POL 215, POLITICAL PARTIES & ELECTIONS, FALL 2009

BRIEF OPENING DAY COMMENTS

Tuesday, September 8

This is a brief overview of some major aspects of U.S. politics and their relevance and/or consequences for the study of parties and elections.

♦ Elections and parties SHAPE U.S. politics

• The U.S. has always had two and only two dominant political parties at any one point in time; third parties rise and fall but have great difficulty sustaining themselves as viable in the electoral arena. Hence the 2-party system is a defining characteristic of U.S. politics. Along with the 2-party system, the U.S. also experiences regular shifts in the balance of power between the parties, called realignments.

• Elections select leaders of government bodies; candidates are chosen by political parties, which also adopt platforms spelling out their philosophies and policy goals. Hence the parties and the electoral process directly affect who is in charge.

• Parties and elections create political interest and activity – they give regular citizens a reason to care about government and ways to get involved (e.g. volunteering, running for office, giving money, voting)

• Parties are not monolithic entities – there is variation in beliefs and priorities within the Republicans and the Democrats. Hence the existence of only 2 major political parties spawns more organized political activity by interest groups seeking approval for specific concerns

♦ Elections and parties ARE SHAPED BY elements of U.S. politics

• Federalism is the division of power across multiple branches of government (federal, state, and numerous local units). One consequence is that the U.S. has a very large number of elections compared with other democratic nations. This can be a good thing (lots of opportunity for citizens to choose their leaders and have input into what government does) but the sheer number of elections is also thought to be one factor explaining our low voter turnout.

• Another consequence of federalism is that national officeholders (House, Senate, President) are all selected in local/state elections; hence local issues and concerns are always important in electoral politics. Moreover, national political parties are forced to deal with specific concerns at the state/local level, and it is no surprise that national political parties have adopted a federated structure (dividing control of the party among national, state, and local units) that matches the federalist dimensions of the electoral system.

• Due to high levels of interest group activity, both major parties are responsive to large sets (whether large in number or large in ‘voice’ or resources, or both) of citizens/voters and their areas of concern. Interest groups thus directly affect party platforms, candidate selection, and electoral success.

• Questions about what activities governments should and should not do – and the related question of which level of government should be responsible for which activities – have always been central concerns in American political life. In the modern era (since the Great Depression), federal (national) power has expanded greatly, usually at the expense of state and local governments. Philosophically, the major parties espouse very different views of the proper role of government; indeed, these differences form the core of stereotypical beliefs about what Democrats and Republicans stand for. Regardless, the dominance of the federal government in so many areas of American life is a relatively recent phenomenon, and it makes elections for national office that much more important to candidates, parties, and citizens.