chapter 8 for reading questions

8/8/2019 Chapter 8 for Reading Questions

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oliticalolitical

PartiesParties


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artyarty

CompetitionCompetitionBattle between

Republicans &Democrats


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PartyParty

Political Party:

oA team of men [and women] seeking tocontrol the governing apparatus by gaining

office in a duly constituted election Parties can be thought of as a three headed

political giant

o Party in the electorate (largest component)

o Party as an organization (nationalconvention, national committee, stateorganizations, & local organizations

o Party in government


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From the Grass Roots toFrom the Grass Roots to

WashingtonWashington

The National Party Organizations

oNational Convention: the meeting of party

delegates every four years to choose apresidential ticket and the partysplatform

oNational Committee: one of theinstitutions that keeps the party operatingbetween conventions

oNational Chairperson: responsible for day-to-day activities of the party


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PartyParty Tasks of the Parties

o Linkage Institution: the channels through which

peoples concerns become political issues on thegovernments policy agenda (media, political

parties, interest groups, & elections)

1. Parties Pick Candidates

2. Parties Run Campaigns3. Parties Give Cues to Voters

4. Parties Articulate Policies

5. Parties Coordinate Policymaking

Nomination: a partys

endorsement


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PartyParty Parties, Voters, and Policy:

oRational-choice theoryAssumes that individuals actin their own best interest,

weighing the costs andbenefits of possiblealternatives


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When askedTmostWhen askedTmost

replyreplyRepublicans Democrats

Favor lower taxes Favor less domestic

spending

Favor moregovernment programs

to help the middle class

and less-advantagedAmericans


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PartyParty


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he arty in thehe arty in the

ElectorateElectorate Party imageoA voters perception of what

Republicans or Democrats stand for

Party identification

oA citizens self-proclaimed preference

for one party or the othero Republican, Democrat, or Independent

(young people are the most likely tocall themselves independents)


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The Party in theThe Party in the

ElectorateElectorate Ticket-splitting (leads to divided

government)oVoting with one party for one office andwith another party for other offices

o Independents are most likely to split

tickets.oNo state or race is completely safe due

to split tickets.


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ElectorateElectorate


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From the Grass Roots toFrom the Grass Roots to

WashingtonWashington These are the people that work for the party. Local Parties

o Party Machines: a type of political partyorganization that relies heavily on materialinducements to win votes and to govern(popular late 19th century through theNew Deal of the 1930s)

o Patronage: a job, promotion or contractgiven for political reasons rather thanmerit; used by party machines


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The Party Organizations: FromThe Party Organizations: From

the Grass Roots to Washingtonthe Grass Roots to Washington The 50 State Party Systems

oClosed primaries: Only people who have

registered with the party can vote for thatpartys candidates.

oOpen primaries: Voters decide onElection Day whether they want to vote inthe Democrat or Republican primary.

o lanket primaries: Voters are presentedwith a list of candidates from all parties.


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Government: PromisesGovernment: Promises

and Policyand Policy Coalition: a group of

individuals with a commoninterest upon which everypolitical party depends

Parties and politiciansgenerally act on theircampaign promises.


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Most are kept, but aMost are kept, but a

few become Brokenfew become BrokenPromisesPromises LBJNot to involve the United States in the Vietnam

War (but he did)

ReaganPromised to balance the budget (Nope,

didnt happen)

BushRead my lips (but he did)

ClintonPromised a tax cut for the middle class(Nope, didnt happen)


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The Party in Government:The Party in Government:

Promises and PolicyPromises and Policy


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arty ras inarty ras in

American HistoryAmerican History Party Eras

o Historical periods in which a majority of votes

cling to the party in power Critical Election

o An electoral earthquake where new issues andnew coalitions emerge

Party Realignmento The displacement of the majority party by the

minority party, usually during a critical election


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AmericanAmericanHistoryHistory

1796-1824: The First Party System

oMadison warned of factionsoFederalists: first political party

1828-1856: Jackson and the

Democrats Versus the WhigsoModern party founded by Jackson

oWhigs formed mainly to opposeJacksonian Democrats


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Party Eras inParty Eras in

American HistoryAmerican History

1860-1928: The Two Republican Eras

o Republicans rose as the antislavery party

o 1896 election centered on industrialization

1932-1964: The New Deal Coalitiono New Deal coalition: forged by the Democrats;

consisted of urban working class, ethnic groups,Catholics, Jews, the poor, Southerners


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Party Eras in AmericanParty Eras in American

HistoryHistory


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HistoryHistory

1968-2008: The Era of Divided PartyGovernment

oDivided government: one party controls

Congress and the other controls WhiteHouse

oDivided government due in party to:

Party dealignment: disengagement of

people from parties as evidenced byshrinking party identification

Party neutrality: people are indifferenttowards the two parties


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Party Eras in AmericanParty Eras in AmericanHistoryHistory


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arty ras in mericanarty ras in mericanHistoryHistory


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Impact on AmericanImpact on AmericanPoliticsPolitics

Third parties: electoral contenders otherthan the two party parties; rarely winelections

Third parties are important.

o Are safety valves for popular discontent

o Bring new groups and ideas into politics

Two-party systemo Discourages extreme views

o Contributes to political ambiguity


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Impact on AmericanImpact on American

PoliticsPoliticsoWinner-take-all system: the

system in which the winner ofthe popular vote in a statereceives all the electoral

votes of that states


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