Chapter 12 Part II Pages 434-455. Enter Question Text A.A B.B C.C D.D Response.

Chapter 12 Part II

Pages 434-455

Enter Question Text

A. AB. BC. CD. D

A B C D

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Role of Parties in Congress

• Leadership positions in Congress assigned on a party basis

• Majority party appoints committee members in the House and Senate

• Majority party selects committee chairperson• Majority party controls debate in Congress

Which of the following was NOT intended to limit the federal government?

A. FederalismB. Checks and BalancesC. Separation of

PowersD. Enumerated PowersE. Bicameral

legislature Fe

deralis

m

Checks a

nd Balances

Separation of P

owers

Enumerated Powers

Bicameral le

gislatu

re

0% 0% 0%0%0%

10

Limitations to Party Action in Congress

• Separate Executive can veto legislation• Bicameral power sharing in Congress• Role of committees in Congress

Which of the following parties do liberals tend to support?

A. DemocratB. RepublicanC. GreenD. LibertarianE. Communist

Democrat

Republican

Green

Liberta

rian

Communist

0% 0% 0%0%0%

10

Role of Parties in Congress

• Party labels consistently predict congressional voting

• Party voting has increased noticeably• Parties have become more ideologically

homogenous and consistent – Liberals moving more towards the Democratic

side, conservatives more towards Republican– Party Polarization

The Presidential Party

• Highest elected official• Assumes the role of party leader• Appoints many party members to office• Consistently seeking approval from Congress

Which of the following is responsible for appoint members to the Supreme Court?

A. State legislatorsB. PresidentC. SenatorsD. House of

Representative members

E. Chief justiceState

legisl

ators

President

Senators

House of R

eprese

ntativ...

Chief justi

ce

0% 0% 0%0%0%

10

The Party in the Judiciary

• Supreme Court thought to be “above politics”• Politics do affect Supreme Court justices– Appointed by the president: president’s look for

justices that have made decisions similar to their ideological views

– Republican presidents appoint conservative justices

– Democratic presidents appoint liberal justices– Must be confirmed by Senate

Political parties officially name their presidential nominee through

A. A series of party caucusesB. The national conventions

of the political partiesC. A national meeting of

party governorsD. A series of state

presidential primary elections

E. The selection of “superdelegates” at the party conventions

A serie

s of p

arty ca

ucuse

s

The national conve

ntions ..

A national meeting of p

ar..

A serie

s of s

tate pre

sident..

.

The selecti

on of “su

perd...

0% 0% 0%0%0%

10

Parties and Governors

• Governors have made use of the line-item veto– Allows governors to veto single items in

appropriations bills– Line-item use by president was banned in Clinton

v. City of New York

Party Identification

• A citizen’s personal affinity for a party, usually expressed through voting

• Parents are the single greatest influence in establishing a person’s first party identification

• Voting choice usually limited to a Democratic or Republican candidate

Test

A. AB. BC. CD. D

A B C D

17%

6%

28%

50%

Since 1960s, support for Democratic party has declined the most in which group?

A. Labor union members

B. Business leadersC. African AmericansD. Native AmericansE. White Southerners

Labor u

nion members

Business

leaders

Africa

n Americans

Native Americ

ans

White

Southern

ers

0% 0%

100%

0%0%

Participant LeadersPoints Participant Points Participant1 Dutkiewicz, Abbigail1 Franklin, Paige1 Lane, Matthew1 Lang, Emily000 Alexander, Laila0 Buckman, James0 Evans, Kayla0 Formosa, Sabrina

Group Affiliations

• Geographic Region– South still exhibits some of the Democratic Party affinity

cultivated after the New Deal (Solid South)– Only in local elections

• Incumbency Advantage: continued to vote for Democrats who were already in office

• Gerrymandering: protected House districts for Democrats by establishing “safe seats”

• State vs. national parties: Congressional candidates appeal to local interest, presidential candidates appeal to a national constituency

– South tends to vote Republican in presidential elections– Support for the Democratic Party has decline the most among

White southerners since the 1960s.

Group Affiliations

• Gender– Women tend to be more Democratic voters, men

more Republican– 2004 exit polls showed a smaller gender gap, but it

still exists– Women have become more reliable Democratic

voters over time, increasing in number

Which of the following would be most likely to vote in a Republican primary

A. 25 year old with some high school education

B. 55 year old African American female

C. A 65 year old Hispanic male

D. A 35 year old female who is a devout Catholic

E. A 45 year old while business man who attends church weekly

25 year

old with

some hi..

55 year

old Africa

n Amer...

A 65 year old H

ispanic

male

A 35 year old fe

male who...

A 45 year old w

hile busi.

..

0% 0%

90%

0%10%

Group Affiliations

• Race and Ethnicity– African Americans vote Democratic more

frequently– Whites tend to vote more conservatively – Hispanics, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican Americans

also tend to vote Democratic– Cuban Americans more Republican

Group Affiliations

• Age– The younger a person is, the more likely the are to

vote Democrat– Elderly white males are the most Republican of

the group• Can change, especially for retirees

Group Affiliations

• Social and Economic Factors– Executives, professionals, and white-collar workers

tend to vote Republican– Democrat support increases among blue-collar workers

and the unemployed• Union workers becoming less reliable Democratic voters,

union supporter has decreased in number over time

– Education• Higher education=more likely to vote Republican

– Income• Higher income=more likely to vote Republican

Group Affiliation

• Religion– Republican support more affiliated with

Protestants – Democratic support increases with the Jewish

population and Catholics• However, like union workers, Catholics are becoming

less reliable Democratic supporters based on their conservative social views.

Which of the following people would be most likely to be a Democrat?

A. Cuban AmericanB. An Evangelical

ChristianC. A white southernerD. A Mexican AmericanE. A pro-life advocate

Cuban Americ

an

An Evange

lical C

hristian

A white

south

erner

A Mexica

n American

A pro-lif

e advocate

15%

31%

0%

54%

0%

Group Affiliations

• Ideology – Liberal vote more Democratic– Conservatives vote more Republican• Social Conservatives: More reliable Republican voters• Liberal Republicans: either have liberal social or

economic views• Conservative Democrats: either conservative social or

economic views

Third Parties

• Third Parties are “safety nets” to the two-party system

• Usually based on a single cause/issue neglected by the major parties

• Can be influential in elections– 1912 Bull Moose Party: 88 Electoral vote– 1948 Dixiecrats: carried 4 southern states– 2000 Green Party Ralph Nader

Third Parties

• Goal is to raise an issue being unrepresented by the two main parties

• Can have some success at local level elections– Ability to appeal to a few rather than a whole

• Usually are co-opted by one the two major parties– Adopt the issue to their platform– Secure the allegiance of third party supporters

Other roles of Third Parties

• New/different ideas or issues• Safety valve for discontent• Pushes major parties to include otherwise

underrepresented concerns

Which of the following is NOT a reason why Third Parties struggle for legitimacy?

A. Winner-take-all elections

B. Ballot access restrictions

C. Single-member plurality districts

D. They draw attention to underrepresented issues

Winner-t

ake-all e

lections

Ballot a

ccess

restr

ictions

Single-member p

lurality d

...

They dra

w attention to ...

21%

29%

36%

14%

Why Third Parties Tend to Remain Minor

• Winner-take-all aspect of the electoral college– Winner who gets the most/majority/plurality of

popular votes wins all of a state’s electoral votes– Might get a lot of popular votes, but zero electoral

votes• Single-member plurality districts• Ballot access restrictions – Might appear on some states and not on other states

• Campaign Financing

Types of Third Parties

1. Bolter Parties (a.k.a. Splinter Parties)

Formed because of a split in the major party. This has happened six times since the Civil War.

Examples:

Reform Party—Ross Perot capitalizes on discontent with the two major parties 1992

Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party—Teddy Roosevelt left the Republicans in 1912

American Independent Party—George Wallace left the Republicans in 1968

Types of Third Parties

2. Ideological Parties (a.k.a. Parties of Ideological Protest)

Formed because they support a specific set of beliefs and often propose radical ideas.

Examples:

Libertarian Party—stresses freedom over equality

Communist Party—stresses an equal economy

Green Party—favors government action to protect the environment

Socialist Party—favors government intervention in the name of equality

Two Party System in 2008 Election