What Prevents Third Parties from Gaining Support and Being Able

question 9

Multiple Choice

What prevents third parties from gaining support and being able to challenge the two-party system?

• A) Obsolete Texas state law prevents third parties from gaining seats in the legislature unless they win at least ten seats in the House and two in the Senate.
• B) There has never been a true reason that would allow for the emergence of a third party, as the Republican and Democratic parties manage to represent the interests of everyone.
• C) Strong campaigns require strong candidates and third parties in Texas have never had a rational, charismatic candidate to put up against the two parties.
• D) State election laws supporting the status quo make it hard for third parties to get on the ballot, and elections determined by a simple plurality diminish their chances.
• E) The Republican Party and Democratic Party typically bargain with third parties to reach a compromise on a policy issue in an attempt to prevent them from gaining traction.

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Definitions:

Object Integration

The level of unification of an internalized relationship.

Psychodynamic

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes the systematic study of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate to early experience.

Neo-analytic

Pertains to a school of thought in psychology that revises and expands upon Freudian and pre-Freudian psychoanalytic theories, emphasizing social and cultural factors more.

Repression

A defense mechanism where distressing thoughts, memories, or desires are excluded from the conscious mind.