Political Party Organization

Introduction

Political parties are essential in a modern representative democracy. They provide machinery for nominating candidates and performing other services without which our form of government could not function.

Political parties are also inevitable. Differences of opinion on men and policies are bound to exist among the people of any nation. As long as these differences are decided by popular vote, people will seek the support of other persons whose interests are the same as— or compatible with—their own. By lining up enough votes to beat the other side in the next election, the winner can put their policies into effect.

Wikipedia defines a political party as “a political organization that typically seeks to influence, or entirely control, government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns and educational outreach or protest actions. Parties often espouse an ideology or vision, expressed in a party program, bolstered by a written platform with specific goals, forming a coalition among disparate interests.”

Thus, the down-to-earth basic purpose of political parties is to nominate candidates and to win elections. People who think approximately alike organize to put people into public office that will run the government the way they feel it should be run.

The role of the Political Party has been defined as follows:

The American Political Parties perform five critical functions:

• Recruitment of candidates
• Raising money
• Campaign support
• Government organization
• Advocacy of political issues

The American political party has been compared to a corporation.
“The American party is made up primarily of those persons who choose to work in that political corporation for the benefits which continued employment in it, and service to it, can offer. Those voters who tend to support one party are its stockholders. The rest of the country consists of customers who tend to shop around for services in return for their votes.
“This is not a bad system. On the contrary, it is a very good system. It is just as good, and as desirable, and as useful in politics as it is in the marketplace. It is the system which long, and painful, experience has proved to be best adapted, by and large, to the needs and interests of the American people.”

How Political Parties Developed

George Washington, in his Farewell address, deplored the danger of a party system, particularly a division along geographic lines.  Yet, while Washington was still President, the Federalist Party began to form under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic (or anti-Federalist) party took shape under Thomas Jefferson. The Federalist group wanted a strong central government.  They represented most business interests and the northeast.  The Jeffersonian group favored strong state government and a limited national government. It represented agrarian interests and centered in the frontier areas and the South.

Subsequent realignments of the parties took place on the basis of issues. The Federalists died as a national party following the defeat of Rufus King by James Monroe in 1816.

After narrowly losing the contested 1824 election by a vote of the House of Representatives (neither candidate had obtained a majority in the Electoral College) Andrew Jackson won the presidency in 1828 and the Jacksonians had split off from the Democratic Republicans.

The split was principally over differences on tariff and monetary policy between propertied interests on the one hand and the agrarians and frontiersmen on the other hand.  Webster, Clay and Calhoun were the founders and leaders of a new Whig Party made up of various factions of the traditional Democratic republicans and surviving Federalists.

In the 1850’s, both the Whig and Democratic Parties splintered over the slavery question, leading to the formation of the Republican Party,  Lincoln’s victory in 1860 lead to the reduction of the Democratic Party to a Southern regional party for many years.

The parties originated and re-formed on the basis of issues, but for the past 100 years there have been two major parties with no realignment of forces successful enough to produce a new national political party.  There have been several recent instances where third party candidates have either achieved significant vote tallies in presidential elections or took enough votes away from one of the two major parties to swing the election. In 1992 Ross Perot won almost 19% of the popular vote with an almost self-financed presidential campaign. Perot did not win any electoral votes and his “United we Stand” party morphed into the Reform Party of the United States and disappeared from the national stage after 1998. Vice President Dan Quayle blamed the defeat of the BushQuayle ticket on Ross Perot.  Ralph Nader has been blamed by many democrats in taking votes away from the Democratic presidential candidate and giving the office to the Republicans in the deeply contested 2000 presidential race.

In six Southern states—Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina—there was, for all practical purposes into the 1970’s, a one-party system. Due to many factors, not the least of which was the battle over civil rights, the South has changed. It is no longer predominantly Democratic (a Blue State) and most of the southern states have become “red” states or Republican.  The Democratic Party, once dominant in the Southeastern United States is now strongest in the Northeast (Mid-Atlantic and New England), the Great Lakes region and along the Pacific coast, including Hawaii.  The Democrats are also strongest in major cities. Since 1980, geographically, the Republican “base” (“red states”) is strongest in the South and West and weakest in the Northeast and the Pacific coast.

Differences can Be Dramatic. The two parties often differ dramatically on issues. Both major parties traditionally contained both “liberals” and “conservatives,” though the Republicans are generally thought of as the more conservative party, and the Democrats as the more “liberal” or economic interventionist party. Both parties in the past have contained so-called “moderates” in public office and these moderates were often able to forage a working consensus between the two parties in spite of policy differences. A recent, perhaps alarming trend, has either driven the moderates, by choice or by the ballot box, out of office. Well-funded single issue groups have forced both the Republicans and the Democrats to positions on the “issues” that are often to the extreme right or left, leaving vast gulfs between the positions of the parties.  Combine this with both parties having adopted a “take no prisoners” on compromise with the opposition.

Today, whether individuals are Democrats, Republicans, or some minor party depends to some extent on issues, but also to a large degree on what party their families have traditionally belonged to – their religion, ethnic and economic groups – and also to a significant extent on where they live.

The role of issues in determining party loyalty appeared to be on the decline but recent trends have brought “issue oriented” politics back to center stage.  The Tea Party movement has pushed “issues” to the front of the line. Candidates for both major parties are forced by issue driven organizations that often have almost limitless funding, to make the “issue” the main, or sometimes the only, topic.  A candidate may occasionally come along in which the candidate is more important to the voters than the so-called “issues’. Barack Obama was probably such a candidate in 2008.

First Appearance of Republican elephant
Thomas Nast created the symbol of the Republican Party in a cartoon in Harper’s Weekly, in 1874.  He was warning republicans against nominating Grant for a third term, It depicts an ambitious Caesar (an ass dressed in a lion’s skin) running through the forest frightening all the animals, especially an elephant representing the large Republican vote. The republican elephant of Nast has evolved into the stylized version we see today.

First Appearance of  the Democratic Donkey
The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong willed-animal on his campaign posters. Later, Thomas Nast (again) used the animal in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.

On the local level—the level which ultimately decides all elections—the issues tend to be played down and candidates played up. The comparable strength and effectiveness of the party organizations are principal factors in deciding who wins.

Parties are Shaped by State Election Laws
Development of our System of government has placed elections and politics largely in the hands of the states.  The constitution made no provision for political parties. The power to conduct elections was given to the states. In effect, this reservation of election power to the states also gave them the power to regulate the form and nature of the political system.

There are Sharp Differences Between the announced Positions of Republicans and Democrats

	Comparison Chart
	Democrat	Republican
Philosophy	Liberal	Conservative
Economic Ideas	Higher taxes	Lower taxes
Unions	Yes	No
Open Borders	Yes	No
Military Spending	Decrease	Increase
Gay Marriage	Support	Oppose
Federal Education Dept.	Yes	No
Abortion	Legal	Illegal
Term Limits	No	Yes
Death Penalty	Oppose	Support
Social & human	Social Responsibility	Individual Rights
Genders	Many	Male & Female

This has resulted—for all practical purposes—in 100 political parties, two in each of the 50 states. Former President Eisenhower recognized this when he referred to the Republican Party (prior to Alaska and Hawaii becoming states) as not one party, but as “forty-eight state parties.”

Even today, there is no provision in federal law for nominating candidates for president and vice president.  In the early days of the republic, the practice grew up of nominating candidates for president and vice president by a caucus of congressmen in each party. “King caucus” was an unsatisfactory method since people of one party living in an area which was represented by a congressman of the other party had no voice in the choice of candidates.  A movement developed to hold nominating conventions. The first national political convention was held by the Democratic Republicans in 1828 at Philadelphia to nominate John Quincy Adams for a second term. In 1832, all parties held national nominating conventions for the first time.

The conventions grew out of the need for a broader means of reflecting the wishes of the political organizations in the states in the selection of candidates.  The national conventions have no sanction or authority under Federal law. They are effective only because individual states recognize their choices and put their nominees (or electors to the Electoral College) on the state ballots.

The former drama of national conventions has mostly been replaced due to the advent of state presidential primaries that usually result with one candidate having the party nomination “locked up” long before the convention.  National conventions have evolved into a formality of recognizing the individual who has the necessary delegates already committed to vote for his/her nomination, The convention consist of the nominee’s announced selection of a vice-presidential running mate and a lot of supporting speeches.

State election laws shape the character of politics within the state by specifying how candidates shall be nominated and by setting up the conditions under which political parties operate.

Generally, state election laws cover:

1. Size of the precinct or election district. Ideally, this will be a geographic area containing from 600 to 1,000 voters.
2. Location of the precinct. Increasingly the party in power (governor and state legislature) has used statistical analysis to arrange or “Gerrymander” political districts to protect incumbents of their party.
3. Establishment of a board of elections (terminology varies) to provide for polling places, manning of the polling places with clerks, establishing the validity of candidates, providing ballots or election machines, and to counting the ballots to ascertain election results. Usually there is one board of elections per county.
4. Method of nomination for office. Where there is a party primary election to select candidates, the law may govern the form of petitions and the number of names necessary to get a candidate’s name on the primary ballot. The law will state filing dates, and the Election Day, the hours the polls will be open, etc. The law may provide that the board of elections will supervise and judge the party primary, or it may leave this to the political parties to supervise and judge.

The election law may state that nomination for public office or political party office shall be by convention or party caucus rather than a primary. It may then provide for the means of electing delegates to the conventions either by party primary or by caucus.

5. Methods of general election. The law will state the same kind of rules for the general elections as are outlined above for the primary. General elections are never supervised by the political parties, however. They are always managed by the boards of elections, or similar governmental authority.
6. Eligibility of voters. State election laws require that voters in a general election shall be citizens, shall be a certain age usually at 17 and ½ to register and 18 to vote. In the recent past there were also other requirements such as passing a literacy test or paying a “poll” tax. Amendments to the United States constitution and congressional action have eliminated most of these restrictions. Voter identification is a separate issue and what constitutes acceptable forms of identification is now under consideration by several state legislatures and/or under court challenge. In addition to general eligibility requirements, there is usually a party membership requirement for voters in a primary election. There, of course, are also residency requirements since it is obvious that the residents of town A should not be allowed to vote in the elections for the elected offices in town B.

In states with closed primaries, voters are required to state formally their party affiliation, and may vote only for candidates of their own party. In order to change party affiliation they must make formal application no later than a specified date before the primary.

In states with open primaries, a voter can vote in either party primary.

In states with “door ajar” primaries, a voter may switch his allegiance at any time before the primary election.
Where there is no party requirement for voting in a primary, and in caucuses or conventions where the state or party rules are easy to comply with, many people who are not really party members may participate in the election of party officials or in the nomination of party candidates.  Much has been written pro and con on the desirability of this practice.

7. Structure of the parties. The state law may provide for election in a party primary of one or two county committeemen, or precinct leaders, in each election district, and that these committeemen shall meet at stated intervals to elect a county chairman and other party officers. It may provide for the election of state committeemen, and that they shall meet at stated intervals to elect state party officials.

	Party Structure
Governmental		Political
Federal Government		National Committee
State Government		State Committee
County Government		County Committee
Municipal Government		Town Or City Committee
		Ward Committee
		Election District, Precinct Or
Citizens		Party Members

Only the basic characteristics of state election laws have been touched upon in this brief summary. However, they demonstrate that state election laws give form to the operation and structure of political parties within a state. Party rules—state, county and local—take up where the election law leaves off in determining how the parties are organized and what functions they may perform.

Although the Republicans and Democrats have materially different philosophies and agendas, the parties in the United States are roughly similar in one respect, however —their basic structure. Both major parties are built in the form of a pyramid of precinct captains, ward leaders, county committees, state committees and conventions, and national committees and conventions.”

A description can only generally illustrate the structure of the political parties which vary greatly at the state and local level. In some states, the parties have almost no visible structure; in others, they have a clear definable structure which may then be virtually ignored because it is the local custom to do political business in the local political club.
Where the state election law specifically covers party structure, primaries and qualifications for primary voting, there is a formal party structure. In these cases, the members of a party have adequate avenues for taking part in the affairs of their party if they wish.  Where the political organization tends to the informal it is much harder for members of the party to take part in the affairs of the party.

Where the state election law is brief and general, party rules govern party structure, the nomination of candidates, and the election of party officials. These rules may be drawn to favor whatever party group is in power, can be changed at the discretion of this group and often are unavailable to the outsider. Where these conditions exist, insurgents in the party find it difficult to be effective.

In some limited areas there is little formal political organization. This is true of some states where there is only one real political party. But whether formal or not, there is always some form of political organization.  The organization is necessary to reach the voters, to persuade them, and to get them to the polls.

Model Structure

Perhaps the best way to explain party structure is to analyze a more-or-less model system, with some of the variations in it.?

The Political Party Convention System in Texas By participating in the party’s convention system, any qualified Texas voter can participate in the formulation of the state and national platform, and in choosing the party leadership. While the leaders of a county party (county chair and county executive committee) holding primary elections are directly elected by the voters, the leaders of the state party are elected by the delegates at the biennial State convention. In presidential election years, the State convention delegates also elect the national committeewoman and committeeman to represent Texas on the national committee. Conventions are held every two years. There are four convention levels: the election precinct level, the county or senatorial district level, the state level and the national level. The cost of each convention is the responsibility of the particular party.

1. 10 delegates at large from each of the 50 states
2. The national committeeman and committeewoman and the State chairman of each state.
3. Three (3) district delegates for each representative from the State in the U.S. House of Representatives
4. 4 and ½ delegates for each state that cast the majority of its electoral votes for the Republican candidate for President plus an additional 60% of the number of electoral votes from the state.
5. 1 delegate for having a Republican governor.
6. 1 delegate for having at least 50% of the members of the House of representatives
7. 1 delegate for having the majority of either chamber of the State government
8. 1 delegate for each Senator from the Republican Party.

Special rules for delegates apply to the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The chairman of the national committee of the party in power is selected unofficially by the president; the chairman of the other party’s committee is generally the holdover selection of the party’s last presidential candidate.

Party Organization in Wisconsin Adapted from the Republican Party of Wisconsin Constitution (2012) State Chairman National Committeeman        National Committeewoman State Finance Chairman         Four Vice Chairmen         Secretary          Treasurer Third Vice Chairman, acting as chairman of County Chairmen Fourth Vice Chairman, acting as Chairman of Young Professionals Individual County Chairmen Individual Young Professionals organizations Chairman State Executive Committee (Reporting directly to the State Chairman) consisting of the four (4) Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, National Committeeman and woman, the State Finance Chairman PLUS the Chairman and first Vice Chairman of each Congressional District Committee, the Chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Labor Federation, the State Chairman of the Wisconsin African American Republican Council, the Chairman of the Wisconsin National Hispanic Assembly, one at large member and the immediate past Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

In summary, the political organization may be formal or in formal, but there always is an organization. The state election laws and the party rules determine its structure and how it operates on the local, county and state levels. On the national level, each party’s committee operates almost entirely under its own rules.

At the local levels, including most county level positions party activity is based on unpaid volunteer help.  Often even the county chairperson is unpaid.  Paid party positions increase as the political entity (city and state) becomes larger.

Functions of Party Committees
An analysis of the different levels of party organization reveals these activities…
Town, city and county committees carry out these functions:

1. Organizing to get out the vote and win elections.
2. Nominating or endorsing candidates. (Exception: some organizations keep hands off in the primary, and back who-ever wins.)
3. Providing services for the party and the voters, such as doing research, establishing a speaker’s bureau, holding social events, producing literature, publicity, etc.
4. Money-raising. Political organizations have year-round expenses as well as campaign expenses.
5. Managing patronage.  In today’s world there is little if any patronage available to leaders at the local levels of government.  Most jobs are covered under civil service requirements.

When state election law so specifies, the parties may also be in charge of primary election arrangements.
State committees and the National committees are principally service organizations. In addition to the normal types of service, they also produce much “howto-do-it” material for local use on organizing to win elections. In addition, the national committees arrange the national convention every four years. State committees arrange state conventions when they are called for by law or by party rules.

National committees and state committees in some states have no nominating functions. They are active in campaigns, producing reams of literature and sponsoring radio and television advertising.  In recent years much advertising is organized and paid for by organizations not directly under the control of the party but the party leadership must attempt to coordinate, within the limits of the law, its advertising efforts with the efforts of the outside interests. . They do not, however, directly organize to get out the party vote, since that must be done locally. They do hire field men to work in certain key areas with local organizations.

State and national committees also raise money and handle the limited patronage positions.  Much money, after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, is funneled through organizations that are not directly connected to, or controlled by, the party.

The Political Organization
Few politicians will readily admit to the outsider that there is a political organization in their area because citizens generally feel the existence of a political “machine” is, in itself, an evil thing. Nevertheless, there is always an organization because people must organize to achieve any objective.

It has been said that the average voter does not realize that there are more than ten thousand political machines (States, counties, cities) in the country, that government, particularly in our large urban centers, could not function without them, that there were both `good’ and `bad’ machines, and that the choice between `good’ and `bad’ lay always with the voters.

The facts of political life are that political machines, far from being anachronisms, are as modern as the internet—and as indispensable. . . . Fighting `bad’ political machines with hastily slapped together `fusion’ tickets is as futile as expecting civilian soldiers with only three months’ training to win a long war … as long as we have a twoparty system of government, we will have machines.

Even where there is only one party, or the party organizations are weak, there are still organizations. They may be organizations dominated by individuals-or they may be local third party “good government” groups, but there is always some kind of organization to help candidates get nominated and elected.

In the states, where one party has been the long time “dominant” party, and in places where local and county government is on a non-partisan basis, the political organization may have less control over nominations than it has elsewhere. In these areas, the political organization tends to be weaker, less disciplined, and the elected official is more apt to be independent of his party organization.

Many people favor a weak party organization and strong candidates in the belief that under this system candidates can be more independent, and that the “hidden government” of the party organization has less influence over the public office holders. On the other hand, some authorities believe that weak parties and strong candidates lessen party responsibility, blur the issues and emphasize the candidates’ personalities, encourage demagoguery and a self- serving attitude in the distribution of government perquisites.

Political realities: Even in the areas where one party can practically never win, there are party organizations.  In the past the Republican Party organizations in the Deep South had been traditionally closely held and existed for the coming of a Republican administration under which they could obtain post masters, federal judges, U. S. marshals, U.S. Attorneys and other offices. Recent years, though, have seen a growing vitalization of the Republican Party in some parts of the South to the point that many Southern states are more Republican than Democrat, or more Red than Blue.

There are still some “kept organizations,” too. In some big cities, the dominant party will throw a few judgeships or other .patronage “bones” to the leaders of the minority parties to influence them to remain dormant.  A similar situation may also occur in other areas.  In these cases, the minority parties’ objective is not to win elections—it is to serve the interest of a few individuals who have control of whatever party machinery there is.

In many areas individuals are laboring tirelessly year after year to advance the fortunes of a party that appears to be hopelessly in the minority.  Their reward is the satisfaction of working to serve their convictions, and the hope that conditions will change over a period of time so they can be winners. Politics is so fluid and unpredictable, dependent on so many variables and so susceptible to the influence of strong and persistent persons that these people may not be hoping in vain. They can and do win.

The Party Leader
Government in the United States is a form of representative democracy. Individual sovereignty is delegated in political and governmental affairs to people who act as the voters’ representatives. The ultimate recourse, the ultimate sovereignty, of course, still lies with the voters.  If the representatives are not responsive to the wishes of the voters, they can be voted out of office in the next election.

In short, the voters review the stewardship of the people who run the government.

This review takes place at a regular interval, generally two, four, or six years, on Election Day.

The same principle operates in the conduct of political committees. It is impossible for a town committee or a county committee whose size may run from 20 to 1000 members, or more, to make the decisions and take the day-to-day actions which are necessary to political management.  That responsibility is delegated to one person, the “political leader.”

Actually, this is the theory of representative democracy. Generally, however, the voter is apathetic in general elections and takes even less interest in primaries and in participating in the work of his or her political party.  As a result, the practice of politics is carried on by what has been described by as “an aristocracy of self-appointed leaders.” these are the people who get themselves a following, and use the following to put themselves or “their man” in office. As we will see as we proceed through this course, it is often that 10% or less of the eligible voters are doing the choosing of who and what we vote for in the primaries and in the general elections.  Indeed the tyranny of the minority.

In some areas, the political leader many be able to control his or hers committee and executive committee in what is tantamount to a one-man “boss” system. In other areas, their power and influence may be considerably less.
A strong will, combined with a thorough knowledge of the rules and By-laws of the organization, Roberts Rules of Order and a few loyal supporters will allow the chair to control the agenda at most meeting.

Influence of the County Leader
There are close to 3100 counties in the United States. Most of them have Republican and Democratic county chairman.  These people have great influence in shaping government and politics at the local, state and national level. In many of these counties there may be additional active and effective 3rd. parties with functioning county chairpersons.

In some areas, of course, the real leader of the party organization may be a public officeholder, a political officeholder, or someone who has no political or governmental position.  In exercising that leadership, however, they must work through the county chairman and be able to influence the actions of the chairman—because the chairman is the individual to whom the members of the party have delegated authority to handle political decisions.

Thus, the leader of the party organization in an area holds their leadership because they hold the loyalty of a group of citizens who will work to nominate and elect the ticket they want. Their authority stems from their ability to hold together a political organization.

The president, governors of states and some mayors can dominate a party’s politics in their respective areas through the power that exists in their office. But even they will find their authority curtailed—and will be less effective—if they do not understand, or are unwilling to exercise the skills necessary to maintain the strength and loyalty of their party organization.

The elected government officeholder wants to be re-elected. They want to keep their job or get a better one, just as everyone else does. To do this they must be renominated and re-elected. Therefore, they are careful to maintain good relations with the political leaders who can help them. If they break with them on an issue of importance to them and to the organization, they must be prepared to fight for their re-nomination in the party primary, or the convention, or the party caucuses, depending on how candidates are nominated in their area.

Party Discipline
When a group organizes to gain an objective, different roles are assigned to different people. Some are leaders, others are followers. A chain of command and responsibility exists. No organization can function properly when the chain of command is broken, or when conflicting orders are given.

On a football team, there is only one quarterback who calls the signals—the others carry out their roles on each play.
The same is true in business, in religious organizations and is vital in the armed services. The very term “discipline” creates mental blocks in many persons, particularly when the term is applied to political parties.  Americans have a long tradition of free speech and independence in politics. Yet, experience has clearly demonstrated that discord and disunity in a party organization leads only to defeat at the polls.

What is meant by party discipline? Here is how some political leaders would explain it:

When a citizen decides to be an active member of a political party, they decide that this party, by and large, represents what they think is the right and proper political philosophy.  Having chosen that party, they give up some of their freedom to criticize the party and its candidates during election campaigns and they give up a good deal of their time and energy to working for the party. In return, they acquire status in the party, increased influence in selecting its candidates, and the opportunity to share in the rewards of victory, whether psychological or some form of concrete preferment.

Lack of  Unity Leads toDefeat.  Perhaps, the importance of party discipline can best be illustrated by pointing out what happens when a party splits into factions:

1. Voters sympathizing with one faction of the party refuse to vote for candidates of the other faction and either vote for the opposing party’s candidate or don’t vote at all.
2. Other voters simply decide that a disunited party doesn’t know where it is going, and vote for the opposing party.
3. Party workers of a losing faction sit on their hands when it comes time to get out the votes for the party ticket headed by the other faction.
4. Party workers get disgusted with the leadership of both factions and quit.