26a, 26b, and 26c

Kari, Adriane, and Yumi

Political Party• A group of persons who seek to

control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

• The 2 major parties in American politics are the Republican and Democratic parties.

Purposes of Political Parties• They work to blunt conflict; they are

“power brokers.”• Political parties bring conflicting groups

together.• They modify and encourage compromise

among the contending views of different interests and groups, and help to unify, rather than divide, the American people.

• They soften the impact of extremists at both ends of the political spectrum.

Local Level

Local political parties are the backbone of the American political system. These organizations are so important because they are so

close to the voter. The local political party is responsible for motivating the electorate to vote for an entire slate of candidates, from the local school board all the way up to the President of the United States. It is involved in all aspects of campaigning, from fundraising to getting out

the vote. In order to build a strong national political party, it is important to start with strong local parties.

One problem that often plagues local party leaders is a refusal to delegate. Often, the qualities that make a good political leader, such as

confidence and specific know-how, also make a poor delegator. In order to strengthen your political party, it is imperative to delegate. Find volunteers and members who are good at organizing, fundraising, and event planning, and put them to work. Give them the authority to make

decisions and build their own team, and you will have more time to worry about "the big picture."

State Level

• Parties often do accentuate divisions in society while still uniting multiple groups within the electorate. They can be driven by ideology, while also bowing to the practical need to build coalitions to win elections. And their platforms often contain something for almost everyone, at the expense of a clear and specific vision.

• Your state votes for elections such as Senator and Secretary of State. Each state’s representation for the Presidential election depends on the size and population of the state.

National LevelThere are three main functions of a political party:1. This includes raising money, acquiring a staff, encouraging supporters to

get out to vote, recruiting volunteers and maintaining a party headquarters, which may be permanent or temporary. The organizational side of the parties allows for the political machine to function so that the candidate can be elected into office.

2. The second function of a political party is the informational function. The informational function of the party involves putting up signs in the community, canvassing the community to spread information, circulating campaign material. Campaign material can be anything from pamphlets explaining the candidate’s platform to buttons and bumper stickers with party slogans and names on it.

3. The third function of a party is the ideological function, which is platform enactment. During the election process, a party is responsible for spreading the word of the platform a candidate believes in. However, once elected into office, it is up to that candidate to enact his/her ideas. This is the most difficult function, because once elected into office, candidates do not always live up to the promises that they make to get elected.

These three functions are used to measure the power of a party. The stronger these three functions are, the stronger a party is. Without a fully functioning party standing behind a candidate, the chances of being elected into office lessen.

Summary• Political Parties are groups of persons joined together on the

basis of common principles, who seek to control government in order to affect certain public policies and programs. The local political party is responsible for motivating the electorate to vote for an entire slate of candidates, from the local school board all the way up to the President of the United States. Parties often do accentuate divisions in society while still uniting multiple groups within the electorate. Your state votes for elections such as Senator and Secretary of State. In the national level there are three main functions of political parties. Raising money, the informational portion and the ideological portion. The three functions are used to measure the power of a party.