1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE US PARTY SYSTEM?
Why are there only two major parties in America?
What are “realigning” elections and “party systems”?
Are there major policy differences between the Democrats and the Republicans?
Why are the major parties “catch-all parties” that aren’t very ideologically consistent?
Are parties dying (do we really want to be post-partisan)? The pie, the pig, & the po

2. PARTY IN GOVT: UNITY SCORES (where a majority of one party stands against a majority of another party)

3. PARTY IN THE ELECTORATE

6. HOW DO POLITICAL PARTIES AS ORGANIZATIONS HELP DEMOCRACY?
They can help to overcome constitutional flaws by:
Organizing government across levels & branches
Protecting legislative power
Vetting ideas before they go public
Recruiting new elites into politics
They can help voters:
Identifying, synthesizing & prioritizing voters’ interests
Helping voters to make rational decisions
Educating and mobilizing voters

7. They can help politicians behave:
Translating vague preferences into complex policies
Dramatically reducing the $ in politics
Day to day monitoring when you and I aren’t looking
They help pols to think collectively and longer term
Checks and balances that increase politician accountability to other politicians
Providing a policy map for officials & candidates
Having ready-to-go alternatives/platforms