Political Parties Lecture Notes

A set of 30 flashcards covering key concepts and definitions about political parties, their functions, and structure in American democracy.

A Political Party is defined as an organization that nominates & runs candidates for office under a party label in order to __.

Win governmental offices and enact policies favored by the party.

The two historical goals of political parties are and .

Win governmental offices; enact policies.

Political parties differ from interest groups because parties while interest groups .

nominate & run candidates for office; do not run candidates.

In the U.S., parties take positions on to appeal to voters, while interest groups focus on .

a broad range of issues; a narrow range of issues.

Political parties are considered organizations, while interest groups are organizations.

Quasi-public; private.

Membership in American Political Parties is difficult to identify because there is __.

no formal party membership.

Political parties can be defined by three overlapping elements: Party in the __, Party in __, and Party __.

the electorate; government; organization.

One role of political parties in democracy is to facilitate __ in the democratic process.

participation.

Political parties help to simplify alternatives, resulting in __ viable candidates in a general election.

two major-party.

Party activities help mobilize voters and increase __ in government and public affairs.

interest.

Misinformation refers to __, while disinformation refers to __.

purposely presenting false information; nonsense with no relation to reality.

Voter suppression laws make it __ for certain citizens to vote.

harder.

A two-party system features __ major parties effectively competing for power.

two.

In a one-party system, one dominant party controls all offices and may __ other parties.

prohibit.

The U.S. two-party system has historical roots in the early divisions between and .

Federalists; Anti-Federalists.

The winner-take-all electoral rules contribute to a __ party system.

two.

Political socialization results in about __ percent of Americans identifying as either Democrat or Republican.

90.

Minor parties in the U.S. often act as sources of __ innovation.

policy.

A major party may adopt popular policies from minor parties to __ to voters.

appeal.

Examples of minor parties affecting elections include Theodore Roosevelt’s Party and Ralph Nader’s Party.

Progressive; Green.

The U.S. parties do not fit the Responsible Party Government Model due to their __ diversity.

ideological.

U.S. parties maintain relatively low __ cohesion compared to parties in other democracies.

party.

The U.S. government structure makes it hard for the majority party to pass __.

policies.

Indicators of party strength over time include party __ and vote choice.

identification.

A measure of divided government occurs when one party wins the presidency and another __ in Congress.

party wins a majority.

Most Americans identify as partisans or partisans, with fewer being independents.

strong; weak.

Political machines from the 19th century were led by a party __ who decided nominations.

boss.

Political reforms in the early 1900s weakened party __.

machines.

Modern party organizations still play a central role in __ politics.

electoral.

Political patronage was used to reward supporters with __ and contracts.

government jobs.

The transition to modern party organizations reflects a more __ political environment.

professional.