ch. 8 Political Parties Flashcards
the Battle of the parties for control of public offices. Ups and downs of the two major parties are one of the most important elements in American politics.
party competition
Accoding to Anthony Downs, a “team of men [and woman] she cute to control the governing apparatus by getting office in a duly constituted election.”
political party
the channels through which peoples concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions including elections, political parties, interest groups, and media.
linkage institutions
the voters perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism and liberalism
party image
a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.
Rational-choice theory
a citizen’s self proclaimed preference for one party or the other.
party identification
voting with one party for one office with another party for other offices. It has become the norm in American voting behavior.
ticket splitting
a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern
party machines
one of the key inducement used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, a contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
Patronage
elections to select party nominees in which many people who have registered in advance with the party can go for that party’s candidate, that’s encouraging greater party loyalty.
closed primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.
open primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates for all the parties. Voters can then select some Democrats and Republicans if they like
blanket primaries
the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.
National Convention
one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The National Committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories.
National Committee
the National chairperson is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually handpicked by the presidential nominee.
National chairperson
a group of individuals with a common interest upon which everything political party depends.
coalition
historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections.
party eras
An electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalition’s replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Critical election periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis aand may require more than one election to bring abouta new party era.
critical election
the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during the critical election period.
party realignment
a coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, the southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.
New Deal coalition
the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.
party dealignment
a term used to describe the fact that many Americans were indifferent with the two major political parties.
party neutrality
electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.
third parties
An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. In American presidential elections, the system in which the winner of the popular vote in a state receives all the electoral votes of that state.
winner take all system
an electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.
proportional representation
when two or more parties join together to form a majority in the national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multi-party system of Europe.
coalition government
A view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. According to the model, partys should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates. Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises.
responsible party model
