9. political parties Flashcards
What are the key differences between the Republicans and the Democrats?
Reps:
- strong emphasis on individual freedom
- belief that religion (esp. Christianity) should have a greater public role and presence
- clear commitment to upholding the rights of gun owners
- keen on small gov
Dems:
- retain capitalism and greater acceptance of government help to aid the poorest
- clear separation between church adn state
- strong emphasis on the rights of minorities
- more supportive of larger gov
What are the policy differences of the Reps and Dems? - Taxes
Reps:
- keen to keep it as low as possible and support cutting taxes of the wealthy
e.g. 2017 tax cuts and jobs act
Dems:
- less willing to cut taxes for the wealthy and keener to put money in the pockets of ordinary Americans
e.g. 2010 Obama cut payroll taxes by 2%
What are the policy differences of the Reps and Dems? - gun control
Reps:
- v. relucent to introduce or support tougher gun laws - strong ties to NRA
Dems:
- more supportive of gun control measures e.g. 1994 assault weapon ban
What are the policy differences of the Reps and Dems? - LGBT rights
Reps:
- hostile to the expansion of gay rights and same sex marriage - some states have tried to pass “bathroom bills”
Dems:
- More supportive e.g. Obama endorsed equal marriage
What are the policy differences of the Reps and Dems? - healthcare
Reps:
- oppose the extension of publicly funded healthcare
Dems:
- support greater provision for state healthcare e.g. Obamacare
What are the policy differences of the Reps and Dems? - immigration
Reps:
- keen to restrict immigration esp. from Latin America - Trump “Build that wall”
Dems:
- favour immigration reform e.g. helping out the Dreamers
What are the policy differences of the Reps and Dems? - abortion
Reps:
- strongly pro-life and antiabortion e.g. George bush signed Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act 2003
Dems:
- Increasingly pro-choice
- links with EMILY’s list and feminist movements
What is the evidence for party decline?
- the growth in split-ticket voting up until 1980s
- rise of primaries - reduced the control of the party machine in candidate selection
- party leaders in Congress and even presidents often struggle to persuade legislators to toe the party line
- growth of candidate centred campagining; parties are rarely mentioned in ads or literature
- rise of pressure groups as an alternative focus for poltical participation
What is the evidence for party renewal?
- the decline in split ticket voting in recent years - record low in 2016
- democrats have unelected super-delegates comprising 20% of delegates at their national nominating convention
- growing party unity in both congressional votes generally and senate confirmation votes
- emergence of much more coherent policy platforms among both parties
- strong influence of many pressure groups on particular parties e.g. NRA and Reps
What are the factions within parties?
- Reps: Freedom Caucus (v. con), Tuesday group (moderate con)
- Dems: Blue dogs (economically v. con) and New Democrats (more centrist and liberal)
What are the examples of third parties and independents?
- Ross Perot 19% pop vote 1992
- George Wallace 1968 46 EC votes
- 2016 independents won 5% vote (up from 1.7% 2012)
Why do third parties and independents do poorly in US elections?
- majoritarian electoral system
- lack of media coverage - TV debates with third parties are rare and hardly watched
- primary system enables voters to have a wider choice within main parties
- cost of elections e.g. Ross Perot was largely self - funded
- strict ballot access laws
What is the significant of third party and independent candidates?
- In close races they can indirectly determine the final outcome e.g. Ralph Nader’s performance in Florida 2000
- if their polcies are seen to gain interest in popularity, these policies are taken up by larger parties (co-optation)
