Independent Expenditures vs. Direct Contributions

Primary vs. A Caucus 

Independent Expenditures vs. Direct Contributions 

Responsible Party Government vs. Mavericks 

Proportional Representation vs. First Past the Post/Winner Take All (Europe vs. the US)  

Lobbying 

Iron Triangle  

Part 2: Respond to the following statement. Answer each part thoroughly. Remember, you may take any position on the following statements you want; the key is to support these positions with evidence from the class.  

Critics of the American style of government point to a number of problems in American elections. Foreign critics argue that the American 

party system makes voting harder for regular voters because American politicians often buck their parties and act like mavericks. They also argue that the election process itself is problematic. They argue that both the nomination contest and the general election have low turnouts comparatively, and serve to further the interests of the rich elite who vote. Weak campaign finance laws also bias the system towards those

that raise a lot of money from wealthy contributors leading to corruption. Do you agree or disagree with this? Why?