Unit 6 - Political Parties Flashcards
(46 cards)
What has happened to both of the parties over time?
They have become more extreme and partisan
Ideology
A collectively held set of ideas and beliefs within a party
Policy
What the party says they will do when in power
What did the parties used to be?
Initially, both parties were umbrella parties but have become more partisan or broad church
What is the standard Ideology of the parties?
Dems = liberal
Reps = conservative
This is in the 21st century - not the case for the whole of history
What evidence proves that they have become more partisan from 1984 to 2016?
-1984 - 53% of people said reps were more conservative than dems
-2012 - 73% of poeple said reps were more conservative than dems
-2016 - 35% of voters said they were conservative and 81% voted for reps but 15% voted dems, 26% of all voters being liberals voted reps 10% but 84% voted dem
Why have there been changes since the 1960s?
- Geography – where they gain their support
- Ideology – Their core values
- Demographics – Who supports them
- Cohesiveness – How united their representatives are
How has geography changed the political parties?
-South Republican since 1980 and East and West Democrat where Dems controlled the south in 1970s
-Changes largely a result of realigning elections
How has ideology changed the political parties?
-Reps more conservative and the dems more liberal - Civil Rights Act 1964 where Johnson said ‘We have lost the South for a generation’
-there was the rise of the Republican ‘Southern strategy’ with Strong law and order, Opposed desegregation efforts, Strongly conservative (religious right in Bible Belt)
-liberal reps defeated, and conservative dems switched to reps
-moderates less likely to be elected
How have demographics changed the political parties?
-Fuelled by geographical and ideological shifts
-Core voting coalitions
-Dems are more likely to be college educated
-less young voters but if they do, they vote dem
-the ethnic minorities are extremely more likely to vote dem and whites vote rep
-reps are more rural but dems are more urban
How has cohesiveness changed the political parties?
-Less bipartisanship in congress
-Trump’s tax cuts which were partisan v Civil Rights Act which was supported by some reps
-Impeachment of Nixon where some reps voted for it even though they were same party but this didnt happen with Trump so increase partisanship
What is the difference between red America, blue America and purple America?
Red America - an America that is socially and politically conservative, white and Protestant - Alabama
Blue America - an America that is socially and politically liberal with the gov getting more involved to split - New York
Purple America - an America that is mixed socially and politically where there are changes in every election - Pennsylvania
What are 3 policy differences between the reps and the dems?
- Immigration - republicans have historically been much stricter on immigration than the democrats e.g. trumps attempts to build a border wall between America and Mexico compared to Obamas attempt to recognise 4 million long stay immigrants - Trumps second administration is also increasing deportations using ICE, BUT reps are happy for skilled workers to enter the country as the democrats are.
- Abortion - republicans are more anti-choice than the democrats are, who are more likely to be pro-choice e.g. reps pride themselves on playing a role in the overturning of roe v wade, taking credit for it (the Republican majority senate confirmed Coney Barrett who would give them a conservative majority, whilst the democrats all voted against her) BUT Nixon wasnt pro choice or anti choice
- Healthcare - dems are pro healthcare being more inclusive and cheaper for the less well off e.g. Obamacare granting funding to support low income families with healthcare compared to Trump trying to repeal it, even though the majority of congress voted against it even with a rep majority, it was voted agaisnt by only 3 reps in senate but still support by majority of reps in house BUT new dems under Clinton opposed a big gov
What is the organisation of political parties like?
-No clearly identifiable leader
-Largely state based and decentralised
-Organisations and interest groups play a significant role but are not formally part of the parties
What is the leadership of political parties like?
-Separation of powers - there is no one party leader
-Federalism - there is no one party leader
-Party leaders in Congress - in Senate (Thune and Schumer) and House (Jeffries and Scalise) - lead party in congress and nothing beyond
-Trumps first term had none of his healthcare reforms go through congress - executive and party majority in Congress doesn’t mean you control the party
How does decentralisation affect political parties?
-100 parties - each party exists in each state - they are all so different - e.g. Minnesota has no democrats, has democrat farmer Labour Party where they marched in 1984
-DNC and RNC - the national committees of each party - only instance of centralisation where they come up with party platform and plan the conventions
-‘Hill committees’ - try to get people elected to congress - e.g. DCCC, NRCC, DSCC, NRSC (senatorial committees and congressional committees) - element of centralisation
What are examples of associated groups within parties? What are they not?
-Associated groups - NOT pressure groups
-DSA - Democratic socialists of America - 50,000 members - want progressive democrats to win primaries - pushed for AOC to get elected - they aren’t an official part of the Democratic Party
-Tea Party Movement - associated with extreme republicans
What do associated groups lead to? What is an example of what an associated group led to?
‘Unity within diversity’ - associated groups lead to this as they work with parties to promote diversity in their area
Steve King - 2020 - up for reelection - made racist comments - he was ostracised by Mitch McConnell - not able to get much done in senate - lost endorsement from associated groups - led to him losing his primary in 2020 - when associated groups work with party leadership, they can be effective and impactful on outcomes
What are the 4 ideologies that establish party factions? What do they mean?
- Liberals - individual and civil rights, democracy and free enterprise - only Democrats
- Populist - appeals to ordinary people
- Libertarian - advocates minimal state intervention and freedom from government
- Conservative - free enterprise, private ownership and socially traditional ideas
What are the 6 party factions?
- Fiscal conservatives
- Social conservatives
- Tuesday group
- Liberal activists
- New democrat coalition
- Blue dog coalition
What is a fiscal conservative? Example?
Also known as the Freedom Caucus, they are the most Right-Wing Republican group. They favour a balanced budget, preferring spending cuts or tax increases to borrowing, and want to decrease government size, and promote a free market (competition determines prices). Michael Bloomberg; Andy Biggs
What is a social conservative? Example?
Republicans who hold traditional, historical views on the definitions of marriage, life, sexuality, and religion. They are often Christian or Jewish. George W. Bush; Republican Study Committee
What is the Tuesday group? Example?
Moderates who tend to share the general Republican economic views but are often more liberal in their social views. They are committed to a solution-orientated approach and are keen to find bipartisan approaches to issues Elise Stefanik; John Katko
What are the liberal activists? Example?
They support social progressivism e.g. civil rights; gun control etc. as well as economic justice and security for all. Bernie Sanders; Congressional Progressive Caucus
