Government 2

Chapter 10

The Party System in Texas

STUDENT HOMEWORK!

· In preparation for the Political Parties Chapter students need to take this quiz:

· Political Typology Quiz at the Pew Research Center:

· http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology

· BEFPORE YOU TAKE THE QUIZ WRITE DOWN

1) What party you align yourself with before you take the quiz.

2) Why.

· In class we will discuss your results and whether you were surprised by your test results.

· The political party quiz – discuss results – who stayed the same, who was surprised by results, etc.!

· At end of chapter we are doing the FORMING A POLITICAL PARTIES exercise.

Political Parties and Their Functions

· What is a political party?

· In a democracy the primary way citizens communicate to their government and control their government is by voting.

· Political party = an organization that sponsors candidates for political office under the organization’s name.

· Nomination – this is how a political party officially designates a candidate as an official candidate of the political party.

· The US is dominated by a two-party system.

· The Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

· The parties will nominate candidates and sponsor them – interest groups and various groups will publicly support a candidate but they are nominating them.

· Political scientists agree that you need at least two political parties in a democratic society for it to function properly – you need that competition.

· What is the function of a political party?

· Four major functions of political parties:

· Recruiting and Nominating Candidates for Office

· Who should run for office – is everyone qualified or only a certain few people qualified to run or help run our government?

· Without political parties voters would have to confront a vast array of self-nominated candidates - parties provide a method of control through a peer review process.

· Caucuses – a caucus is a meeting that is closed to the general public and only open to the members of the party – they meet to decided on policy issues and make a selection of political candidates for office.

· Party insiders know the strengths and weaknesses of political candidates and can hopefully weed out stronger candidates for us.

· Parties may not just pass judgment on candidates but seek out good and qualified candidates and support them in running for office.

· Each party – democratic and republican – have a national convention every four years – where they officially nominate the president and vice president and adopt a party platform.

· Party Platform = the statement of polities of a national party.

· Structuring the voting choice in elections

· This means that political parties help by reducing the number of candidates on the ballot to those who have a realistic chance of winning.

· The ability of established parties to gather support from a base of voters discourages non-party candidates from running and discourages new parties from forming.

· This overall reduces the amount of decision making and research you have to do to vote for a qualified candidate – imagine if there were 100 candidates running for President.

· Each state has its own ballot access laws to determine who can get on a ballot – if you are running for President you have to follow each state’s laws to get on their ballot.

· Texas: For a registered political party in a statewide election to gain ballot access, they must either 1) obtain five percent of the vote in any statewide election or 2) collect petition signatures equal to one percent of the total votes cast in the preceding election.

· Contest Elections and Mobilize Voters

· Proposing alternative government programs

· Parties have differing views on topics and programs and the government – so the parties offer you the choice and although each candidate is different if the party is supporting them then you can be pretty sure he candidate will align itself with the views of the party.

· Provide Accountability

· Keep public officials accountable to the people – are they doing what they said they would do?

· Coordinating the actions of government officials between the branches AND organize and manage the government AND set the policy agenda

· Parties help coordinate the actions of various government officials so that we can get things done in our government – i.e. if you want to pass a healthcare bill you need to make sure that you coordinate with the President and leaders in the House and Senate – political parties are the vehicle to that cooperation.

A History of US Party Politics

· The Democratic party was founded in 1828.

· The Republican Party was formed in 1854.

· You can take classes that will study the evolution of the political parties and their agendas over time.

· During different times in history sometimes one party has been considered stronger than the other – one major time you study is in the 1860s when the democratic party was greatly divided over the slavery issue between the north and south.

· Today the two parties are considered to have a “rough balance” since 1968.

The American Two-Party System

· We have a strong two party system in the US.

· Why?

· Political scientists have examined this over time and have various answers.

· In elections it is just plain difficult for three or more to maintain “power” mathematically – two parties will emerge because of basic math principles in a winner take all system.

· Historically that is what we have had.

· When you look at Americans and study their political participation, the two parties and their divisions cover what American believe.

· How are parties organized at the national level?

· National Convention

· Every four years each party gets together at a national convention to officially nominate their candidate for president and vice president.

· Each Party Has a National Committee

· The Republican National Committee (RNC) has about 150 members and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has about 450 members.

· These committees are made up of representatives from each state and these committees govern the party between election years.

· The chair of this committee is usually appointed by the presidential nominee / president.

· They office in office buildings on Capitol Hill.

· The national committee supports the president if he is from their party and takes orders from the president / candidate for president – they are not setting the agenda for the candidate – that happens within the campaign.

· These committees are more a mechanism for keeping things organized.

· Congressional Party Conferences

· At the beginning of each session of Congress, Republicans and Democrats in each chamber hold a separate party conference where they elect party leaders and decide committee assignments.

· These meetings deal only with congress.

· Congressional Campaign Committees

· Each member of the House and Senate – whether you are a Democrat or Republican –you have your own congressional campaign committees that help you get elected – these are separate from the national structure of the parties but are supported by the national structure.

The Development of the Texas Party System

· Although the US has been dominated by a two party system – Texas has seen a dominance of primarily one party in its history.

· Under the Republic of Texas, there was not a lot of “party” activity.

· Activity surrounded Sam Houston – a leading founder of the Republic – and you were either in support of him OR opposed to him.

· After Texas became a state, the Democratic Party dominated Texas until the surprising victory of gubernatorial candidate Bill Clements in 1978.

Party Ideology and Organization

· Party Identification = a voter’s sense of psychological attachment to a specific party.

· Research shows there are the same number of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents – roughly.

· Republicans

· The Republican Party is well known for its conservative ideology, as well as its beliefs in a small national government and strong military involvement. The Party is also generally pro-life, pro-business (as opposed to pro-environment), opposed to social spending, opposed to gay rights and skeptical of open immigration.

· Democrats

· Democrats tend to favor more government / bigger government and are known for a more liberal ideology. The Party is generally pro-choice, for social spending, and supportive of equal rights for everyone.

Republicans and Democrats in Texas

· Know that you have conservative and liberal Democrats.

· You also have conservative and liberal Republicans.

· Example: the Evangelical and Fundamentalist also called “Right Wing Conservatives”

· You can study Texas history over time – year by year – and see what factions of what party has dominated elections in Texas.

The Rise of the Republican Party in Texas

· Texas is currently Republican party dominant.

· Before the Presidential elections of November 1988, only three contemporary Republicans had won state-wide races in Texas, Senator John Tower (1961-1985), Governor Bill Clements (1979-1983 and 1987-1991), and Senator Phil Graham (1985-2003).

· Why was the Republican party not a competitor in Texas prior to this time?

· Collective memory of how Republican party was characterized during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

· During that time Yankee Troops – under direction of the Republican Congress – occupied the South.

· In 1961, Republican John Tower was elected to the US Senate from Texas.

· In 1978, Republican governor Bill Clements elected.

· So slowly some Republicans got seats in Texas.

· In 1992 Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was elected so both US Senate seats from Texas were Republican for the first time since Reconstruction.

· In 1994, Republican George W. Bush defeated incumbent Democratic Governor Ann Richards.

· November 1998 – called “The Republican Sweep” – in November 1998 incumbent George W. Bush won governor and there was a sweep of winners of Republicans in every state wide election.

· For the first time in the living memory of most, no Democrats occupied any state wide office.

· Republicans still maintain a monopoly on state wide offices today.

Republicans in Texas Today

· After the 2012 Presidential Election results, election revealed the following:

· Republicans are strongest in these counties:

· The Houston suburbs

· The Fort Worth Area

· The Midland-Odessa Area

· The Northern Panhandle

· East Texas rural counties

· The Hill Country

· Republicans are weaker in these areas

· South and Central Texas

· Cities of Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio

· Far West Texas

· In Texas the Republican Party seems to appeal strongest to the following people”:

· Middle and upper class people in suburban communities

· People who live in rural areas and small towns

· White Angle-Saxon Protestants

· German Americans who ancestors were strong supporters of the Union during the Civil War

· Active and retired military officers

· Traditional conservatives who find themselves in a new urban setting

Will the Republican Party Continue to Dominate Texas Politics?

· Political scientists are theorizing that Texas will move towards a two party system mimicking the US.

· Democrats still have considerable resources in local government – especially in some central cities and in South and Southwest Texas.

· The 2014 Governor’s Race:

· Rick Perry announced he was not running again so no incumbent.

· There was a lot of talk to see if a Democrat candidate could beat a Republican candidate and get Texas back going towards being Democratic.

· Democratic Candidate = Wendy Davis

· Republic Candidate = Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

· Election was November 4, 2014 and Greg Abbott won and took office in January 2015.

COMPLETE THE

POLITICAL PARTIES EXERCISE