American political parties today 271staff—the players’ identities are what most people call to mind when they think
of the team. Because the party in government is made up of officeholders, it has a
direct impact on government policy. Members of the party organization can recruit
candidates, write platforms, and pay for campaign ads, but only those who win
elections—the party in government—serve as members of Congress or as executive
officials and actually propose, debate, vote on, and sign the legislation that determines
what government does.Caucuses and Conferences In the House and Senate, the Democratic and
Republican parties are organized around working groups called a caucus (Democrats)caucus (congressional)
The organization of Democrats
within the House and Senate that
meets to discuss and debate the
party’s positions on various issues
in order to reach a consensus and to
assign leadership positions.FIGURE
8.1Democrats’ and Republicans’ Top Priorities
The Republican and Democratic party coalitions have different priorities on many issues, ranging from
environmental protection to deficit reduction—and their differences are small on a few issues, such as
reforming the tax system and reducing the influence of lobbyists. Do these differences make sense in
light of each party’s “brand name”?Climate change
Environment
Race relations
Poor and needy
Education
Medicare
Health care costs
Drug addiction
Social Security
Transportation
Influence of lobbyists
Jobs
Global trade
Reducing crime
Economy
Budget deficit
Immigration
Terrorism
MilitaryDemocrat RepublicanPercentage considering each
as a “top priority”
Democrat–Republican
Di erence68%
81
61
68
78
72
72
51
68
48
45
58
35
52
64
41
39
63
3018 %
37
40
48
61
62
64
47
68
50
51
66
44
63
78
59
62
86
69
50%
44
21
20
17
10
8 4 0 2 6 8 9
11
14
18
23
23
39
Source: Pew Research Center, “Economic Issues Decline among Public’s Policy Priorities,” January 25, 2018,
http://www.people-press.org (accessed 2/16/18).Full_09_APT_64431_ch08_262-295.indd 271 16/11/18 1:39 PM