Modern Political Parties - AP US Government

The term "New Democrat" was first introduced into the popular consciousness during the Democratic National Convention of 1992; however, it first appeared as an ideology in the wake of the election of George H. W. Bush in 1988. It meant to establish the Democrat party as considerably more conservative and centrist than the party had previously been. This may be understood as a reaction to two broad American political trends of recent years: firstly, the movement to the political right of the majority of the American population and secondly, the idea that a political party, be it conservative or liberal, is best served by adopting centrist views and appearing less extreme than its opponent(s).

The modern Democratic Party tends to be supported by minorities, women, young people, people living in cities, whereas the modern Republican party tends to be supported by wealthy people, southerners, and white males.

Supply-side economics is a macroeconomic theory that suggests that the best way to encourage economic growth is to remove obstacles for those who produce goods. Essentially it proposes lowering regulations and taxes on wealthier individuals and corporations, supporting the notion that such a policy will cause a "trickle-down" effect that will improve the economic and social conditions of the working and middle classes. It is most closely associated with Ronald Reagan and was part of the platform on which he won his landslide election victory in 1980 over Jimmy Carter.

The political spectrum, from left to right, could be illustrated as: Radical - Liberal - Moderate - Conservative - Reactionary. So a "radical" would appear furthest left on the political spectrum. Radicals favor quick and immediate changes to the social or political life. A "reactionary," on the other hand, favors the maintenance of the status quo at all costs, or even further, the return to some previous ordered system that has been overturned by recent "radical" action.

This is a relatively simply policy question. The Republican Party is the correct answer. On the whole, Republicans tend to be less enthusiastic about economic and environmental regulations, and more enthusiastic about moral or social regulations. In other words, Republicans are unlikely to support things like higher taxes, expansive government, or large social entitlements. They are, on the other hand, more likely to support things like abortion bans, or to disapprove of gay marriage.

This, like the prior question, is a policy question. The Democratic Party is the correct answer. On the whole, Democrats tend to be very supportive of legal abortion, gay marriage, ‘fairness’ and equality, and greater regulation of businesses, along with higher taxes.

Blue Dog Democrats are Democrats who loyally vote with their party on most issues, except for economic ones. When it comes to financial matters, they tend to be more conservative (meaning they want the government to spend less money) than their fellow Democrats. So when a spending or funding bill arises, perhaps in the House of Representatives, Blue Dog Democrats are known to cross over and vote with the Republican opposition instead, denying their own party their support.

While the European party system does indeed function in a multi-party climate, the US system only has two parties – the Democrats and the Republicans – who are able to exercise any form of influential political control. This is most likely due to the very disorganized nature of the US system, where candidates are able to dictate to party leaders and where parties are often scattered across state and local lines. In Europe, a very strict structural party hierarchy exists, with party leadership wielding iron-clad control over their members. Europe also utilizes proportional representation when it comes to awarding votes and/or delegates to parties, while in the US, whichever candidate wins a plurality (or majority) of votes wins the entire area and/or delegates in question, with the opposition gaining nothing.

As more and more voters engage in ticket splitting, divided government has increasingly resulted, especially ever since the 1970s. Divided government occurs when one party controls the Executive Branch while the opposite party controls one or both houses of Congress, so that neither party is able to achieve dominance. In tandem with ticket splitting, more voters have begun to draw away from membership in either the Democratic or the Republican parties, choosing to identify as Independents instead, which is a further rejection of main party domination. The Southern states in particular have experienced great changes; where once many Southerners faithfully voted for Democrat candidates, the Republican Party has recently stolen increasing numbers of these voters away. As for female citizens, women are very much an active force in political life, with ever more women rising to prominent party leadership positions and the overall female voter turnout rate eclipsing that of their male counterparts.