Party Realignment and dealignment

1. Topic: Party Realignment

2. Warm Up:
• As more of the electorate consider themselves
independents (not connected to a political
party). What does that tell about elections?

3. What is a coalition?

4. What is a coalition?
• An alliance of
groups with
common
interests or goals
• For a political
party to be
successful they
need coalitions

5. Party Identification

6. Impact on Today’s Coalitions
• Christian Coalition
• Pro-life
• Market economy
• Family values
• Socially conservative
• Military defense
• Diversity
• Minorities
• Pro-choice
• Lower-income
• Socially liberal
• Diplomacy defense

7. Realignment

8. Realignment
• One party takes over
the entire
government from the
other party
• Usually happens
during a national
crisis

9. Critical Election – Crisis in the country, a
switch in party control on the government

10. Party Era (when one party takes control of
the government for an extended period)

11. Era #1:The First Party System
1796-1824
• Democratic-Republicans
• Anti-Federalists gain
power from the
federalists
• Coalition forming
around agriculture and
land

12. Era #2: Jackson and the Democrats
1828-1856
• Andrew Jackson
• Coalition
included… just
about everyone
who wasn’t rich in
the early 1800’s
that was a lot of
people

13. Era #3a: The Republican Era: Lincoln
1860-1896
• Anti-slavery into new
territories
• Republican party
thrives for another 60
years due to this
realignment

14. Era #3b: The Republican Era
1896-1928
• But the extent of power
• Ensures that Republican
Party is in power until
1930’s
• Called a “watershed”
election
• Watershed refers to an
important point of
division or transition
between two phases or
conditions

15. Era #4:The New Deal Coalition
(Democrats) 1932-1964
• Plan formulated by FDR to
get country out of depression
• Most support after his first
term
• Coalition included
– Urban dwellers
– Labor Unions
– Catholics and Jews
– The poor
– Southerners
– African Americans

16. Era #5: The era of divided party
government
1968-Present
• No one party
dominates
• Democrats control
the White House,
Republicans control
the Congress

17. End of Party Affiliation

18. Dealignment

19. Dealignment
• The gradual shift from
people associating with
one party to associating
with no party at all
• Why is this phenomenon
occurring?

20. Examples of Dealignment
• Divided Government
• Less Party
Identification
• Growing number of
Independents and
3rd Parties
• Ticket splitting

21. Who is to blame for Dealignment?

22. 1. Independent
Voters

23. The growth of independents

24. Independent
• Most Americans
are not connected
to one party
• So what do
politicians have to
do?

25. 2. Media

26. Media
They focus more on the candidates
personalities then their beliefs and issues

27. Effect on Campaigns?
• Candidates rely
less on their party
identification and
more on their
personal
attributes

28. Americans have a hard time telling the
difference between the parties

29. Split Ticket Voting
• Voting for one
party for one
office but
another party
for a different
office

30. Voter Apathy (Not caring)

31. Too decentralized
• There is no real
focus on what
they
agree/disagree on
• They are
fragmented like a
puzzle

32. Solutions for Dealignment:
A government more responsive
and responsible

33. Responsible Party Model
1. Parties need to have distinct solutions for the
government
2. Each candidate must be committed to his/her
party
3. Majority power needs to implement program,
minority power critique
4. Majority party must take responsibility for
performance

34. Irresponsible Party Model

35. What are the stumbling blocks to
the Responsible Party Model?