What is the primary method parties use to translate goals into concrete policies? quizlet

-In a series of decisions beginning with Baker v. Carr in 1962, the US Supreme Court ruled by enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide redistricting cases
-In 1964, Reynolds v. Sims, the SC ruled that all federal and state legislative districts must have equal populations: one person, one vote.
-before 1962 state legislative districts often had highly unequal populations, which meant that some votes in effect counted more than others:
--this produced a pattern of overrepresentation of rural areas and underrepresentation of must urban areas, and, especially, suburban counties
-- this pattern arose from neglect:
---most state constitutions require redistricting to keep district populations equal, but as urban populations grew, especially in the first half of the 20th century, those in power realized that redistricting might jeopardize their own re-election.
---As a result, the legislatures chose to do nothing.
---with each successive decade, representation in the US became more unequal, and there seemed to be no way to force the state legislatures to act.
---Finally, the US Supreme Court ruled, in a series of important cases, that unequal representation violated the 14th amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law.
---by 1971, nearly every legislative district in the US elected one representative, and the populations of the districts for each legislative chamber were equal

-parties are important vehicles that enable individual politicians to achieve their ambitions.
-the very "brand names" they provide are often a significant electoral asset
-moreover, once their candidates are elected, parties provide these politicians, who share principles, causes, and constituencies, with a basis for coordination, common cause, cooperation, and joint enterprise
-but individual ambition constantly threatens to undermine any bases for cooperation
--political parties, by regulating career advancement, providing for the orderly resolution of ambitious competition, and attending to the post-career care of elected and appointed party officials, do much to rescue coordination and cooperation and permit fellow partisans to pursue common causes where feasible
--simple devices such as primaries provide a context in which clashing electoral ambitions can be resolved
-political parties constitute organizations of relatively kindred spirits who try to capture some of those dividends by providing a structure in which ambition is not suppressed altogether but is not so destructive either

-Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution makes only a few provisions for elections.
--it delegates to the states the power to set the "times, places, and manner of holding elections," even those for US senators and representatives
--it does however reserve to Congress the power to make such laws if it chooses to do so
--President must be at least 35 years of age, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the US for at least 14 years
--a senator must be at least age 30, a US citizen for at least 9 years, and a resident of the state he or she represents
--a member of the House must be at least 25, a US citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state he or she represents

-in 2010, the Republicans won 53.5 percent of the two party vote nationwide for the US House, but 55.6 percent of the seats
-as an empirical matter, the US, when the election is a tie, the parties win equal shares of the vote, and for every 1 percent of the vote above 50% a party gains an additional 2% of the seats
-in 2012, however, Democrats and Republicans finished in a virtual tie for popular votes cast for the two parties in House races, but the GOP won 54% of the seats
--this anomaly was in part the result of the Republican advantage in redrawing district boundaries.
---these boundaries are drawn by state legislatures, and in 2010 the GOP won control of a majority of these bodies.
---Candidate recruitment, retirements, and reapportionment also played a role
-the electoral college tends to magnify the vote even more dramatically:
--in 2012, Barack Obama won 51% of the vote nationwide, but he captured nearly 62% of the electoral college delegates.

-candidates personal attributes always influence voters' decisions
-the more important characteristics that affect voters' choices are race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography, and social background
-in general, voters prefer candidates who are closer to themselves in terms of these candidates
--voters presume that such candidates are likely to have views and perspectives close to their own
--moreover, they may be proud to see someone of their ethnic, religious, or geographic background in a position of leadership
-this is why for many years politicians sought to "balance the ticket," making certain that their party's ticket included members of as many important groups as possible
-the characteristics could also repel others
--many voters are prejudiced against candidates of certain ethnic, racial, or religious groups.

-most political campaigns are temporary organizations.
--they form for the sole purpose of winning the coming elections and disband shortly afterwards
-to be sure, political parties in the US have a set of permanent, professional campaign organizations that raise money, strategize, recruit candidates, and distribute resources
--these are, on the Republican side, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the National Republican Congressional Committee
--on the Democratic side are the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
-they account for roughly 1/3 of the money in politics and have considerable expertise
-most campaigns are formed by and around individual candidates, who often put up the initial cash to get the campaign rolling and rely heavily on family and friends as volunteers

-in the 1960s, conservative Republicans argued that me-tooism was a recipe for continual failure and sought to reposition the party as a genuine alternative to the Democrats.
-In 1964, the Republican presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater, argued in favor of substantially reduced levels of taxation and spending, less government regulation of the economy, and the elimination of many federal social programs.
-Although Goldwater was defeated by Lyndon Johnson, the ideas he espoused continue to be major themes of the Republican Party
-The Goldwater message, however, was not enough to lead Republicans to victory. It took Richard Nixon's "southern strategy" to give the Republicans the votes it needed to end Democratic dominance in the political process
-Nixon appealed strongly to disaffected white southerners, and with the help of George Wallace, sparked the shift of voters that eventually gave the once-hated "party of Lincoln" a strong position in all the states of the formal confederacy
-in the 1980s, under Ronald Reagan, Republicans added religious conservatives who were offended by Democratic support of abortion rights as well as alleged Democratic disdain for traditional cultural and religious values

-interest groups are generally supported by groups of producers or manufacturers in a particular economic sector.
--ex: American Farm Bureau Federation, which represent small business owners
-at the same time that broadly representative groups such as these are active in Washington, specific companies--such as Disney, Shell, Microsoft, and General Motors--may be active on certain issues that are of particular concern to them
-labor organizations, although fewer in number and more limited in their financial resources, are extremely active lobbyists.
--the AFL-CIO, the United Mine Workers, and and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are examples of groups that lobby on behalf of organized labor.
-lobbies have arisen to further the interests of public employees
--the most significant example being the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
-professional lobbies such as the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association have been particularly successful in furthering their interests in state and federal legislatures

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