Essay On Party Organizations

According to the Party Politics in America book, the major American parties are composed of three interacting parts. They are the party organization, which includes party leaders and the activists who work for party causes and candidates; the party in the government which is composed of men and women who run for and hold public office on the party’s label; and the party in the electorate are those citizens who express an attachment to the party. (Party Politics in America book)

Party organizations are made up of people who hold party jobs with titles such as the national and state party chairs, the county, city, ward, precinct leaders, committee people and other supporters who volunteer their time, money, and skills to advancing the party’s

The major figures are presidents, governors, judges, Congress members, state legislators, bureaucrats, mayors, and other local officials who hold the same party affiliation. Members of the party in government do not always have good relationships with people in the party organization. They often work together to meet shared goals, but they may have different priorities in reaching those goals. Presidents and congressional party leaders do not have to clear their announcements with the party organization, nor can they be controlled by it. These tensions, and the competition for scarce resources, show why it is helpful to treat the party organization and the party in government as separate parts of the party. (Party Politics in America book)

The party in the electorate consists of the women and men who see themselves as Democrats or Republicans. These are the kind of citizens who feel some degree of loyalty to the party, even if they have never actually met the candidates. These people are called partisans and party identifiers. Many of these partisans declared themselves to be a Democrat or Republican when they registered to vote. Partisans are usually inclined to support their party’s candidates