Chapter 8: Political Parties Flashcards
Party Polarization
Gap between what different parties support on policy issues.
Political Party
A team of people who want to take control of the government by taking office.
Rational-choice theory
Individuals act in their own best interest. If you want to win then you have to pursue topics that most people believe in and fight to stop it.
What side do democrats lean towards?
left-center / liberal
What side do republicans lean towards?
Right-center / conservative
Party Image
A voter’s perception of what a Democrat/Republican stand for
Party Identification
Aligning yourself with a party.
Ticket splitting
Voting one party for one office and another party for another office
Party machines
A political party org. that relies heavily on buying people’s allegiance to further their cause.
Patronage
A tactic used by party machines, Usually a job given as a high promotion. Used to get money from people buying these jobs.
Closed primaries
Only people who announced what party they support can come to vote.
Open primaries
People who don’t have a preferred party, can come in to vote.
National convention
Meeting every 4 years to choose a presidential nominee and party’s platform.
National Committee
Keeps the party operating between conventions. Usually made up of representatives from the states.
National chairperson
Person responsible for running the day-to-day activites of the party organization
Coalition
A group that shares common interests
New Deal coalition
A coalition forged by the Democrats, usually included the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, and Africans.
Party Eras
A period where one party reigned as the majority in power
Critical Election
Where there is a enormous problem that leads to a new coalition and a new party replaces the old one
Party Realignment
A new majority party replaces the old one.
Party Dealignment
Where people move away from both competing parties.
Third parties
Smaller parties aside from main two.
Winner-take-all system
Where only the winner takes the seats and power, there isn’t anything for 2nd or 3rd.
Proportional Representation
Used in Europe where legislative seats are given based on proportion to how many votes they got.
Coalition Government
Used in Europe, where 2 or more parties join together to make one bigger party.
Responsible party model
A view on how parties should work, parties should offer clear choices, carry out promises, etc.
