Unit 4 & 5- Chapter 8

Party Polarization

Growing gap between party stands on policy issues, making compromise difficult but politics easier to understand for voters.

Political Party

Team seeking to control the governing apparatus through elections.

Three-headed political giants

The three heads are (1) the party in the electorate, (2) the party as an organization, and (3) the party in government.

The party in the electorate

By far the largest component of an American political party.

• To be a member of a party, you need only claim to be a member

The party as an organization

Has a national office, a full-time staff, rules and bylaws, and budgets. In addition to its national office, each party maintains state and local headquarters.

• Its members keep the party running between elections and make its rules.

The party in government

Consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party.

• These leaders are the main spokespersons for the party.

Linkage Institutions

Channels through which people's concerns become political issues, including parties, elections, interest groups, and media.

Picking Candidates

Party's official endorsement of a nominee for a specific office.

Running Campaigns

Coordination of political campaigns by parties, although candidates can now reach voters directly through media.

Articulating Policies

Advocating specific policy alternatives by each political party.

Coordinating Policymaking

Essential role of parties in coordinating policymaking between the executive and legislative branches.

Rational choice theory

A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.

• Downs argues that (1) voters want to maximize the chance that policies they favor will be adopted by government and (2) parties want to win offices.

Key-swing voters

Those who identify themselves as being independent of party affiliation.

• Independents are very much concentrated near the middle of the liberal–conservative

Ticket splitting

Voting with one party for one office and the other party for another office.

Party image

The voters’ perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism.

• Helps shape people’s party identification.

Party Identification

Citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one political party.

Party machines

A type of political party organization that relied heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern.

Patronage

One of the key inducements used by party machines.

Closed primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

Open primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.

National Convention

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.

• Keeping the party operating between conventions is the job of the national committee.

National Committee

One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The national committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories.

National Chairperson

Hires the staff, raises the money, pays the bills, and attends to the daily duties of the party.

Coalition

A group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends.

Party Platforms

Blueprints for action, representing party beliefs and policy positions.

Party Eras

Periods of history dominated by one political party due to majority voter identification.

Critical election

An electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party.

Party realignment

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

New Deal coalition

A coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.

• Made the Democratic Party the clear majority party for decades.

Party dealignment

Many people are gradually moving away from both parties.

Third parties

Electoral contenders other than the two major parties. They are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.

• They have brought new groups into the electorate and have served as “safety valves” for popular discontent.

Winner-take-all system

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies.

• In this way, the American system discourages small parties. Unless a party wins, there is no reward for the votes it gets. Thus, it makes more sense for a small party to merge with one of the major parties than to struggle on its own with little hope.

Responsible Party Model

View that parties should offer clear choices, carry out campaign promises, and accept responsibility for government performance.

Proportional reprsentation

An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

• Merging would not be necessary, as even a small party can use its voice in Parliament to be a thorn in the side of the government, standing up strongly for its principles.

Coalition government

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.