Module 7

Question 1

Define factions or interest groups:

Answer 1

groups of citizens united by some common passion or interest and opposed to the rights of other citizens or to the interests of the whole community.

Question 2

What is a similar between interest groups and political parties?

Answer 2

Though both kinds of groups use the political system to attain group goals that differ from what other people want, the way they go about working the system to realize those goals is totally different.

Question 3

How do political parties try to push their agenda in support of their interests?

Answer 3

use the political system to attain their goals from inside the system by controlling government through electioneering and governing.

Question 4

What are interest groups?

Answer 4

groups, including corporations, that are bound by a common interest and that seek to use the political system to attain their policy goals from the outside, by persuading people in power to give them what they want: lobbying

Question 5

What is a party platform?

Answer 5

the set of policies a party promotes based on its ideology

Question 6

What is the appeal of political parties that give people power?

Answer 6

Connection - Knowing that parties stand for particular policies and ideals can help voters to identify with and support those who share their views. Identifying one’s own interests with a party’s is called partisanship
Cohesion - Government may be divided into layers and branches, but the fact that there are Democrats and Republicans in all of those divisions gives continuity and structure to a complex system
Voice - Parties provide an opposition voice to those who are not in government.

Question 7

What is the responsible party model?

Answer 7

an ideal model of how parties might operate to maximize voter information and elected official accountability.

Question 8

Define party platform:

Answer 8

a distinct set of policies set forth by a political party that is based on its ideology.

Question 9

Define partisan sorting:

Answer 9

the process through which citizens align themselves ideologically with one of the two parties, leaving fewer citizens remaining in the center and increasing party polarization

Question 10

4 Kinds of party members:

Answer 10

Party identifiers - people in the electorate who think of themselves as partisans (team members) and generally vote for the party.
party activists - most ideologically extreme of the party’s voters
party organizations - career party officials. These people are paid political operatives who are in charge of keeping the party infrastructure working
party-in-government