Political Parties
Define political party
A political party is an organization of people who work together to acquire and exercise political power. Ex: Democrat or Republican Party
Define interest groups
A group of individuals with a common political objective who are trying to influence the government.
Intermediaries linking people to the government
What is a caucus?
Local gathering of party members to chose convention delegates.
What is public opinion?
Collective preferences on matters related to politics and government.
Define partisanship
Loyalty to a party.
What is a divided government?
One party controls the executive branch while another party controls one or both chambers of the legislative branch.
What is lobbying and what are some issues with it?
Lobbying - the act of attempting to influence government decision making, such as legislation, usually on behalf of an interest group.
Controversy: Can be linked to corruption, ex: Jack Abramoff, revolving door, etc.
What is a primary? What are the three kinds of primaries?
An election by which voters choose convention delegates.
Open, closed, semi-closed.
What are three problems with citizen's opinions?
Uniformed, unconstrained, unpredictable
Explain both sides of the argument is partisanship harmful or healthy?
Harmful: Creates gridlock, can lead to extremes, discourages political participation.
Healthy: part of the democratic process, encourages bold ideas, the partisan breakdown is exaggerated.
What are the main functions of political parties?
Run campaigns, provide career paths for ambitious politicians, political linkage between voters and elected officials, unify a fragmented government, and voice of opposition.
Give at least 3 factors (based on the course) that determine an interest group's success and explain.
Assets, objectives, alliances, visibility, political change, crisis.
Distinguish between a primary election & a general election.
Primary election: An election in which registered voters select the candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election.
General Election: General election: An election in which a Democrat runs against a Republican for the Presidency.
What are the different interpretations of public opinion?
Equality of individual opinions, majority opinion, public debate among groups, and elite opinion.
What are three main points why interest groups are bad for American government?
Corruption, division, lack of accountability, restricted access, etc.
What is a party platform and why is it important?
Party platform: A statement of principals and policy positions developed by a political party. Parties in the United States generally revise their platform every four years.
It gives voters a clear idea of what each party stands for.
What are three main types of interest groups? Give an example of one interest group in the USA.
Economic, Societal, Ideological, Public Interest, Governmental.
Ex: AARP, NAACP, ACLU, Mothers against drunk driving.
Explain how the electoral college works.
Electoral College: The method for electing the president; 538 electors selected by each state cast votes for president; electoral college votes for each state are equal to number of Representatives plus number of Senators. The first candidate to get to 270 wins the Presidential election.
What are the three ways of shaping public opinion? Define each term
Agenda setting - news organizations determine what issues the public will believe is important.
Priming - the media influences how people and events should be evaluated by things that they emphasize as important
Framing - The media emphasize particular aspects of a story, thereby influencing the public's perception of the story
What are some criticisms of the Electoral College?
The winner of the electoral college is not always the winner of the popular vote, some citizens votes count more than others, only a few states matter to presidential campaigns, etc.