Political Parties

Question 1

Who can be regarded as the party leader?

Answer 1

The Speaker of the House;
Nancy Pelosi - 2007-11, 19-23

‘President Pro Tempore’ - longest serving member of the majority in the Senate - doesn’t really happen in reality

Question 2

What can encourage senators to follow their party directions

Answer 2

Party leaders/speakers determing who sits on what committee

Question 3

One reason for the increase in partisanshup since the 1990s

Answer 3

The reduced number of competitve electoral districts - in 1997, there were 164 - in 2020, just 9

Question 4

What was set up to achive bipartisanship and was it a success?

Answer 4

the ‘Problem solvers Caucus’ (2017) with about 50 members from each party - helped with ‘First Step Act’ (2018) which reformed criminal justice

Question 5

Whats a good, recent example of bipartisanship?

Answer 5

the CARES act to battle COVid-19 in 2020 shows Congress can work together in times of crisis

Question 6

3 main differences between parties

Answer 6

1) Dems want more govt intervention to help all people; Reps sus of big govt, beleive poor ppl should be incentivised to get a job , big govt projects are wasteful

2) 2nd AAmendment Rights - Huge issue - influence of NRA

3) Isolationism - Reps want focus on nation e.g. MTG promising not to spend “another penny” on Ukraine + Trump removing US from Paris Climate Convention 2016

Question 7

A survey asked
“Do you think there are any important differences in what the Republican and Democratic parties stand for?

What was the result?

Answer 7

1972; 44% said NO, 46% said YES

2012; 18% said NO, 81% said YES

Question 8

Good example that Parties are not so unified anymore?

Answer 8

Speaker McCarthy’s humiliating 15 takes to gain vote + concessions given in that time

Question 9

A good example of recent party polarisation

Answer 9

Trump’s impeachment - All dems vote for in Dem controlled House, All Reps vote against in Rep controlled Senate

Question 10

3 reasosn for polarisation

Answer 10

Media Bubbles;
- Media pushes what it thinks its viewers want to see
- Algorithims produces extreme content
-CNN + Fox

Elections;
- esp Pirmaires cna push candidates to the poles to gain more support from people

Political Activism;
- Increased activism pushes party further right/left

Question 11

Give an example of Bipartisanship from American People

Answer 11

Around 65-80% of Americans agree on stronger background checks for weapons

Question 12

3 key points that show an INCREASE in polarisation in the last 50 years

Answer 12

1) Interparty Animoisty;
In 1960, 4% of Reps + Dems said tey would be unhappy with their child marrying someone of opposite party
In 2019, 45% of Dems and 35% or Reps

2) Politicians strengthening Polarisation
Trump declares certain Democrats are “dangerous” and may “hate America”

3)Influence of Media

Exposure to partisan news of just one party
- Soical + TV

Question 13

3 democratic factions

Answer 13

Blue Dog Coalition;
Supports ‘fiscal responsibility’
Neutral on social issues - gun control + gay rights
Moderate Dems
More willing to seek common ground with Reps
2020 - Stephanie Murphy + Lou Correa

New Democrat Coalition;
Largest - 104 members in 2020
Pro-innovation + pro-economic growth
Members represent broad middle/centrist wing of party
Some overlap - Henry Cuellar belongs to Blue Dogs + New Dems

Congressional Progressive Caucus;
Most liberal + progressive
2020, 98 members
Promoting economic justice + security
Advancing environmental protection and energy independence
Co-chaired by Pramila Jayapal + Mark Pocan
Bernie associated with it

Question 14

3 Republican Factions

Answer 14

Tuesday Group;
Moderate/centrist Republicans
Committed to solution-oriented approach - keen on bipartisan approaches to issues
Pragmatic
2020, 15 members - John Katko + Elise Stefanik

Republican Study Committee;
¾ f all House Reps in 2020 with 147 members
Limited govt, high defence spending, preserving traditional values + 2nd amendment
Represents main bulk of Reps
Chairs in 2020 was Mike Johnson

Freedom Caucus;
Most right-wing - members not published
30 in 2020
Created in 2013
2019, chaired by Andy Biggs - one of just two reps to vote against $8.3b emergency COVID-19 measure which included vaccine research
Social conservatism (abortion, LGBTQ+ rights) and Limited govt

Question 15

Reaosn there could be a two-party system in US

Answer 15

No Third Parties - Normally independent Senators (Bernie Sanders + Augus King) caucus with Dems anyway + Saunders made two unsuccessful bids for Dem president nomination
Only independent, Justin Amash, switched already having been elected (Rep ‘18 - Ind 19’ - Lib ‘2020)

Third-Party = No Votes - no 3rd party/independent has won any ECVs since George Wallace in 1968.

In 2020, the two-party share of the vote was 98%

No Identity
- two parties, Greens + Libertarians are relatively recent (Gs ‘80s, Libs ‘71). The American Independent Party was essentially built around George Wallace - when he want back to Dems, AIP disappeared

Question 16

Reasons against a two-party system in US

Answer 16

State Parties - decentralised nature of the US means there are a 100 of State parties and not just two. However, the prevalence of primaries enchanted this dominance. Encourages ambitious to run independent campaigns. Dem party in Texas is v different to Dem party in NYC

2/6 elections in the 21st century - neither candidate got more than 50% of the vote

1992 - Ross Perot got 20% of vote in Pres election (independent)

Question 17

A + E 3 ways that the US system keeps third parties out

Answer 17

1) FPTP makes it difficult for Third Parties
2) Big Tent Parties - Wide spectrum leaves little room for another party
3) Primary Elections - This system makes the parties listen the the electorate - it makes a protest vote for a third party less likely

Question 18

Stat for increased polarisation

Answer 18

54% of Democrats have an unfavorable view of the GOP, while 62% of Republicans view the Democratic Party negatively.

while both having a 89% favourable view of their own party

Up from 20% of Reps and 26% of Dems in 2002

Pew Reasearch 2020

Question 19

3 reasons that 3rd Parties are significant

Answer 19

Candidates can influence - Bush/Gore race (2000) comes down to Florida where Green candidate Ralph Nader secured more votes than Bush’s winning margin. Had he not ran, most votes would (probably) have gone to Gore, who would have become president

Influence in Congressional Elections - in 2018, Maine 2nd District, Rep winner in the first round failed to win the seat when the eliminated second preference votes were redistributed

Good Policies - Ross Perot’s pledge for a balanced budget - ‘The Green New Deal’ - found favour with many progressive Dems which took away from the Greens themselves.

Question 20

3 reasons that 3rd Parties aren’t influential

Answer 20

Little influence in Presidential Elections - third-party + independents usually fail to make any impact e.g. 2012, 2016

FPTP Dominance - Maine only state to use alternatives. Votes for third parties will become ‘wasted’

No Media Presence - 3ps + Is lacking a high-profile media presence and rarely participates in tv debates. Often labelled as ‘extremist’ or ‘irrelevant’

Question 21

3 examples of third parties

Answer 21

The Consituttion Party;
- 5th largest
- Targets sticking to the words of the constitution

The libertarion Party;
- was on all ballots in 1980
- gained 1.7m votes in 2000
- basis on liberal views for all people
- 3rd largest

The Green Party;
- focus on enviromentalism and social justice
- 4th largest

Question 22

3 reaosns parties can be seen to be in decline

Answer 22

Primaries - growth of primaries rendered candidate selection role of parties useless which reinforces a sense of party weakness and intra-party divisions. Also puts more focus on the individual than party

Split-Ticket - Many US voters do this, suggesting that the parties have les important than candidates. E.g. New Hampshire re-elected its incumbent Dem senator and its incumbent Rep Gov (2020)
6 states in midterms (2022)

Big Tent = Divisions - because of parties being ‘big tnt’ there are often compromises made over conflicting outlooks and policies. Division within the party is common e.g. Dem approach to defunding of police varies from faction to faction

Question 23

3 reasons parties are in renewal

Answer 23

Party Brand reinforced in pimaries - all candidates still align with one of the two parties (little scope for third parties). When primaries are concluded, the parties usually come together and coalesce around the winners (Trump 2020)

Split-Ticket decrease - in 2016 there was 100% straight ticket voting and in 2020 only maine split its Senate and presidential votes

Individuals align with party - although campaigns are heavily focussed on individuals, in nearly all cases their personal message reflects commonly held values and policies within their party

Question 24

Whats one problem with the lack of party discipline

Answer 24

Lack of party discipline also means presidents cna find their will thwarted by congressional opposition - Trump unable to pass his own healthcare reforms during his first 2 years in office despite Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress - unlike UK where no separation of powers helps enforce this

Question 25

example of hyper-partisanship in Jan 6th committee

Answer 25

2 reps, liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were censured by Rep party for being on Jan 6 committee

Cheney lost no.3 leader position in house
- K also stripped off roles