WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PARTIES

Political Parties can be defined as a group of people united on a common purpose, who band together seeking to elect their supporters to public office, to enact public policies that promote their common purpose.

Three major functions of parties are stressed by this definition:

• 1) To propagandize on various issues, and promotion of various policy alternatives.
• 2) Contesting elections, electing their backers to office.
• 3) Organizing the government, enacting public policies into law.

The “common purpose” that each of the two major parties (the Democrats and Republicans) are pretty united on are ideology. Democrats are a pretty liberal party, and Republicans are a pretty conservative party. The Erikson and Tedin’s 10^th edition of American Public Opinion, page 82 found that strong Democrats and strong Republican party identifiers in the American population were most divided on ideological self-identification, support for federal domestic spending, federal aid to minority groups, national health insurance, government guarantee of jobs and a good living standard, and climate change. The two parties propagandize on these and related issues.

The two parties are quite successful contesting elections, as by state law they exist in each of the 50 states, nominate their candidates to offices in nearly each state, and control every governorship and U.S. senate seat (Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Angus King of Maine, and Krysten Sinema of Arizona, were elected as Independents but they caucus with the Democrats). The parties typically have separate party primary elections to nominate candidates, and the party labels are typically listed on the general election ballot.

You can see how the two parties organize the government. At the beginning of each Congress (each session lasts 2 years due to all U.S. House members being elected every two years) the two parties in each chamber caucus, and a party-line vote on the floor elects the majority party members to every leadership position (including every committee chair). President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), elected in 1932, had heavy Democratic congressional majorities, so he enacted his New Deal liberal domestic economic programs such as Social Security and minimum wages. President Lyndon Johnson won a landslide re-election in 1964 that brought in a heavily Democratic Congress, so he enacted his Great Society which included Medicaid (for the poor) and Medicare (for the elderly). Therefore, there can be policy coordination between the executive and legislative branches when they are both controlled by the same party.

There are 8 other important functions of political parties (according to Frank Sorauf, see Party Politics in America, 5th edition, Little, Brown, and Co, 1984, pp. 6-18):

• 1) They serve as intermediaries between citizens and government, relating public views to public officials, and explaining officials' positions to public. Historically, party workers of urban party machines would talk to residents and learn what their problems were, and then relay those concerns to city and party officials. Many former Obama Democratic officials appeared on the liberal networks CNN and MSNBC and blasted Trump for four years, and now Republican public officials are appearing on Fox and One American News and blasting Biden’s policies.
• 2) Aggregating power- giving power to average citizen. A group is more powerful than a single, isolated person, so by joining the Democratic or Republican Party, you can increase your own political power. The Christian Right and gun lobby are important in the Republican Party, while feminists, racial minorities, and the LGBTQ are important in the Democratic Party.
• 3) Socialization of the young- influencing citizens' political views and their party identifications, promoting political activity. Groups like College Democrats, College Republicans, Teen political groups, seek to influence the young. MSU College Democrats are so active on campus that they have been mentioned in one of my Mississippi book chapters, while MSU College Republicans have historically been so active that their President (as a young American leader) received a paid trip to Israel.
• 4) Recruiting political leadership. Former governor Haley Barbour was state GOP executive director around 1980, ran for the Senate against John Stennis in 1982, and served as national Republican chair in the 1994 GOP landslide. Former governor Kirk Fordice was a Vicksburg party activist supporting conservative Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 and conservative Ronald Reagan in 1980. So you can start by working for a political party's candidates or their party organization, and eventually run for public office yourself and even get elected.
• 5) Simplifying (reducing) the number of alternatives for voters- from numerous people seeking a party's nomination, we typically end up with only two to choose from in the general election--a Democrat and a Republican. This makes it easier for simplistic voters to make voting decisions. It’s either Trump or Biden, for example.
• 6) Providing public accountability of government. If conditions are bad in the country, people can vote for the party not in power. Examples of dissatisfaction with Vietnam War and crime and protests in 1968, which saw Republican Richard Nixon beat the Democratic-controlled federal government; dissatisfaction with inflation, unemployment, and the Iranian hostage situation in 1980 saw Reagan beat President Jimmy Carter; a recession cost President George Herbert Walker Bush re-election in 1992; a financial crisis saw Republicans lose the presidency to Obama in 2008.
• 7) Managing conflict- many discontented groups, such as gays and liberal African-Americans nevertheless find a home in one party (in these examples, the Democrats). Pro-life and pro-guns groups find a home in the Republican Party. “Progressive” Democrats like AOC are enraged that moderate liberals like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia opposed a multi-trillion dollar “social welfare” infrastructure bill, but their extremism is contained within the larger political party. Hard-core Trump supporters are obsessed with how the election was allegedly stolen by Biden, yet Republican governors, secretaries of state, and state legislative leaders in disputed states ended up certifying Biden as the winner of their states. Most recently the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians and the Israeli government's military strikes in Gaza has revealed divisions within the Democratic Party between pro-Israel (often liberal Jewish voters) and pro-Palestine (often anti-colonialist and anti-apartheid leftists) elements; Biden Democrats have sought common ground between the two groups, condemning the Hamas terrorist attacks but urging Israel to do a better job protecting Gaza civilian non-combatants.
• 8) Unifying force for a fragmented nation and government. The two major parties exist in all states, thereby holding the nation together. This is unlike the late 1850s, when regional parties led to the Civil War. This unifying function is especially important today since the nation has become so divided. More conservative states controlled by Republicans kept suing over the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) when Obama was President. More liberal states sued over immigration when Trump issued executive orders cutting immigration. Conservative states today are suing over immigration and abortion (and previously the Biden vaccine mandate). Even when a state is dominated by one party as in California, the minority party wins at least one-third of the vote, so it is hard for a state to secede from the nation.

Political parties can be harmful and polarizing forces, however. A Founding Father James Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers that political parties were merely factions, and that a faction was “citizens united by a common interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens or the community’s interests.” President George Washington in his Farewell Address warned about the rise of parties, which he saw as arousing public passions and letting foreign powers exert influence over us. Democrats accused President Trump of colluding with Russia, as Russian agents used social media to campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016 (as Secretary of State, she had criticized election fraud in Putin’s re-election). Page 87 of American Public Opinion shows that since 2004, each party’s identifiers in the population have increasingly disliked the other political party (by 2016 on a 100-point like-dislike feeling thermometer they rated their own party as about 70 and the other party as a mere 25). Indeed, in late 2016 the average Republican party identifier had a more unfavorable image of American President Obama than they did of Russian President Putin! Biden administration officials have shown the same disdain for Republicans and Trump supporters, despite claiming to be a “unifying” President.

Would it be better if America had more than two political parties, like European countries? Why do we have only two major political parties, and only two major choices for American voters? There are 5 major reasons:

• 1) Institutional reasons- We have single-member districts with plurality elections (usually) and a winner-take-all system. The electoral college is a winner-take-all system by state (in 2 states by congressional district). We elect the President separately from the Congress, so this yields a single national executive rather than a coalition government (found in multi-party Parliamentary systems). Such institutions discourage third parties, since 3^rd parties typically fail to come in first in any state or district, and hence win no congressional seats or electoral votes.
• 2) Dualist reasons- There always seems to be a major issue where people take two different points of view. In the 1790s it was pro-business Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton vs. Thomas Jefferson’s desire for an agricultural republic. Then there was the slavery issue that divided people and regions into two opposing camps. Often, there are geographic differences, such as the Northeast (and today the West Coast) versus the South. Today, there are big differences between liberals and conservatives. You also have the Ins holding government power versus the Outs (President Andrew Jackson was so controversial and powerful that his opponents took on the name of Whigs, for the anti-monarchy British party).
• 3) Cultural reason- Some have argued that Americans have historically been more politically mature than people in other countries, more tolerant of different points of view, and therefore see the need for compromising their own opinions into only two major party alternatives. Perhaps this has historically been truer of elites than the masses. One wonders whether this remains the case today, as the last three Presidents (including Biden) and their supporters have shown some arrogance and intolerance towards people with other views.
• 4) Social Consensus- Historically, scholars believed that America lacked the fundamental disagreements that Europe had, such as feudalism and strict class divisions. The American frontier provided great opportunity for European settlers. Therefore, compromise of diverse views into two broad parties was possible. This explanation ignores the American existence of the inhumane institution of slavery, plus the virtual genocide of many native Americans. Today, many wonder what social consensus Americans still have, as some people kneel for the American flag, or tear down statues of American Presidents such as Thomas Jefferson. Others riot in Washington D.C. and attempt to overthrown a Presidential election itself! Perhaps the one thing that unites Americans today is that we remain a land of opportunity, as millions of people around the world desperately seek to cross our borders.
• 5) Adaptiveness and inclusiveness of the major parties. Major social movements (such as anti-slavery, populism, socialism, George Wallace backers, Trump fans) have been absorbed into the two major parties. The Republican Party grew up in the 1850s as an anti-slavery party, as both existing major parties waffled on the slavery issue. Populist farmers hurt by a world-wide depression were absorbed into the Democratic Party, which nominated populist William Jennings Bryan as President three times. Socialists growing in numbers because of the Great Depression were attracted by FDR’s New Deal and absorbed into the Democratic Party. Tough-on-crime and anti-protesters and anti-rioters who backed third party candidate George Wallace in 1968 were absorbed into Richard Nixon’s law-and-order Republican Party. Trump's working class, America First movement has captured the modern Republican Party.

So, what do you all think about today’s political parties in America? Do you favor the rise of a new political party? Maybe, a more middle-of-the-road party, or an environmental party?? One possible third party in 2024 is No Labels, which might field a ticket of retiring Senators, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Utah Republican Mitt Romney. Or, if you prefer the Democratic or Republican Party, which one do you favor, and why? How would you change that party to be more to your liking? I’ve spent a lot of time talking about parties in general because historically Mississippi was dominated by the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party was so weak that many students didn’t even know what a Political Parties class was about (indeed, I only had 5 students the first time I taught this class). Then, politics in the South changed a lot, the Republican Party became increasingly strong, and today it is the stronger of the two parties in the South. So, the subject of competitive political parties is a lot more interesting today. And indeed our textbook shows how important both parties are in contemporary elections in each southern state.