Political Parties Flashcards
1
Q
What did Mark Shields say about political parties in the 1980s?
A
At present the US has two political parties separated by the issue of abortion
2
Q
What have republican presidents tried to do?
A
Pack the courts to overturn abortion
3
Q
Which party is the party of big government and centralisation?
A
Democrats
4
Q
What is the party of states rights?
A
Republicans
5
Q
Which is the low tax party?
A
Republicans
6
Q
Which is the party of individual rights?
A
Republicans
7
Q
Why couldn’t Biden pass Build Back Better?
A
Joe Manchin didn’t like it - too socialist
8
Q
Which is the party of climate solutions?
A
Democrats
9
Q
What did Denis Brogan say?
A
Political Parties are like two bottles with two labels, both empty
10
Q
Who were the initial winners in terms of the form of government?
A
Confederacy - highly decentralised form - 1781
11
Q
What happened at the Philadelphia conference?
A
Federalists won - wanted centralised government
12
Q
Why did the federalists want?
A
Merchants wanted centralised government
13
Q
Who wanted more decentralised government?
A
Jefferson and Maddison - represented agricultural and land-owning interests
14
Q
Who renamed the Democratic-Republican party?
A
Jackson - named it the Democratic party - immigrants and minority groups
15
Q
Who was originally the party of the South?
A
Democrats
16
Q
What did they argue for?
A
Continuing the virtues of slavery - Pierce and Buchanan followed policies that spelled a poor future for business and commercial interest - slavery contained to the states south of the Mason Dixon line.
17
Q
What did SCOTUS rule in 1857?
A
Dred Scott v Sandford - slavery could not be limited to the Southern States
18
Q
When was the Republican Party founded?
A
1854 - anti-slavery party of the North
19
Q
Who was running in the 1860 election?
A
Democrat Douglas against Lincoln.
20
Q
What happened after Lincoln won?
A
Southern states announced they were leaving - thus starts the Civil War
21
Q
What do the Republicans originally represent?
A
Big business and industrialists - free enterprise
22
Q
What did the Democrats represent?
A
Small farmers, urban workers and immigrants.
23
Q
What did for the Republicans that the Civil War did for the Dems?
A
Great Depression - out into the political wilderness for 40 years
24
Q
Why did the Great Depression screw the Republicans?
A
Party of big business - presided over the federal government with Harding, Coolidge and Hoover - boom went to bust.
25
What saw the resurrection of the Dems?
1932 election and FDR - change of tact - became the party of big federal governemnt
26
How many of the 9 elections between 1932 and 1964 did the Republicans win?
2 - both Eisenhower
27
Who supported the New Deal?
Southern white conservatives and northern eastern liberals, city dwellers, blue collar workers, Catholics, Jews and ethnic minorities.
28
Who did the Republicans gain support from?
More rural Midwest and Plain states, WASPS and white collar workers.
29
What shaped America's political parties in the 1950s and 1960s?
Civil rights
30
What blew apart the New Deal coalition?
Brown v Board
31
What do Democrats favour?
Affirmative Action
32
What did Republicans favour?
Policy should be colour blind
33
What did the Dems do?
Dems push forward legislation to help advance those previously disadvantaged groups - appointed judges who would make decisions which permitted affirmative actions programmes to withstand judicial scrutiny - African Americans gave their overwhelming support in federal, state and local races.
34
What did Nixon and Reagan do?
Curb the power of the federal government. Smaller federal government - the movement towards decentralised government was given a further boost - Republican takeover of congress in 1995.
35
What did Clinton say?
Era of Big Government is over
36
What don't political parties have?
A clear leader - reflects the separation of powers and the federal framework of the USA - broader political culture
37
Who is the Republican leader in the Senate?
Mitch McConnell
38
Who is the Dem leader in the Senate?
Chuck Schumer
39
Who is the Dem leader in the House?
Nancy Pelosi
40
Who is the Republican leader in the House?
Kevin McCarthy
41
Why was Trump unable to pass healthcare reforms?
Congressional opposition
42
Where does most of Trump's support come from?
Grassroot members - lawmakers staying loyal out of fear
43
What is the local dems name on the ticket in Minnesota?
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
44
What are the DNC and RNC?
National party organisations - main roles are to organise the national convention that formally nominates the presidential candidate and to draw up the party's national platform - beyond that their role is limited - no power over candidate selection.
45
Who is the chair of the DNC?
Jaime Harrison
46
Who is the chair of the RNC?
Ronna McDaniel
47
What is the Hill Committee?
Aim to get their members of their party elected to Congress
48
Examples of Hill Committees?
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee.
49
What do committees coordinate?
Campaigns and donors - direct supporters donations to target seats or to shore up vulnerable incumbents. Sometimes run ads and campaigns, attacking opponents.
50
What did the NRSC do in 2020?
Ran a billboard campaign - change the name of the democrat candidate to reflect the individual state.
51
How many members are there of the Democratic Socialists of America?
50,000
52
Who were endorsed by the DSA?
AOC and Rashida Tlaib
53
What is the Tea Party?
Conservative/populist/libertarian.
54
What happened in 2020?
Steve King lost primary - racist - became largely ostracised by Republican House Leadership.
McConnell said King's comments were unworthy of his elected position. King also removed from House committee assignments - Agriculture - important sector for his widely rural district - seen to have lost his voice. Lost several important endorsements - conservative evangelical leaders in the state - seen as electorally vulnerable. Rare example of primaries being used to select less polarising and extreme candidates.
55
Who are the moderate republicans?
Main Street Partnership - fiscally conservative - more willing to compromise on budgets - vote alongside Dems on social issues like abortion and same sex marriage.
56
Who are the Conservative Republicans?
Republican Study Committee - fiscally and socially conservative - increasingly unwilling to compromise on conservative goals, as seen in the shutdown and debt ceiling debate.
57
Who are the Libertarian Republicans?
Fiscally very conservative but may vote alongside Dems on foreign policy, cuts to defence spending, sentencing reform and some social issues like same sex marriage.
58
Who are the Liberal Democrats?
Progressive Caucus - influenced by big gov policies of New Deal and Great Society - further on healthcare reform and regulation of the banking industry but had to compromise.
59
Who are the Centrist Democrats?
New Democrats - third way between conservative and liberal extremes - influenced by the economic policies of Reagan - much more likely to compromise on fiscal and social issues e.g. workfare, tax cuts, NAFTA, don’t ask don’t tell and DOMA
60
Who are the Conservative Democrats?
Blue Dog Coalition - elected in conservative red states - challenge Democrats on fiscal and social policy - large membership after 2008 that was able to influence Obamacare and the stimulus - faced heavy loss since.
61
What is a realignment election?
Changing the way people choose who they support
62
How do you vote?
How you shoot
63
What happens as America gets richer?
More likely to vote Republucan
64
What was Hoover's approach to economics?
Laissez-faire economics
65
How did Roosevelt change government?
Layer cake federalism to marble cake federalism
66
Who started to support the Dems?
Jews, Black people, Catholics, Irish - northern. states become Democrat - Dixiecrats get annoyed
67
Why did the Dixiecrats vote for Kennedy in 1960?
Because they can cope with them but can't trust Nixon.
68
Why did Dixiecrats vote Republican in 1964?
Dems had evolved - endorsed the end of segregation was so awful to the Dixiecrats that they wouldn't support the Dems.
69
What was the Second realignment?
Nixon, Humphrey and Wallace
70
How did Nixon absorb the Republicans?
May not be able to tell the SCOTUS how to think - start to desegregate at your own pace.
71
What happened to the Reps?
Corollary - get a bit of racism and a little bit of Jesus - WASP beliefs
72
What made the Reps the party of anti-abortion?
Roe vs Wade
73
What are parties?
Internal Coalitions
74
Who is a part of the voter coalition of the Dems?
Women, Ethnic minorities, Jewish people, Post graduate and college grads, Urban dwellers - more diverse - more densely populated - more likely to work in the city and therefore likely to be more educated.
75
What is the voter coalition of the Reps?
Men, White people, White Evangelical, Protestants and Catholics, Less educated, Rural dwellers - more likely to be less educated and less diverse states and therefore this explains this.
76
What has happened to voting?
Less bipartisan - major policies passed with very little support from the opposing party
77
Who did Johnson rely on?
Republicans - ivil Rights Act 1964 and VRA 1965
78
Who was more in favour of the CRA in the Senate?
Republicans - 81% vs 69% of Dems
79
How many Republicans broke rank in 1974?
7/17 - voted to impeach Nixon
80
What happened in Trump's impeachment?
Not one of the 195 Republican lawmakers sided with the Democrats with Trump.
81
How is ideology a main divide?
Elected representatives stand politically within their party - moderate, mainstream or extreme - huge influence over how they vote.
82
How is geography a divide?
Where they come from influences their vote.
83
How does personality affect divides?
Many internal divides reflect loyalty and support for prominent figures within each party.
84
How does context affect party unity?
Parties and individuals most loyal when seeking party nomination - nearly all of the most loyal and partisan Democrat senators - Corey Booker and Elizabeth Warren - sought the 2020 nomination.
85
When are lawmakers more likely to work together?
Lawmakers most often willing to work together in the lead-up to congressional elections to prove to their voters that they can "govern and deliver".
86
When are lawmakers likely to have less loyalty?
Second half of a two-term - lame duck period - can also see reduced levels of party loyalty - legislators have less incentive to keep in with the president.
87
Who intensified the unity of parties?
Trump
88
How much did the Reps stick to their party?
91% in 2018
89
How much did the Dems stick to their party?
89% in 2018
90
When was Newt Gingrich's Contract with America?
1994
91
What happened in Feb 2020?
Senate passed a resolution to limit Trump's power to order military action against Iran without first seeking Congress' permission. 8 Reps joined the Dems to pass the measure.
92
What was a recent bipartisan bill?
CARES Act March 2020
93
How many House Reps voted to impeach trump in Jan 2021
10
94
What has party unity votes dropped from and to?
69% in 2017 to 50% in 2018 - lowest since 2002
95
Why do Reps want to cut prison numbers?
Save money
96
Why do Dems want to cut jail numbers?
Favour rehab
97
What do the Libertarian Party promote?
Civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism and limiting the size and scope of government.
98
When was the Libertarian Party formed?
1971
99
What prompted the founding of the Libs?
Prompted due to concerns over Nixon, Vietnam and the introduction of fiat money.
100
Who was Gary Johnson?
Party's presidential nominee in 2012 and 2016 - more culturally liberal than the Dems and more fiscally conservative than Republicans.
101
What are their economic policies?
Lower taxes, abolishing the IRS, decreasing the national debt, free trade and free movement, allowing people to opt out of Social Security and eliminating the welfare state - utilizing private charities.
102
What are their social policies?
End prohibition of illegal drugs, advocating criminal justice reform, open immigration, separation of church and state, neutrality in diplomatic relations, supporting same-sex marriage, ending capital punishment and supporting gun ownership rights.
103
Where did they gain a seat?
Wyoming House of Reps
104
How many voters are registered as Libertarian?
693,634
105
Who was the first female candidate to receive an electoral vote?
Tonie Nathan in 1972
106
What was the Dallas Accord?
Implicit agreement at the 1974 Libertarian National Convention to compromise between the larger minarchist and smaller anarcho-capitalist factions - adopting a platform that explicitly did not say whether it was desirable for the state to exist.
107
What does the Prohibition Party stand for?
Opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages - integral part of the temperance movement.
Oldest existing third party and third longest active party.
108
When did the party last receive over 100,000?
1948
109
When did the party last receive over 10,000 votes?
1976
110
What is the Prohibition party's platform today
Liberal on economic issues - supports Social Security, animal rights and free education. More conservative on social issues - temperance, school prayer and a consistent life ethic - anti abortion - no capital punishment - anti-assisted suicide.
Opposed to porn, prohibition on gambling and abolition of all state lotteries.
111
What elections did third parties affect the outcome?
1968, 1992, 2000
112
How much of the popular vote did third parties get in 2012 and 2016?
2%
6%
113
What cost Al Gore the presidency?
Nader's 2.7% for the Green Party - nearly 100,000 votes in Florida - Bush won by 537
114
How much did Nader get in New Hampshire and how much did Bush win by?
7,000 - 22,000
115
In the 5 House elections between 2008 and 2016, how much was the combined vote for third parties?
Never exceeds 3.6% in 2012 - Senate averaged 2.5% - highest in 2010 with 6.6%
116
How much did the Green Party get in South Carolina?
9.4%
117
How much did the Constitution Party get in Utah?
5.7%
118
How much did the Libs win in Indiana?
5.4%
119
How many EC votes did Wallace get?
45 on 13% of the vote - concentrated votes in the south
120
How many EC votes did Ross Perot get?
0 on 19% of the vote - widely spread
121
Who was excluded from TV debates in 2016?
Jill Stein and Gary Johnson
122
What was co-opted in 2000?
Perot's policy on the budget deficit - led to the Reform Party's vote had fallen from 19% to 0.4%
123
Why do Ballot Access laws impact minor parties?
Laws in each state regulate how third party candidates can qualify - Tennessee - straightforward 0 25 signatures on a petition. New York and California - much more demanding. NY must gain a certain number of signatures in every county. California - number of signatures must be equal to 1% of the electorate in the state.
124
What happened in 2014?
Nevada voted to remove these oppositions in May 2014. Focus on different issues.
125
What are parties?
Big tents
126
What was the impact of the McGovern Fraser Commission?
Recommended far greater transparency over how states choose their delegates, giving all members, and the public, a say in the selection.
Led to primaries for selecting candidates - big impact on the influence of party leadership.
127
What did Alison Lundergan Grimes do?
Democratic Senate candidate for Kentucky - emphasised her opposition to Obama's energy policies - important issue in Kentucky - source of a lot of jobs.
128
What has TV allowed?
Allowing candidates to take control of their own campaign without the need for the party leadership - harder for them to control the messaging
129
How is it different to the UK?
UK voters vote for a party - US is more candidate and issue focussed - have to compete with other members of their party - build on their brand and on key issues
130
What are donations to political parties limited to?
$32,400
131
What are donations to candidates limited to?
$5000
132
What does the government match?
First %250
133
What did the FEC Act 1979 do?
Allowed individuals, unions and corporations to give unlimited donations to parties, as long as it wasn't used for elections - unregulated donations = soft money.
134
What is the Broder thesis?
Parties have largely abdicated their role in formulating policy and positions in the area of foreign policy and too much has been left to the experts - Kissinger, Rostow.
135
What has led to the decline of purple America?
Gerrymandering
