Week 7 - Political Parties and Leadership

Question 1

What are the two main national parties?

Answer 1

The Democratic Party (1820s) and the Republican Party (1850s).

Question 2

What are the smaller national parties in the United States?

Answer 2

Libertarian Party

• 4 state legislators
• No/ low taxation
• Drug legalisation
• Anti - militarism

Green Party

• 1 state legislator
• Environmentalist
• Pacifist

Constitution Party

• handful of city councillors
• Nationalist
• Pro - life
• Pro - guns

Question 3

Where does the argument of 102 main parties come from?

Answer 3

This is due to the idea that one states Democrat will be massively different to another states democrat and this can encourage split ticket voting, which is voting for different parties at different levels.

Question 4

How can parties help form Identities?

Answer 4

They can help form racial, religious or ethnic identities i.e. Democrats will be more commonly associated as the ‘party of race’ due to their policies

They can also help form ‘Historical Identity’ i.e the ‘Party of Lincoln’ and the ‘The Party of the Civil Rights Struggle’. Furthermore, the Republican was the freedom party which released slaves from the ownership and in situations as such, people may feel like they owe something to the party for what it had done for them previously

Question 5

How are parties a source of resources?

Answer 5

Parties can be referred to as political machines and this is when a politician uses their power to give jobs, contracts, and other government support to loyal supporters.

• It is coercive and is seen as a choice prescribed by bosses i.e. they want party workers who are working for a job as they are seen as going to be continually loyal to the party past the election
• It gives people a stake and an involvement in politics as well as giving them a job

Question 6

What is asymmetric polarisation?

Answer 6

This is the idea that Republicans have become increasingly polarised whilst the Democrats have remained relatively the same. This enhances the idea that Republicans are more ideologically motivated whilst the Democrats are motivated by interest groups

Question 7

How has polarisation changed from 1994 vs 2017?

Answer 7

There has been a polarisation of attitudes in the mass electorate where the distribution of underlying beliefs has moved more to polar ends.

Question 8

How does elite polarisation result in clearer party cues?

Answer 8

Because party elites are becoming more extreme in their views, party cues are becoming clearer; especially because they vote in a more ideologically consistent way and therefore liberals know to vote Democratic and conservatives know to vote Republican

Question 9

What is Party Conversion?

Answer 9

This is where voters change their party; based on the idea that partisan attachment is unstable because voters weigh up the party programmes and vote accordingly

Question 10

What levels do political parties exist at?

Answer 10

Country, State and National

Question 11

In what ways do States have a major influence on the voting system?

Answer 11

They can set the locations for polling stations, draw boundaries of districts and design the ballots

Question 12

Why are turnouts in Presidential elections so low?

Answer 12

Part of this can be due to administrative contributors i.e. in some states, a gun license can be used to vote but a student card cannot; furthermore, they can create difficulty in voting and disincentives’ people to vote

Question 13

Why is race one of the most important social identities in voting?

Answer 13

Race and parties are becoming more aligned and this is because parties are becoming increasingly consistent with their views and policies i.e. fewer white Americans are voting for Democrats and more non - white Americans are voting for Democrats.

Question 14

Why are party activists useful in interpreting politics?

Answer 14

Party activists are those that are likely to volunteer and get involved in politics and therefore they are useful in interpreting politics because they are likely to push back against leaders’ messages if they don’t agree

Question 15

Why should parties not only be focused on those in official power?

Answer 15

Because a party is classified as anyone working together to coordinate and achieve the parties goals, whether they hold formal office or not. This means that technically, political parties in the US are not hierarchically structured institutions

Question 16

Outline a Caucus

Answer 16

Only members registered with the political party can participate.

Voting is conducted at local party meetings and is done by raising hands of breaking up into groups. States that use this system are: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa

Question 17

Outline a Primary

Answer 17

Primaries depend upon the state - some states allow only registered party members to vote; some allow party registrations on the same day; and some are completely open to all residents of the State.

They are conducted to discover the most appropriate candidate for Presidency and an election is held through a secret ballot

Question 18

How do a unification of party leaders influence activists?

Answer 18

In the cases where party leaders are unified, most activists follow along; and this coordination helps to unit the more mainstream elements of the activist base around a single candidate, instead of fragmenting

Question 19

How has political change in the past 40 years influenced the relationship between parties?

Answer 19

40 years ago, parties were ideologically heterogeneous - ideological positioning was not a reliable marker of the parties. But the parties have become gradually more aligned with their ideological values

Question 20

What happens when elites pull apart ideologically?

Answer 20

Voters will be better able to discern where the narratives stand in relation to one another i.e. the mass public will update its beliefs, but only in the face of clear, sustained elite shifts in positions.

Question 21

What is ideological or party sorting?

Answer 21

Ideological sorting: viewpoint has not changed, but they have changed how they vote. Voters haven’t become anymore extreme, its just that everyone on one side now votes in one way and everyone on the other voters a different way

Question 22

How do distinct party cues generate high levels of mass sorting?

Answer 22

It gives people a clear choice and distinction between policy. Therefore it is a strategic move to make it easier for voters to decide who to vote for as there is no overlap between the policies

Question 23

In what circumstances would less mass sorting occur?

Answer 23

I) Where there is an ambiguity of elite cues i.e. if an ordinary Democrat looks to party elites for a position on trade, do they look to the free trade wing or the protectionist wing? When parties are divided internally, there will not be much mass sorting

II) Salience of an issue - some issues simply not discussed as much by parties, resultantly, voters have fewer opportunities to follow elite cues

III) Valence - parties will frame issues using valence arguments such as ‘real security’ and ‘effective health care’. These vague terms imply little policy content which means that American’s are hard - pressured to understand how to connect partisanship and issue problems

Question 24

Describe the relationship between party and ideology?

Answer 24

The relationship between party and ideology is largely shaped by the individual’s political environment when they ‘come of age’ political; after this point, it is argued that their attitudes and partisanship crystallise enough to resist environmental factors like polarisation

Question 25

Describe the religious shift in the Republican Party

Answer 25

The past few decades have seen a fundamental shift in the religious composition of the Republican Party, with evangelical Protestants replacing mainline protestants - during this time it has pulled to the right on abortion