GOVT CH. 10 – Flashcards
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why is the creation of political parties necessary in a representative democracy?
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They are necessary mechanisms to ensure that the individuals we choose to represent us are responsive and responsible
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V. O. Key suggested that parties are best understood from what three perspectives?
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the party as an organization, the party in the electorate, and the party in government
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Leon D. Epstein described Texas parties as
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"Any group, however loosely organized, seeking to elect governmental officeholders under a given label"
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the primary difference between an interest group and a political party is that
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a political party seeks to recruit, nominate and elect candidates under its label
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Reasons that there are only two major political party groups in Texas include
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socialization of individuals to think the two-party system is inevitable and preferable.
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La Raza Unida is a political party based primarily on
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shared ethnicity
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despite never winning an elected office in Texas, .........has been the most successful third party in Texas in recent years with its message of small government
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the Libertarian party
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by linking diverse segment of the population to government, political parties contribute to the ...... of government
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stability and legitimacy
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functions of political parties include
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recruiting candidates and organizing the government
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most candidates for general election in Texas get on the ballot
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by winning a primary or a runoff election of one of the major political parties
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the most important method of mobilizing voters for specific candidates is
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through the work of a political party
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political parties help to bridge the inherent conflict between the ........ branches of government
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executive and legislative
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how is the partisan nature of the Texas state legislature changing?
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under republican leadership bipartisanship initially continued, but there has since been increasing partisanship and less willingness to compromise on selected, major issue
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how do political parties help keep officeholders responsive and accountable to the people?
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They inform voters through their efforts to criticize one another in win election
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what is the primary reason that political parties try to find a common ground among different groups and interests?
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to build coalitions of voters to support the party's candidates
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public policy is the result of groups organizing around issues and keeping pressure on
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elected officials
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what role did governor Edmund Davis play in Texas becoming a one-party Democratic state by the 1870s?
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His Radical Republican administration took steps to ban Republicans from being elected
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Writer V. O. Key presents a provocative thesis in Southern Politics in which he says Texas politics in the post-Reconstruction era can be better understood in terns of
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modified class politics
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the two dominant forces that worked together in the late 1800s and through much of the 1900s to consolidate political power in Texas were
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rural elites and leaders of mercantile, banking, and industry
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Texas elites were able to maintain their control of politics and government through most of the 1900s through a number of practices, including......
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restrictive voter laws such as the poll tax
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Under Franklin D. Roosevelt, the federal government
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expanded its regulatory functions
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what impact did the administration of president Franklin D. Roosevelt have on Texas politics?
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a philosophical split took place in the Democratic Party along liberal and conservative lines
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why did a strong Republican Party not emerge in Texas in response to the policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration?
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conservatives were able to maintain significant control within the democratic party in Texas
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V. O. Key in Southern Politics concluded that bifactionalism in the Democratic Party left Texas with...
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no-party politics in which the influence of pressure groups were high because of the lines of power were blurred
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since the 1970s the Republican party in Texas
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has made significant gains at all levels of government, from representation in the US congress to county government
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the actions of the "shivercrats", which helped set a pattern of Texans voting Republican at the national level and retaining their Democratic leanings at the state and local levels, were brought on by ...
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a democratic revolt against President Truman when he vetoed legislation favorable to Texas oil interests.
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contributing factors to realignment in Texas from a one-party system to a two party system include
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migration to Texas of individuals from northern industrial states
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a sudden and major shift in party support from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party before a critical presidential election would be considered...
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realignment
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how has realignment in Texas differed from normal national realignment?
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national realignment typically happens during one election; in Texas, it happened very gradually.
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what was the importance of the 1978 gubernatorial election in the realignment process in Texas?
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in defeating John Hill, Bill Clements became the first Republican governor elected since Reconstruction
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continuing their aggressive push to wrest power from the democrats in 1996, the republicans...
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won all statewide offices in the general election and gained a majority in the state Senate
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growing Republican strength in Texas was illustrated by...
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the fact that Democrats fielded candidates for only three of the nine statewide offices on the ballot in 2000
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the changes in party affiliation over the past forty years were reflected in the fact that by 2014.....
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more Texans identified themselves as Republicans than as Democrats
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In Texas, ...... are more likely to identify with the Republican Party, whereas .... are with the Democratic Party
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upper income Texans; urban Texan
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Party organization in Texas....
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is built around geographical election districts
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what is the major responsibility of the county chair and the executive committee in Texas political parties?
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they are responsible for the organization and management of the primary election in their county
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The state executive committees of political parties in Texas...
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include a chair and vice chair, one of which must be a woman
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Because party conventions are often poorly attended, ....
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organized and motivated factions can "capture" the conventions
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which of the following is true of party activists?
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they tend to be more ideological than other voters supporting a given party
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the major political parties in Texas have been unable to ....
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produce cohesive, policy-oriented coalitions in government
