1. Both Sanders and Trump were able to win primaries even though a majority of the Democratic and Republican political establishment opposed them. Why was that? What was it about these candidates that allowed them to so successfully run against the establishment of their parties? Does it say something about their competition as well?

2. Given his longstanding affiliation as an independent should Sanders have been able to seek the Democratic nomination in the first place? Why or why not? What control should parties have over who seeks their nomination to run for office?

3. Given what you know about voting, why was it a dangerous strategy for Sanders to focus so much of his attention on young voters? What was the advantage of that approach? How could he balance that strategy with other parts of the electorate?

4. One of the biggest complaints from the Republican establishment about Trump was the fact that he had bounced between the Democrats and the Republicans over the past 30 years. Why was that such an issue for the party? How might that have been a virtue for some voters?

5. How does Trump use Twitter in his campaign? In what ways has this been a successful strategy? What risks are there to that approach?

6. Why were the founders so negative about the potential for parties? What risks did they pose? Have these dangers come to pass? In what ways was our system designed to work without parties?

7. Given that the founders were so negative about political parties, why did they form so easily? How did this feature, never mentioned in the Constitution, become a seemingly permanent fixture in our political system?

8. What are the three parts of American political parties according to Key? Which part is the most accessible to the public? Which part is the most democratic? Which part is the most resistant to change?

9. What is frontloading? Why do states want to move their primary or caucus dates up earlier in the calendar? Why are the parties generally opposed? How does frontloading affect candidates? Voters?

10. Does our current system of frontloading promote unrepresentative electorates for the two parties? Why do two, small, very racially homogenous states get to go first? What is the logic? How does it affect the final results?

11. What is the logic behind having bound delegates? Why might party officials want them? Why might voters want them? What are the issues with this setup?

12. Most Americans have a very clear sense of partisanship that remains with them their entire life. Why is partisanship so powerful in this country? Why is so stable and long-lasting?

13. Is it more important for a politician to be consistent or to be flexible? Or to put it another way, to compromise or to remain firm? What do you think personally? What do you think would be more advantageous in terms of getting elected or reelected?

14. What is split ticket voting? Have you or your parents ever split your ticket? If so, why and if not, why not?

15. Both parties in 2016 had a presidential candidate run fairly successfully that were seen as anti-establishment (Sanders and Trump). What does it tell us about the two parties that on the Democratic side, Sanders did well but fell short, while on the Republican side, Trump won fairly handily? What does it say about the bases of the two parties? What does it say about their electoral rules?

16. Was 2008 a critical election leading to a realignment? Why or why not? How likely do you think we are to see a realignment in the near future?

17. What does it say about the United States that for most of the past twenty years, the country has had divided government at the national level and that switches in party control have been fairly common? Is the country heavily divided by party? Why or why not?

18. How has the rise of social media affected the ability of party leaders to control their parties? In what ways has this new media made it easier to communicate with their partisans? On balance, has the new media been advantageous or disadvantageous to political parties?