Political Parties, Interest Groups, PACs, and 527 Groups

Question 1

Political Parties

Answer 1

Organizations that try to influence the outcomes of elections and legislative struggles by obtaining some political office

Question 2

Two-Party/Bipartisan System

Answer 2

Two major parties are within the U.S.: Democrats and Republicans and are reinforced by the Electoral College

Question 3

Party Characteristics

Answer 3

Important Facts:

• Server as intermediaries between the people and the government
• Made up of grassroots members, activists members, and leadership
• Organized to raise money, present positions on policy, and get candidates elected to office
• Created outside of the Constitution (Founding Fathers prayed that they wouldn’t appear in the U.S. and even Washington warned the country about them in his Farewell Address)

Question 4

Primary Elections

Answer 4

State-run elections that are designed for parties to select candidates for offices

Question 5

Third Parties

Answer 5

Parties that arise and are not one of the two major political parties

Question 6

Splinter/Bolter Party

Answer 6

Third Party that forms when the third party feels that their goals are not being met within the original party and therefore they leave and create their own party

Question 7

Doctrinal Party

Answer 7

Third Party that rejects he prevailing attitudes and policies of the political system

Question 8

Single-Issue Party

Answer 8

Third Party that forms to promote a single issue or principle

Question 9

Independent Candidates

Answer 9

Candidates that run for office without political affiliation (Very difficult for these candidates to beat political parties)

Question 10

Failure of Third Parties

Answer 10

Third Parties fail because the Electoral College is based on a winner-take-all system rather than a majority vote; therefore, third parties are less likely to win because the two major parties are more likely to get a plurality vote and take office

Question 11

Major Subdivisions of Political Parties

Answer 11

Three Subdivisions:

• Party among the electorate (Voters)
• Party in Government (Elected Officials)
• Party Organization (Those who promote the Party and try to recruit members and voters)

Question 12

Functions of Political Parties

Answer 12

Six Functions:

• Recruit and Nominate Candidates
• Educate and Mobilize Voters
• Provide Campaign Funds and Support
• Organize Government Activity
• Provide Balance Through Opposition of Two Parties
• Reduce Conflict and Tension in Society

Question 13

National Convention

Answer 13

Meeting of the national party to elect a presidential candidate (Occurs every four years)

Question 14

Split Ticket

Answer 14

Voting for a Presidential candidate of one party and legislators of another party (Becoming more and more common)

Question 15

Party Dealignment

Answer 15

Tendency of voters to not align with their political party as they once did (Causes more people to vote independent and shows a decrease in the desire to affiliate with the two major parties)

Question 16

Coalition

Answer 16

Groups of voters that are attracted to the political party

Question 17

Modern Republican Coalition

Answer 17

In 2008/2012 Elections the coalition consisted of:

• Veterans’ Groups and Military Supporters
• Religious Conservatives
• Libertarians
• Opponents of Gay Marriage
• Opponents of Affirmative Action
• Supporters of the Development of Natural Resources on Public Lands
• Rural Dwellers

Question 18

Modern Democratic Coalition

Answer 18

In 2008/2012 Elections the coalition consisted of:

• Disaffected Moderate Republicans
• Pro-Choicers
• African and Hispanic Americans
• Member and Supporters of Labor Unions
• Gay Rights Supporters
• Intellectuals
• People with Lower Incomes
• City Dwellers
• Feminists
• Environmentalists

Question 19

Party Bases

Answer 19

Ideological groups that tend to vote for one party or the other (Liberals currently vote Democrat and Conservatives vote Republican)

Question 20

Democratic Party Base

Answer 20

Democrats Tend To Be:

• Less Disposed to:
  a. Spend on Defense
  b. To use vouchers, or other public funds, to let students attend private schools
• More Disposed to:
  a. Spend money to advance social-welfare programs
  b. Use government money for public education
  c. Spend money on government run health insurance programs
  d. Grant tax relief to targeted groups such as the lower and middle classes
• Against:
  a. Private ownership of assault weapons and for broader regulations on the ownership of firearms

Question 21

Republican Party Base

Answer 21

Republicans Tend To Be:

• More Disposed to:
  a. Spend on defense
  b. Use vouchers for private schools and to give government aid to parochial schools
  c. Grant tax relief to everyone, especially the wealthy and corporations
• Less Disposed to:
  a. Spend money on social-welfare programs
  b. Spend money on government-run health insurance programs
  c. Regulate Firearms

Question 22

Party Realignment

Answer 22

Occurs when the coalitions making up the two parties fall apart (Very rare and occurs after Critical Elections)

Question 23

Critical Election

Answer 23

When a new party dominates politics (Usually triggered by some traumatic event in the political or economic world)

Question 24

Interest Groups

Answer 24

Organizations dedicated to a particular political goal or to a set of unified goals and differ from political parties because they do not nominate candidates but try to influence politics in the direction of their goals (Can be religious, racial, or professional and can share a common goal, such as the environment or political reform)

Question 25

Christian Coalition

Answer 25

Religious Interest Group

Question 26

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Answer 26

Racial Interest Group

Question 27

American Medical Association

Answer 27

Professional Interest Group

Question 28

Sierra Club

Answer 28

Interest Group that is pro-environment

Question 29

Common Cause

Answer 29

Interest Group that is pro-political reform

Question 30

Lobbying

Answer 30

When interest groups try to influence legislators on a single bill or issue

Question 31

Economic Interest Groups

Answer 31

Formed to promote and protect members’ economic interests (Things like the AFL-CIO and American Bar Association fall in this category)

Question 32

Public Interest Groups

Answer 32

Are nonprofit organizations that are generally organized around a well-defined set of public issues (Sierra Club, Christian Coalition)

Question 33

Ralph Nader

Answer 33

Leader of Public Citizen, which promotes safer products and informative labeling for consumer goods

Question 34

National Rifle Association & National Right To Life Committee

Answer 34

Powerful single-issue groups because they have a very high intensity of supporters

Question 35

Government Interest Groups

Answer 35

Interest Groups that support a single person in the government, such as the state governor or a city mayor (Located in the area in which they support their political leader)

Question 36

How Interest Groups Influence Government

Answer 36

Interest Groups Influence Government by:

• Direct Lobbying
• Testifying Before Congress
• Socializing
• Political Donations
• Endorsements
• Court Action
• Rallying Their Membership
• Propaganda

Question 37

Class Action Lawsuits

Answer 37

Used by interest groups to protect and advance their interests

Question 38

Amicus Curiae Briefs

Answer 38

Interest Groups file these as a “friend of the court” in lawsuits in which they are not a party so that judges may consider their advice in respect to matters in law that directly affect that particular case

Question 39

1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act

Answer 39

Intended to allow the government to monitor lobbying activities by requiring lobbyists to register with the government and publicly disclose their salaries, expenses, and the nature of their activities to D.C. (Was repealed by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995)

Question 40

Influence Peddling

Answer 40

The practice of using personal friendships and inside information to get political advantage

Question 41

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Answer 41

Court Case ruling that limits former federal employees by preventing them from lobbying for five years after they leave the federal agency that employed them

Question 42

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Answer 42

Court Case ruling that allows corporations to express support for political candidates in Congress and the White House and prevents [Super] PACs and 527 Groups from identifying with specific candidates (Got rid of restrictions that had prevented corporations from spending money on campaign ads before an election)

Question 43

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Answer 43

Assist in raising funds towards a specific campaign (Can be corporations or interest groups)

Question 44

Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)

Answer 44

Allows corporations, unions, and trade associations to form PACs in order to raise campaign funds; however, they must raise the money honestly (from employees and members) and cannot simply draw it from their own personal funds

Question 45

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act)

Answer 45

Further regulated campaign finance and PAC donations but was overturned by Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Question 46

Super PACs

Answer 46

Unlimited PACs that are financed by the ultra-rich and because of disclosure laws affecting Super PACs it can be difficult to identify donors

Question 47

527 Groups

Answer 47

A tax-exempt organization that promotes a political agenda, although they cannot advocate a specific candidate (Named after the section of a specific tax code that allows them)