General
For most of American history, basic features of the American constitutional system -- federalism, bicameralism, and the separation of powers -- tended to fragment and disperse party authority. American parties are not strict hierarchies but networks of ordinary voters, activists, and officeholders. In this respect, we must examine how the networks extend across several dimensions of American parties:
- Parties in the electorate (PIE);
- Party organization (PO);
- Partisan outside groups (POG);
- Party in government (PIG).
In this course, we shall study all these dimensions and consider what they mean for democratic government. We shall also discuss trends that have changed the character of parties. Polarization is the increasing division between parties along ideological, personal, and even cognitive lines. Nationalization is the increasing tendency of state and local politics to align with national politics.
Classes
Class sessions will include lecture and discussion. Finish each week's readings before class because our discussions will involve those readings. We shall also talk about breaking news stories about parties and elections, so you must read a good daily news source such as Politico or Axios.
Our class blog is at http://cmc-gov123.blogspot.com/. I shall post videos, graphs, news stories, and other material there. We shall use some of this material in class, and you may review the rest at your convenience.
- Three 4-page essays: 20% each
- One 6-page research paper (on an assigned topic) and presentation: 25%
- Class participation, reading emails, blog: 15%
- Check due dates for coursework. Do not plan on extensions.
- As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive on time and refrain from eating in class.
- I strongly recommend that you take notes the old-fashioned way, by hand, on paper. Why? Research shows that it works better.
- Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are not victimless offenses because they hurt fellow students. Please study our Statement of Academic Integrity, which reads in part: "Each faculty member has the responsibility to report cases of academic dishonesty to the Academic Standards Committee."
- You may use AI to brainstorm, format graphs, and locate sources, but misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own original work constitutes plagiarism.
- This class welcomes viewpoint diversity. See: https://heterodoxacademy.org/library/advice-on-syllabus-language/
- Your experience in this class matters to me, and I have a particular interest in disability. If you have set up accommodations with Accessibility Services at CMC, please tell me about your approved accommodations so we can discuss your needs. You can start by forwarding your accommodation letter to me. If you have not yet set up accommodations but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability, please email Aridai Martinez, Associate Director of Accessibility Services, at accessibilityservices@cmc.edu to ask questions and start the process. For general information and the Request for Accommodations form, go to the CMC Accessibility Services website.
Required books (Make sure that you get the correct edition of each book.)
- Marjorie Randon Hershey and Barry C. Burden, Party Politics in America, 19th ed. (New York: Routledge, 2025).
- Jamie L. Carson and Gary Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections, 11th ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2024).
Schedule is subject to change, with advance notice.
Because of convocation, no class on August 31.
Sept 2: Introduction
"And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
Sept 7: Labor Day (no class)
Sept 9: The Two-Party System
“Democrats are...the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it.” -- P.J. O’Rourke
- Hershey, ch. 1-2.
Sept 14, 16: A Sprint Through Party History
"Look at your houses, your parents, your wives, and your children. Are you prepared to see your dwellings in flames, hoary hairs bathed in blood, female chastity violated, or children writhing on the pike and halberd?" -- Connecticut Courant, September 30, 1800, on what the election of Thomas Jefferson would bring.
- William Riordan, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics (New York: McClure, Philips, 1905), ch. 1-4 (very short).
Sept 21, 23: Party Organization
- Hershey, ch. 3, 4, 5.
Sept 28, 30: Outside Groups and Campaign Finance
- Hershey, ch. 12.
Selina: Come on, let's go somewhere. Let's meet the public.
Mike: You want to normalize it?
Selina: Yes, exactly. I want to meet some regular normals. Where we gonna find them?
Mike: Photo op with the normals and the normalistas.
--Veep, season 1, episode 2.
- Hershey, ch. 6, 7, 8.
Joe Cantwell: I don't understand you.
William Russell: I know you don't. Because you have no sense of responsibility toward anybody or anything. And that is a tragedy in a man, and it is a disaster in a president. -- Cliff Robertson and Henry Fonda in The Best Man
- Hershey, ch. 9, 10, 11.
- Carson, ch. 1-2.
Oct 26, 28: Congressional and State Elections II
- Carson, ch. 3-4
- Carson, ch. 5-6
"Our country must be strong enough to solve problems, and that means we must learn how to work together again." -- former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ; SC `93)
RESEARCH PAPER DUE FRIDAY NOV 20
Nov 16, 18: Party in Government
"I’m not into blacklisting anyone from future work in their area of expertise, but I do think it’s fair to want a whole new crop of foreign-policy staffers in the next Democratic administration. It’s not like the same 120 people are the only people who know anything." -- Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI; PO `94)
- Carson, ch. 7
- Hershey, ch. 13, 14.
"I am running as a candidate for the United States Senate because the two-party system has failed America. Both parties increase the national debt, keep us in endless wars, and favor big corporations, harming our families in the process. Both parties benefit from division among Americans." -- Todd Achilles (CMC `90 P`25)
- Conor Friedersdorf (PO `02), "Independents of America, Unite!" The Atlantic, March 14, 2026.
- Steven M. Teles & Robert P. Saldin, "The Future Is Faction," National Affairs, Fall 2020.
Nov 30, Dec 2: Appraisal I
“We're like a Third World country when it comes to some of our election practices.” – Donna Brazile
Dec 7, 9: Appraisal II
“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.” – C.S. Lewis
- Hershey, ch. 16.
