Parties, Politics, and Public Policy in America / Edition 11

by Marc J. Hetherington, Bruce A. Larson

Overview

With revitalized and stronger political parties should we see more effective and accountable government? Despite the resurgence of parties in America, charges of irresponsible and unreliable government remain. Why the disconnect? In Parties, Politics, and Public Policy in America, Marc Hetherington along with new coauthor Bruce Larson explore this question, while giving students an overview of how parties work and shape public policymaking in America.

In this eleventh edition, Hetherington and Larson provide more in-depth coverage of the parties’ functions in Congress and campaign finance. In addition, the authors examine developments in the 2008 nomination and election contests—generational voting patterns, shifts in the red-blue divide, and the possibility of a partisan realignment. No other book for this course combines the breadth of scholarship with the brevity and accessibility found here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604264586
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/14/2009
Edition description:	11th Edition
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Marc J. Hetherington is associate professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. He was awarded the Emerging Scholar Award from the Elections, Voting Behavior and Public Opinion section of the American Political Science Association in 2004. He recently published Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism (Princeton University Press, 2005). He has published numerous articles in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Public Opinion Quarterly.

Bruce A. Larson is an associate professor of political science at Gettysburg College. A specialist in American political parties and elections, he has published articles in the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and Political Research Quarterly. Additionally, he is the coauthor of a book on American political parties and the coeditor of a book on statewide ballot initiatives in the United States.

Table of Contents

	Tables and Figures	xi
	Preface	xv
1	Political Parties and the Political System	1
	The Activities of Parties	2
	Recruitment and Selection of Leaders	3
	Representation and Integration of Group Interests	4
	Control and Direction of Government	5
	Parties as a "Dependent Variable"	7
	The Legal-Political System	7
	The Election System	8
	The Political Culture and the Parties	11
	A Heterogeneous Nation	14
	Party Organization	15
	The National Committee	16
	The National Chair	19
	Congressional and Senatorial Campaign Committees	19
	State Committees	20
	Local Party Organization	20
	The Changing Parties: "Old Style" and "New Style" Politics	22
2	American Parties: Characteristics and Competition	29
	Characteristics of Parties	29
	Dispersed Power	30
	The Power of Officeholders	32
	Coalitional in Nature	33
	Moderate and Inclusive	35
	Ideologically Heterogeneous	36
	An Interest Group	39
	Party Competition	40
	Presidential Elections	40
	Congressional Elections	44
	State-Level Competition	46
	Party Competition and Issue Positions	49
	The Persistent Two-Party System in America	50
	The Party Condition	54
3	Political Parties and the Electoral Process: Nominations	59
	Nominating Methods	59
	Caucus	59
	Party Conventions	60
	Direct Primary	60
	Types of Primaries	61
	Closed Primary	61
	Open Primary	62
	Blanket Primary	63
	Nonpartisan Primary	64
	Runoff Primary	64
	An Assessment of the Direct Primary	65
	Presidential Selection	67
	The National Convention	67
	Selection of Delegates	69
	Rules of Delegate Selection	70
	Evaluating Presidential Primary and Caucus-Convention Systems	74
	Front Loading	75
	Primaries and the End of Party-Boss Influence	78
	The Convention Delegates	80
	The Politics of the Convention	81
	The Convention Committees	82
	Selecting the Presidential Ticket	84
	The Media, the Presidential Nominating Process, and the Parties	86
4	Campaigns and Campaign Finance	95
	Campaign Organization	96
	Campaign Strategy	97
	Do Campaigns Matter?	98
	Issues and Campaigns	101
	Campaign Money	103
	The Regulation of Campaign Finance	106
	Soft Money	110
	Campaign Finance Reform: McCain-Feingold	113
	Sources of Campaign Financing under FECA	114
	Evaluating the Campaign Finance System	120
5	The Congressional Party and the Formation of Public Policy	131
	Congressional Elections	132
	Party Representation in Congress	134
	Party Organization in Congress	137
	Party Conferences	137
	The Speaker of the House	138
	The Floor Leaders	139
	The Whips	143
	The Policy Committees	144
	Informal Party Groups and Specialized Congressional Caucuses	145
	Factors Influencing the Success of Party Leaders	145
	National Party Agencies and the Congressional Parties	147
	Do the Parties Differ on Public Policies?	148
	The Parties and Liberal-Labor Legislation	149
	Weak Party Leadership but Strong Parties in Government	153
	The President and the Congressional Party	154
	Limits on Presidential Influence	155
	The President and Legislative Leaders	158
	The Role of the Minority Party in Congress	159
	The Party in Congress: Unfavorable Odds	160
6	Party Identification, Partisanship, and Elections	169
	The Origins of Party Identification	170
	The Effects of Party Identification	170
	The Distribution of Party Identification	173
	Party Identification and Voting Behavior	175
	Emerging Differences in Party Identification: Gender and Religion	177
	Evidence of the Growing Importance of Party	179
	Turnout: The Diminished Electorate	181
	Who Participates?	182
	Atrophy of the Electorate	186
	What Caused the Turnout Decline?	187
	Causes of the Early Twentieth-Century Decline	188
	Causes of the Contemporary Decline	189
	The Nation's Response to Declining Voter Turnout	190
7	The American Party System: Problems and Perspectives	197
	The Doctrine of Responsible Parties	197
	National Party Organization	198
	Party Platforms	199
	Congressional Party Organization	200
	Intraparty Democracy	201
	Nominations and Elections	202
	The Promise of Responsible Parties	202
	Responsible Parties and Party Reform	203
	Intraparty Democracy	203
	Strengthening the Congressional Parties	205
	Organization, Platforms, Nominations, and Elections	206
	Trends in American Politics	207
	The Loss of Power by Electoral Party Organizations and Their Adjustments	207
	The Growing Importance of Professional Campaign Management Firms and the Media in Politics	209
	A Growing Effort to Professionalize and Strengthen Party Organization	212
	An Era of Party and Governmental Reform	214
	The Escalation of Interest-Group Activity	216
	The Increasing Nationalization of Politics	218
	A Continuation of Party Competition Based on Meaningful Policy Differences between the Parties	220
	The Decline of Partisanship and Its Resurgence	224
	The Weakening of Group Attachments to the Democratic Party in Presidential Elections	226
	The Growth of Racial Polarization in Voting	228
	The Public's Declining Confidence in Political Institutions	230
	The Prospects	233
	Index	243

Editorial Reviews

New edition of a text that aims to bring into focus the major features of the parties, to account for party form and functions, and to examine and interpret the parties' present condition. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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