Chapter 8 - Parties Flashcards
Election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence
Party-centered campaigns
An ongoing coalition of interests joined together to try to get their candidates for public office elected under a common label
Political party
Election campaigns in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence
Candidate-centered campaigns
An institution that serves to connect citizens with government. _________ institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
Linkage institutions
A process in which conflict over society’s goals is transformed by political parties into electoral competition in which the winner gains the power to govern
Party competition
Periods of extraordinary party change
Realignments
Four basic elements of a party realignment
- The disruption of political order because of a divisive issue.
- An election in which voters strongly support one party.
- A major change in policy brought about by the newly dominant party.
- An enduring change in party coalitions which works to the lasting advantage of the newly dominant party
A system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control of the government
Two-party system
A system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition
Multiparty system
The form of representation in which only the candidate who gets the most votes in a district wins office
Single-member districts
Representation in which legislature are allocated proportionally according to each political party’s share of the popular vote. (System enables smaller parties to compete successfully for seats)
Proportional representation
The theory that parties in a two party system can maximize their vote by locating themselves at the position of the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle
Median voter theorem
The groups and interest that support a political party
Party coalition
The the fence of women and men to differ in their political attitudes and voting preferences
Gender gap
A minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy
Reform party
A minor party formed around one issue of overriding interest to its followers
Single-issue party
A minor party characterized by its commitment to a broad and no centrist philosophical position
Ideological party
A minor party created when a group within one of the major parties breaks away to form its own party
Factional party
The organizational units at narional, state, and local levels; their influence has been decreased over time because of many factors
Party organizations
The designation of a particular individual to run as a political party’s candidate in the general election
Nomination
A form of election in which voters choose a party’s nominees for public office. In most of these elections, eligibility to vote is limited to voters who are registered members of the party
Primary election (district primary)
Campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose ( has limits)
Hard money
Campaign contributions that are not subject to legal limits and are given to parties rather than directly to candidates (these contributions are no longer legal)
Soft money
The situation in which party organizations assist candidates for office but have no power to require them to support the party’s main policy positions
Service relationship
A term used to describe the fact that US campaigns are very expensive and candidates must spend a great amount of time raising funds in order to compete successfully
Money chase
The professionals who advise candidates on various aspects of their campaigns, such as media use, fundraising, and polling
Political consultants
A term of modern campaigning that refers to the process of recasting a candidate’s record into an appealing image
Packaging
A term that refers to the fact that modern campaigns are often a battle of opposing televised advertising campaigns
Air wars
These two are used to identify issues and messages that will resonate with voters
Polls and focus groups
What are interest groups called in federalist 10
Factions
A split ticket is
A ticket in which you vote differently on issues that don’t coincide with only one party, which in turn weakens parties
How do split tickets weaken parties
Because voters don’t vote in agreeable with every single one of a party’s issues
Parties in the us vs parties in Europe
Parties in the US are more broad and subject to be adapted whilst the parties in Europe are larger in quantity and greed towards more specific interest groups
A ____________ seeks to elect candidates to a public office
Political party
Is there more party loyalty in the US or in Europe?
Europe, party loyalty among republicans and democrats has diminished in the US
Are parties nowadays stronger or weaker than before?
Parties now are weaker than before
People see affiliation to a party as a __________
Label
As time progresses, more and more people are calling themselves
Independent
Why do primaries waken parties
People are choosing an individual within the party, and party members may have fragmented opinions towards which individual is best
What is a primary
Where a party picks their candidate for the general election
How are CAMPAIGNS different in Europe than in the US
In Europe candidates are elected by party leaders, not the people. The party runs the campaign, not the candidate
Why is American government decentralized
Because the federal government has become nationalized and they make decisions on schooling and welfare which used to be made by local governments
American implications of joining a party vs European implications
In America joining a party doesn’t mean much but in Europe joining a party means paying dues, attending meetings, going to labor unions, youth groups, and party affiliated everything
What did the founding fathers think of parties
They thought parties were bad and called them harmful factions; even George Washington warned of the dangers of political factions in his farewell address
What is patronage
A tangible benefit for supporting a candidate
Examples of patronage
If you help by contributing to a campaign, a candidate will help you out after he’s won the race by giving you jobs and benefits in return
Progressives did not agree with
Patronage
Progressives began to attack corruption in
Big businesses, big government, voting fraud, etc
How is today’s government regarding the independence of each of its levels
Today, each level, local, state, and federal,exists on its own with little or no organization and exist independently from each other.
What did the hatch act do
Cut down on offering govt jobs in return for service or support
As voters grew in education, income, and sophistication, the need for _____________ sank
Party welfare system
The opposite of a political machine
An ideological party ( all about principle, spurns money incentives, and is usually contentious and factionalized, like pro or anti abortionists)
A political machine is a
Poll organization that recruits members through tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over members
People who participate politically just for fun respond to
Solitary incentives
Solidary associations are
Old machines that broke down and whose members still work together for friendship and old times sake
Why are two party systems so rare
Because most states are based on plurality in which the winner takes all even though they don’t necessarily have more than half of the vote
How do proportions of seats work in England
If a party wins 20% of the votes, they get 20% of the chairs
Ideological parties
Have outlooks that are radically different from those of established parties
One issue parties
Usually stay focussed in a single issue like abortion or slavery, and only care about that issue
Economic protest parties
Usually based in one region, protest certain economic conditions during tough economic times,can’t disappear when conditions improve
What type of party is the communist party
Ideological
What type of party is the libertarian party
Ideological
What type of party is the socialist party
Ideological
What type of party is a party focussed on prolife, peochoice, or prohibition
Single issue party
What type of party is the free backers
Economic protest
What type of party is the populist party
Economic protest
What is the most successful type of third party
Factional/ splintered party
What is a Factional/splintered parties
Split off of the republicans or democrats
What type of party is the Dixiecrat party
Factional
What type of party is bull moose
Factional
What type of ballot is this
prez
Obama (D)
Romney (r)
Johnson (l)
Congress
Garcia
Corbello
Office block (Massachusetts)
What type of ballot is this
GOP
prez
Gov
House
Dem
Prez
Gov
House
Party column ballot (Indiana)
