OConnor and Sabato, Chapter 11: Political Parties and Interest Groups

1
OConnor and Sabato, Chapter 11 Political
Parties and Interest Groups

• Presentation 11.1 Introduction to the Role of
  Intermediary Institutions

2
Key Topics

• Introduction
• The roots of the political party system

3
Introduction

• Aggressive marketing of credit cards to
  college-age students
• The rising problem of bankruptcy in America
  calls for reform

Picture courtesy www.mastercard.com.
4
1a. Introduction cont.

• The power of the credit card companies in
  lobbying Congress for bankruptcy reform
• The National Consumer Bankruptcy Coalition
  contributed more than 4.5 million to political
  parties and candidates
• Hoping for a law making it harder for individuals
  to declare bankruptcy to avoid credit card debt

5
1b. The Abortion Issue

• Republicans passed a bill that would have allowed
  abortion protesters to use bankruptcy laws to
  avoid fines
• Clinton vetoed the bill
• With the GOP controlling the White House both
  houses of Congress, it may be a matter of time

What does this story tell you about the nature of
interest group politics, and the role parties
play in our system?
6
1c. James Madisons Warning

• Federalist 10 the dangers factions present to a
  democratic society
• Madison participated in the creation of the
  Democratic-Republican Party

Faction was a old fashioned word for parties and
interests.
James Madison (1751-1836). Picture courtesy
Encarta.
7
1d. Parties and Interest Groups

• Parties groups of office holders, candidates,
  activists, and voters who identify with a group
  label and work to elect their preferred
  candidates to public office
• Interest Groups an organized group that tries to
  influence public policy by a variety of means
  (campaigning, lobbying, etc.)

8
1di. The Difference Between Parties and Interest
Groups

• Parties influence policy by competing for control
  over governing institutions
• Interest groups attempt to influence policy
  rather than seek responsibility for the
  management of govt.

V.O. Key (1908-1963). Picture courtesy
www.denison.edu.
9
2. Political Parties

• Political parties serve as vehicles for mass
  participation in a representative democratic
  society
• Parties evolved in the US that are unique to our
  culture and institutions

10
2a. The Roots of the American Political Party
System

• Washingtons Farewell Address
• Parties serve always to distract the Public
  Councils and enfeeble the Public administration

Washington (1732-1799) with his Cabinet. Picture
courtesy Encarta.
11
2ai. Roots

• Conflicts within Washingtons administration
  erupted in open competition with Washingtons
  retirement in 1796
• Key Federalists included Alexander Hamilton
  John Adams
• Key Anti-Federalists included Thomas Jefferson
  and James Madison

12
2aii. The First Party System (1800-1824)

• Jeffersons victory in 1800 ushered in an Era of
  Good Feelings
• Democratic-Republicans dominated federal
  institutions (minus the judiciary)
• Federalists struggled to find leadership and an
  identity

The Democratic-Republicans elected a string of
Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe (all
from Virginia)
13
2aiii. The 1st Party System

• Jefferson was committed to states rights issues,
  but not to the Democratic-Republican Party
• Viewed the party as an expedient vehicle to
  pursue his personal ambitions
• Also, Jefferson was not supportive of the many
  subsistence farmers that provided his party with
  the margin of victory in many states

14
2avi. The Second Party System (1824-1860)

• The candidacy of Andrew Jackson in 1824 caused a
  split in the Democratic-Republican Party
• Jackson won the popular vote the most electoral
  college votes, but failed to earn a majority in
  the electoral college
• The House choose John Quincy Adams to be president

15
2vii. The 2nd Party System

• Jackson built the Democratic Party around
  newspapers
• Jackson as the first log-cabin politicians
  attracted support from frontier voters
• Won the presidency in 1828 was reelected in 1832

The first national presidential nominating
convention was held by the Democrats in 1832, and
they chose the incumbent Jackson.
16
2aviii. The Whigs

• Direct descendants of John Quincy Adams party in
  the administration
• Advocated a national economic plan that
  included protective tariffs
• Appealed to merchants and wealthy bankers in the
  New England states

Among the key leaders of the Whigs in their brief
existence were Adams, Henry Clay, and Daniel
Webster.
17
2aix. Democrat-Whig Competition

• Period 1832-1860 was one of vigorous competition
  between the two majority parties
• Both parties had sectional representation
  (Northern/Southern wings)
• For that reason, both parties sought compromise
  on slavery

Disaffected Whigs eventually formed the
Republican Party in 1854, which became a majority
party in 1860.
18
2b. Democrats and Republicans The Golden Age
(1860-1932)

• From the end of Reconstruction to the present,
  the Republicans and Democrats have dominated
  American elections
• Between 1860-1932, the GOP controlled the White
  House for 56 of 72 years
• Democrats countered GOP electoral advantage by
  appealing to immigrants for support

19
2bi. Waving the Bloody Shirt

• GOP gained an electoral advantage by blaming the
  Democrats for the Civil War
• Parties became sectionalized GOP dominated the
  North Midwest, while Democrats dominated the
  South larger cities

Picture courtesy http//www.elections.harpweek.com
20
2bii. Political Machines

• Party organizations that recruited members with
  incentives
• Characterized by a high degree of control of
  voters a high degree of corruption
• Both parties organized political machines in
  larger cities

21
2biii. Tammany Hall

• Democratic machine in NY City
• Party and government were interchangeable
• Parties provided voters with goods that later
  would become a right for all citizens

Picture courtesy Bettmann/Corbis.
22
2biv. Machines cont.

• Political machines offered immigrants a place in
  society an opportunity for upward mobility
• Party competition in this period stimulated high
  voter turnout
• 75 or better turnout of eligible voters in
  presidential elections between 1875-1900

V.O. Key characterized this heightened
competition as lining up the unwashed.
23
2c. The Modern Era Vs. The Golden Age

• The election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932
  altered the nature of party politics
• Government began taking on functions previously
  performed by the parties (e.g. conducting
  elections and providing social welfare services)
• Social services became perceived as rights of
  citizenship rather than privileges extended to
  party supporters

24
2ci. Reasons for the Decline of the Parties

• Direct primaries denied party leaders control
  over candidate selection
• Civil service laws denied party leaders access to
  jobs with which to reward party followers
• A more educated populace began acting more
  independently, leading to split-ticket voting

25
2cii. Reasons cont.

• The dominant role of television emphasis on
  candidates character rather than party and
  issues
• The pervasive influence of political consultants,
  who have replaced parties as intermediaries
  between candidates and voters
• Bottom line Americans do not feel the kind of
  loyalty to parties as they did previously

Do you agree with the late E. E. Schattsneider,
who said that Democracy is unthinkable save in
terms of parties?