political parties

• linkage institutions

  • links the public concerns/wants and needs to the gov. in return hoping for policy changes from the gov.
  • they also like what is happening in the gov. back to the people
  • MIPE - media, interest groups, political parties, elections
• policy making cycle

  • problem identification
  • agenda setting
  • policy making
  • budgeting
  • implementation
  • evaluation
• political party

  • an alliance of like-minded people who work together to win elections at all levels of gov. so they can control the gov. (make laws)
  • they compete against one another for political power and for the ability to put their politics and philosophies into effect
• functions and impact of parties on the electorate and gov.

  • mobilization and education of voters
  • candidate recruitment
  • campaign management (media strategy and fundraising)
  • the committee and party leadership systems in the US congress
  • linkage institution
• party organization

  • the 2 parties work at every level of gov.
  • the parties are fragmented and do not work closely together with one another
  • every level of gov. does not work together
  • not hierarchical
• why/how parties change and adapt

  • parties have to adapt to candidate-centered campaigns (because of increasing independents) and their role in nominating candidates has weakened (now have primary system)
  • parties modify their politics and messaging to appeal to various demographic coalitions
• realignment

  • where a coalition (group) of voters transition their long time support from one party to another
  • this happens during a critical election (something big like depression, war, civil rights movement, recession)
  • this isn't a temporary shift
• dealignment


  where voters transition their support from one of the major parties to neither party due to lack of trust, etc.
• party identification

  • many are registered with one of the two major parties (two party system forces this) but in reality most are moderate (middle of the political spectrum) than they realize
• independents/moderates

  • these voters don't belong to any party, and they willingly vote for the best candidate regardless of that person's party affiliation
• centrist voters

  • split ticket voters
• the rise of the independents

  • the number of people in the US who identify themselves as independents has increased in the past 30-50 years
  • some scholars argue that this fact suggests that political parties are weakening
• how do structural barriers impact third-party and independent candidate success?

  • the winner take all system favors the two major parties
  • the incorporation of third-party agendas into platforms of major political parties serves as a barrier to third parties
  • ballot access
  • equality
  • financial problems
  • lack of media attention/debates
• winner take all system

  • third party obstacle
  • if a candidate does get on the ballot in a state, the likelihood of them carrying that states majority votes is unlikely which means that they would never win all of that states electoral votes, which means they will never reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win president
• ballot access

  • third party obstacle
  • third parties have to get thousands of signatures on a petition to get on the ballot
• equality

  • third party obstacle
  • those governing elections are composed of democrats and republicans and want to protect the 2 party system
• financial problems

  • third party obstacle
  • a third party must have received at least 5% of the vote in the previous election in order to qualify for federal funds (presidential campaign fund)
• lack media attention/debates

  • third party obstacle
  • a third party candidates have to get at least 15% of votes in the national polls to participate in the debates
• third parties and their roles

  • other than republican or democrat
  • introduce new ideas: propose many gov. policies and practices
  • put issues on the agenda: force major parties to addresss potentially divisive problems
  • spoil effect: a third party draws enough votes away from a major party, it can prevent that party from winning
  • keeps the major parties honest: third parties usually have little chance of winning so they can speak more frankly about topics that the major parties would often prefer to ignore
• interest group

  • group of people drawn or acting together in support of a common interest or to voice a common concern
• how does the constitution protect groups

  • bill of rights - speech
  • petition
  • assemble
• where do interest groups enter into the arena of gov. to accomplish their goal?

  federal agencies

  congress

  courts
• federal agencies

  • lobby those who implement policies passed by the 3 branches
• congress

  • testifying before congressional committees, educating, and informing (make policies)
• courts

  • filing lawsuits/litigations
  • send amicus curiae briefs to lobby and influence the courts decision
• issue networks

  • interest groups participate in issue networks by providing money, info, and resources in hopes of obtaining political support from congress, the bureaucracy, or the white house
  • interest groups use amicus briefs to inform the court in hopes of influencing the acceptance of cases, court reasoning, or decisions
• amicus curiae briefs

  • a lawyer who is asked by the court to provide legal submissions for raising additional povs and presenting info not contained in the briefs of the formal parties
• inequalities in the interest group system

  not all interest groups have the same amount of:

  • resources
  • representation
  • access of influence in gov.
• media acts as a

  • gatekeeper
  • watch dog
• gatekeeper

  media deciding which stories/info are chosen to include in a story to editors deciding which stories are printed or covered, and includes media outlet owners, and even advertisers
• watch dog

  • acts as a protector against inefficiency, illegal practices, etc.