Chapter 6- Political Parties Outline Monday, September 19, 2016 2:22 PM ? Parties here and abroad Decentralization A party is a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label. Arenas A label in the minds of the voters Set of leaders in government Organization recruiting and campaigning American parties have become weaker in all three arenas As labels: more independents As organizations: much weaker since the 1960s As sets of leaders: the organization of Congress less under their control Reasons for differences from European parties Federal system decentralizes power Early on, most people with political jobs worked for state and local government. National parties were coalitions of local parties.