Lesson 11

Question 1

Political parties exists to…

Answer 1

1) endorse candidates for office

2) compete for victory in elections

Question 2

Those who claim membership in the party

Answer 2

Party in the Electorate

Question 3

Tose who run the party and make its rules

Answer 3

Party as Organization

Question 4

Consists of elected officials who call themselves party members

Answer 4

Party in Government

Question 5

Parties are___________

Answer 5

Linkage institutions

Question 6

Linkage Institutions

Answer 6

Connect the people (voters) to the policymakers who represent them

Question 7

Parties give cues to voters. This means….

Answer 7

The voters view the parties as brands that represent certain ideas and values

Question 8

Down’s Model

Answer 8

-Democratic and Republican(our 2 big party brands) parties are similar
-they try very hard to differentiate themselves, but reality is they are not very different
EX: like coke and pepsi

Question 9

What has been the strongest trend in party identification over the last few decades ?

Answer 9

Dealignment

Question 10

Dealignment

Answer 10

• refers to the increase in affiliation with the Independent label
• those who remain loyal to Dem and Repub parties have become less loyal

Question 11

What has dealignment produced?

Answer 11

More frequent ticket splitting–splitting the ticket means voting for some democrats and some republicans on the same ballot

Question 12

What does it mean to say todays political parties are decentralized and fragmented?

Answer 12

• they are weak
• cannot control their members
• can control their candidates just a little

Question 13

Political parties consist of…

Answer 13

Basically 50 state level parties thinly united under the auspices of a national office

Question 14

At one point in time…

Answer 14

The party machine was the basis of political party organization in America

Question 15

What did party machines dole out?

Answer 15

Patronage(in the form of jobs primarily, and often to immigrants) in exchange for political loyalty

Question 16

Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall

Answer 16

Example of party machine/patronage system which died out during the progressive era
-replaced by civil service

Question 17

National chairperson

Answer 17

Oversees day to day activities of the national party

Question 18

National Committee

Answer 18

-keeps national party running between elections, which includes reps from the states

Question 19

National Convention

Answer 19

Occurs every 4 years to write the party’s platform and nominate a candidate for president

Question 20

If person is elected…

Answer 20

Members of a party try to translate campaign promises(often based on party’s core beliefs) into policy

Question 21

Most of the world’s democracies have…

Answer 21

-more than 2 parties represented in their national legislatures

Question 22

Party Eras

Answer 22

• The U.S. has always been a country with a two party monopoly
• one party has often enjoyed long periods of dominance

Question 23

Party Eras begin and end……

EX

Answer 23

• with critical elections

- EX: in 1980, Reagan’s election brought an end to a long period of Dem. dominance of the national gov.

Question 24

Party realignment

Answer 24

• occurs when voting blocs break up and reorganize

- these voting blocs are sometimes known as coalitions

Question 25

Party Eras in American History (5)

Answer 25

1796-1824: Federalists v. Democratic-Republican
1828-1856: Jacksonian Democrats v. Whigs
1860-1928: The Republican Era
1932-1964: The New Deal Era(Democratic)
1968-present: Era of Divided Government

Question 26

The New Deal Coalition

Answer 26

• unique

- consisted of union members , southerners, intellectuals , liberals, the poor, and blacks

Question 27

Most prominent trend in party affiliation

Answer 27

-party dealignment

Question 28

Party Dealignment

Answer 28

-refers to the trend away from allegiance
to the two major parties
-believed it is partly responsible for era of divided gov

Question 29

3 types of 3rd parties

Answer 29

1) parties that promote a single cause(marijuana) or extreme ideological position on a set of issues(Green, Libertarian)
2) parties that splinter off from a major party(TR’s Progressive Party)
3) parties that are an extension of a popular individual (Ross Perot in 1992)

Question 30

Even though a 3rd party candidate has never won a presidential election… they do 3 things

Answer 30

• Influence the outcomes of many elections over the years
• give voters more options beyond dem and repub
• help raise issues that would not otherwise be debated

Question 31

Why does the United States have a system in which two major parties dominate?

Answer 31

Because we have Winner Take All System

Question 32

Winner Take All System

Answer 32

• 25% of voters across the U.S. choose a green party candidate for Congress
• it is likely that no green party candidate will actually win a seat
• they will have nice showing for minority party and get pats on the back for trying hard, but get nothing in the legislature

Question 33

If we had a proportional representation system…

Answer 33

• the Greens would get about 25% of the seats in Congress

- but bc we dont, many Green Parties end up voting for Democrats, so they dont waste their vote

Question 34

In the American System, do people think the party in power should be the responsible party for all policy that do and don’t get implemented under its leadership?

Answer 34

-some people say yes, but many others argue that our system is too complicated to give full credit to or place full blame on the party in power for anything that happens under its leadership

Question 35

Why does the party system in America tend to expand the scope of government ?

Answer 35

Citizens want government to do many things… which costs $$… which requires higher taxes…. which is politically unpopular… which leads to more borrowing and debt…which politicians need to address but do not bc once programs are created and funded, its is difficult to get rid of them

Question 36

Because political parties are weak and bc of advances in media and technology….

Answer 36

It is possible for candidates to run for office today without the aid of political parties

Question 37

Civil service

Answer 37

Professional government work force hired based on merit, skill

Question 38

What did party machines do?

Answer 38

Handed out gov jobs to supporters