Chapter Eight Flashcards
Chapter Eight
party competition
battle of the parties for control of public offices
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political party
“team of men and women seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.” - Anthony Downs
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linkage institutions
channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda
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party image
voter’s perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for.
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rational-choice theory
popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians.
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party identification
citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
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ticket-splitting
voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices
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party machines
type of political party organization the relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern.
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patronage
given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone. One of the key inducements used by party machines.
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closed primaries
elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates
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open 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.
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blanket primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties
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national convention
meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.
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national committee
one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions.
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national chairperson
responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually hand-picked by the presidential nominee
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coalition
group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends
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party eras
historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections
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critical election
electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old one, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party
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party realignment
displacement of the majority party by the minority party
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New Deal coalition
coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s
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party dealignment
gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification
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party neutrality
term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward the two political parties
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third parties
electoral contenders other than the two major parties
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winner-take-all- system
electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first to their constituencies.
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proportional representation
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
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coalition government
when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legisature
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responsible party model
view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work: parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates
