Answer the following question specifically: 1. What are the three definitions of a political party? How do these three parts make up what we consider to be modern political parties? How do they achieve their goals to gain control of the government?
2. How do the institutional features of the Senate and the House differ? How does leadership matter in each chamber?
3. How do interest groups overcome the collective-action problem? Explain. How are some groups able to overcome this barrier to collective action, and why do others fail? What are some resources that groups have at their disposal?
4. How can interest groups serve democratic interests? How might interest groups undermine democratic governance? Be specific about common types of organized interests, and whose interests they serve?
5. What do elections accomplish? Name and explain at least 3 things that elections do. What are free and fair elections, and why are they important for a democracy?
6. How do campaigns prioritize issue positions? Describe the general types of issue position that legislators can emphasize. How might using a valance vs. a wedge issue matter to us (the public)?
7. What does horse race coverage mean when we consider 21st century campaigning? Why does this style of journalism "work" for the media? How can candidates use horse race coverage to gain momentum and garner attention?
8. In what ways does the 24-hour news cycle affect politics? How does having competing news outlets, and the ability to filter out news content, matter for learning about politics? How does the structure of media affect the presence of, or inability to correct, misinformation?