Parties Flashcards
How do Americans self-
identify when asked
about their ideology?
on a scale between liberal and conservative
How is the term ‘liberal’
used differently in
America and Europe?
liberalism stresses the importance of individual rights and freedoms
this means that in the USA the govt must intervene to ensure a free and just society
this is a mixed economy
What policies do
American liberals tend
to support?
big government
higher taxes
welfare state
civil rights
gay marrige
gun control
abortion rights
What policies do
American conservatives
tend to support?
small government
low tax
limited education
limited welfare state
traditional values
anti abortion
anti gay marriage
anti immigration
Why have America’s
parties been described
as ‘big tent’ parties?
a broad ideology attracting ideologies in many ways
in recent years bipartisanship has increased
Why have some
suggested that America
is a 100 party system?
each state branch of the party has its own autonomy hence 2x50=100
What factors help
explain why Americans
used to feel that there
was substantial overlap
between the two main
parties?
differnt ideologies in states
time period
Was President Bush
fiscally conservative?
lowered income tax brackets
reduced taxes on property and investment
increased medicare (biggest ever increase)
increased fiscal policy
increased size of the state through financial crisis
Was President Bush
socially conservative?
blocked stem cell research act
Was President Bush a
libertarian?
cut taxes and welfare
limited foreign investments
BUT
free speech and action
privacy and protection
supported gay marriage
Was President Bush a
neoconservative?
afganastan war and war on terror was the USA exerting its global influence.
also lots of internal focus
What are congressional
members organisations
(CMOs)?
groups which only members of congress can join to pressure common legislative goals
Why do other
conservatives often call
members of the Main
Street Partnership
‘RINOs’?
RINO- republicans in name only
republicans only because they would always win and that democrats always loose
left wing democrats- Tuesday group
those are centrist groups which are pragmatic and often socially moderate
How did Olympia
Snowe’s voting record
often overlap with the
Democrats? Why did she
retire
- very liberal on social issues
- often more democrat than some democrats
- retired after frustrated by the partisanship in congress
How is the Republican
Study Committee
different to the Main
Street Partnership? Why
has it grown so much?
‘tea party’ movement
alarmed at increasing deficit
wanted lower spending
electing new establishment
What is the debt ceiling?
How have Republicans
attitudes towards it
hardened?
maximium amount a country can borrow
Why did the government
shutdown in 2013? What
does this show about the
influence of Tea Party
conservatives?
strongly opposed to big government populist conservation and grassroots anti establishment
tea party- AKA house freedom caucus
REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE
fiscally and socially conservative
focus on deregulation tax cuts and pro life policies
What influences the
Progressive Caucus?
fiscally and socially progressive members
wanting energy independence and environmental security and pace
Why was the Patient
Protection and
Affordable Care Act
(2010) a mixed-success
for progressives?
they wanted a single power system
Why did progressive
Democrats support the
Dodd-Frank Act (2010)?
because it reigned in Wall Street and reduced financial risk
major steps towards economic justice and corporate accountability
What led to the creation
of the New Democrats
caucus? What is the
‘third way’?
aim to create moderate arm of the republicans
most 3rd way was bill Clinton
What is workfare? How
did New Democrats
change welfare?
hand up not hand out
Why did New Democrats
split with Progressives
over free trade?
fearned that it would increase competition
progressives wanted
How did New Democrats
compromise on divisive
social issues?
dont ask dont tell for LGBTQ+
How did Blue Dogs
influence Obamacare,
the stimulus, and
environmental reforms?
asked to support American recovery and reinvestment act 2009 passed pay as you go act
What has happened to
the number of Blue
Dogs since 2008?
continually declining
equivilant of RINO’s
How successful are third
party candidates in
federal elections?
only 2 indeopendat senators (aligned to political parties)
What are the different
types of third parties?
national- Green Party
reigional- ‘states rights party’
state based- NY conservative party
some of these are permanent and some are temporary
What are the largest
national third parties?
libertarian party
Green Party
How does FPTP make it
difficult for third parties
to win seats?
Ross Perot won 18.9% of vote in 1992
0/538 electoral collage votes
Why do third parties
struggle to raise money?
challenging to receive money as they dont feel they can win
Why do few third party
presidential candidates
receive matching funds?
no prior campaigning experience or infrastructure
Why are the TV debates
unfair to third party
candidates?
challaning (and only 2 candidates have ever) to be allowed onto debate floor.
they need to have certain popularity
Why do third parties find
it difficult to get on the
ballot?
different ballot laws across state
most states require signatory collections
Why do America’s big
tent parties make it
difficult for third parties
to build support?
little ideological space for any new parties
Why can it be said that
third parties still have an
important impact on US
politics?
national parties can still inflence policy
If Ross Perot hadn’t split the conservative vote it is unlit that Clinton would have won
Why is party power so
decentralised?
central party runs its own campaigns and forms major party platforms. Many leafership is for creation
What are the national
committees? How have
they conflicted with state
parties recently?
RNC or DNC
focused around presidential election rules for primaries
nominate presidents
UP
Party platform
What are the Hill
committees?
elected representatives party leadership groups
Why is it that national
and state party platforms
can differ on policy?
because state parties make party platform and presidential campaigns string together
How have party leaders
lost influence over
candidate selection in
the last century?
Done via primaries
primaries have become more open and accessible
Why have America’s
elections become more
candidate and issue
centred? How does this
influence the parties?
because parties are broad church and with more controversial personalities.
parties often firms campaigns around candidate
How has the
organisation of political
campaigns changed
since the 1970s?
more primaries and trade unions has led to more political consolations to run campaigns
Why have campaign
finance reforms reduced
the influence of political
parties?
limiting, changing donations leads to any candidates needing donations from almost all main donors
also bigger role of those running the PACs
How have party leaders
increased their influence
over the selection of
presidential candidates?
super delegates who are distinguished party leaders vote on backing of those at the convention.
How have the parties
increased their influence
over campaign finance?
personal pac’s by incumbents gives incumbents work around financial
MAGA pac
What procedural
changes in Congress
have increased party
influence?
Committee chairmanship goes to the most loyal which is designed by the party
Why is it argued that
America’s elections have
become nationalised?
How has this increased
the influence of parties?
key national issues have become the issues which are voted
such as immigrants and the economy
How has partisanship
influenced voting in
Congress in recent
years?
2013- 14 democrats votes with parties 94% of the time
years?
Why was the theory of
party decline particularly
convincing in the 60s
and 70s?
partisan realignqment as groups realign to other parties
Why is the theory of
decline less convincing
today? What has
changed?
less spit ticket voting
only 27 split house divisions in 2012
192 in 1972
What factors ensure that
America’s political
parties still have less
influence than UK
parliamentary parties?
no clear leader
less nomination
communication
organisation
finance
party discipline
What are political
parties?
organisations which seek to form a government by selecting a candidate
