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27 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
party competition
the battle of the parties for control of public offices. Ups and downs of the two major parties are one of the most important elements in American politics
political party
a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election
linkage institutions
the channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda
party image
the voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for
rational-choice theory
a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives
party identification
a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
ticket-splitting
voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices. It has become the norm in American voting behavior
party machines
a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern
patronage
one of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone
closed primaries
elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty
open primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests
blanket primaries
elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties. Voters can then select some Democrats and some Republican if they like
national convention
the meeting of a party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform
national committee
one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between convention. composed of representatives from the states and territories
national chairperson
responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually nominated by the presidential nominee
coalition
a group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends
party eras
historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections
critical election
an electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Critical election periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era
party realignment
the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period
New Deal Coalition
a coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals
party dealignment
the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification
party neutrality
a term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward to two major political parties
third parties
electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections
winner-take-all system
an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. In American presidential elections, the system in which the winners of the popular vote in a state receives all the electoral votes of that state
proportional representation
an electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election
coalition government
when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty system in Europe
responsible party model
a view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates. Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises