The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After ReformUniversity of Chicago Press, 15 may 2009 - 416 páginas Throughout the contest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, politicians and voters alike worried that the outcome might depend on the preferences of unelected superdelegates. This concern threw into relief the prevailing notion that—such unusually competitive cases notwithstanding—people, rather than parties, should and do control presidential nominations. But for the past several decades, The Party Decides shows, unelected insiders in both major parties have effectively selected candidates long before citizens reached the ballot box. Tracing the evolution of presidential nominations since the 1790s, this volume demonstrates how party insiders have sought since America’s founding to control nominations as a means of getting what they want from government. Contrary to the common view that the party reforms of the 1970s gave voters more power, the authors contend that the most consequential contests remain the candidates’ fights for prominent endorsements and the support of various interest groups and state party leaders. These invisible primaries produce frontrunners long before most voters start paying attention, profoundly influencing final election outcomes and investing parties with far more nominating power than is generally recognized. |
Índice
1 | |
2 Whose Parties? | 19 |
3 The Creation of New Parties | 47 |
4 Weak Structures Strong Parties | 81 |
5 Last Hurrahs of the Old System | 107 |
6 Mastering the Postreform System | 157 |
Theory and Evidence | 187 |
8 Anatomy of a Conversation | 235 |
9 The Voters Weigh In | 277 |
10 Political Parties Today | 333 |
Notes | 365 |
References | 379 |
395 | |
Términos y frases comunes
activists actors African American Al Gore analysis antislavery argue ballot Bob Dole Bush campaign candidate-centered candidate's candidates Carter chapter choice Clinton Congress conservative Dean delegate share Democratic Party Dukakis effect Eisenhower election electoral evidence factional favored favorite Federalist front-runner fund-raising Gary Hart George George H. W. Bush Goldwater Gore governors Hampshire Hampshire primary Hart Humphrey ideological important influence insider support intense policy demanders interest invisible primary Iowa caucuses John McCain journalists Kennedy long coalition major McCain measure media coverage ments Mondale Muskie national party Nixon nomination contests nomination process officeholders out-of-group partisan party coalition party convention party insiders party leaders party organization party’s percent players political party politician-centered politicians Polsby preferences president presidential nominations primaries and caucuses race Reagan reported Republican Party Senator strong T. H. White theory of parties tion variable vote voters Walter Mondale Washington Post York