Political Influence

Question 1
Political parties are different from other organized interests in that they do not just seek to influence the public. Rather, they influence the public an also front their candidates for elections. Unlike other organized interests, political parties also control their representatives as per their party policies, once they are elected into office (Zinn, 2015).
Question 2
The United States mainly moved from a party-centered to a candidate-centered approach to elections due to technological advancements and increased political awareness. Previously, parties use to relay their candidates through internal party mechanisms which sidelined citizens (Hirano & Snyder, 2012). However, with technological improvements, candidates found a way to speak directly to the people by use of television among other technological tools causing their parties to lose monopoly.
Question 3
The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 regulates campaigning in the United States by controlling the financing of political campaigns. The Act barred political parties from raising soft cash which had been previously used to influence voters rather than financing campaigns (Zinn, 2015). The net effect is that parties changed their approach in campaigns from a money-oriented strategy to an issues-oriented style.
Question 4
Critics attribute low voter turnouts in U.S. elections to the lack of enough civic education and voter legislation. As opposed to other developed democracies, the responsibility to be registered as a voter in the U.

S. squarely befalls the voter (Hirano & Snyder, 2012). Most individuals thus fail to register even after attaining the age and hence the low voter turnouts during elections.
Question 5
The media is involved in at least three political functions inclusive of reporting political news, serving as a link between citizens and the government and also creating political awareness (Hirano & Snyder, 2012). Through the three activities, the media successfully keeps both the government and the people informed of the political and social events happening in the country. Question 6
Sometimes, newspapers in the U.S. may display liberal bias. Though it is not common, sometimes, political temperatures in the country have time and again forced newspapers to make reports that overlook professional journalism. The few instances, however, do not qualify to judge the newspapers as liberally biased.
References
Hirano, S., & Snyder, J. (2012). The Direct Primary and Candidate-Centered Voting in US Elections. Working Paper.
Zinn, H. (2015). A people’s history of the United States: 1492-present. Routledge.