Chater 8

Question 1

Ideological Party

Answer 1

a party that values principled stands on issues above all else

Question 2

superdelegates

Answer 2

party leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses

Question 3

personal following

Answer 3

the political support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks

Question 4

caucus

Answer 4

a meeting of party members to select delegates backing one or another primary candidate

Question 5

party competition

Answer 5

the battle of the parties for control of public offices

Question 6

political party

Answer 6

a team of men and women seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election

Question 7

linkage institutions

Answer 7

the channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda

Question 8

party image

Answer 8

a voter’s perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism

Question 9

rational-choice theory

Answer 9

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

Question 10

party identification

Answer 10

a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

Question 11

ticket-splitting

Answer 11

voting with one party for one office and with another part for other offices

Question 12

party machines

Answer 12

a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducement, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern.

Question 13

patronage

Answer 13

one of the key inducements used by a party machine, a job awarded for political reasons

Question 14

closed primaries

Answer 14

elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty

Question 15

open primaries

Answer 15

elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

Question 16

Blue Dog Democrats

Answer 16

fiscally conservative Democrats who are mostly from the south and/or rural parts of the US

Question 17

national convention

Answer 17

the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform

Question 18

national committee

Answer 18

one of the institutions that keep the party operating between conventions

Question 19

national chairperson

Answer 19

the person responsible for the day to day activities of the party and is usually hand-picked by the presidential nominee

Question 20

party eras

Answer 20

historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections

Question 21

critical election

Answer 21

an electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party

Question 22

coalition

Answer 22

a group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends

Question 23

party realignment

Answer 23

the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during the critical election period

Question 24

party dealignment

Answer 24

the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification

Question 25

new deal coalition

Answer 25

a coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated american politics from the 1930’s to the 1960’s

Question 26

coalition government

Answer 26

when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature

Question 27

third parties

Answer 27

electoral contenders other than the two major parties

Question 28

winner-take all system

Answer 28

an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come first in their constituencies

Question 29

proportional representation

Answer 29

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

Question 30

responsible party model

Answer 30

a view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work, and how they 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