Unit 5 Mods 1 & 2 Test

The Framers view of Parties

• James Madison

  • Believed that factions can be dangerous if uncontrolled by government

• George Washington

  • In his Farewell Address, stated that, “characterizing parties by geographical discriminations” may disturb the country, and that “domination of one faction over another… is itself a frightful despotism”

  • These quotes demonstrate how, similarly to Madison, G.W. believes that American politics would be better without factions or parties

Functions of Political Parties

• Party Platforms

  • Gives cues to voters as to the policy stance of the party

• Candidate Recruitment

  • Parties help pick policy makers and support them in elections

• Manage campaigns

• Educating voters

• Summary:

  • The main functions of political parties are recruiting candidates, managing their campaigns, and use the party’s platform to give cues to voters

Main Goal of Political Parties

• Run candidates and win elections

  • This allows the party to exercise power in the policy making process

Reasons for Party Changes

• Why does Realignment occur?

  • Realignment occurs due to shifts in the voting population due to issues changing

• What signals a shift?

  • Critical Elections signal shifts in voting populations (REALIGNMENT…)

• What is Dealignment

  • Simply just the moving away from a party

• What is Candidate-Centered Politics??? Idk AP gov… pls help

  • When people vote for a candidate rather than the party they represent. (Started around 1988)

Third Parties

• Why do third parties form?

  • Third parties form due to members of the voting block moving away from a major party.. they are unhappy with the direction of the party

• How are third parties important? I mean like nobody cares about them…

  • They take CRITICAL votes away from the major parties

  • They can influence major parties into re-evaluating their own policies

• Why can’t they succeed?? Like bro let’s give them a chance

  • Hard for them to get funding/media attention compared to the major parties

  • The winner-take-all system

  • Major parties can enfold policies into their platforms

Interest Groups

• What the hell is even that

  • Boi. An interest group is literally just like an organization who enters the political process to try to achieve their goals.

• What are the types of groups

  • Institutional Groups

    • Intergovernmental groups

      • Rooted in federalism, groups consisting of members of state and federal government who work together as lobbying organizations. get it??

    • Professional Associations

      • Groups that work to enhance a certain profession or field

    • Single Issue Groups

      • Groups that focus on one specific area of concern

    • Ideological Groups

      • Groups that advocate for a specific set of beliefs or ideologies