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A2 Politics > Political Parties - P1 > Flashcards

Political Parties - P1 Flashcards

1
Q

Which groups typically support the republican party?

A
  1. High-income business professionals
  2. White Southerners
  3. Rural voters
  4. Protestant Christians
  5. White Males

southern/rural/ christian = heavily interlinked as often those in ‘bible bound’ southern states fit into multiple categories.

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2
Q

Which group is the most important for republicans?

Why?

A

High income business professionals.

BECAUSE = can provide large donations that greatly benefit the campaigns of republican representatives

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3
Q

High- income business professionals (55%)

Why do they support the republican party?

A
  • Republicans fiscal conservative views
  • Most prominently consistent support for low taxation. E.g Grover Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge
  • This means they get to keep and spend more of what they earn which is in their interests.
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4
Q

White Southerners

Why do they support the republican party?

A

HISTORIC = the historic breaking Democrat Solid South over black civil rights and the subsequent success of the Republican Southern Strategy, which targeted disaffected white southerners, has created a Republican stronghold in this area.

  • still favour more conservative social policy today on issues such as immigration.
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5
Q

Rural voters (61%)

Why do they support the republican party?

A
  • attracted to the limited government regulation as rural states are often antifederalist in nature
  • favour Republicans general opposition to gun control because the use of firearms is more prominent in the culture and daily life of rural inhabitants.
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6
Q

Protestant Christians (57%)

Why do they support the republican party?

A
  • support the traditional moral values espoused by socially conservative republicans
  • agree with the overwhelming support for cutting of federal funding for abortion programs/ legislation limiting gay rights e.g DOMA
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7
Q

White Males (62%)

Why do they support the republican party?

A
  • support the social policies

- opposed to the Democrat support for affirmative action and the relaxation of immigration laws

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8
Q

Which groups typically support the democrat party?

A
  1. Low income working class
  2. LGBT
  3. Latinos
  4. Unmarried women
  5. African Americans

African Americans and low income often overlap

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9
Q

Which group is the most important for democrats?

A

Ethnic minorities
BECAUSE = hispanic population is a growing demographic in the US
BECAUSE = african americans are the most loyal group of voters, with numbers voting Democrat rarely falling below 90%.

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10
Q

Low income, working class (63%)

Why do they support the Democrat party?

A
  • many are unionised members who favour the more interventionist approach of the Democratic Party. e.g Obama’s auto bailout of car manufacturers
  • democrats have shown commitment to this low-income group through policies such as the Fair Minimum Wage Act 2007
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11
Q

LGBT (76%)

Why do they support the Democrat party?

A
  • favour more liberal stance on social policies

- general support for gay marriage - praised the Supreme Court Ruling on DOMA and Proposition 8

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12
Q

Latinos (71%)

Why do they support the Democrat party?

A
  • attracted to less hostile views on immigration
  • Obama has looked to offer some illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. This is contrasted by republican strict laws on immigration, fuelling latino fear of racial profiling.
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13
Q

Unmarried women (61%)

Why do they support the Democrat party?

A
  • support general pro-choice stance of democrat party
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14
Q

African Americans (93%)

Why do they support the Democrat party?

A
  • democrat support of civil rights

- 27.4% of African Americans live in poverty, so are one of the groups to benefit most from welfare programs.

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15
Q

Explain the values and policies of the Republican Party.

A
  1. economically liberal
    - free market + removing barriers on trade and businesses.
  2. Socially authoritarian
    - Harsh punishment + strict social limits. Aim to preserve traditional values.
  3. Limited Government
    - Reject radical change and therefore are opposed to high government intervention, taxation and spending.
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16
Q

Explain the values and policies of the Democratic Party.

A
  1. Economically liberal
    - Free market
  2. Socially liberal
    - Aim to preserve individual rights of every American citizen
  3. Larger Government
    - Aim to provide equality of opportunity. This often comes in the form of social welfare programs.
17
Q

Describe the organisation of political parties.

A
  • decentralised
  • state-based
  • state party organisation has a hierarchy system based on geographical area
18
Q

What are the 3 main types of national organisations for parties?

A
  1. National Committees
  2. National Conventions
  3. Congressional Committees
19
Q

What is a National Committee?

A
  • committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office.
  • Both parties have them
  • Only meet in full session 2 times per year, but still have permanent offices in Washington DC
  • Headed by a party chairman, who acts as a spokesperson (especially in the media) and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the party.
20
Q

What is the National Convention?

A
  • Held every 4 years in the year of the presidential election
  • function 1 = selecting the Party’s nominee for president
  • function 2 = creating a party platform = a statement of the party principles and goals
21
Q

What are Congressional committees?

A
  • Both parties have committees in congress to oversee policy making and campaigning.
  • They help select which members of the party will go onto the committee.
    e. g Senate Democratic Policy Committee
22
Q

Give 1 way in which parties DO have leadership.

A

leaders in congress (speaker of House/ minority of majority leader)

23
Q

Give 1 way in which parties DO NOT have leadership.

A

president does not represent party interests, rarely connects with national level apart from at the national convention

24
Q

What is a Congressional Caucus (congressional group)?

A

groups that members of Congress can join to pursue common legislative goals.

25
Q

How has ideological partisanship changed in recent years?

A
  • increased partisanship

- parties = more ideologically cohesive

26
Q

Give 4 arguments demonstrating that the republicans have become more conservative

A
  1. Contract with America (1994)
  2. United Opposition against Obamacare
  3. Election of Donald Trump
  4. Conservative views of influential party members
27
Q

Give 3 examples of the Democrats becoming more liberal.

A
  1. Liberal Agenda through 100 hour plan
  2. High government intervention schemes
  3. More liberal social policy
28
Q

What are the 6 functions of political parties in the USA ?

A

1 Choose President
2 Choose VP
3 Decide on a party platform
4 Establish party unity (especially after the infighting in the primaries)
5 Rally the party’s core supporters before the election
6 Encouraging interest from the public to go out and vote

29
Q

Give 2 pieces of evidence that the USA is a two-party system.

A
  • vote has exceeded 80% of the total votes cast.

- All 435 members of the House of Representatives are Republican or Democrat

30
Q

What are the main reasons for the US having a two-party system?

A
  1. fast-past-the-post electoral system

2. the all-embracing nature of the two parties, which allos little room for third parties

31
Q

Give 3 reasons for increasing partisanship.

A
  1. Increasing racial diversity
  2. Polarising Presidencies
  3. The end of the Cold War consensus on foreign policy.
32
Q

Name the 5 obstacles barring third-party achievement

A
  1. First-past-the-post electoral system
  2. Ballot access rules
  3. Limited funding
  4. Co-optation
  5. Broad ideology base of two main parties
33
Q

Limits on minor parties -

Explain First-past-the-post electoral system

A
  • Winner takes all system means that support must be geographically concentrated to attain any influence.
  • E.g 1992 – Ross Perot won 19% of the vote but no Electoral college votes
  • This means many people view voting for 3rd parties as a wasted vote
  • Significant because used in all elections, federal (presidential), state (congressional) and local
34
Q

Limits on minor parties -

Explain ballot access rules

A
  • The way third-party candidates qualify to get their names on the ballot paper in each state is significantly more difficult than for other parties.
  • States require third party candidates to present a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters in the state.
  • E.g In Montana, the figure is 5% of the electorate.
  • This takes time and money, and reduces resources available for campaigning once in the race.
35
Q

Limits on minor parties -

Explain limited funding

A
  • Risky investment = Third parties are nearly always short of financial resources as their previous track-record of lack of success makes them seem like a risky investment. People are reluctant to give money to parities they think will lose.
  • Campaign finance laws = in order to qualify for ‘matching funds’, third parties need to have won 5% of the popular vote. However, they can’t do this if they haven’t run an election before.
  • E.g Ross Perot could not qualify for matching funds in the 1992 election because he had not run before.
  • This is a crucial detail because in modern electioneering is very large. In order to get the exposure candidates need to gain votes, candidates must be able to fund TV adverts/ state visits e.t.c
36
Q

Limits on minor parties -

Explain Co-optation

A
  • If third parties’ policies show signs of gaining popular support, major party candidates are adept at subsuming them into their own programs.
  • E.g both Bill Clinton and George Bush addressed the federal budget issue after Ross Perot got so much support by talking about it.

A2 Politics (8 decks)

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