Why might a focus on the candidates be viewed as a weakening of ...

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Why might a focus on the candidates be viewed as a weakening of the party system?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe how the New Deal realignment transformed American political parties.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[amandalm]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain that candidate-centered politics is in evidence when the character of political candidates and the particular emphasis they give to particular issues override political affiliation as a basis on which voters form judgments, noting that not all members of a party coalition agree with a party's emphasis on the issues all the time.
2. Indicate that candidate-centered politics is a weakening of the party system because parties' diminished control over issues and campaigns also gives candidates considerable power in how they conduct themselves during election season and how they seek resources from different groups within their coalitions.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Describe how Franklin D. Roosevelt led a Democratic coalition that captured the votes of large numbers of Americans who repudiated Republican policies during the Great Depression, and that realignment lasted for nearly four decades.
2. The New Deal coalition supported an expansion of federal government powers and responsibilities, particularly in the areas of social services (e.g., old-age assistance, aid for the poor, encouragement of unionization, subsidies for agriculture, and regulation of business).

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Excellent

[cpetit11]

Gracias!