.) doesn't control their nominee
- Public spending limits mean campaigns don't need to rely on
parties
- Party in the Electorate
- Candidates essentially run independent campaigns
- They break from party platforms to serve local districts
- Or focus differently, like fiscal conservatism vs family
values.
- Party in Government
- Increased party fragmentation
- Personal and local influence
- Recently, politicians vote on party lines, but not too long
ago, bipartisanship was a real option
- The rise of Single Issue Groups
- Parties are more beholden to Interests
All parties can be broken down into three components:
1) Electorate
- Core groups (base)
- Independents
- Loose affiliates (usually candidate-specific)
2) Organization
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3) Party in government; crosses over with organization
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