Chapter 7 - TEST 2 Flashcards
What is a political party?
A group of individuals who organize to win elections, operate the government and determine policy.
What are 3 factors associated with partisan realignment (lecture)
The Emergence of unusually powerful and diverse issues, An election contest or contests in which the voters shift their partisan support, An enduring change in the parties’ politics and coalitions
What is realignment?
A process in which the popular support for and relative strength of the parties shift, and the parties are reestablished with different coalitions of supporters.
What are red and blue states?
Red states: These states consistently vote for the Republican Party in presidential and other statewide elections.
Blue states: These states consistently vote for the Democratic Party in similar elections.
What is a primary election?
An election in which voters choose the candidates of their party, who will then run in the general election.
What is the structure of political parties?
At the national level, parties run candidates for Congress and the presidency.
Each party has its own national committee, comprising party leaders, elected officials, and state chairs.
The national committee chair is chosen by the presidential candidate.
The committees support the campaigns of their respective candidates but do not directly run them.
What are 3 incentives to join political parties?
Solidarity Incentives - To express their solidarity or mutual agreement with the views of friends
Material incentives - Many believe that by joining a party, they will benefit materially through better employment or personal career advancement.
Purposive Incentives - some join political parties because they wish to actively promote a set of ideals and principles that they feel are important to American politics and society.
What is patronage?
A system of rewarding the party faithful with government jobs or contracts.
What is the national convention?
The meeting held by each major party every four years to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates, write a party platform, and conduct other party business.
What is a party ticket?
A list of a political party’s candidates for various offices. In national elections, the party ticket consists of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
What is a party platform?
The document drawn up by each party at its national convention that outlines the policies and positions of the party.
What are the reasons for a durable two-party system?
A political system in which two strong and established parties compete for political offices.
Two-party systems tend to provide stability and continuity in government.The major parties act as a check and balance against each other, preventing extreme shifts in policy.
What are the effects of thrid parties?
Third parties offer an alternative for voters who don’t align with either of the major parties.
They provide a platform for expressing diverse viewpoints and policy preferences.
Although third-party candidates rarely win major elections, they can affect the outcomes of the vote.
Third parties have shaped policy debates and forced major parties to address neglected issues.
A process in which a substantial number of voters change their political allegiance is called:
a.realignment.
b.dealignment.
c.tipping.
A
After the 2010 elections, many of the new Republican members of Congress were pledged to the philosophy of
a.moving the Republican Party toward the center.
b.breaking political deadlock in Washington.
c.no-compromise conservatism.
C
