US Democracy & Participation (Edexcel A Level Politics): Flashcards

It triggered retrospective voting, as unemployment peaked at 14.7% in April 2020 and voters declined to reward his economic management.

The Rose Garden strategy is where incumbents govern while campaigning, allowing presidents to appear statesmanlike while challengers must actively attack.

A Super PAC is an organisation that can raise and spend unlimited funds but cannot directly coordinate with candidates.

A traditional PAC could donate up to $5,000 per candidate per election cycle in 2024.

It ruled that political spending is protected free speech, so limits on independent spending by corporations and unions were unconstitutional, fuelling the rise of Super PACs.

The McCain–Feingold Act banned corporations and unions from funding broadcast adverts mentioning a federal candidate within 60 days of a general election.

True.

It aimed to reduce the influence of wealthy donors and increase transparency.

Soft money refers to unlimited contributions given to parties for party-building activities, which in practice were often used to influence federal elections.

Michael Bloomberg spent over $1 billion in the 2020 primary yet failed to win significant delegate support.

It signals candidate viability and momentum, as when Trump raised over $7 million in the days after his August 2023 indictment.

False.

527 organisations can raise unlimited funds but cannot explicitly advocate for a candidate.

They amplify campaign messaging independently, as MAGA Inc. spent tens of millions on ads supporting Trump in 2024.

Through grassroots small-donor fundraising, as Bernie Sanders relied on millions of small donations in 2016 and 2020 to remain competitive.

In 2024, both candidates concentrated advertising spending on swing states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.

Moderate Democrats are a faction prioritising pragmatism and electability, favouring incremental reform, represented by figures such as Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer.

Biden proposed raising corporation tax from 21% to 28%.

Progressive Democrats are a faction advocating extensive economic redistribution and social reform, championing policies such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

The Inflation Reduction Act (2022) was the largest climate spending package in US history.

Obergefell v Hodges (2015) underpinned Clinton's 2016 support for same-sex marriage.

True.

Racial justice became a key issue for the Democrats in the 2020 election.

They forced reductions to social spending, as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema cut back Build Back Better.

True.

Democratic economic policy has become more interventionist in response to crises.

In 2021, the Congressional Progressive Caucus threatened to block the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act unless it was paired with social spending.

They pursued an active industrial policy, shown by the CHIPS and Science Act (2022) boosting domestic manufacturing.

True.

Democratic welfare policy has evolved toward broader provision and federal responsibility.

It reflected the Democratic priority of expanding family welfare support, building on the temporary 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) reduced corporation tax from 35% to 21%.

They appointed conservative Supreme Court justices to help overturn Roe v Wade, such as Neil Gorsuch in 2017.

Following Dobbs v Jackson (2022), Republicans supported state abortion bans such as Texas's near-total prohibition.

The Freedom Caucus is the most ideologically conservative Republican faction, advocating limited government, deep spending cuts and social conservatism.

It shows the Freedom Caucus's disproportionate power over party leadership, as its member Matt Gaetz triggered the motion that removed Kevin McCarthy in October 2023.

True.

Freedom Caucus member Matt Gaetz used a rule allowing a single member to trigger the motion.

They prioritise fiscal discipline and institutional norms, represented by figures such as Mitt Romney and the late John McCain.

False.

Republicans traditionally support limited government intervention and free-market economics.

In January 2023, Freedom Caucus members forced 15 rounds of voting before supporting Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.

Republicans oppose student debt forgiveness, welcoming the Supreme Court's blocking of Biden's loan cancellation in Biden v Nebraska (2023).

True.

Trump promised a market-based alternative to the Affordable Care Act.

MAGA Republicans are a Trump-aligned faction prioritising populism and loyalty to Donald Trump, supporting nationalist policies such as restrictive immigration.

Biden won approximately 87% of the Black vote in 2020.

True.

This reflected cultural conservatism and economic nationalism.

Trump made notable gains among Cuban Americans in Florida.

Biden won around 57% of women's votes in 2020.

The gender gap widened in 2024 following the Dobbs v Jackson Supreme Court decision, which mobilised suburban women voters.

The gender gap is the consistent tendency for women to vote more strongly for Democratic candidates than men.

Around 76% of white evangelical Christians voted for Trump in 2020.

False.

Over 65% of Jewish voters supported Biden in 2020.

Catholic voters narrowly backed Biden in 2020.

The education divide is the growing tendency for voters without college degrees to support Republicans and college-educated voters to support Democrats, now rivalling race as a predictor of partisan alignment.

Educational attainment now rivals race as a predictor of partisan alignment in the US.

True.

College-educated voters, particularly in suburban areas, increasingly support the Democrats.

A single-issue group focuses on one specific policy area, such as the NRA's near-exclusive focus on protecting Second Amendment gun rights.

They rely mainly on insider, elite lobbying of lawmakers, such as the AMA lobbying Congress on healthcare funding.

A cause group promotes broader ideological or societal goals rather than material benefits for members, such as the ACLU campaigning on civil liberties.

Lobbying is the most direct method, involving contact with lawmakers and officials.

The March for Our Lives movement used grassroots mobilisation to help pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022.

True.

Litigation allows groups to challenge laws through the courts.

The AFL-CIO is the largest federation of trade unions in the US, representing over 12 million workers and backing Democratic candidates.

The NRA endorsed Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020.

True.

AIPAC is one of the most influential foreign policy interest groups in the US.

A long-term decline in US union membership has cut the AFL-CIO's resources and political leverage, falling below 11% in 2023.

It reveals the NRA's declining influence, as Congress passed the Act despite NRA opposition following the Uvalde school shooting.

A professional interest group represents the interests of a specific occupation, aiming to influence policy in ways that benefit its members.

Incumbency is the advantage held by candidates who already hold the political office in which they are running for re-election.

It can let a candidate win the presidency without the popular vote, as when Trump won in 2016 despite nearly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.

False.

It requires a constitutional amendment, needing two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of states.

Falling US union membership has weakened the political influence of labour interest groups, dropping below 11% in 2023.

Citizens United v FEC (2010) allowed unlimited independent political spending by corporations and unions.

No, as money does not guarantee success, shown by Michael Bloomberg spending over $1 billion in the 2020 Democratic primary yet winning only one state.

True.

This reflects how campaign finance can undermine public trust.

Incumbents find fundraising easier as donors seek access, shown by Biden raising over $90 million in the first quarter of 2024.

True.

Despite being the incumbent, Trump lost the 2020 election after public dissatisfaction with his handling of COVID-19.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022) passed despite NRA opposition.

Reformers argue such laws cause voter suppression, as Georgia's 2021 Election Integrity Act reduced ballot drop boxes and tightened voter ID rules.

Gerrymandering is the partisan drawing of electoral district maps to create safe seats and distort fair representation.

A two-party system is one in which two dominant parties — the Democrats and Republicans in the US, Labour and the Conservatives in the UK — dominate elections and policymaking.

First-past-the-post and the Electoral College reinforce the US two-party system.

True.

UK parties are described as more ideologically flexible.

US primaries allow voter involvement in candidate selection, unlike the UK where conferences and internal votes dominate.

The SNP or the Liberal Democrats can win regional seats despite winner-takes-all pressures.

Through strong party leadership, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holding Democratic unity during the 2021 infrastructure bill votes.

True.

This leadership removal mechanism can enhance party cohesion in the UK.

In the UK Labour Party, Blairites versus Corbynites factionalism affected policy proposals between 2017 and 2019.

Whipping systems are mechanisms that parties use to ensure their legislators maintain voting discipline.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) reflected US Republican tax-cutting policy.

True.

US Republicans and UK Conservatives instead emphasise low taxes and small government.

US Democrats support expanding healthcare coverage, shown by the Affordable Care Act, whereas Republicans favour private healthcare markets.

Structural theory explains political behaviour through the formal institutions, rules and legal frameworks that shape how people and organisations act.

US campaigns face far looser fundraising and spending limits than UK campaigns, so they raise much larger sums, such as Biden's $1.69 billion in 2020.

Dark money refers to campaign funding where US groups obscure the identity of donors through shell organisations, unlike the UK where donor identities are largely public.

In the US, 527s and Super PACs can raise unlimited funds for independent expenditure.

True.

In contrast, in the US 527s and Super PACs can raise unlimited funds for independent expenditure.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulates campaign contributions in the US.

Rational theory explains behaviour as strategic action taken to maximise advantage, such as parties deploying resources to maximise electoral success.

Both lobby the legislature to influence policy, such as AIPAC lobbying Congress on US foreign aid.

US groups can fund candidates through PACs and Super PACs, whereas UK groups cannot fund candidates directly.

True.

For example, the NRA aligns with the Republicans, whereas UK groups such as Liberty and Greenpeace remain non-partisan.

The UK pressure group Liberty used litigation to challenge the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

Cultural theory explains behaviour through shared social norms, values and ideals.