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| Chapter 8 National Elections Founders warned against factions **There are 538 electoral votes Political Parties: group of individuals outside govt who organize in attempt to control govt (mainly to control policies) The Two-Party System 2 major parties have dominated elections for national office throughout American history 3rd parties don�t survive b/c they�re usually based around a specific idea/group of ideas, that a major party will adopt. They�re not having any electoral success, but they get what they want in the end anyway Very difficult for them to get matching funds in our system B/c of our plurality system (biggest # of votes win), ppl think they waste their votes on 3rd party 9 November Evaluating the Two-Party System Tuesday every 20-30 years we see changes in political landscapes�electoral re-alignments Americans don�t really value the 2 parties Positives - tend to organize political life - create communication among officials, create some continuity (not everyone for themselves) - fashion a party record worth defending, fashion a policy agenda (establish agenda, look for solutions, to get elected) - synthesize societal demand (same thing)- they must define their agenda based on what public wants - winnow the field of candidates- if no political parties, anyone could run for one office, would be too complicated. decreases the chance of someone winning w/small # of votes * Out Party-- one job is to organize opposition to the other party, form alternative methods, solutions (the �out party,� �loyal opposition� = party not in office Negatives - parties don�t always provide all their services of which they are capable (b/c they are formed to win, control govt) - sometimes they get too much control, like an elected dictatorship - some voters think choices are too limited (why is it a choice between two stark opposites?) - they recruit party hacks, recruited celebrities, good @ winning elections (Arnold S) - parties may choose to suppress issues rather than address them (ignoring important issues) - they take credit for good times, and escape blame for bad ones. even worse, they concentrate on blocking the governing party�s attempts to solve a problem (especially near elections) The Balance Sheet - scholars tend to value parties�situation= better w/parties than would be w/out - reformers tend to emphasize the failings rather than contributions American Parties Weaken - Reformers have been able to pass laws to weaken political parties - Regional Splits - Democrats= �tent party� competing interests within the party (ex: labor unions vs environmentalists) more than republicans - In 1900s adherents to the 2 parties began dropping to be replaced by self-professed �independents� Other Reasons --Communications Revolution- mail, advertising, ability of going directly to the ppl don�t need the parties to communicate w/people so much --Reapportionment Revolution- each district should have = # of voters we used to have party leaders in certain areas, communicating w/legislature Revival polis found new uses for old orgs. utilize the new techniques Interest Groups�form with the intent to influence public policy - voters have to have some way to communicate w/their govt between elections when poli parties decline in power, interest groups rise in power - voluntary assc/org that�s organized to persue a common interest, push certain policies - aka: �pressure groups� Political Parties vs. Interest Groups Both: orgs trying to get some type of policy output Diff: 1. IG- exclusive, contain only people that support their sole purpose PP- inclusive, under their �big tent� b/c #s are what matters, appeal to a broader group 2. IG- attempt to advance ideas by influence policy makers, whichever party is in power PP- Want to control govt in order to get their policies passed * Americans tend to join IGs more so than citizens of other countries goes back to: we turn out less in voting, but participate more 3. IG- form b/c you�re more likely to be heard by govt in large group of ppl than individually What Interests are represented? (Major Groups) (there are thousands of them!) 1. Economic- push policy favorable to the business community 2. Agricultural 3. Labor Groups 4. Professional Assc. (white collar orgs) 5. Environmental 6. Public interest groups- policies that affect consumers (esp in protection areas) generally cover areas not covered by the others. aka: �consumer groups� * Within each of these there are Umbrella (tent) and Trade Groups (more specific) |