Author Question: What are wedge issues and why would they be important in a tight campaign? What will be an ideal ... (Read 79 times)

Mollykgkg · **on:** Jul 10, 2018

What are wedge issues and why would they be important in a tight campaign?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What is policy voting? Would the quality of U.S. democracy be improved if voters focused more on policy positions and less on candidate characteristics when deciding how to vote? Provide a justification for your argument.

What will be an ideal response?

underwood14 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 10, 2018

Answer to Question 1

An ideal response will:
1, Define wedge issues as issues on which the other party's coalition is divided.
2, Note that a substantial number of voters are persuadable because they disagree with their preferred candidate on at least one issue, such as pro-choice Republicans or pro-Second Amendment Democrats.

Answer to Question 2

An ideal response will:
1,Define policy voting as a process citizens sometimes use to decide which candidate to support by comparing the candidates' positions with their own positions. The candidate who is closer wins the voter's support.
2, Evaluate whether U.S. democracy would be improved if voters relied more on policy positions and less on candidate characteristics. Students who believe that voters should make policy-based assessments may argue that policies are more substantive and should be at the heart of electoral decisionmaking. Others may argue that candidate characteristics are reasonable predictors of how a president will operate once in office. For example, a candidate's integrity may indicate whether the president will act in the best interests of the public at large or will act to benefit special interests, party interests, or the president's self-interest.