<p>AP US GOVERNMENT Review Topics/Vocab Political Parties & Interest Groups o Primary purpose of political parties o 3 subdivisions of political parties: o party in the electorate (voters) o party in government (elected officials) o party organization (professionals who promote party on national/state basis) o Parties are a linkage institution- meaning? o Current trends: o party dealignment; less party identification o Most recent elections have seen party polarization – a move to extreme ideological party positions with no middle ground o Ticket-splitting on the rise –leads to party dealignment & divided government o Original parties – Federalists (Hamilton) & Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson) o First party era of Democrats – 1828-1856; Jackson o Second party era of Democrats – 1928-FDR o First party era of Republicans – 1860; Lincoln o Second party era of Republicans – 1896-1928; GOP; McKinley in 1896 o Era of Divided Government – 1968 to present o “Party realignment” is signaled by a “critical election” – “earthquake event” o Last major, quick party realignment in U.S. is 1932 – FDR & Democrats take control o Blacks realign and move to Republican Party o Realignment doesn’t always have to be a quick response --- o Nixon’s Southern Strategy (’68) starts realignment of South …. Continues to ‘80s with Reagan – South realigns to Republican Party o U.S. is two-party system – WHY? o U.S. has single member districts – 1 person elected from each congressional district by PLURALITY of the vote – person with the most votes wins the district (winner take all) o Opposite is proportional representation where votes are allocated to parties (not individuals) according to the total percentage of the vote won by the party o Types of third parties: o Splinter (or bolter) / Personality – split off from a major party…possibly to align with a strong personality [TR – Progressives; Ross Perot – Reform Party] o Ideological (or doctrinal) – different ideology [Socialist; Libertarian] o Single-issue – Free Soil Party, Prohibition Party o Obstacles in U.S. to third party success: winner-take-all feature of U.S. elections, lack of funding, lack of access to ballots in states o Third parties don’t win (except for Jesse Ventura!) but have a role: o Serve as critics of major parties o Serve as innovators with new ideas/policy for problems o Serve as a voice for the fringe o And, a negative consequence: serve as spoilers in elections (who for ex.?) o Primary difference between America’s major parties: view of role of federal government (Dems– large / much federal control; Reps – smaller / more state control) o Know the characteristics of Republican & Democratic voters o Primary difference between parties and special interest groups (sigs): o parties run candidates for office / try to get elected o sigs don’t run candidates for office but try to influence policy and get their agenda into policy o Sigs are policy specialists (experts) in their area of interest and parties are policy generalists o Interest groups are also linkage institutions. o Theories of interest group politics: o Pluralism – no one competing group will become dominant-all have equal power / all interests have influence and are represented / lots of groups are good / BUT it actually limits the amount of influence sigs can have since there are so many competing groups o Elite/Class theory–only a few groups have all the power (rich, multi-nationals) o Hyperpluralism – “groups gone bad” – too many groups are getting too much of what they want – makes government weak – leads to chaos & confusion o Interest group liberalism – government tries to advance goals of all groups…..results in conflicting programs, too many agencies, too much money….. o Iron triangle (or “subgovernment”) – alliance of: o a sig o an executive branch (bureaucratic) government agency o congressional committee o all wanting the same goal – use their $ and expert resources to get support from Congress and bureaucracy o Economic interest groups – AMA, ABA, AFL-CIO o Public interest sigs – NRA, Sierra Club, Christian Coalition o Most successful interest groups are SMALL – more intensity o Factors for success of interest groups: $, intensity, size, public image o Olson’s law of large groups – the bigger the group, the more serious the free rider problem. How have groups like the AARP solved the free-rider problem? o Selective benefits o Interest groups shape public policy by: lobbying, electioneering, litigation o Lobbying: . Hire professional lobbyists to provide expert info to and persuade Congress re policy . Lobbyists have to be registered! o Electioneering – have an impact on campaigns/elections through: . Raising campaign contributions; forming PACS . Running ads (issue ads/527 ads) . Getting volunteers to work campaigns . Grass movements to “Get Out the Vote” and to influence politicians . Endorsing candidates o Litigation: . Amicus curiae briefs (friend of the Court / to influence Court decision) . Class-action lawsuits . NAACP; ACLU o PACs are committees formed by interest groups to influence policy through campaign contributions o Authorized by the Federal Elections Campaign Act, 1974 o PACS have to register with FEC o Contributions have to be reported o No limit to amount of $ a PAC can spend ---BUT is a limit on how much a PAC can give to any one individual -- $5,000 o PACS typically support incumbents – WHY? o PACS also support House elections more often than Senate or P – get a lot more bang for the buck that way – more influence</p>