100 things I learned from Political Parties class

If you have anything else to add to the list, just let me know, and I'll post it up!





1. What are the three parts of political parties that we all covered throughout the semester?
Party in the government, Party in the electorate, and Party Organizations.

2. Common Culture- A phrase that is most closely related to the concept of a nation.

3. What are the four ways that political parties originate?
Labor movements, Factions within the government, Issues and ideological reasoning, National
liberation movements.

4. What type of minor party, on average, fares best in winner-take-all election systems?

5.Hinge parties- Are most likely to be a centrist party.

6.Marginal Parities- Marginal parties are most ideological extreme.

7. What type of party system does the US have? They have a two party dominant system.
Democrats vs. Republicans.

8. One party systems are the most common party system among the democracies of the world.

9.Parties differ from interest groups because they run candidates under their own label.

10. Mass parties differ from Cadre parties in the likelihood that members must pay dues, they
also have a strict hierarchical organizational structure.

11.Political parties more than interest groups are involved with "government" formation.

12. Lyndon Johnson got to be majority leader, he didn’t waste time trying to get as much power
as possible. He had his entire staff, go out and then try to find some precedent to give him more
power. All that he could find was the right of first recognition.

13. Marginal Parties are ideological from the far left or right, they promote policy positions that
major parties do not address or represent.

14. Multi party systems are less conductive to government stability then to regime stability, two party the opposite. The Regime is the entities and institutions and governments is the people that make it up.

15.Two party Plus system- A common in winner take all systems with considerate cultural
diversity or a federal political arrangement where the "plus" party has a strong regional base. The plus party may be a hinge party, but is more likely to be a detached party.

16.Duvergers Law- Countries with plurality rule elections and single member districts can expect a two party dominant political system. Even though you don't outlaw third party voting people don't want to waste their vote.

17. Election system barriers- If your party got 10-15 percent you have a valid access if not you
require signatures. It is illegal in Florida to make it harder for third party candidates than for
major party.

18.Major Parties Crowd that center. Successful third parties are centrist. if they get a little bit of
success the major parties steal their ideas and incorporate them.

19.Multi- party systems- Most common associated with proportional representation electoral
systems. Governments are often formed based on coalition arrangements. Most common type of party system among democracies of the world.

20.One party System- Common in authoritarian regimes. Often associated former communist
countries of the 2nd World. Party often serves no democratic purpose, except to distribute
patronage.

21. William Brock was the Republican Party strategist that brought the GOP back from the brink of permanent minority party status in the aftermath of Watergate.

22.Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and National Republican senatorial
committee is the name of the Congressional campaign committees.

23. The national, state, and local party organizations prior to the 1960's or 70's were
decentralized from one another.

24. Slating is filling the ballots with a lot of candidates during an election.

25. Democrats were historically the most active and productive at the local level.

26. The Republican party national organization was the first to adapt to the modern/dynamic
electoral environment.

27. A heighten level of electoral competition is a possible explanation for the increased activity
of national party organizations in recent years.

28. The 17th Amendment Ratification caused congressional campaign committees to emerge in
the Senate around 1913.

29. Farm Team approach was used to identify the GOP strategy of recruiting candidates for local offices with an eye toward grooming them to run for higher offices.

30. The GOP tried to repair their image in the aftermath of Watergate by: Increasing recruitment of women candidates, and increased use of talk radio to promote party positions.

31. Roughly hoe many states now have Congressional or legislative campaign committees in
their state legislatures? 40

32. Who was the last presidential contender to run as a fusion candidate, representing two
different political parties? William Jennings Bryan.

33. Wisconsin is a state that still uses a party block ballot design.

34. Florida in 1904 was the State where the first Presidential primary was held.

35.The Senior most member of the Majority party is given the job of the Senate President Pro
Tempore.

36. The term "whip" comes from fox hunting, where there was a man who would hold onto a
whip and whip the hounds.

37. How long are the terms of Florida Judges and Justices? 6 years.

38.The local legislature is the commission, city is a council, is often the revere in Florida.
Executive in the city is mayor, and country is the chairman.

39.Parties offered people jobs through patronage. Some things are social service agencies
provides funeral services, help pay for weddings, etc.

40.Considering Judicial selection processes which of the following represents the most recently
developed method? Non-Partisan Elections.

41. One of the original issue positions of the Democratic parties was working on behalf of the
less privileged, especially for new immigrants

42. De-alignment is the term used for those people who do not align themselves with a major
political party.

43. The last year where a third party candidate received more than a major party candidate was in 1912.

44.Wisconsin and Michigan were two states that claimed to be the birthplace of the GOP.

45. The Father of Political Parties in the electorate was Martin van Buren from NY State. He
wins NY for Andrew Jackson. He organized people to go out and vote.

46. The first national party nominating convention was in 1831.

47. During the writing of the Constitution, Jefferson wasn’t even in the Country, he was actually
in France as the Ambassador under the Article of Confederation.

48. King Caucus- The ways the Presidential candidates were picked. They were picked from the
legislature.

49. The Major Parties in American Party history are the following:
1. The Federalist Party, 1788-1816
2. The Democratic-Republican Party, 1800-1832
3. The Democratic Party, 1832- Present
4. The Whig Party, 1832- 1854
5. The Republican Party, 1854-Present

50. Federalists- Were the champions of a strong national government, it was the first American
political institution to resemble a political party. It wasn’t a full fledged party, mostly strong in
the North East and the Atlantic Seaboard.

51. The Democratic- Republican Party - The leaders were strong proponents of the constitution,
opposed the extreme nationalism of the federalists. They were the party of the small farmers,
workers, and less privileged. People in this party favored authority of the states, Like it’s leaders Thomas Jefferson, had many ideals of the French revolution.

52. Democratic party- They grew out of the Jacksonian wing of the Democratic-Republican
party. It was a popular party in the United States, it opposed business-friendly policies such as
national banking and high Tarriffs. They welcomed new immigrants and opposed nativist
sentiment.

53. The Whig Party- This party had roots in the old Jeffersonian party. Henry Clay and Daniel
Webster stood for legislative supremacy and protested the strong presidency of Andrew Jackson. It had a short life.

54. The Republican Party- Born as the Civil War approached, opposed slavery, was the Party of
the Union, and it inherited the concern for business from the Whigs.

55. 1831, the anti-masons were the first to have a party convention.

56. What was the motivation for the formation of the Whig party? The general dislike of
Andrew Jackson.

57. Andrew Jackson was a soldier, became a general, and then became the first governor of
Florida. He was considered a free spirit, he was unpredictable.

58. Why was the progressive movement successful? Muckraking journalism and media scrutiny
of corruptions sets the agenda. An attentive media was willing to expose everything. They had
charismatic leaders such as T.R. and "fighting" Bob Lafollette. ( T.R. was the Progressive
candidate of 1912, Bob was the candidate for 1916)

59. The Unintended consequences of reform: Public oversight becomes a fertile ground for
corruption in it’s own rights. The merit system has never been comprehensive and has always
been compromised. Direct Democracy takes on some qualities of "mob rule". Ballot access
becomes more difficult preventing 3rd party competition.

60. The biggest barrier to voting is Same day Registration.

61. There are three theories of individual voting behavior is:
Sociological: It is based on demographics of the individual voter, i.e. region, home, etc.
Psychological theory- Based on group affiliations with party asa dominant consideration.
Economic theory- Based on an evaluation of candidate performance and issue positions.(
Sometimes called rational choice) It is not a reference to money, it is based on rational decision
making.

62. Wattenberg argues that the three theories interact: Demographic characteristics lead to
psychological affiliations and biases which modify the evaluation of candidates and issues when
they determine voting.

63. Closed Primaries- They have set registration deadlines, people must join a political part. It’s
the oldest type of Primary, Florida has closed primaries.

64. Semi-Closed Primaries- People must join a party, there will be no registration deadline.
Arguably, the best type of primaries for party organizations.

65. Open Primary- Anyone can vote in either primary, it creates Opportunities for "raiding".
Raiding is when the opposition party goes to the others primary and picks the weakest member of the party that they know they can defeat. Both of the parties are on the same ballot.

66. Semi Open Primary- Independents can still vote, but they must announce your party
preference.

67. Blanket Primary- WA, CA, AK, have had a blanket primary at some time

68. What still goes on at a party convention?
1.Roll call
2. Officially picking the Presidential and VP candidates
3. It is like a big Pep rally, a big infomercial.
4. They write the rules for the next convention, known as a the Rules committee, not like
the ones in congress.
5. Write the party platform/ manifesto.

69. Money and organizations are important to a candidate’s chances, the media tends to pick a
likely winner by tracking the different candidates fund-raising success in the year before the
elections, it’s called an "invisible primary."

70. Front loading makes sure that they pick all of their delegates fast. It gives an extra advantage to the candidates who were front-runners during the invisible primaries.

71. Conventions are no longer common, but they are still used to nominate candidates in a few
states.

72. South Carolina in 1950 was the last State to adopt the Australian ballot.

73. There are 538 Electoral College votes nation-wide. It represents two centers, there are 3 from DC, 435 from the house, and 100 from the Senate.

74. Majority Rule is the type of election that is used to determine the Electoral College winner in
American presidential elections.

75. When is candidate image most likely to trump Party as an explanation for voting behavior? In high profile races.

76. 67 % of the American people believe that there should be a viable third option in elections.

78. The proper Chronological order as it relates to presidential elections:
Primary- in the spring, Convention- Fall, Electoral college- Winter.

79. Brown was the second place finisher in the democratic Party primaries in 1992.

80. The chronological order of candidate selection process:
Caucus, conventions, and primaries.

81. There are 4 types of Judicial Selection in the state for selections:
1. Merit Selection- The Missouri System, uses of nominating commission
2. Non-Partisan elections- The newest form of selection.
3. Partisan Elections
4. Gubernatorial Appointment - Which is the oldest.

82. "Consummate Party Leader" - The founders didn’t want the President to be involved with
parties. They wanted the President to be above it all. But now adays the president is pretty much the Party leader.

83. What are the 4 House leaders? Speaker, Majority leader, Minority leader, Majority and
Minority Whips.

84. Majority leaders and minority leaders are known as the Floor leaders.

85. The Senate Leaders- President of the Senate, President Pro-Tempore, Majority leader,
Minority leader, Majority and Minority whips.

86. Steering and Policy Committee chairs: They are known as the "leaders in waiting", they got
the carrots. They have the Committee assignments, and they have all of the Pork opportunities.

87. Sources of party Leadership-
a. They Garner Media Attention - Informal
b. Control the Agenda- Formal
c. Make Committee assignments- Formal
d. Interest group connections.

88. When a new Congress meets, The Republican party calls their meeting a Conference. The
Democratic party calls their the Caucus.

89. In the 110th Congress, the Speaker was elected by the entire house, and by the Democratic
House Caucus.

90.The House of representatives are stronger than the Senate.

91.Because State legislatures on average, are less "professional" than the US Congress, the State
legislatures fare better. Less professional means that there are less staff, less resources, less office space, and less salary.

92. The main job of the "Campaigner in chief" is the Presidents job to raised a lot of money for
the party.

93. Coattails even without the coat- Presidents can influence the election fortunes of fellow
partisan even when their name is not on the ballot.

94.A responsible party must have a clear stated principle and program that it favors. It also
should run a campaign that clarifies the policy differences between the parties.

95. Since 1951, Republicans have controlled the Senate more often than they have controlled the House.

96.Major Change in the Party in the government: Parties have become more cohesive
Major Change in Party in the electorate: Increase number of Independents
Major change in Party and the organizations: They act more as service parties.

97. The Father of service parties was William Brock.

98. The elected leader of the minority party for a committee is given the title of "Ranking
Member"

99. There are three Supreme Court Justices who had Partisan disloyalty, or was a judge that did
not honor the partisan position of the President: John Paul Stevens, Earl Warren, and David Souter.

100. The base retirement age for Florida Judges and justices is 70 years of age.