Unit 2: Political Parties and Interest Groups

Question 1

What is party polarization?

Answer 1

There is a growing gap between the parties’ positions on policy issues. Polarization makes compromise more difficult, whereas clear differences between the parties make politics easier for voters to understand.

Question 2

What is a political party?

Answer 2

In the words of economist Anthony Downs, a “team of [people] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.”

Question 3

What are linkage institutions?

Answer 3

The channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Question 4

What is the rational-choice theory?

Answer 4

It is a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.

Question 5

What is party image?

Answer 5

It is the voters’ perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism. This helps shape people’s party identification.

Question 6

What is party identification?

Answer 6

It is a citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other.

Question 7

What is ticket splitting?

Answer 7

It is voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices.

Question 8

What are party machines?

Answer 8

They are a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements. such as patronage, to win votes and to govern.

Question 9

What is patronage?

Answer 9

It is one of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.

Question 10

What are closed primaries?

Answer 10

They are elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

Question 11

What are open primaries?

Answer 11

They are elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.

Question 12

What is a national convention?

Answer 12

It is the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.

Question 13

What is a national committee?

Answer 13

It is one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The national committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories.

Question 14

What is a national chairperson?

Answer 14

It is a person responsible for running the ongoing activities of the national party organization.

Question 15

What is a coalition?

Answer 15

It is a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political depends.

Question 16

What are party eras?

Answer 16

They are historical periods in which most voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win most elections.

Question 17

What is a critical election?

Answer 17

It is an electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the minority party often displaces the majority party.

Question 18

What is party realignment?

Answer 18

It is the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

Question 19

What is the New Deal coalition?

Answer 19

It is the coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners African Americans, and intellectuals.

Question 20

What is party dealignment?

Answer 20

It is the gradual disengagement of people from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.

Question 21

What are third parties?

Answer 21

They are electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections,

Question 22

What are the two major third parties?

Answer 22

• Libertarian Party
• Green Party

Question 23

What is a winner-take-all system?

Answer 23

It is an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. The United States has this system, which discourages small third parties since there is no reward if you don’t win.

Question 24

What is proportional representation?

Answer 24

It is an electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

Question 25

What is a coalition government?

Answer 25

It is when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.

Question 26

responsible party model

Answer 26

It is a view about how parties should work, held by some political scientists. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters and once in office, should carry out their campaign promises.

Question 27

interest group

Answer 27

It is an organization of people with a shared policy foal, or goals, who enter the policy process at one or more points, in one or more policy arenas, to try to achieve their goals.

Question 28

pluralism

Answer 28

It is a theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually dominating. Pluralists tend to believe that the public interest generally prevails.

Question 29

elitism

Answer 29

It is a theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.

Question 30

hyperpluralism

Answer 30

A theory of American democracy contending that interest groups are so strong that the government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened.

Question 31

iron triangles

Answer 31

Also known as sub-governments, iron triangles consist of interest groups, government agencies, and congressional committees or subcommittees with a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship; they dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

Question 32

potential group

Answer 32

It is all the people who might interest group members because they share some common interests.

Question 33

actual group

Answer 33

It is the people in the potential group who actually join.

Question 34

collective good

Answer 34

It is something of value that cannot be withheld from anyone.

Question 35

free-rider problem

Answer 35

It is a fact that some or many potential group members will not join because they can benefit from the group’s activities without joining the interest group.

Question 36

selective benefits

Answer 36

They are goods that a group can restrict to those who actually join.

Question 37

single-issue groups

Answer 37

They are groups that have a narrow interest in which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance.

Question 38

lobbying

Answer 38

It is the process by which an individual or group communicates with policymakers in an attempt to influence policy decisions.

Question 39

electioneering

Answer 39

It is the direct group involvement in the electoral process; for example, helping to fund campaigns, getting members to work for candidates, and forming political action committees (PACs).

Question 40

political action committees (PACs)

Answer 40

They are groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. PACs must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it. Individual contributions to a PAC are limited to $5,000 per year, and a PAC may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election.

Question 41

litigating

Answer 41

An interest group can go to court in hopes of getting specific rulings if they fail to achieve its legislative objectives in Congress.

Question 42

going public

Answer 42

Going public is done to develop an image and gain supporters and donations, often through social media.

Question 43

union shop

Answer 43

It is a provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring that all employees of a unionized business join the union within a short period of being hired and remain members as a condition of employment.

Question 44

right-to-work laws

Answer 44

They are state laws that forbid the creation of union shops. These laws were specifically authorized by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.

Question 45

public interest lobbies

Answer 45

They are organizations that seek a collective good, which benefits the society as a whole.

Question 46

What are the four basic strategies used by interest groups?

Answer 46

• Lobbying
• Electioneering
• Litigation
• Going Public

Question 47

amicus curiae briefs

Answer 47

“friend of the court” briefs;
written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of the case

Question 48

class action lawsuits

Answer 48

enables a group of people in a similar situation to combine their common grievances into a single suit

Question 49

What are the four types of interest groups?

Answer 49

• Economic (Labor and Business) Interests
• Environmental Interests
• Equality Interests
• Consumer and Other Public Interest Lobbies

Question 50

How does individualism increase the socpe of the government?

Answer 50

Individualism that is expressed through interest group politics fight to sustain government programs that are important to them