Midterm Exam with Short Answers | Political Parties and Interest Groups | PSCI 3031, Study notes of Political Science

Download Midterm Exam with Short Answers | Political Parties and Interest Groups | PSCI 3031 and more Study notes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! Political Science Midterm Short Answer 1.) The primary concern that motivated Madison’s writing of Federalist 10 was how to eliminate the neg. effects of factions such as removing the causes and controlling the effects. Madison response to the problem was a democratic republic which would give citizens gov’t through representation 2.) Political Parties and Interest groups primary focus: Political Parties – An organization that seeks to achieve political power by electing members to public office so that their political philosophies can be turned into public policy. Interest Groups – Private Organizations that try to shape public policy 3.) Political Parties help democracy by promoting links between citizens and gov’t leaders as well as promote public benefits and interests. They hurt democracy by sometimes wanting the other party to fail and they don’t work together to create the best for the country -4.) The system of groups is very complex in American politics, but very important. It allows the government to stay true to its democratic roots by not getting to powerful or pushy in certain areas. 5.) Party organization has two common features in all parts of the United States. First, parties are organized in series of committees reaching from the precinct level to the national committee. Second, party committee organization parallels the arrangement of electoral districts. 6.) Examples of federalism in party structures:  Voting in state-based units; winner takes all, favoring a two party system  Competition among states to influence presidential candidate selection (eg, dates of primary elections)  Political party rules vary by state (caucuses vs. primaries; whether electors appear on ballot; whether electors pledged to support slate  Competition between state and national party organizations (eg, punishing state delegations; no votes in national convention) 7.) State party committees Recruit candidates For statewide office (eg, state treasurer, attorney general For state legislative seats, Train candidates, Support campaigns, Support local party committees 8.) National convention delegates are chosen through either a caucus or primary. Caucus- A meeting of the local members of a political party to select delegates to a convention or register preferences for candidates running for office. Primary- An election enabling voters to participate in the selection of candidates, with delegates allocated accordingly. 9.) 10.) Proportional representation leads to longer nomination struggles, more contested primaries, and more negative feelings within the party in the general election campaign 11.) 12.) The main purposes of the national party conventions are selecting the party’s candidates for president and vice president, as well as ratifying the party platform. Now candidates and their organizations dominate todays conventions and power is a product of a candidates affiliation with one of the candidate organizations. 13.) 14.) The Speaker of the House represents the party beliefs and goals to a t by being the head and face of the party to the country congressionally speaking. 15.) The two main types of voting systems include a winner take all system which can consist of a primary then main election with the winner of the primary gaining candidacy. The other option is a multiple winner system where the voter typically chooses from a larger group of candidates and the top vote getters gain election. 16.) Closes party List ballots- Only registered party members are allowed to vote on candidates. Open party list ballots- candidates are chosen from the state/region by everyone 17.) 18.) 19.) Why so few Third Party Successes?  The odds are against them  It is difficult for third party candidates to raise enough money to compete with the major parties.  Only one candidate can win in a given district. Usually the winner is either Democratic or Republican  In most states, third party candidates must show they have support by getting voter signatures to even be placed on the ballot for national office -20.) Third parties can effect elections by pulling votes away from one or more parties 21.) Most minor parties are short-lived because:  Issues go away  Economy gets better  Party heals  Phagocytosis (Issues absorbed by others  Exceptions: ideological parties