Parties Flashcards
Party definition
Group of people with similar opinions and policy aims who try to win elections by fielding candidate
Functions of party
Stability Coordination of government Aggregation of demand Conciliation of groups Staffing of government
3 Different parties
Party of Electorate
Party of Government
Party of Organisations
What are the characteristics of the Party of the Electorate
Less aligned to party- candidate centred
More ideological
Not as numerous as before
Where does power of the Party of the Electorate come from?
Primaries- allows the electorate to choose the candidates that represent them and so are much more extreme compared to the establishment.
Characteristics of Party of Government
No single ideology
Made up of representatives
Based around candidates
Characteristics of Party of Organisation
National Committees
Patronage
Not as influential?
Examples of ‘Electorate’ candidates
Bernie Sanders
Donald Trump
Examples of ‘Government’ candidates
John McCain
Marco Rubio
Examples of ‘Organisation’ candidates
Jeb Bush
Hilary Clinton
Who wrote the ‘Party’s Over’ in 1971?
David Broder
What is the main view of the PO thesis?
Internal disintegration of parties
Increase role of interest groups
Examples of internal disintegration
Primaries
Less policy cohesion
Examples of how primaries decrease power of party
Donald Trump- outsider, chosen by enthused base
Examples to counter primaries decreasing power
Hilary Clinton- insider, chosen by party insiders, DNC corruption
Examples to counter less policy cohesion
Contract with America
6 for ‘06
Obamacare
Examples show less policy cohesion
Ted Cruz vs Trump on LGBT
Rubio vs Trump on immigration
Clinton vs Sanders on government intervention
100 Party Thesis
How do primaries decrease power?
Party can’t have candidate they want BUT Clinton
How does less cohesion decrease power?
Party chiefs find it difficult to formulate coherent policy that all of party will support
Explain 100 Party Thesis
Thesis that suggests that there are 100 different parties in the USA, with Democrats and Republicans varying from state to state, Southerners being more conservative and Northerners/Coasts being more liberal