Political Parties Flashcards
(37 cards)
What party identify as social liberals ?
Democrats - believe in a mixed economy and welfare state
What are ‘big tent’ or ‘catch-all’ parties ?
A party that seeks to attract voters with a wide range of political views rather than focusing on a narrow ideology.
They often have multiple factions and ideologies within them
What is the geographical divide in the US
Northern states and urban areas are more liberal whereas southern states and rural areas are more conservative
What were the differences in the parties approach following the Great Depression ?
The Republican Party wanted to take a laissez faire approach as they thought govt intervention would create more problems
The Democrats supported the ‘New Deal’ and believed the govt should stimulate the recovery and build the welfare state
How did the Democrats move from small to a big govt
It’s attempt to build ‘The Great Society - it supported Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights and desegregation
He have the Republicans become more fiscally and socially conservative
Because of Reaganomics
- as it promoted low taxes, reduced welfare, and deregulation
- more socially conservative through Reagan’s alliance with the religious right
What are fiscal conservatives in favour of?
- small govt
- lower taxes
- free trade
- deregulation
- balanced budget
Policy differences on taxes
Republicans are keen to keep taxes as low as possible and cutting taxes for wealthy/corporations
Democrats are less willing to cut taxes for wealthy and out money into ordinary Americans
Policy differences on gun control
Republicans are reluctant to tougher gun laws - strong ties to NRA
Democrats support gun control / tighter background checks
Policy differences on immigration
Republicans are keen to restrict immigration, especially from Mexico - supported the border wall
Democrats favour immigration reform (DREAMers) those brought to the US illegally as children
Policy differences on abortion
Republicans are strongly pro-life and anti-abortion (George W Bush signed the partial-birth abortion ban act). Many republican states passed tighter abortion acts
Democrats are pro choice
What causes different factions in caucuses ?
They are groups of Congress who meet to pursue common legislative goals.
May be based on ideologies, faith, ethnicity
Republican factions
Tuesday group
Republican Study Committee
Freedom Caucus
Tuesday group
Centrist Republicans - members have pragmatic approach to govt - one that would have bipartisan legislative results.
They are often elected in more liberal states that vote for Democratic presidential candidates.
Often labelled as RINOs (Republican In Name Only).
Republican Study Committee
Social and fiscal conservatives
The largest caucus in the House. It stands for a limited govt, high defence spending.
Freedom Caucus
The most right-wing Republican caucus consisting of a small groups of libertarians.
They are fiscally conservative but think the govt should stay out of ppls personal lives (min govt).
It is currently led by Justin Amash (rep of Michigan) - in support of LTBTQ rights
Democrat factions
Blue Dog coalition
New Democrat Coalition
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Progressive Caucus
The most liberal and progressive caucus in today’s Democratic Party.
Support of the New Deal and the Great Society.
Tend to be elected by liberal, urban constituencies in states like California, New York.
- Bernie Sanders is associated with this group
New Democrats
The largest democrat house caucus.
They are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation.
They argued the party should adopt a third way - Clinton supported this
- They aimed to replace ‘welfare’ with ‘workforce’ as this would break the cycle of dependency
Blue Dog Democrats
dedicated to the financial stability and national security of the US.
They adopt a neutral line on social issues such as gun control and gay rights
Why is the US sometimes referred to as a 100 party system ?
Because of the internal decentralisation as they lack party whips.
Each state has its own Republican and Democratic Party which have different ideologies and policies.
Eg: California democrats are generally more liberal than West Virgina democrats
What party system does the US have ?
Two party system - where nearly all elected officials belong to one of two parties
Since 1853, every president has been either a democrat or a republican
What are independent candidates ?
Candidates not affiliated with long established parties. Usually they set up their own parties.
What are third parties ?
Parties other than the Republicans and Democrats, such as the Green, Libertarian party
