Demo & Particip - Parties (Ideas, factions, power, voters and systems) Flashcards
Key ideas - Democrats
Social, Eco, Welfare
- Social and moral issues - Progressive towards Abortion, SSM, Environment and crime
- Economy - Tax cuts but for the poorer, Federal intervention ok (Minimum wage)
- Welfare - Support healthcare as a right, expand Obamacare
Key ideas - Republicans
Social, Eco and Welfare
- Social and moral issues - Conservative attitude towards SSM, abortion, environment
- Economy - Tax cuts for all, Minimal gov intervention unless protecting US jobs and trade
- Welfare - Free market replacement for Obamacare, Preference for personal responsibility
Broad church party
- Elizabeth Warren 100% by Human Rights campaign (LGBT), Ted Cruz 0%
- Americans for prosperity (anti tax) - Warren 3%, cruz 98%
Party factions
Democratic factions
- Liberals - gov intervention to achieve social justice, pro welfare, support socialism (bernie)
- Conservatives - socially conservative, fiscally liberal, blue dog democrats
- Moderates - compromise acceptable for welfare/fiscal policy, accept capitalism and market state
Republican factions
- Social conservatives - Anti abortion, SSM, anti immig, strong law and order, religious right
- Moderates - Fiscally conservative but socailly libveral, accept SSM abortion, GOP in name only
- Fiscal conservatives - Favour limited government intervention in eco, low tax, free market
- Freedom Caucus - Right wing GOP faction, 30 seats in the house, in 2015 got speaker to resign over defunding planned parenthood
Party power
Party organisation in congress
- Cong leadership - Held by partisan congmen. Speaker and Minority leader in the house, Minority and majority leader in senate
- Whips - More important in the house than senate
- Congressional committees - Policy and steering committees for each party
- Caucuses - Groups within congress for shared interests. Can cross party lines, or inter like Freedom Caucus
Levels of organisation
- National level - Organises R/DNC
- State level - Important as states run their own elections, all run differently
Arguments parties are in decline
- Pres, VP chosen without the party, via primaries and front loading (trump not preferred, won)
- Issue voting is growing as seen by success of interest groups and third parties
- Factions in parties have great power, showing a lack of unity
Arguments parties are not in decline
- National election campaigns are only financially viable by large parties
- Increasing party polarisation has dug people into ideologies
- Strong partisanship in congressional voting
- National parties still hold nomination role
Voter tendencies
Race - Blacks and hispanics regularly support democrats due to Immigration policy and Fiscal policy/AA - 95% Black Obama 2008, 65% Hispanic Hilary 2016
Gender - Women more likely to support democrats due to womens rights support - 54% Female Hilary 2016,
Age - Younger vote democrat as more socially progresive - 66% 18-29 Obama 2008, 56% 65+ Romney 2012
Education - Lower educated vote republican altho narrow Around 50% for republicans HS Education
Religion - Christians vote republican due to Abortion policy - 58% protestant trump 2016, 75% no religion Obama 2008
Two party system
United in 1992, 2002/4,2008, 2016
Why is the US a two party system?
- FPTP creates it
- Winner takes all allocation of EC votes
- Major parties adopt minor party policies
- Broad church means wide ideology is covered by the two
- Federal nature of the US - Too many parties would result in gridlock in congress
How is it not a two party system?
- Each party is organised per state, meaning no two are identical
- Breadth of the two parties
- Third party vote share tripled in 2016 due to no good option
- Some states are solid party, so actually single party
