pols study guide pol groups

Political parties

group of people who want to win control of the government.

Function of political parties

recruit candidates, candidates campaign publicly for office, educate people about issues, form a government (party that wins)

Decentralized political party

must get involved in the local level to get started in politics

Organization of political parties

The party organization is the formal structure of the political party, and its active members are responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates.

Gerrymandering

the manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate

Majority party

the legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and thus significant power to control the agenda currently republicans.

Minority party

the legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body currently the democrats

Party identifiers

individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a party

Party Platform

the collection of a party's positions on issues it considers politically important.

Plurality voting

the election rule by which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of vote share

Precinct

the lowest level of party organization, usually organized around neighborhoods

Reapportionment

the reallocation of House seats between the states to account for population changes

Safe seat

a district drawn so members of a party can be assured of winning by a comfortable margin

Third parties

political parties formed as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, also known as minor parties

Winner take all

all electoral votes for a state are given to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state

Interest groups

An organized group of people who wish to influence public policy, there are thousands of interest groups.

Contract lobbyist

a lobbyist who works for a contract lobbying firm that represents clients before government

Free rider problem

sometimes people do not want to join interest groups if they can receive the benefits for free.

Grassroots movement

a political movement that often begins from the bottom up, inspired by average citizens concerned about a given issue

In house lobbyist

an employee or executive within an organization who works as a lobbyist on behalf of the organization

Lobbying

an organization of individuals who attempts to influence legislation and the administrative decisions of the government.

Iron triangle

this is a 3 way relationship between lobbyists, members of congress and the executive between agencies.

Public interest groups

an interest group that seeks a public good, which is something that accrues to all

Private interest groups

Private interests often lobby the government for particularized benefits, which are narrowly distributed. These benefits usually accrue to wealthier members of society.

Religious interest groups

American Israel public affairs committee, Christian coalition of America, Peace action groups.

Tactics of political action

Mass marching, Mass demonstrations, Use of the media/includes social media, Sit ins, Non violence civil disobedience (Dr Martin Luther King Jr.), Grass roots lobbying (AARP), Litigation (NAACP).

Political action committees

PAC - a committee set up by and representing a corporation labor union or a special interest groups, Super pac - a political organization that gives unlimited contributions by individuals or organizations to be spent on campaigns.

Hard money

Personal contributions up to 5000.00 to presidential campaigns.

Soft money

Collected by political action committees and given to desired political party of state.

Activities of lobbyists

Meet privately with public officials, testify before rule making agencies, assist legislators or bureaucracies in drafting legislation, invite legislators to special occasions, provide political information to party legislators, suggest nominations for federal appointments, provide campaign assistance - financial resources.

Third/minor parties

Green Party, socialist party, libertarians party, tax payers party.

Federalist Party

Founded in 1789.

Democratic-Republicans

Founded in 1803.

Democrats

Founded in 1835.

Whigs

Founded in 1850.

Republicans

Founded in 1858.

James Madison

Warned about the dangers of political parties.

Iron triangle

A symbiotic relationship between congressional committees, agencies, and interest groups.

Difference between PAC and Super PAC

Super PAC can be one individual that donates millions to a candidate, usually Republicans.

Political parties

Responsible for recruiting, promoting, and electing candidates to political offices.

Nominating conventions

Prominently used to nominate president and vice president.

Party organization

Best described as decentralized.

Party platform

List of policy positions a party endorses and elect officials seek to act.

Today's Democratic Party

Initially called Democratic-Republicans.

Symbol of the Democratic Party

Donkey.

Symbol of the Republican Party

Elephant.

AFL-CIO labor group

Pressures government to protect workers from wages and overtime.

Grass root lobbying

Involves mobilizing the general public to contact legislators.

National party convention

Meets every 4 years.

Local party organizations

Entry for those wanting to have a career in politics.

Changes in lobbyist environment last 40 years:

all the above

List of policies a party endorses and seeks to act

party platform

Which of the following is not third party challenger:

republicans 

What party ran anti slavery

republicans