Chapter 11.2

What is meant by "party realignment"? What is the most important example of this in recent history according to the textbook?

A shifting of party allegiances within the electorate. When black people went from Republican to Democrat in the mid-1960s.

The 1932 presidential election is widely considered to be a critical election. What reason does the textbook give for this?

After this election, political parties were largely identified as being divided by differences in their members' socio-economic status.

What is meant by "mega-identity"? Be sure to know and understand the discussion in the textbook around this term, specifically why party identification is best thought of as a social identity that overlaps with many other aspects of social identity.

An identity through which multiple social identities reinforce and magnify each other.

A lot of people say they are "independents," but the textbook points out that this is somewhat misleading. Why is this misleading? (Hint: it has something to do with the concept of party "leaners".)

Most self-proclaimed "independents" lean in the direction of one party or the other. They identify with a party during elections even if they don't publicly pick a side.

What does the term party organization mean? Why is it important (according to the textbook)?

The formal structure of the political party, and its active members are responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates. A vital component of any successful party because it bears most of the responsibility for building and maintaining the party "brand." It also plays a key role in helping select, and elect, candidates for public office.

The local and state level party organizations are much less visible than the national level. Why is this?

They take on the most responsibility for party activities and are easily the most active participants in the party formation and electoral processes. They are also largely invisible to voters. People are aware of the national party organizations because they are more interested in national level topics than state or local and because national organizations coordinate the grandest spectacle of a political party: the national convention.

What does the term "party-in-the-electorate" mean?

Those members of the voting public who consider themselves to be part of a political party and/or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other.

Which parts of the country are strongly associated with the Democratic Party and which are associated with the Republican Party?

Urban areas and the Northeast are Democratic while the South and rural areas are extremely Republican.