AP Government - Linkage Institutions Flashcards

5314158805	Political Party	✓ Group of citizens who organize to win elections, operate governments, and determine public policy	0
5314158806	Plurality Election	✓ Winning candidate receives more votes than anyone else ✓ Less than half the total	1
5314158807	Single Member District	✓ One person is chosen by the voters for each office ✓ Typically leads to legislatures led by 2 political parties	2
5314158808	Party Era	✓ Historical period dominated by 1 political party	3
5314158809	Critical Election	✓ Election when significant groups of voters change patterns of party loyalty	4
5314158810	Party Realignment	✓ Triggered by critical election ✓ Majority is displaced by minority party, thus new party era	5
5314158811	Divided Government	✓ One party controls presidency while another controls congress ✓ Typical of US Politics since the '70s	6
5314158812	Interest Groups	✓ Organization where members share views on specific interests ✓ Do not elect people into office, influences public policy into their benefit	7
5314158813	Political Action Committee (PAC)	✓ Committee formed by business, labor, or other interest groups ✓ Raise money and make contributions to the campaigns/candidates	8
5314158814	Free Riders	✓ People who benefit from an interest group w/o making any contribution ✓ Ex. Labor Unions	9
5314158815	Power Elite Theory	✓ Small number of very wealthy individuals, powerful corporate interest groups, and large financial institutions dominate policy	10
5314158816	Pluralist Theory	✓ Many interest groups compete for power in a large number of policy areas	11
5314158817	Hyper-pluralist Theory	✓ Government policy is weakened and often contradicted ✓ This is because there are so many competing interest groups	12
5314158818	Mass Media	✓ Means of communication ✓ Newspapers, TV, radio, and the interest that reach large, widely dispersed areas	13
5314158819	Horse-Race Journalism	✓ Tendency of media to cover campaigns by emphasizing the standings in polls ✓ Not on where they stand on issues	14
5314158820	Linkage Institutions	✓ Institutions that connect citizens to the government	15
5314158821	Functions of Parties	✓ Recruiting and nominating candidates for public office, running campaigns ✓ Serving as a linking institution that connects citizens to government	16
5314158823	Party Organization	✓ National leaders, state chairpersons, county chairpersons ✓ National, state, and local party organizations are independent	17
5314158824	One-Party System	✓ System in which one party exercises total control over the government ✓ Ex. China	18
5314158825	Two-Party System	✓ Two major political parties compete for control of public offices ✓ Ex. U.S.	19
5314158826	Multi-Party System	✓ Number of political parties compete for office and represent a wide variety of different ideologies ✓ Ex. Germany	20
5314158827	Core Political Values	✓ Strong commitment to a group of core values ✓ Belief in freedom, political equality, individualism, and equality under law	21
5314158829	Single-Member Districts	✓ Almost all elections are held this way; only one candidate is elected	22
5314158831	Winner-Take-All	An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.	23
5314158832	Legal Barriers to Third Parties	✓ Names of Democratic and Republican candidates are automatically placed on state ballots ✓ Minor party candidates must persuade registered voters to sign petitions	24
5314158834	Federalists	✓ Led by Alexander Hamilton ✓ Supported a strong federal government ✓ Liked a national bank	25
5314158840	FDR and the New Deal Coalition	✓ Great Depression marked an end to Republican dominance ✓ Democrats advocated a program of relief, recovery, and reform	26
5314158841	Southern Strategy	✓ Republicans designed to break the Democratic Party's long dominance in the South ✓ Party realignment gradually occurred as Southern conservatives transferred their loyalty to the Republican party	27
5314158843	Divided Government Consequences	✓ Heightened partisanship and made it difficult for moderates to compromise ✓ Slowed confirmation of the legislative process, thus creating gridlock	28
5314158844	Changes in Voter Trends in the last 50 Years	✓ Decline in the percentage of voters who identify as Democratic or Republican ✓ Rise in those as independents ✓ Significant increase in split-ticket voting ✓ Party Dealignment	29
5314158845	Types of Minor Parties	✓ Dominated by charismatic leaders ✓ Organized around a single issue ✓ Organized around an ideology	30
5314158846	Obstacles to Minor Party Candidates	✓ Winner-take-all makes it difficult for a minor party candidate to win ✓ Single-member districts make it difficult to win seats ✓ Excluded from presidential debates	31
5314158847	Importance and Impact of Minor Parties	✓ Express strong views on controversial issues ✓ Push major parties to adopt their ideas ✓ Can play the spoiler role	32
5314158848	Ways Interest Groups link Citizens to Government	✓ Express members' preferences to gov't policymakers ✓ Convey government policy information to their members ✓ Raise and spend money to influence policymakers	33
5314158849	Political Parties v. Interest Groups	✓ Parties are accountable for voters. Interest groups are private. ✓ Interest groups focus only on specific issues that directly affect their members	34
5314158852	Public Interest Groups	✓ Advocate for the public good ✓ They support causes such as consumer rights, alternative energy, and electoral reform	35
5314158853	Single-Issue Groups	✓ Focus their efforts on a single issue ✓ National Rifle Association	36
5314158854	Lobbying Congress	✓ Testify before congressional committees ✓ Provide members of Congress with information on technical issues ✓ Meet informally with congressional aides	37
5314158855	Lobbying the Executive Branch	✓ Interest groups direct particular attention to establishing access to regulatory agencies	38
5314158856	Lobbying the courts	✓ Inappropriate for lobbyists to have an informal meeting with a federal judge ✓ Can take their case to courts	39
5314158857	Amicus Curiae Brief	✓ Friend of the court brief in a case the group has interest in ✓ Written arguments to support a specific side in the case	40
5314158859	PACs Role	✓ Support incumbent members ✓ Contribute to House members who serve on committees that consider legislation affecting the group	41
5314158862	Agenda Setting	✓ Consists of issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and the mass media play an important role ✓ Draws public attention to particular issues	42
5314158863	Candidate-Centered Political Campaigns	✓ Less focused on issues ✓ Speeches to sound bites ✓ Focuses on day to day activities ✓ Horse-Race Journalism	43