Political Party Functions

A political party is a group of people who try to influence policy agendas and whose ultimate goal is to run the government by getting their favorite candidates elected. Two political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have long dominated American government and politics. These and other parties are typically differentiated by their beliefs, principles, and policy agenda. In other words, they can be distinguished by their political ideologies.
Political parties have several functions in local, state, and national politics. One function is to create a rally point or “home” for diverse groups that share similar economic, social, or political concerns. If there is dissention among factions, political party representatives work to find compromise and build coalitions. The more people they can bring together, the more likely it is that their candidates will be elected. One point around which a political party might rally people is the economy. If the economy is good, the incumbent’s party will use it to support re-election; if the economy is bad, the challenger can use that as a point of attack.
Another function of political parties is to simplify the voting process for the electorate. Imagine what would happen if 20 people ran in the same election for President of the United States. The electorate would very likely be overwhelmed by the slew of campaign messages, and many people might decide not to vote out of frustration and information overload. Political parties limit the number of candidates in elections by endorsing, or nominating, the ones they think best fit their ideologies and image, and the ones who have the best chances of winning. These endorsements not only help the electorate understand the candidates’ positions and philosophies, but they also promote party identification.
A third function of political parties is to generate excitement about an election. The parties organize rallies, parades, conventions, and speeches to capture voters’ attention and educate them about candidates’ backgrounds and campaign platforms. Generating excitement is also useful for raising campaign funds. Today, political parties hold fundraisers at which people and organizations donate millions of dollars of “soft money,” which is not limited or regulated by the Federal Election Commission, toward campaigns. These organized activities also show the media where to shine their spotlights, giving candidates wider name recognition and spreading campaign messages to people who do not directly participate in the parties’ activities.
Organizing the government is a fourth function of political parties. Although not set up this way in the U.S. Constitution, both the state and federal legislatures are centered on the parties. The reason is that the majority of officeholders are affiliated with a political party that played a role in their election. Strong party affiliations have led to partisanship, which means officeholders base their decisions on the party’s interests.

Partisan politics are also a consideration in the executive and judicial branches of government. For example, when a Supreme Court justice retires, the President will likely appoint a new justice who shares the same party affiliation. Sometimes, however, the President will select one or more opposing party members for the Cabinet as a show of “good faith.”
A fifth function of political parties is accountability—people hold their political parties responsible for making sure officeholders fulfill platform and campaign promises. The electorate judges officeholders’ success by whether the agenda issues have been addressed. Political parties track the success of their own party members in office as well as the failures of officeholders from rival parties. Documenting what the people in office have and have not accomplished gives the parties support for their positions and “ammunition” against opponents in future elections.