How America’s Political Parties Change (And How They Don’t)

By Michael Barone

Published by New York: Encounter Books, 2019; 130 pages

Michael Barone has been studying American politics for most of his 75 years and is very impressed with the two major parties. In this book he repeatedly says that the Democratic Party (founded in 1832) is the oldest party in the world and the Republican Party (founded in 1854) is the third oldest. (Britain’s Conservative Party is second). Longevity comes from resilience. Both have been frequently challenged. Both recovered from near-death experiences. The Democratic Presidential candidate won only 34 percent of the popular vote in 1920 and the Republican candidate won a little over 36 percent in 1936. Both are alive and kicking.

 In twelve short chapters, each of which could stand by itself, he brings the parties from the 19th to the 21st Centuries. Among their "enduring character" is that the Democrats are "a collection of out-groups" and Republicans are mostly in-groups, which he defines as "a core group considered to be typical Americans." Of course, what constitutes "typical Americans" does change over time as new immigrants are absorbed into the mainstream.

What changes over time is policy.  In the 19th Century, the Democrats were the party of states rights and laissez-faire policies while the Republicans favored an active federal government with important decisions made by experts, not politicians or voters. The shift was gradual, but completed by the 21st Century. Economic regulation, tariffs, race and sex were all issues in which the parties switched sides. Foreign policy is more complicated;  Barone doesn’t go into that. Race is a continual thread in party history;  gender, not so much. Socioeconomic crises and demographic changes are prime progenitors of policy changes.

Both major parties have been challenged by third parties many times, but not successfully. Third parties may make a difference in the outcome of a presidential election (e.g. 2000) but have not won one since the Republican Party triumphed in 1860. Since then the Progressive Party has been the most successful, knocking out the Republican candidate in 1912; it was gone by 1920. Third parties are sometimes successful on the local level, and can even elect US Senators, but not in enough states to make much difference. Their primary effect on the major parties is to provide testing grounds for policy ideas, which the major parties adopt when they appear to garner lots of public support.

Barone traces back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt the idea that "we ought to have two real parties, one liberal and one conservative." Then both major parties had conservative and liberal (or progressive) wings. It took about 70 years, but in two separate chapters Barone describes "How the Republican Party Sloughed Off Its Liberals" and "How the Democratic Party Sloughed Off Its Conservatives." The result was "Partisan Polarized Parity." To find out what this means, you’ll have to read the book.

In a final section, Barone looks at the parties in two important regions: the South and the Midwest. The South has stayed conservative but switched from solidly Democratic to almost solidly Republican. The Midwest is becoming conservative, even though it contains several important industrial states. That’s where key votes brought us President Trump. 

If you like political history, you will enjoy this book. And if you get a chance to hear Barone lecture, don’t pass it up. He’s entertaining as well as informative.  

 ©Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com

 

Jo Freeman has authored three books on women and politics, including A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics. https://www.jofreeman.com/books/room.htm