Political Science 424, Spring, 1997 Office Hours: T/Th 3-4 p.m.,
American Parties and Politics and by appointment
Professor David Canon Telephone: 263-2283
T/Th 1:00-2:15 B239 Van Vleck Office: 416 North Hall
Course Description:
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This course will examine the place of American parties within the political system. The course will be divided into three parts: 1) the theoretical and historical context for studying parties, 2) the "nuts and bolts" descriptions of the role of the current political parties, 3) various topics that integrate material from the first two parts. I begin by presenting the coalitional status of parties today and the various approaches that have been used to study political parties and to evaluate their place within the political system. Next we will examine the development of attitudes toward political parties, beginning with the founding period. Shifting to the "nuts and bolts" section, we will examine the parties' role in nominations and campaigns, the party in the electorate, party organization, and the party in government. In the integrative section we will examine the role of third parties, explanations for the two-party system in the U.S., party system change, and divided government.
The course is a largely a lecture class, but we will have discussion on important concepts and policy questions regarding the readings and current events. In addition, I encourage you to raise questions you have about anything presented in the lectures or the readings.
Course Evaluation:
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The grades for the course will be based on a midterm (30%), a paper (30%), and a final exam (40%). The format of the exams will be a combination of multiple choice, identification, and short essay. The final exam will only be partially comprehensive (75% will be on material since the midterm and 25% will be comprehensive). All reading material and lectures will be fair game on the exams. I will pass out a handout on the paper assignment in a few weeks. Briefly, it will be an 8-10 page paper on a topic of your choice that we covered in the course.
Books and Readings:
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The following books are required for the course and are available for purchase at the University of Wisconsin Bookstore.
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United State of Ambition: Politicians, Power, and the Pursuit of Office, 1991.
Jeff Faux, The Party’s Not Over, 1996.
Morris P. Fiorina. Divided Government, 2nd edition, 1996.
David Frum, Dead Right, 1994.
L. Sandy Maisel, The Parties Respond: Changes in the American Party System, 2nd edition, 1994.
Martin Wattenberg, The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952-1994, 1996.
There also is a set of required readings that is available at Bob’s Copy Shop in University Square.
A friendly word of advice that should be taken seriously: you should complete the assigned reading before the topic is discussed in lecture. Many of the lectures will use the readings as a point of departure, so your understanding of lecture material will be enhanced by having completed and understood the assigned reading. The reading load averages just under 100 pages a week. This should not be a difficult pace to maintain if you do not fall behind. If you put off reading anything until before the exams will you find yourself staring at nearly 700 pages for each exam . . . this strategy is not recommended. Also, you will note that the reading load varies a bit from week to week, depending on whether we are primarily reading books or articles. Therefore, you may want to try to get ahead when the reading load is light for a given week.
Lecture Schedule and Reading Assignments
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Introduction: Political parties, political science and the American political system--January 21
No assigned readings.
I. The Ideological and Coalitional Status of Parties Today--January 21-23
A. Should we care? or, Is there a "dime's worth of difference" between the two parties?
Stone, Rapoport, and Abramowitz, "The Reagan Revolution and Party Polarization in the 1980s." Chapter 4 in Maisel's The Parties Respond.
Lewis Lapham, "Lights, Camera, Democracy!" Harper’s Magazine, August, 1996, 33-38, copy packet.
B. A Difficult Time for the Major Parties: Galloping to the Center while Splitting Apart at the Seams?
David Frum, Dead Right, Chapter 1.
Jeff Faux, The Party’s Not Over, Chapters 1 and 2.
John Judis, "The Republican Splintering: A Preview of the San Diego Zoo," The New Republic, August 19&26, 1996, 32-36, in copy packet.
Ramesh Ponnuru, "Reagan’s Spoiled Children," The National Review, May 6, 1996, in copy packet.
John Judis, "Beyond the Clinton Presidency: Can a Democratic Showdown be Averted?," The New Republic, September 16&23, 1996, 24-26, in copy packet.
C. The Gender Gap
Steven Stark, "Gap Politics," Atlantic Monthly, July 1996, 71-80, copy packet.
Sidney Blumenthal, "A Doll’s House," The New Yorker, August 19, 1996, 30-33, copy packet.
Elinor Burkett, "In the Land of Conservative Women," Atlantic Monthly, September 1996, 19-29, copy packet.
II. Why and how we study political parties: an introduction to theories of parties
A. Normative Theories--January 28
APSA Committee on Political Parties, "The Need for Greater Party Responsibility," American Political Science Review, September, 1950, pp. 15-36, copy packet.
Morris Fiorina, "The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics," Daedalus, Summer, 1980, copy packet.
B. Positive Theories--January 30
Anthony Downs. Chapter 8 from An Economic Theory of Democracy, copy packet.
David Frum, Dead Right, Chapter 2.
Jeff Faux, The Party’s Not Over, Chapter 3.
Michael Sandel, "Easy Virtue," The New Republic, September 2, 1996, 23.
Robert Levine, "The Empty Symbolism of American Politics," Atlantic Monthly October, 1996, 80-84, copy packet.
III. Political Parties and the American Founding--February 4
Richard Hofstadter, "Party and Opposition in the 18th Century," from The Idea of a Party System, 1-39. Copy packet.
IV. Parties in the Electoral Arena--The Rise of Candidate-Centered Politics
A. Political Careers and Recruitment--February 6
Maisel, Fowler, Jones, and Stone, "Nomination Politics" In Maisel's The Parties Respond, Chapter 7.
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapters 1-2.
B. Self-Nomination, Political Careers and Governing
1. State and Local Level--February 11
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapters 3,4,7,10 (you may read two of these four chapters).
2. Congressional--February 11
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapter 12.
Jane Meyer, "The Outsider," New Yorker, October 21&28, 1996, 1-7-114, copy packet.
Anthony King, "Running Scared," Atlantic Monthly, January, 1997, 41-61, copy packet.
George Hager and Eric Pianin, "Bipartisan Buyers Beware," Washington Post Weekly Edition, December 2-8. 1996, 21-22, copy packet.
3. Presidential--February 13
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapter 13.
Elaine Ciulla Kamarch and Kenneth Goldstein, "Rules do Matter: Post-Reform Presidential Nominating Politics." In Maisel's The Parties Respond, Chapter 8.
James Fishkin, "The Case for a National Caucus," Atlantic Monthly, August, 1988, 16-18, copy packet.
Sean Wilentz, "Here We Go Again: An Unconventional History," New Republic, August 19&26, 20-24, copy packet.
C. Campaign Finance--February 18-20 (there isn’t much reading this week, so you should start to read the Wattenberg book for next week)
Frank Sorauf and Scott Wilson, "Political Parties and Campaign Finance" Chapter 10 in Maisel's The Parties Respond.
D. Voters--February 25-27
Martin Wattenberg, The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952-1994, 1996, entire book, except chapter 6, which we will read in the section on the media, and chapter 9, which you may skip.
Morris P. Fiorina, "The Electorate in the Voting Booth." In Maisel's The Parties Respond, Chapter 6.
Peter Baker, "A Closer Look at the Voters," Washington Post Weekly Edition, November 11-17, 11-12, copy packet.
V. Parties as Organizations
A. Party Machines
1. The peak of power--March 4
Alexander Callow, The Tweed Ring, Chapters 1 and 11, copy packet.
2. The decline of machines--March 6
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapters 5, 6, and 8.
B. State and Local Organization--March 11
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapter 9.
John Bibby, "State Party Organizations," in Maisel's The Parties Respond, chapter 2.
C. National Party Organizations--March 13
Paul Herrnson, "The Revitalization of National Party Organizations," in Maisel's The Parties Respond, chapter 3.
D. Alternatives to Political Parties--Media and Interest Groups--March 18
Jonathan Schell, "The Uncertain Leviathan," Atlantic Monthly, August, 1996, 70-78, copy packet.
Martin Wattenberg, The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952-1994, chapter 6, "The Role of the Media."
Jonathan Rauch, "The Hyperpluralism Trap," The New Republic, June 6, 1994, 22-25, copy packet.
David Broder, "News of the Weak: Why Clinton and Congress Lack the Will to Lead," Washington Post Weekly Edition, January 13, 1997, 21-22, copy packet.
*********** In Class Midterm Exam on Thursday, March 20 ***********
(exam will cover readings through March 18)
***** Spring Break March 22-30 *****
VI. The Party in Government
A. Parties in Congress--April 1-3
David W. Brady, "Coalitions and Policy in the U.S. Congress." In Maisel's The Parties Respond, chapter 13.
Barbara Sinclair, "Parties in Congress, In Maisel's The Parties Respond, chapter 12.
Jeffrey Goldberg, "Adventures of a Republican Revolutionary," New York Times Magazine, November 3, 1996, 42-49, 64-65, 81-89, copy packet.
Dan Morgan, "A Revolution Derailed," Washington Post Weekly Edition, October 28-November 3, 1996, 21-22, copy packet.
John Judis, "Huddled Elites," The New Republic, December 23, 1996, 23-26, copy packet.
B. Parties and the Presidency--April 8
Calvin Mackenzie, "Partisan Leadership through Presidential Appointments." In Maisel's The Parties Respond, chap. 14.
VII. Party competition, institutions, and the nature of the party system
A. Why Two Parties?--April 10
No assigned readings. I will lecture on Duverger's Law and other explanations for the absence of third parties in the American political system.
B. Third Parties--April 15-17
Theodore Lowi, "Toward a Responsible Three Party System," in The State of Political Parties, 42-60.
John Judis, "The Third Rail; Ross Perot: America’s Charles de Gaule?" The New Republic, May 20, 1996, 22-26.
Michael Lewis, "Blue Collar Blues," The New Republic, April 8, 1996, 22-25, copy packet.
"Putting Parties First," The New Republic, October 14, 1996, 7, copy packet.
VIII. Party System Change and Theories of Realignment--April 22-24
James Sundquist, "The Realignment Process: An Amplified Statement." From Dynamics of the Party System, chapter 13, 298-321, copy packet.
Joel Silbey, "The Rise and Fall of American Parties," in Maisel's The Parties Respond, chapter 1.
B. The Future of the Democratic and Republican Parties--April 29-May 1
***** Paper Due in Class on May 1st *****
David Frum, Dead Right, chapters 4-7 (you can skim chapter 8; you may want to check out pp. 178-80 on Tommy Thompson.
Jeff Faux, The Party’s Not Over, chapter 4-7.
Jacob Wiesberg, "Leaner, Cleaner Liberals: Five Ways to Revive the Democrats," New Republic, April 1, 1996, 17-25.
Lamar Alexander, Gary Bauer, and Steve Forbes, "Triumphs and Traps: What’s Ahead for Conservatives" Policy Review: The Journal of American Citizenship, Jan/Feb, 1997, in copy packet.
IX. Divided Government--May 6-8
Morris Fiorina, Divided Government, entire book (you may skip chapter 7 and skim chapter 10).
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapter 11.
David Broder, "Power to Both Parties," Washington Post Weekly Edition, November 11-17, 1996, 7-8, copy packet.
X. Conclusion--May 8
L. Sandy Maisel, "Political Parties at the Century’s End," in Maisel's The Parties Respond, Chapter 16.
Alan Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapter 14.
***** FINAL EXAM, 5:05 p.m. on Sunday, May 11th, Location TBA *****