THE SUPREME COURT, POLITICAL PARTIES, AND PATRONAGE

While politicians and political scientists have debated the nature and fate of American political parties for over 200 years, the increasing involvement of the Supreme Court over the past two decades marks a new development in this dialogue. Scholars have disagreed about the implications of judicial involvement, but many have concluded that the Court is becoming increasingly sympathetic to partybuilding efforts. This analysis explores the theoretical orientation toward parties evidenced in the Supreme Court decisions on political patronage. It demonstrates that while these cases were framed as First Amendment disputes, the decisions were predicated on progressive reform values and a nonpartisan model of democracy. This raises a number of questions with regard to the Court's support for stronger parties and the appropriateness of using the judicial forum to determine the role of political parties in American governance.