No Middle Ground: How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures - Hardcover

Masket, Seth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0472116894 ISBN 13: 9780472116898

Publisher: The University of Michigan Press, 2009

Synopsis

The new political machines fuel partisanship by supporting only candidates who follow the party's agenda. Despite concerns about the debilitating effects of partisanship on democratic government, in recent years political parties have gained strength in state governments as well as in Washington. In many cases these parties function as machines. Unlike machines of the past that manipulated votes, however, today's machines determine which candidates can credibly compete in a primary. Focusing on the history and politics of California, Seth E. Masket reveals how these machines evolved and how they stay in power by directing money, endorsements, and expertise to favored candidates, who often tend toward the ideological extreme. In a provocative conclusion, Masket argues that politicians are not inherently partisan. Instead, partisanship is thrust upon them by actors outside the government with the power to manipulate primary elections.

About this title

About the Author

Seth E. Masket is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Denver.

Edition details

• Publisher: The University of Michigan Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472116894
• ISBN 13: 9780472116898
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256