Chapter 6

Political Science 1100 with Dyer at University of Missouri- Columbia

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By: NIck Morehead
Textbook:

American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy and Citizenship, Election Update

American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy and Citizenship, No Separate Policy Chapters, Election Update
Created: 2011-02-21
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Political Party

a group of like minded people who organize in an attempt to win elections, take control of govt and make public policy

Modern mass party

an emergence in which politicians worked to create party loyalty among the citizens in elections

loyal opposition

a legitimate opposition in govt, many countries dont allow it

progressives

Government reformers at the turn of the twentieth century who wanted to eliminate corruption from govt. They viewed political parties as one of the main sources of political corruption

direct primary electorate

parties used to pick their nominees at the conventions run by party members.

realighnment

The transition from one stable party system to another, as occurred when the new deal coalition was formed

party identification

a psychological link between individuals and political party that leads those persons to regard themselves as members of that party.

retrospective voting

Looking back at how things had gone

civil service

Govt jobs used to be handed out as political rewards to supporters of the party that won power.

official ballot

ballots now printed by the govt and they include all the canidates running for office.

SMSP

Single member, simple plurality, because of this there is no incentive for parties to form that will represent only 5-10 percent of the electorate.

Proportional representation is the system that most democratic countries have. Countries that hold national elections but not separate local elections as we have in the united states.

party in govt

Those who are appointed or elected to office as members of a political party

dealignment

Term used to refer to the diminished relevance of political parties.

responsible party govt

A governing system in which political parties have real issue differences, voters align accourding to those issue differences, and elected officials are expected to vote with their party leadership or lose there chance to run for office.

ideological parties

These parties exist to promote an ideology. examples are the green party, the libertarian party, and a variety of socialist parties that have come and gone throughout our history

splinter parties, and examples

These are parties formed by a dissatisfied faction of a major party. usually form around a popular person. examples include bull moose progressive party, formed by teddy roosevelt in 1912, bec he opposed the republican pres.

protest parties, and examples

These parties arise in response to an issue or set of issues that are not being addressed by the major parties

party organization

The "professionals" who run a political party at the national, state and local levels

new deal coalition

The broadly based coalition of southern conservatives, northern liberals, and ethnic and religious minorities that sustained the democratic party for some 40 years

Characteristics of American Parties

1 the citizens who consider themselves members of the party, 2 the officeholders who are elected or appointed in the name of the party, and 3 the activists who run the party organization at the national, state and local levels

What functions do political parties serve in our democracy?

protect democracy, organizing the govt, and simplifying the process of voting.

What were the Progressive reforms?

a series of changes that weakened political parties. These included the following:

Direct Primary elections, civil service system, official ballot and voter registration

What are the reasons there are only two mafor political parties in america?

because of political ideology, political history, single member, simple plurality elections, and the rules of the game

What is the difference between SMSP and PR and why does it impact how many parties we have?

In countries with PR, people vote in national elections for parties, not for individual candidates. In our system of SMSP, we vote for individuals, in separate, local districts. In PR systems, virtually every party gets to participate in government, so there is an incentive for multiple parties. In SMSP, each election is winner-takes-all, so there is an incentive to maximize votes, and smaller parties end up banding together until we are left with two big parties.

Pluralism

The theory that american govt is responsive to groups of citizens working together to promote there common interests and that enough people belong to interest groups to ensure that govt ultimately hears everyone, even tho most ppl do not participate actively in politics

What role have third parties played in our history?

Third parties have helped popularize ideas the main parties ignore, provide a peaceful means of dissent, and act as a check on the main parties.