Be able to describe or define:

1. Political Party (def and how they act as Linkage institutions)

   1. Organization seeking power, goal to get someone elected

   2. They act as linkage institutions by representing the interests and demands of the public in government

2. Rational-choice theory

   1. Individuals act in their own best interest. They weigh the costs and benefits of political actions 

3. Party image

   1. General perception of what a political party stands for: their policies, ideology, and values

4. Party identification (def and why it’s declining)

   1. The political party an individual affiliates themselves with. Technology and media inform voters and allow them to make their own independent decisions

5. Ticket splitting

   1. Voters choose candidates from different parties. Decline in party loyalty

6. Party machine (def. and ex.)

   1. Highly organized political party that rewards members in exchange for votes

   2. Ex. Boss Tweed, Tammany Hall

7. Patronage

   1. Giving jobs or other favors as a reward for party loyalty instead of merit alone

8. Closed primaries

   1. Only registered party members can vote for their party’s candidate

9. Open primaries

   1. Any registered voter regardless of party affiliation can vote in a party’s primary election.

10. Invisible primaries (not on sheet but important)

    1. Period before actual primaries and caucuses. Potential candidates build support, raise money, gain endorsements

11. National convention (purpose, who attends, what it does, influence)

    1. Formally nominate the party’s presidential candidate and establish the party platform (stances)

12. National committee

    1. Manages the party’s operations

13. National chairperson

    1. Leader of the national committee, manages party operations, fundraising, and strategy

14. Coalition

    1. Group of interest groups that come together to support a party or candidate to hopefully get enough votes to win

15. Party eras (when, who, names)

    1. Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans (1790s–1820s)

    2. Jacksonian Democrats vs. Whigs (1828–1850s)

    3. Republicans (1860–1932, dominated by Lincoln and post-Civil War politics)

    4. New Deal Democrats (1932–1968, led by FDR’s coalition)

16. Critical election

    1. New issues emerge and political party power shifts.

17. Party realignment (def and causes)

    1. Displacement of the majority by the minority. Usually caused by critical elections, a major event or issue that divides groups.

18. New Deal coalition (def, groups, 3 parts of the coalition)

    1. Political coalition created by Roosevelt, united diverse groups: Urban workers, labor unions, catholics, jews, the poor, southerners, and african americans

    2. Relief Recovery Reform

19. Party dealignment

    1. Disengagement of voters from political parties. Leads to weaker party loyalty, more independent voters

20. Third parties (effect on presidential elections)

    1. Can draw away votes from major parties

21. Winner takes all system

    1. Majoritarian?

    2. Candidate with the most votes wins all the electoral votes

    3. Candidate with the most electoral votes wins the presidency (winner takes all)

22. Proportional representation (def and where used)

    1. Parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes they received. Commonly used in Europe

23. Coalition government

    1. Multiple political parties cooperate to form a majority in a legislative body

24. Responsible party model

    1. Parties must present clear plans for governing, committed and disciplined enough to carry out the program, the majority party must implement its programs, the minority party must state what it would do if it were in power, the majority must accept responsibility for the performance of the government

    2. TLDR: Clear plans, implement the plans, claim responsibility for performance

25. Nomination

    1. Endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party

26. Campaign strategy

    1. Strategy to manipulate money, media, attention, and momentum to achieve the nomination 

27. 3 things campaigns must do

    1. Reinforce

    2. Activate

    3. Convert

28. Caucus (def, earliest one, who it favors in choosing)

    1. Meeting where party members discuss and vote for their preferred candidate

    2. First is Iowa

29. Presidential primaries (def, earliest one, who it favors in choosing)

    1. Election where voters cast ballots to select a party’s nominee

    2. Earliest is New Hampshire

30. McGovern-Fraser Commission (why, what it did)

    1. Chaotic 1968 DNC, protests

    2. Reformed National Conventions to make them more democratic

    3. Increasing influence of primaries, lessening political elite influence in party nomination

31. Superdelegates (def and who they are)

    1. Party leaders and elected officials who automatically get a vote at the national convention. Can support any candidate

32. Frontloading (def, what is it trying to accomplish)

    1. States scheduling their primaries or caucuses earlier in the election cycle to gain more influence. Goal is to attract candidates and media attention to the state

33. Proposals to change campaign system (problems, alternatives — specific)

    1. Dictated too much by money and time

    2. Disadvantages current officeholders from official duties

    3. Disproportionate attention goes to early caucuses and primaries

    4. Political participation in primaries and caucuses is low, unrepresentative

    5. Alternatives: national presidential or a series of regional primaries

34. Primaries

    1. Voters select a party’s candidate for the general election. Open or closed

35. Party Platform (def and what it does)

    1. A party’s stance on policies, principles, and goals. Guides the party’s stance on major issues.

36. Direct mail (def + modern example)

    1. Mail spent to specific voter groups to raise funds or promote candidates

    2. Modern example: personalized emails asking for your vote or your money

37. Doctrine of sufficiency

    1. Candidates don’t need to outspend their opponents, but raise enough money to be competitive and effective

38. Federal Election Campaign Act (def, what it did)

    1. Regulated campaign finances. Limits on individual contributions, public funding for presidential campaigns, mandated disclosure of campaign finances

39. Federal Election Commission (FEC)

    1. Regulatory group to enforce campaign finance laws. Monitor contributions and spending in federal elections

40. Soft money (what it did, legal or not)

    1. Unregulated contributions to a political party for generic advertising

41. 501c (def, what they can and can’t do)

    1. Nonprofit, regulated by the IRS, does not have to disclose donors, can only use up to half of funding for political expenses.

42. 527 groups (def, what they can and can’t do)

    1. Unlimited donations, can’t coordinate with candidates, must disclose donors

43. Political Action Committees (PACs) (def, who makes them up, goals, who they fund)

    1. Formed to raise and spend money to elect or defeat candidates. Made up of corporations, unions, or interest groups. Focus on supporting candidates who align with their policy goals

44. Selective perception

    1. Individuals perceive and interpret political information through a biased lens.

45.  Citizens United

    1. Supreme Court Decision - corporations and unions can spend unlimited money on independent political advertisements (free speech). Modern campaign finance

46. Super PACs

    1. Independent PACs that can raise and spend unlimited money but can’t donate directly to campaigns or coordinate with them

47. Electoral college (def, how determined, instances where it didn’t work)

    1. Electors chosen by each state. Formally elects the president. Votes based on number of representatives in congress.

    2. 2000, Bush vs Gore. Candidate who won popular vote didn’t win the presidency due to electoral college winner takes all (for each state)

48. Battleground states

    1. States where the outcome is uncertain. Both candidates have strong chances of winning. These states receive a strong amount of attention during campaigns as they can determine elections.

49. Scope of government

    1. To get elected, candidates promise that they’ll do something that benefits them. Increasing the scope of the government and what it does

50. McCain Feingold

    1. Campaign reform act. Banned soft money, limited forms of advertising close to elections