16.5.3

Changing Party Significance

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Changing Party Significance

Party decline means that parties have become less important and relevant in American politics. However, they may be increasingly important in fundraising, elections and Congress.

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Party decline

  • Voters focus more on the candidate and political issue when voting than on the party label.
    • Split ticket voting has increased where voters vote for candidates of different parties standing for different positions at the same election.
    • Presidential candidates are chosen by voters in primary elections rather than the party’s delegates at the party’s national convention.
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Party renewal

  • Political parties still dominate the American political system.
    • All elected presidents are either Democrats or Republicans.
    • The majority of politicians in Congress are members of the two main parties.
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Polarisation

  • The political parties are increasingly polarised.
    • The Republicans and Democrats are opposed on major policies such as government intervention in the economy and social issues including healthcare, abortion, gun rights and education.
    • There is partisanship in voting in Congress, where members of one party group together to oppose the other party’s members.

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1Democracy & Participation

2Political Parties

3Electoral Systems

4Voting Behaviour & the Media

5Conservatism

6Liberalism

7Socialism

8The UK Constitution

9The UK Parliament

10The Prime Minister & the Executive

11Relationships Between Government Branches

12US Constitution & Federalism

13US Congress

14US Presidency

15US Supreme Court & Civil Rights

16US Democracy & Participation

17Comparing Democracies

18Feminism

19Nationalism

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