Political Parties Flashcards

(61 cards)

1
Q

Define Liberal

A

A view that seeks to change the political, economic and social status quo in favour of the well being, rights and liberties of the individual, especially those who are generally disadvantaged by society

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2
Q

Give 4 key policy areas that the Democrats support

A

Increased spending on social welfare programmes
Gun control
A women’s right to abortion
Rights for LGBT community

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3
Q

Give 5 key policy areas the Democrats oppose

A
Tough attitude on criminals
Death penalty
Increased defence spending
Decrease in federal government power
Stricter controls on immigration
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4
Q

What 4 key voting demographics vote Democrat?

A

Female
Minority Groups
Less wealthy
Northeast America

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5
Q

By what margin did Clinton win the female vote in 2016?

A

8 points

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6
Q

What lead did the Democrats hold over the Republicans with the Hispanic vote?

A

36

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7
Q

How many Northeast states did Obama win in 2012

A

All of them

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8
Q

What views do Liberal Activists hold on social and economic issues

A

Socially liberal on same sex marriage and abortion

Government should spend more during high unemployment to stimulate economic activity

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9
Q

Give 3 key members of the Liberal Activist faction

A

Obama
Biden
Roosevelt

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10
Q

What views do the New Democrats hold on social and economic issues?

A

Socially liberal, but fiscally conservative

Tax cuts for middle class, deregulation

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11
Q

What policy disreputes the idea that New Democrats are socially liberal

A

Clintons Don’t Ask Don’t Tell bill for the US army

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12
Q

Define Conservative

A

A view that seeks to defend the political, economic and social status quo and therefore tends to oppose changes in the institutions and structures of society

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13
Q

What 5 key policy areas do Republicans support?

A
Tough attitude on criminals
Death penalty
Increased defence spending 
Decrease in federal government power
Stricter controls on immigration
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14
Q

What 3 key policy areas do Republicans oppose?

A

Increased spending on social welfare programmes
Gun control
Women’s right to abortion

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15
Q

What 4 key voting demographics vote Republican

A

Male
White
Wealthy
Southern

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16
Q

By what margin did Trump win the male vote in 2016?

A

12 points

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17
Q

How did Trump perform in the South in 2016?

A

Won all of the states

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18
Q

What is the main drive of Fiscal Conservatives?

A

Economics, small government and a deregulated economy

Cut income tax
Attack welfare state

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19
Q

What do Social Conservatives believe?

A

Evangelical Christians who oppose abortion, same sex marriage and affirmative action.

Preserve traditional values

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20
Q

Give 3 members of the social conservatives

A

Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, Marco Rubio

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21
Q

Why was the Tea Party formed?

A

Opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilisation Act of 2008 and Obamas Economic Stimulus Package of 2009

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22
Q

What are the 4 core beliefs of the Tea Party?

A

Strict adherence to the Constitution
Limited Government
Reduce US government spending and taxation
Reduce the national debt and the federal budget deficit

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23
Q

What % of Tea Party voters prefer small government?

A

92%, compared with 50% of ordinary voters

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24
Q

What was the strategy of the Tea Party in 2010 and how successful were they?

A

Sought to defeat RINO’s
Beat Alaskan Senator Murkowski and won 3 open seats in the primaries, but lost all 4 election
Rubio won the Florida seat over moderate Chris Christie

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25
How did the Republicans perform in the 2014 mid terms?
Seized control of the Senate by winning 9 Senate seats | Were advantaged due to low general turnout and an increase in over 65s
26
What 3 reasons are there for polarisation of the political parties
Break up of the Solid South 50-50 Nation Shades of Purple
27
What was meant by the term Yellow Dog Democrats
Used to describe voters in the South in the 1960, who would've voted for the Democrats even if they had a Yellow Dog as their candidate
28
What was the political makeup of the South in 1960
99/106 House members democrat All 22 Senators democrat 11 State governors were Democrat
29
How had the makeup of the South changed by 1994
61/125 House members were Democrat 9/22 Senators were Democrat 5/11 State Governors were Democrat
30
What did the Break up of the solid south lead to?
Parties become more ideologically distinct, as conservative democrats moved to the republicans. Eg. Texan Senator Phil Gramm
31
Where did the 50-50 nation concept originate from?
The 2000 election, Senate locked at 50-50 | Electoral College at 271-267
32
What happened in 2004?
New Mexico went red New Hampshire went blue Created a very tribal looking America
33
How many states voted Bush in 2004 and then Obama in 2008?
9
34
Which 4 states voted Republican in the election but have Democrat Senators
Maine Michigan Pennsylvania Wisconsin
35
What 4 reasons have increased polarisation?
Reagans Presidency - attracted conservative democrats and alienated moderates End of the Cold War - no need for a united front on foreign policy Partisan Presidency - presidents that had operated from the centre ground were generally uniting figures Technology - people can engage more with like minded thinkers rather than being tolerant of all beliefs
36
Why are the Chairs of the National Committees?
Democrat - Tom Perez | Republican - Ronna McDaniel
37
Are National Committees powerful?
No They only organise conventions every 4 years Parties are highly decentralised and so state based
38
What disagreement occurred between the national and state parties in 2008?
Democrats said only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina could hold primaries before 5th Feb 2008 - When Michigan and Florida did they were stripped to half a vote each at the national convention
39
How did the Congressional Committees impact the 2012 election?
Democrat Senior Campaign Committee chair Patty Murray praised for the performance in gaining two seats, when they were defending 23/33 seats
40
What two type of activists are there in state level parties?
Issue Activists - passionate about a particular issue | Candidate Activists - work on behalf of a particular candidates campaign
41
Define Two Party System
A system in which two major parties regularly win the vast majority of votes in general elections, regularly capture nearly all of the seats in the legislature and alternately control the executive branch of government
42
How many state governors are from the two major parties?
49/50, only Bill Walker of Alaska
43
How many Senators are independent?
2, though both caucus with the Democrats
44
Why is there a two party system? [2]
FPTP means concentrated support is necessary Huge ideological spectrum that is used by the two major parties means that third parties can be accused of being radical
45
What other theories are there instead of the two party system? [3]
- 50 party system - parties vary so much from state to state that it's hard for them to be seen as one party (federalist nature) - One party system - some states are so safe that a second party can't even really be considered - No party system - modern Americans are much more issue based and so more likely to join a pressure group
46
What are the 3 types of Third Parties, each with examples
National (Libertarian - Johnson got 4.5 million votes in 2016) Regional (George Wallace American Independent Party - 46 EC votes in 1968) State (New York Conservative Party)
47
Who are the two current Independent Senators?
Bernie Sanders | Angus King
48
What effect did Ralph Naders have on the 2000 election?
Where Bush won Florida by 537, Nader won 100,000 votes Where Bush won New Hampshire by 7000, Nader won 22000 votes Half of them would've voted Gore, the other half wouldn't have voted
49
When was the last time a third party candidate won electoral college votes?
1968 - George Wallace
50
Why does FPTP hurt Third Parties?
Winner takes all states for the electoral college votes. | Perot won 19% of votes in 1992 but no EC votes
51
What did John Anderson say the cost of being on the ballot in all 50 states was and when?
1980 1.2 million signatures $3 million
52
Why is matched funding an issue for Third Parties?
Candidates qualify by winning 5% of the vote in the previous election. Most are one trip candidates so this isn't possible
53
What other reasons lead to pressure groups struggling [4]
Lack of media coverage Lack of suitable candidates Allegations of extremism (If you liked Hitler you'll love Wallace - 1968 due to being pro segregation) Co-optation (Clinton stole Perots policy of cutting the federal budget deficit)
54
Factors affecting party decline [4]
Candidate selection Communication with voters Candidate and issue centred voting Emergence of movements
55
Define party decline
The theory that political parties were in decline in terms of their membership, functions and importance, both in elections and in Congress
56
What are the 4 theories of party renewal? [4]
Party decline plans were exaggerated Increased party involvement in presidential nominations Nationalisation of campaigns Increased partisanship in Congress
57
How many Super delegates did the Democrats have in 2016?
714
58
How else do parties control the presidential nominations?
Provide rules about timing of primaries and caucuses | Also provide rules about the selection of delegates by the state parties
59
What plan did the Republicans adopt in 1994?
Newt Gingrich's Contract to America, based on a 10 point campaigning programme
60
What was the Democrats campaign in 2006 and was it successful?
Six for 06 | Retook control of both houses after 12 years as the minority
61
How many Republicans voted for Obamacare in the final passage?
0