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.