Chapter 5 Main Ideas

1. Political parties are groups of people that seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.
2. They are more interested in getting their party into power rather than really caring about the issues.
3. Political parties are the major mechanisms that develop broad policy and leadership choices and that then present those opinions to the people.
4. The two parties are overwhelmingly dominant in our country, this is because of history, tradition, the electoral system, and American ideals.
5. Membership to a party is voluntary. The two major parties are broadly based in order to gain more votes than their opponents  they must attract as much support as they can. Each has always been a cross section of the nation’s population.

6. The alternatives to the two-party system are the multiparty system and one-party or “no party” system.
7. The American two-party system can be traced back to battles over the Constitution. The conflicts were carried over into the early years of the Republic and they led directly to the formation of the nation’s first full blown political parties.
8. The pattern has been that for a short time one party is in control of the government and then a new party takes over.
9. The view of the future is that the pattern of control will continue with one party in power and then another.
10. The minor parties are divided into the ideological parties, single-issue parties, economic protest parties, and splinter parties.
11. The minor parties can play a “spoiler role” in an election. Historically the most important roles have been those of critic and innovator. They have been ready willing and able to take real stands on controversial issues.
12. Most minor parties lack support because they are overshadowed by major parties.
13. Both parties are highly decentralized. They are fragmented, disjointed, and beset by factions and internal squabbling.
14. There are four elements in the structure of both major parties at the national level. They are the national convention, committee, chairperson, and the congressional campaign committees.
15. At the state and local levels the party structure is largely set by State law. At State level a party machinery is built around a State central committee headed by a State chairperson. Local party structures vary more significantly.