How do interest groups evaluate members of Congress? Why is this information valuable? What will ...

(Ans. #1)

An ideal response will:
1, Describe how interest groups, usually ones with strong ideological positions, rate members of Congress based on their votes and whether or not those votes are consistent with the group's views.
2, Discuss how these vote scores are useful for determining whether a member of Congress is liberal or conservative, whether a specific group views a member of Congress favorably, and whether the member might be someone a voter should consider supporting.

(Ans. #2)

An ideal response will:
1, List the major functions of American political parties including the following: keep elected officials responsive by helping voters choose policy directions and judge past performance; stimulate political interest and participation by mobilizing voters, bringing issues to public attention, and educating the public on issues; ensure accountability by allowing citizens to pass judgment on a collective when it is difficult to pinpoint individual responsibility; help people make sense of complexity in politics, since party labels and positions provide shortcuts to determining values and interests; and make government work by providing bridges between the different branches of government that act as checks and balances.
2, Identify that people benefit from the party label by using it to organize their thinking about politics and as a guide in voting, judging new policy proposals, and evaluating government performance.
3, Note that the party label is used to exert pressure by the fact that how the parties stand relative to one another in the affections of the American people has a lot to do with who wins elections.

(Ans. #3)

An ideal response will:
1, Describe how Franklin D. Roosevelt led a coalition capturing a wide demographic swath, which was maintained for nearly four decades.
2, Detail the nature of the demographic change in the political parties about the time Richard Nixon was elected, which started the Democratic decline that picked up pace after 1980.

(Ans. #4)

equal population size

(Ans. #5)

An ideal response will:
1, Identify that in the past party candidates were usually nominated in district, state, and national conventions, where party regulars played a major role.
2, Detail how party candidates now are almost exclusively nominated in primaries or grassroots caucuses in the states, where party organizations help but do not run the show.
3, Note that nominations today are garnered largely by those who are best able to raise money, gain access to the media, form their own campaign organizations, and win the support of powerful interest and advocacy groups.
4, Describe how the change in the nominating system has changed party organizations from being the primary focus in the nominating process into campaign machines that help and serve the candidates who are running for office.

I'm still confused, but thanks for answering correctly