3.3 Political Parties Flashcards
Who is the ‘head’ of parties?
Party chairman
Who are the chairmen of the republican and Democratic national committees?
Republican - Reince Priebus
Democrats - Tom Perez
Examples of state level party organisation
State Party Convention
County Committees
District Committees
Precinct Committees
Typical republican voters
Male White Protestant & evangelical Wealthy Rural & suburban Southern & Midwestern Conservatice
Typical Democrat voters
Female Many ethnicities Catholic but not especially church-going Poorer Urban Northeastern, Great Lakes and West Coast Liberal
Reasons for increased partisanship
Shift of southern Democrats to Republican Party
End of Cold War consensus in foreign policy following collapse of Soviet Union
Polarising presidencies of Clinton, Bush and Obama
Effect of new media e.g. Internet, TV, talk radio
Since when has every president been either a Republican or Democrat?
1856
In 2017 115th Congress how many independents are there?
Only 2 - Angus King for Maine and Bernie Sanders for Vermont
Why does the USA have a 2 party system?
Winner takes all electoral system
All embracing nature of two major parties - allows little room for third parties
In what states have the Democrats and Republicans almost always won in last 50 years?
Democrats always win in Massachusetts
Republicans always win in Wyoming
Who popularised the idea of party decline, when and in what book?
David Broder in the 1970s in his book ‘The Party’s Over’
What suggests that there is party decline?
- Parties have lost control over presidential candidate selection
- TV, opinion polls and new media have bypassed parties as the way candidates communicate with voters
- Campaign are more candidate- and issue-centres - rise in split-ticket voting
- Emergence of ‘movements’ (Tea Party and Occupy) shows decline in attachment to traditional parties
What suggests that there is party renewal?
- All presidents and almost all congress people are from parties
- Super delegates retain some control of parties over presidential candidate selection
- Move towards ‘nationalising of campaigns’
- Increased partisanship
How many Republicans voted for Obama’s healthcare reform legislation in 2010?
0
Examples of nation third parties
Reform Party
Green Party
Libertarian Party
Who was the last 3rd party candidate to gain more than 5%of the popular vote?
Ross Perot for the Reform Party in 1996
How much of the popular vote did Gary Johnson won for the Libertarian party in 2016?
3.2%
How much of the popular vote does a party need to gain federal funding for the next election?
5%
What obstacles face third parties?
- Electoral system
- Federal campaign finance laws
- State ballot access laws
- Lack of resources
- Lack of media coverage
- Regarded as too ideological
- Tactics of the two major parties
What do states require in order for third parties to get on the ballot?
A petition signed by a certain number of registered voters in the state.
How many signatures are required for third parties to get on ballot in Tennessee and Montana?
25 signature in Tennessee
5% of all registered voters in Montana
How to the tactics of the other two major parties disadvantage third parties?
Larger parties can just adopt some of a popular third party’s policies to win over their voters.
When was the Tea Party movement formed?
2009 in opposition to Obama’s economic stimulus package
What are the core beliefs of the Tea Party movement?
- Strict adherence to the Constitution
- Limited government
- Reducing government spending and taxation
- Reducing national debt and federal budget deficit
