POLS 207 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Supermajority, Gray Davis, Per Diem
27 Sep 2013
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Document Summary
3 different dimensions in defining a political party. Political parties/voters have not carried out this model in the last half-century (maybe ever) Factors that have weakened party control over electoral politics: candidate-centered politics/greater candidate reliance on mass media, decline of party identification. People end up winning because they run a better campaign: less patronage, greater use of the merit system. Now, people gets jobs on merit, so parties lost a key tool in keeping people loyal: interest groups and pacs - alternate sources of financial support so candidates don"t have to rely on one. Big flaws in the responsible party model: parties do not present clear, distinct, policy choices. The effects of party competition on public policy: Parties will have little impact on public policy when there is a unimodal distribution of voters. Parties will have a greater impact on public policy when there is a bimodal dist. of voters.
