Political Parties Structure: Three major components of Political Parties (3-headed Political Giant): 1.Party in the Electorate 2.Party Organization 3.Party in Government 1.Party in the Electorate: Those who identify with the party Only about 60% of the public What do you do to join? Any dues? Recent trends in party affiliation? The Party in the Electorate Party Coalitions Today Generalizations for _________: Younger Females; Minorities; Single Upper East Coast (New England) West Coast (mostly Democrat) Generalizations for _________: Middle to Older Male; Married Southern Midwestern Group Factors that Affect Our Political Ideology & Party Affiliation: Race/Ethnicity: Affiliations are based on freedom-equality issues and socioeconomic conditions White-Favor Republican Black-Overwhelmingly favor Democrats Hispanic Overwhelmingly favor Democrats EXCEPT Cubans Asian-relatively neutra l GENDER The Gender Gap = Men tend to favor Republicans/Conservatives Women tend to favor Democrats / Liberals FAMILY INCOME LEVEL: The higher ones income, the more likely they are to Register to vote Vote Vote Republican Effect of Education: higher the education, the more likely one will: Register to vote Vote Vote Democrat (at least in the beginning) Participate politically in various methods Jewish persons Most liberal Democrats! Protestants Conservative, particularly in South / Bible Belt Black Protestants also very liberal Democrats Catholics A mix; tend to be liberal EXCEPT on social issues RELIGION Urban v. Suburban v. Rural America POPULATION DENSITY The more people living in your area, the more _______________ your area tends to be Higher populated cities tend to benefit more from federal spending More government services are needed in densely populated areas Regional Factors that Affect Political Ideology: Region Summary of Voting trends by region Northeast Midwest South West Swing States Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania Figure 8.1 The Meaning of Party Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model ______________ theory: Assumes that individuals in the electorate act in their own best interest, weighing the personal costs & benefits. 2010 AP EXAM Source: Web site of the clerk of the House of Representatives (http:// 3. Over the last several decades, the composition of the Democratic and Republican parties has changed in important ways. A major partisan shift has occurred in the South, but other demographic changes have also been identified. Changes in party composition are reflected at different rates in presidential elections than in congressional elections. (a) Identify one specific trend evident in the figure above. (c) Several other changes in party composition have emerged in the past few decades. For each of the following groups explain how parties have changed in composition with respect to that group. Catholics- Labor Union Members- Women- Social Conservatives 2.Party Organization PParty professionals in national, state, local day- to-day operations whose goal is to select candidates, build platforms & win! TThe key organizational unit of the party structure is at the city, county, state levels NNational parties are little more than an affiliation of regional entities---lack any real control over the regions BBUT most Americans define the parties on the basis of their national identities Party Organization Local Party Orgs. Five distinct types of local party organizations have developed: 1.The machine 2.Ideological parties 3.Solidarity Groups 4.Sponsored parties 5.Personal followings Increasingly, local political activists who become nationally known come from interest groups (AFL-CIO, NOW, NEA, etc.) Late 1800s Party Organization Local Urban Political Machines PATRONAGEPATRONAGE RULED! What is it? Urban city machines ruled in the late 1800s Some survived much later Mayor Daley of Chicago, 1950s-70s Party Organization States: Each state manages its own party operation Decentralized & fragmented 3 Types of State Primaries: _____________ Voters can decide on the day of the election which partys to vote in _____________ Only registered party voters can vote _____________ All voters all candidates can pick some of each party Party Control in State Governments Partisan Control of State Governments: 2005 (Figure 8.3) Researchers and academics used by the parties as sources of policy ideas They influence platforms! Republican Think Tanks: Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute Democratic Think Tanks: Open Society Institute, Center for National Policy Brookings Institution (1916) most non-partisan? Parties at National Level National Committee National Convention held every _____ years to: 1.Choose presidential nominee of the party BUT..? 2.To prepare/announce the partys platform 3.Party in Government TThose who are elected or appointed to office as members of a political party Political Parties are Linkage Institutions: input outputThey link input from the public with output from policy makers Four linkage institutions in U.S.: