Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process / Edition 6

by L. Sandy Maisel, Mark D. Brewer

Overview

Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process covers all elements of parties and the electoral process, including local, state, and national party organizations; American party history and party systems; state and local nominations; state and local elections; presidential nominations; and presidential elections. Separate chapters are devoted to the important subjects of the media in the electoral process and campaign finance. The role of political parties in representative democracy—and their contributions to it—are examined critically. The sixth edition incorporates the results of the 2010 midterm elections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442207691
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/16/2011
Edition description:	6th Edition
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

L. Sandy Maisel is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government and the director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Colby College. Mark D. Brewer is associate professor of political science at the University of Maine.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Elections and Political Parties
I. An Examination of Elections in the United States
II. The Role of Elections in Democratic Theory
A. Modes of Elections
1. Direct Elections
2. Indirect Elections
B. Implications for Representation
1. Representatives’ Perspectives
2. The Public’s Perspective and the Role of Parties in Representation
III. Definitions of ‘‘Political Party’’ and ‘‘Party Systems’’
IV. Politicians View the Party System
2. American Political Parties and Party Organization
I. The Development of American Political Parties
A. The First Party System
1. The Elections of 1796 and 1800
2. Contributions of the First Party System
B. The Second Party System
1. Innovations of the Second Party Period
C. The Third Party System
D. The Fourth Party System
1. The Era of Reform
E. The Fifth Party System
F. A Sixth Party System?
1. Realignment of the South
2. The Rise of Cultural Issues
3. The Parties and the Closely Divided American Electorate
4. The Decline and Resurgence of Partisanship
II. The Modern Party Organization
A. Local and County Organizations
B. State Party Organizations
1. The Structure of the State Party
2. The Role of the State Party
C. Party Organization at the National Level
1. The National Committees
2. The ‘‘Hill Committees’’
3. The National Parties Respond
III. Politicians View Party Organization
3. Voting and Other Forms of Political Participation
I. Who Votes; Who Doesn’t
A. Expansion of the Franchise
1. Property Requirements
2. Black Suffrage
3. Women’s Suffrage
4. Lowering the Voting Age
5. Additional Regulations: Residency and Registration
B. Decline in Voter Participation
1. Voting by Blacks
2. Voting by Young Voters
3. Voting by Women
4. What Distinguishes Voters from Nonvoters?
II. Voters in Presidential Elections
A. Models of Voting Behavior: The American Voter
B. Critics of The American Voter Model
1. Criticism by V. O. Key Jr. and His Followers
2. Criticism from Successors in the Michigan School
C. Presidential Voting Reviewed
III. Voters in Congressional and Senatorial Elections
IV. Voting Behavior Theory Revisited
V. Participation in Politics in America
VI. Politicians View Political Participation
4. Organized Groups in the Political Process
I. Organized Groups in American Politics
A. Political and Nonpolitical Associations
B. Politically Active Groups
1. Economic or Noneconomic Interests
2. Multipurpose or Single-Purpose Groups
3. Federal or National Groups
II. Electoral Activities of Organized Groups
A. Working within the Party
B. Group Ratings
C. Political Action Committees
III. Interest Groups’ Influence on Their Members
IV. Politicians View Interest Groups
5. Campaign Finance
I. The Long History of Campaign Finance Reform
A. The Climate for Reform
B. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and Efforts at Amendment
C. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) and Its Impact
II. The Seven-Year Battle for McCain-Feingold
III. The Costs of Democracy and Who Pays for It
A. The Costs
B. Sources of Campaign Funds
1. Individual Contributions
2. Political Action Committees
3. Political Parties
4. Soft Money
5. Public Financing
IV. Politicians View Campaign Finance Post-BCRA
6. State and Local Nominations
I. Political Context and Politicians’ Decisions to Run
II. Common Views of the Nominating Process
III. Development of the Direct Primary System
A. Primaries as a Response to One-Party Domination
B. Primaries as an Item on the Progressive Agenda
IV. Varieties Of Primaries
A. Who May Run
1. Party Membership and Petition Requirements
2. The Role of Parties
3. Louisiana: An Exception
4. Cross-Filing: Another Exception to Party Allegiance
B. Who May Vote
1. Closed, Open, and Blanket Primaries
2. Theoretical Arguments regarding Primary Voter Eligibility
3. Pragmatic Considerations regarding Primary Voter Eligibility
4. Strategic Consequences of Different Primary Rules
5. Crossover Voting
C. Who Wins
1. Plurality Rule
2. Variations from Plurality Rule: Runoff Primaries
V. The Politics of Nominations
A. Uncontested Nominations
B. Contested Nominations
1. Incumbent Advantage
2. Contests without Incumbents
VI. Politicians View the Nominating Process
7. State and Local Elections
I. The Conventional Wisdom: Old versus New Politics
II. The New Politics: Campaigning in a Media Age
A. The Role of Political Parties
B. The Role of Organized Groups
C. Media Politics
D. The Candidate’s Organization
E. The Structure of a Modern Campaign
1. Public Opinion Polling
2. Media Consultants
3. Fund-Raisers
4. Scheduling and Advance Work, Press Relations, Field Organization, and Liaison to the Political Party and Organized Groups
III. Old-Style Politics: A More Prominent Role for Parties
A. Reexamination of the Role of Political Parties
B. Local Campaigns in the Absence of Party
IV. Do Campaigns Determine Who Wins Elections?
A. Lack of Competition in American Elections B. Incumbent Advantage in U.S. House and State Legislative Races
C. Competition in U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial Races
D. Credible Competition in American Elections
V. Third Parties in State and Local Elections
VI. Politicians View the General Election
8. Presidential Nominations
I. The Post-1968 Reforms
A. The McGovern-Fraser Commission
B. The 1972 Nomination
C. Continuing Reform of the Process
D. The Reform Movement: An Assessment
II. Nominations under the Current System
A. The 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Nominations
B. The 2008 Nominating Process
III. Strategic Considerations in the Contests for Nominations
A. The Political Calendar
1. The Influence of Iowa and New Hampshire and Front-Loading the System
2. Super Tuesday
3. Filing Deadlines
4. Strategic Implications of the Political Calendar
B. The Rules of the Game
1. Proportional Representation versus Winner-Take-All Systems
2. Superdelegates versus Influential Party Leaders
C. Strategic Use of Campaign Resources
1. Office
2. Money
3. The Media
D. Evaluating Nominating Campaigns
IV. The Conventions
A. Credentials Challenges
B. Rules Disputes
C. Party Platforms
D. Vice Presidential Nominations
E. An Evaluation of the Conventions
V. Politicians View the Nominating Process
9. Presidential Elections
I. From the Convention to the General Election
II. Organizing for the General Election
A. Structuring the Campaign Organization
1. The Campaign Headquarters
2. The National Committee
3. The Mobile Headquarters
4. Division and Integration of Authority
Responsibility
B. Functions of a Presidential Campaign Organization
1. Grassroots Politics
2. Staffing the Candidate’s Plane
3. Staffing the Campaign Headquarters
C. Directing the Campaign Organization
1. The Inner Core
2. Expanding the Core
3. Co-opting the Losers
D. Setting a Campaign Strategy
III. Strategies for the General Election
A. Geographic Determinations
B. Coalition Strategies
C. Issue Strategies
1. Campaign Themes
2. Character as a Campaign Issue
3. The Issues Raised during a Campaign
D. The Strategic Use of Incumbency
IV. Tactics for the General Election
A. Tactical Considerations of Where to Go
B. Tactical Considerations of Media Use
C. Tactical Considerations of Which Issues to Discuss
D. The Tactics of Presidential Debates
V. Third-Party Candidates in Presidential Elections
VI. Politicians View the Campaigns
10. The Media and the Electoral Process
I. The Media in the Contemporary Context
II. Free Media: Journalists’ Presentations of Candidates and Campaigns
A. The Varieties of Free Media
B. The Role of the Free Media
1. Informed Consent of the Governed
2. Window on the Candidates
3. Referee between Candidates
C. The Actual Role That the Media Play
1. The Great Mentioner
2. Image Creator
3. Expectation Setter
4. Issue Identifier
5. Field Narrower
6. Campaign Critic
7. Documentor of Elections
8. Purveyor of Results
D. An Assessment of the Role of Free Media
1. Why Do the Media Play the Roles They Do?
2. How Should We Evaluate That Role?
III. Paid Media: The Candidate Provides the Message
A. Types of Paid Media
B. Controversies Caused by the Use of Paid Media
1. Negative Advertising
2. Issue Advocacy Advertisements
C. Impact of Paid Media on Election Campaigns
1. Intended Consequences of Paid Media Campaigns
IV. Politicians View the Media
11. Party in Government
I. Theoretical and Historical Context: Is Strong Party Government Possible in the United States?
II. Measuring Party Strength in Congress
III. Party Organization in Congress: The Leadership Hierarchy in the House and Senate
A. House Leadership
1. Democratic Hegemony
2. Republican Revolution a. Gingrich and the 104th House b. The Abortive Revolt of 1997
c. The End of the Gingrich Speakership d. The Post-Gingrich Years of GOP Majority Power: Hastert, the ‘‘Hammer,’’ and Party
Discipline 3. The Democrats Bounce Back: The 2006
Elections and Beyond
4. The Backbone of House Leadership: The Whip Systems
B. Senate Leadership
IV. Institutional Constraints on Strong Party Government: The 2003 Tax Cut Package
V. The President as Leader of Party in Government
VI. Politicians View Party in Government
12. The Role of Political Parties at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century
I. The Role of Elections
A. The Context of Federalism
1. Presidential Elections
2. Congressional Elections
3. State and Local Elections
4. Nonpartisan Politics
II. Voters, Parties, and Elections
A. The Rise of Television
B. The Parties in the Modern Election
C. Parties’ Appeal to the Electorate
D. The Tone of Twenty-first-Century Politics
III. Concluding Remarks
Notes
References
Credits
Index
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

Once again this book is invaluable for understanding American Political Parties. It is comprehensive, well-written, and accessible. It is rich with examples that illustrate the general arguments of the book. It provides up-to-date information. Most important, anyone reading this will have an excellent sense of the context, role and impact of American Political Parties.

Jeffrey M. Stonecash

This masterful book has everything an instructor could hope for in a parties and elections text. It explores the history of parties as a means of illuminating the present, examines the organizational dimensions as thoroughly as the behavioral dimensions, and captures the dynamic aspects with the same precision as it explains the regularities. Sandy Maisel and Mark Brewer's Parties and Elections in America is more than a thoughtful summary of the best scholarship on the subject. It is a superb scholarly contribution in its own right.

Thomas E. Patterson