Deck 8: Political Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns: Defining the Voters Choice

Question 1

Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to

A)win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.
B)receive campaign funds from government in proportion to their support in opinion polls.
C)win legislative seats by lottery for parties that have no chance of winning majority support.
D)share in patronage appointments,which serve as an incentive to lure campaign workers.
E)advertise on television.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Prospective voting is characterized by

A)a sudden shift in the vote from one party to another.
B)choices based on party loyalty.
C)choices based on a candidate's past performance.
D)choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.
E)the symbolism of a candidate's personality.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Political parties in the United States originated partly as a political feud between

A)Marshall and Adams.
B)Adams and Jackson.
C)Lincoln and Douglas.
D)Cleveland and Bryan.
E)Hamilton and Jefferson.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Party dealignment is

A)essentially the same as party realignment.
B)a process that has discouraged the formation of third parties.
C)a process that has strengthened the major parties.
D)a process that refers to American political parties in the early 1800s.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 5

Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?

A)split-ticket voting
B)an increase in independent voters
C)straight-ticket voting
D)the influence of short-term issues and candidates
E)a focus on candidate charisma and personal style

Question 6

The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is

A)that there are naturally only two sides to political disputes.
B)regional conflict.
C)the existence of single-member election districts.
D)the existence of state laws prohibiting the placement of a third major party on the ballot.
E)proportional representation.

Question 7

The history of democratic government is virtually synonymous with the history of

A)high voter turnout.
B)the separation of powers.
C)economic recessions.
D)protest movements.
E)political parties.

Question 8

All of the following are characteristic of a party realignment EXCEPT

A)sharp divisions between the parties.
B)enduring changes in party coalitions.
C)major policy initiatives by the winning party.
D)a very close electoral result.
E)the disruption of the existing political order.

Question 9

Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the

A)forging of a coalition of Democrats and Whigs.
B)introduction of primary elections.
C)formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.
D)formation of the Federalist Party.
E)formation of the Republican Party.

Question 10

________ lost the 1964 presidential election in a landslide because his views were seen as too extreme.

A)James Weaver
B)Jimmy Carter
C)George McGovern
D)Richard Nixon
E)Barry Goldwater

Question 11

In 1912,a candidate for which minor party managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?

A)Socialist
B)Prohibition
C)Bull Moose
D)Reform
E)Populist

Question 12

Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S.parties primarily due to

A)the stability of their ideologies.
B)the lack of good third-party candidates.
C)a high degree of party discipline.
D)their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 13

Political parties serve to

A)link the public with its elected leaders.
B)enable people with different backgrounds and opinions to act together.
C)offer the public a choice between policies and leaders.
D)provide potential leaders an opportunity to attain public office.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 14

The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ party as a major political party.

A)Federalist
B)Democratic
C)Republican
D)Whig
E)Populist

Question 15

The Democratic Party's long-time regional stronghold,"the Solid South",stemmed from a realignment during which historical period?

A)Civil War era
B)1890s
C)Great Depression
D)1980s
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 16

The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between

A)slave states and free states.
B)the older eastern states and the newer western states.
C)small farmers and states' rights advocates,and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.
D)business and labor.
E)Protestants and Catholics.

Question 17

________ does not have a competitive multiparty system.

A)Germany
B)Italy
C)The Netherlands
D)The United States
E)Sweden

Question 18

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party.

A)Prospective voting
B)Retrospective voting
C)Split-ticket voting
D)Straight-ticket voting
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 19

Which of the following encourages the two major parties to build broad coalitions?

A)the need to raise campaign funds
B)the need to have policy "wiggle-room" once elected into power
C)the desire to avoid their policy preferences becoming hijacked by extreme elements
D)fear of demonization by the press
E)the two-party system and the need to gain a plurality

Question 20

If a minor party gains a large following,it is almost certain that

A)the major parties will join together to attack the minor party.
B)Congress will enact legislation to make it difficult for the minor party to get on the ballot.
C)party in-fighting will tear it apart.
D)one or both major parties will absorb its issue,and the minor party will lose support.
E)the media will attack the minor party.

Question 21

National party organizations can dictate the day-to-day decisions of

A)local party organizations only.
B)state party organizations only.
C)local and state party organizations.
D)neither local nor state party organizations.
E)party leaders in Congress.

Question 22

What was especially unique about the "Era of Good Feeling"?

A)Political parties were banned.
B)President Monroe ran unopposed in 1820.
C)Jefferson's faction adopted the label "Republican".
D)The president and vice president were from competing parties.
E)Federalists won the election of 1820.

Question 23

All of the following use top-two primaries EXCEPT

A)Oregon.
B)Washington.
C)California.
D)Nebraska.
E)Louisiana.

Question 24

A(n)________ party is a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy.

A)third
B)reform
C)single-issue
D)ideological
E)factional

Question 25

American party organizations

A)are about to die out.
B)are more powerful today than at any time in history.
C)have more power than their Western European counterparts.
D)are still important,but their role in campaigns is secondary to that of candidates.
E)are unimportant in the political system today.

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of a single-issue party?

A)Populists
B)Green Party
C)Socialist Workers Party
D)Libertarian Party
E)Greenback Party

Question 27

What party has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians,based on its positions on topics like abortion and school prayer?

A)Democratic
B)Republican
C)Green
D)Socialist
E)Reform

Question 28

Regarding state party organizations,the day-to-day operation is usually the responsibility of the

A)central committee.
B)state chairperson.
C)national chairperson who oversees all state party organizations.
D)state governor or top leaders in the legislative branch.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 29

Ticket splitting was most prominent during which decade?

A)1970s
B)1990s
C)1980s
D)1960s
E)1950s

Question 30

________ warned Americans of the "baneful effects" of factions (political parties)in his 1797 farewell address.

A)James Madison
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)George Washington
D)Andrew Jackson
E)Abraham Lincoln

Question 31

Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party,voting more than 80 percent Democratic in presidential elections?

A)Latino Americans
B)white Protestants
C)Christian fundamentalists
D)African Americans
E)Roman Catholics

Question 32

Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?

A)city dwellers
B)Hispanics
C)union members
D)Jews
E)fundamentalist Christians

Question 33

Organizationally,the U.S.major parties are

A)decentralized and fragmented.
B)centralized and weak.
C)decentralized and strong.
D)centralized and strong.
E)no longer in operation.

Question 34

James Carville and Roger Ailes are both examples of

A)minor party candidates who earned more than five percent of the vote.
B)campaign strategists who have earned legendary reputations.
C)congressional incumbents whose reelection bids were derailed by smear campaigns.
D)national chairpersons of one of the two major parties.
E)lobbyists jailed for their illegal soft money contributions.

Question 35

Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign?

A)pollsters
B)media producers
C)fundraising specialists
D)campaign consultants
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 36

________ prohibits the purchase of televised advertising time by candidates.

A)Scotland
B)Great Britain
C)The United States
D)Germany
E)Canada

Question 37

Candidates' first priority in a close election is to

A)secure their "base voters".
B)rally the faithful and "get out the vote".
C)increase TV spending.
D)paint their opponents in a bad light.
E)win over the "swing voters".

Question 38

________ was the only Republican elected president from 1932 to 1964.

A)Richard Nixon
B)Barry Goldwater
C)Dwight Eisenhower
D)Herbert Hoover
E)Calvin Coolidge

Question 39

During the twentieth century,American parties lost their complete control over

A)nominations.
B)financing.
C)platforms.
D)the staffing of government jobs.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 40

In twentieth-century American history,the most important minor parties were ________ parties.

A)ideological
B)single-issue
C)factional
D)reform
E)non-aligned

Question 41

About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at

A)the national level.
B)the state level.
C)the local level.
D)the national and state levels.
E)Republican and Democratic party headquarters.

Question 42

Explain how party coalitions in the U.S.reflect the nature of party competition.Does coalition formation tend to moderate or radicalize parties? Explain.

Question 43

The winner-take-all system is also known as the ________ system.

A)plurality
B)majority
C)minority
D)democratic
E)proportional

Question 44

________ representation systems are those in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to each political party's share of the popular vote.

A)Plurality
B)Populist
C)Minority
D)Democratic
E)Proportional

Question 45

Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S.parties?

A)the national convention
B)the direct primary
C)Jacksonian democracy
D)the emergence of PACs
E)voter registration

Question 46

Which of the following statements about the patronage system is true?

A)It was a means of rewarding party workers for their loyalty.
B)It was first established in the early twentieth century.
C)It has fallen increasingly into the hands of party organizations.
D)It weakens the bond that most federal staff members might otherwise feel for the congressperson under which they work.
E)Today there are almost no patronage jobs left.

Question 47

In the recent elections,which voting demographic has become a more cohesive voting bloc that has sided heavily with the Democratic Party,seeing it as more closely aligned with their interests?

A)Hispanics
B)African Americans
C)the middle class
D)the affluent
E)seniors

Question 48

Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ percent of the popular vote.

A)20
B)40
C)50
D)60
E)80

Question 49

In 1992,________ won 19 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election.

A)Bill Clinton
B)George H.W.Bush
C)Ross Perot
D)Pat Buchanan
E)Ralph Nader

Question 50

,the Supreme Court

A)found private citizens should not have limits on the amount of money they can spend on campaigns.
B)found corporations and unions could not be banned from spending money on campaigns.
C)found private citizens had the same free speech rights as corporations.
D)found corporate and union donations to campaigns was not covered as a form of free speech.
E)invalidated the government's use of an elections commission to regulate campaign donations.

Question 51

Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability?

A)Most citizens have a high opinion of Congress as a whole,but say they have little confidence in their local representative in Congress.
B)Most citizens have a high opinion of both Congress as a whole and their local representative in Congress.
C)Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole,but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress.
D)Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole and also of their local representative in Congress.
E)Most citizens do not feel that their local representatives in Congress should be held accountable for the votes they have to make in order to stay in line with their party's platform.

Question 52

The election of ________ was a realigning election.

A)1840
B)1872
C)1932
D)1960
E)1976

Question 53

State central committees

A)endorse candidates in their state-wide primaries but do not have formal control over who is chosen.
B)have the final say in who will be chosen as the candidates for national office from their party in their home state.
C)provide only general policy guidance for the state organizations.
D)are prevented from participating in fund-raising and voter registration because they receive government funding.
E)concentrate most strongly on national elections.

Question 54

What is meant by a party realignment?

Question 55

What demographic is key to the future of both parties?

A)Hispanic voters
B)African American voters
C)middle-class voters
D)Jewish voters
E)the senior vote

Question 56

The function that the national party organizations perform in relation to congressional candidates can best be described as a

A)service relationship-helping candidates conduct their personal campaigns.
B)power relationship-making party assistance conditional upon the candidates' endorsement of the party platform.
C)central relationship-organizing and conducting the campaigns for the candidates.
D)non-participant relationship-staying out of congressional campaigns and assisting only in the presidential campaign.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 57

On average,how much money must a U.S.senator raise every week of his or her six-year term in order to acquire enough money to launch a competitive bid for reelection?

A)$200
B)$2,000
C)$20,000
D)$200,000
E)$2,000,000

Question 58

How do European parties differ from American parties?

Question 59

Explain why the single-member district system of elections tends to promote a two-party system.

Question 60

Why have the Democratic and Republican parties been so durable as to maintain existence since the Civil War? Explain.

Question 61

What are primary elections and what impact have they had on party organizations?

Question 62

What is a candidate-centered campaign,and how does it differ from a party-centered one? Identify some advantages and disadvantages of candidate-centered campaigns.