AP US Government

Category - Gov Institutions

Which of the following principles is not part of the responsible party government model?
  1. Legislators should be responsive to their constituencies, even if doing so means voting against their party’s program.
  2. Parties should present clear and coherent programs to voters.
  3. The winning party should carry out its program once in office.
  4. Hold the governing party responsible at the next election for executing its program voters should.
  5. Party members almost always vote with their party.
Explanation
Answer: A - The responsible party government model has party members voting with their parties, not according to the wishes of constituents. According to the responsible party model, political parties should: 1) provide a clear party platform and 2) work to enact the platform once in office so that 3) voters can determine whether to vote for that party in the future based on their policy positions and what they accomplished. The responsible party system is much more common in parliamentary countries than in the US, where checks and balances make it nearly impossible to implement.
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