Study Guide- Chapter 8
Political parties are said to be “3-headed giants.” What are the 3 heads ?
party in govt (govt officials)
party as an organization (those who work for/run the party)
party in electorate (voters who identify w/ the party)
Which of these is the largest ? electorate
When did parties begin using primary elections ? How did nominations work before this ?
early 20th century -- prior to that, nominations were made by a select group of party leaders w/o public input
What are the biggest advantages of running for office as part of a particular party ?
large support from the party machine/organization (including various state party groups) -- access to large amounts of $$
According to Anthony Downs, how does the rational-choice theory work ?
since voters like specific policies:
1. voters want to maximize the chances their policy preferences will be enacted
2. parties want to gain office
thus-
3. the party selects policies that are widely accepted
Why do parties by necessity have to lean toward the center of the political spectrum and avoid the edges ?
because that's where the majority of American voters are
How does this necessity leave the parties open to criticism ?
they sometimes don't offer viable differences / two sides of the same coin / no real choice
How does party identification in America differ from Europe ?
in Europe you must formally join (register & pay dues) and you then have a chance to vote for party leadership (not an option in the US)
Since the 1950s, what has been the trend in the US regarding party affiliation ?
party affiliation has declined-- number of people calling themselves independents had risen --in 1952 -21%
by 2010 - 42%
What is the difference between voting a straight ticket & ticket-splitting ? Which is more common today ?
staright- voting for every candidate for one party by checking a box on the ballot
split - choosing individually among different races SPLIT
With what party do the majority of African-Americans align themselves ?
Why is this somewhat ironic ? (may be easier after the party era questions)
Democratic -- because the Republicans were the party that ended slavery (Lincoln)
How did the patronage system work under the old party machines ?
the machine used rewards (govt positions) to gain loyalty & power-- jobs were given out based on support, not on competence/qualification
Who was the best known ‘boss’ of a machine ?
William "Boss" Tweed in NY City
What was the last party machine to collapse ? (led by ?)
the one led by Mayor Richard J. Daley-- Mayor of Chicago for 21 years -- 1955-until his death in 1976 - was Chicago's longest serving mayor
Can you find out what remnant of this particular political machine is still around ? son Richard M. Daley-- Mayor of Chicago from 1989May 2011 (22 years-- surpassed Dad)-- was succeeded by Rahm Emanuel - Pres. Obama's former Chief of Staff
When Rahm Emanuel left the WH to run for Mayor, his replacement as Chief of Staff was William Daley (Richard M's youngest brother)
How many states currently offer voters a straight ticket option ?
16 states -- yes
Is Texas one of them ?
AL, IN, IA, KY, MI, NH, NM, NC, OK, PA, RI, SC, TX, UT, WV, WI
What generally happens at each party’s national convention ? How often are they held ?
officially nominate a candidate for president and adopt party platform (list of policy beliefs, each is called a "plank")
Does the president normally serve as his party’s convention chairperson ? Explain.
no, but he usually selects the chairperson (often the chairperson can later become a presidential candidate)
List some historical instances in which presidents have directly broken campaign promises:
LBJ - "I will not send American boys to do an Asian job."
George H.W. Bush- "Read my lips; no new taxes."
List some who have directly kept them:
Reagan- promised to increase defense spending and cut social service expenses
Clinton- family leave, stronger gun control
GW Bush- tax cuts
If the US has so many political parties (a few dozen at last count), why do we say we have a two-party system ?
because in almost every election, only Republicans or Democrats have a real chance of winning
What was America’s first political party ? Who was its “founder” ?
the Federalists -- Alexander Hamilton
Who ushered in the modern political party in the US ? What was it called ? What did it become ?
Andrew Jackson -- the Democratic Republicans -- later became the Democratic Party
How/why/when did the Republican party form ?
formed in the 1850s as the anti-slavery party
What is a party era ?
a period of time during which there is one party that dominates by winning most elections
What election & issue began the second Republican era ? What ended it ?
the 1896 election was decided over the issue of free silver (William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan)
it was ended by the Great Depression (esp. Hoover's mishandling of it)
What groups joined to form the New Deal Coalition ?
many generally opposing groups joined to support FDR & the Dem.s --poor urban workers & farmers, southern whites & African-Americans,
Protestants & Catholics/Jews, labor unions & some corporate management
Who was the one exception to the Democratic dominance of the New Deal era ?
Eisenhower's (R) two terms - 1952-1960 -- *** he was very centrist -- was asked by the Democrats to run as their candidate in 1948
What ended the New Deal era ?
US involvement in Vietnam & Richard Nixon's election in 1968
What characterizes the current party era ?
since '68 -- divided govt -- president from one party with a Congressional majority from the other
'68-'92 - mostly Rep presidents with w/ Dem majority, '92-2000 - Dem pres w/ mostly Rep majority, 2000-06 Rep pres & Rep majority
What has characterized the recent party dealignment (how do most Americans now say the cast their vote) ?
many people are leaving their affiliation with a specific party -- today, most say they look for the person they think is best, regardless of party
According to the text, how does Texas fall into the dealignment concept ?
Texas was traditionally a Dem stronghold for most of the 20th century
-- since mid-70s/early-80s there has been a shift to the right - toward the Rep party, esp. since 2000
What are the 3 types of third parties ?
cause -- based on an idea-- like Ralph Nader & the Green Party
splinter -- from an existing party -- '12- Teddy Roosevelt & Bull Moose (Rep) '48 - Strom Thurmond & Dixiecrats -anti-civil rts (Dem.)
individual -- based on an individual's appeal -- '92 & '96- Ross Perot
What have been some contributions of third parties ?
they are another avenue for participation; they bring issues to national attention-- if they catch on, they can be picked up by the major parties
Generally, based on ideology, which of the two modern parties are most (negatively) affected by third parties ?
most often, modern (last 50 yrs) third parties originate on the left side of the spectrum-- split votes for Dems *not Perot (90s) -- he was on right
(current Tea Party is on the right-- not a separate party, though)
What could be some disadvantages of the multi-party system used in many European nations ?
frequent turnover of control, minority govt is common, sometimes instability (or, at least, the perception of)
Why does our two-party system discourage strong stands on issues ?
positions that are too extreme can alienate many voters **(extreme positions= outer edge of spectrum -- most voters near middle)
also, in the US we operate on a winner-take-all system
Various ways to decide elections:
winner-take-all -- only first place takes office (US = two-party system) need a majority or near-majority
proportional representation -- offices awarded on a percentage basis by party (usually in multi-party systems)
coalition government -- multiple (minority) parties join together to form a "majority"
What are two factors that have contributed to the decline of party influence in American politics ?
mass media (cable news & internet) and interest groups