Deck 6: Political Parties

Question 1

A period in which the names of the major political parties,their supporters,and the issues dividing them remain relatively stable is known as:

A) a node
B) realignment
C) dealignment
D) a party system
E) the Golden Age of parties

Answer 1

D

Question 2

While ________ many dues-paying members,________ a loose connection with its supporters.

A) the Democratic party has; the Republican party has
B) the Republican party has; the Democratic party has
C) European political parties have; the American political party system has
D) American political parties have; the European political party system has
E) most parties throughout the world have; a multiparty system has

Answer 2

C

Question 3

To be a part of the party in the electorate,one must:

A) be a citizen who identifies with a political party
B) be a dues-paying member of a political party
C) be an election volunteer for a political party
D) be a citizen who votes for the same party in every election
E) be a citizen who is registered to vote and has provided any type of assistance to a political party

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following parties was part of the first party system?

A) Democratic-Republicans
B) Republican Party
C) Hamiltonians
D) Whig Party
E) Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

Question 5

People who vote for a minor-party candidate do so because they reject both of the major political parties.

Question 6

The Republican National Committee determines what Republican organizations do,while the Democratic National Committee has very little influence on other Democratic groups.

Question 7

American political parties rarely,if ever,have much of an impact on either elections or public policy.

Question 8

The easiest way to get on a general election ballot is to secure the nomination of a major political party.

Question 9

American political parties have brand names that give people easy ways to identify differences between candidates,though some candidates do not hold many of the same issue positions as other party members.

Question 10

In a divided government,the president's party is in power,unless the other party controls both houses of Congress.

Question 11

Although local party organizations once operated as machines with considerable power over their members,this has never been true for the national party organizations.

Question 12

A party system is:

A) the organization of the party in the electorate, party in government, and party organization
B) used to describe different periods of time in which parties and issues are stable
C) the method of selecting nominees for offices through political parties
D) a set of objectives outlining the party's issue positions and priorities
E) the organization of elected officials within the House and Senate

Question 13

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have grown apart ideologically in the past fifty years.One implication of this is that compromise is more or less impossible,so government has come to a standstill.

Question 14

Which of these political parties is the oldest?

A) Grand Old Party
B) Democratic Party
C) Republican Party
D) Whig Party
E) Anti-Masonic Party

Question 15

The Democratic Party more or less stands for the same issues as its historic predecessor,the Democratic-Republican Party.

Question 16

The party in government comprises:

A) members of the party that has the most elected officials
B) the heads of the major national party organizations, such as the national committee and the congressional campaign committees
C) groups or individuals who share the party label
D) those politicians who have been elected into office under a party label
E) elected officials who belong to the party that controls the executive branch

Question 17

A political party is:

A) an organization committed to improving the democratic process
B) an organization with the primary purpose of satisfying all political interests and factions
C) an organization committed to bringing about systematic change in the political system
D) an organization with the primary purpose of raising money for candidates
E) an organization with the primary purpose of running candidates for political office and coordinating the actions of officials elected under the party banner

Question 18

The leaders and workers of a party at the national,state,and local levels are known as:

A) the node
B) the party in government
C) the party organization
D) the party in the electorate
E) the parties in service

Question 19

In the United States,political parties facilitate policy making in Congress.However,they remain weak because key institutions like the party caucus or conference are merely a forum for discussion rather than a place for leaders to exercise power.

Question 20

Which of the following people is in charge of a political party?

A) the national party chairperson
B) the Speaker of the House
C) the president of the United States
D) the so-called party boss
E) No single person is in charge of the party.

Question 21

Which of the following issues arose during the fourth party system?

A) slavery
B) tariffs
C) unemployment
D) the size and scope of the federal government
E) immigration into American cities

Question 22

In which party system was the debate over instituting a national bank a major issue?

A) first
B) third
C) fourth
D) fifth
E) seventh

Question 23

Rewarding party supporters with benefits,like government jobs,is known as:

A) the civil service system
B) the spoils system
C) the party principle
D) the party machine
E) political horse-trading

Question 24

Which of the following is principally in charge of setting policy for the political parties?

A) congressional campaign committees
B) political action committees
C) party constituency groups
D) national party committees
E) leadership political action committees

Question 25

The Republican Party arose in part because:

A) some political elites decided to put the issue of slavery on the national political agenda
B) southerners were demanding a more conservative party in American politics
C) business leaders wanted a party to represent their interests
D) some political leaders opposed progressive reforms that had recently become law
E) of public anger at Supreme Court rulings concerning school prayer and abortion

Question 26

Which of the following is a task of someone who works for a party organization?

A) deciding who will be the party's nominee in the general election
B) raising money for the party organization
C) lobbying the federal bureaucracy to win favorable policies for the party's most ardent supporters
D) making sure that the names of the party's top donors are kept confidential and secret from the public
E) coordinating fund-raising and electoral strategy with 527 organizations

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of an issue or event that caused a realignment?

A) the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865
B) the assassination of James Garfield in 1881
C) the Great Depression
D) the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s
E) World War II

Question 28

Which important political event led to the New Deal Coalition?

A) Great Depression
B) World War I
C) Civil War
D) War of 1812
E) the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor

Question 29

When citizens find themselves influenced by a candidate's partisan association,they are:

A) part of the party in the electorate
B) defining the party brand name
C) using party as a voting cue
D) generally the types of voters who are not informed about the issues
E) most likely to be voters who have a high school education or less

Question 30

In which party system did the issue of slavery become the central issue of debate and,ultimately,get resolved?

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth
E) fifth

Question 31

Which of the following terms describes the increased role of the Democratic and Republican parties in recruiting candidates and helping them learn how to campaign?

A) party organization
B) a realignment
C) the parties in service
D) a two-party system
E) responsible party activity

Question 32

Which of the following groups became more likely to support the Democratic Party during the sixth party system?

A) African Americans
B) Catholics
C) white southerners
D) white Protestants
E) the wealthy (those with incomes in the top 1 percentile)

Question 33

Which of the following groups was part of the New Deal Coalition?

A) white Protestants
B) the wealthy
C) businessmen
D) white southerners
E) white-collar workers

Question 34

The third party system ended when one issue declined in importance,and the fourth party system began when focus shifted to a different set of issues.This illustrates:

A) that partisan divisions reflect societal divisions over what government should do
B) how parties ended debate over the social issues in the United States
C) how parties can disintegrate and be replaced by new ones
D) the enduring importance of race in American politics
E) how parties ignore the nation's most pressing problems to avoid controversy and maintain their own power

Question 35

Which of the following factors contributed to the disintegration of the Federalist Party?

A) scandals involving prominent Federalist politicians
B) opposition to the creation of a national bank
C) opposition to the War of 1812
D) superior political skill of Jeffersonian Democrats
E) George Washington's warning against the rise of political parties in his Farewell Address

Question 36

The fact that parties have brand names means:

A) the only thing distinguishing them is reputation
B) their names evoke certain positions or issues
C) that citizens have a long-standing record of support for a party
D) that the party leaders can make voters, officials, and organizations do what they want
E) that citizens are likely to grow tired of their party at some point, as they often do with brand-name products, and will shop for a new party

Question 37

Any organization that uses unofficial patronage to secure political power for a group of leaders and workers is called a:

A) party in government
B) political party
C) political machine
D) national party committee
E) leadership political action committee

Question 38

Which of the following was a political innovation Democrats employed in the second party system to consolidate power?

A) the use of the spoils system
B) the use of newspaper campaign ads
C) the development of the party in service
D) the use of polls to measure and better understand public opinion
E) the hiring of professional consultants to help manage the campaigns of Democratic candidates

Question 39

The term party principle refers to:

A) the identification of elected officials and citizens with different political parties
B) groups or individuals who associate with a political party
C) the idea that parties are more than just groups of elected officials
D) those politicians who are elected to office under a common party label
E) the proposition that parties always put their self-interest ahead of the public good

Question 40

Which of the following terms describes a situation in which the issues that divide the political parties change in a way that cuts across existing political coalitions?

A) a party recline
B) a realignment
C) a dealignment
D) party evolution
E) divided government

Question 41

Parties in government have:

A) become more corrupt than ever before
B) become more polarized in recent years
C) seen both parties move to the middle of the ideological spectrum
D) failed to pass any major legislation since the Reagan presidency
E) become more cooperative in an effort to appeal to the growing number of independents

Question 42

A caucus (political)or conference is an organization:

A) within government that meets to discuss party positions on issues
B) that primarily exists to raise money for party candidates
C) that is designed to represent constituency groups within the party
D) that consists of representatives from each state party organization
E) that once assisted the party machines with fund-raising but now plays almost no role in party politics

Question 43

The Democratic National Committee (DNC)and Republican National Committee (RNC):

A) can both force state and local parties to share their positions on issues
B) are both unable to force state and local parties to share their positions on issues
C) operate differently: The DNC can force state and local parties to share its positions on issues whereas the RNC cannot
D) operate differently: The RNC can force state and local parties to share its positions on issues whereas the DNC cannot
E) almost never have contact with their state and local parties because of federal campaign finance laws

Question 44

The health care reform debate in 2009 showed that when a party controls the U.S.House,the U.S.Senate,and the White House:

A) major legislation can be passed quickly and without controversy
B) the minority party will cooperate and work with those in power to have input in the legislative process
C) the U.S. House presents the most difficult challenge in the process because it is such a large body
D) there are still significant compromises that must be made among fellow party members in order to pass major legislation
E) that it is the White House and not Congress that ultimately gets what it wants

Question 45

Which of the following statements is true about the political parties in government over the last sixty years?

A) Parties today are stronger than they were fifty years ago.
B) Members of each party have become increasingly similar in terms of ideology.
C) The parties are increasingly different in terms of their ideology.
D) Minor-party candidates are waging more competitive campaigns than ever before.
E) Parties have grown increasingly weak to the point that they no longer play a relevant role in American politics.

Question 46

The group of Democratic legislators in the U.S.House is called a ________,while the Republicans call their group a ________.

A) committee; conference
B) conference; committee
C) conference; caucus
D) caucus; conference
E) committee; caucus

Question 47

Party platforms:

A) attempt to make all segments of society happy
B) in an attempt to make all segments of society happy, usually offer middle-of-the-road policies to broaden the party's appeal
C) almost always take the most ideologically extreme positions on the major issues to satisfy the party base
D) are often criticized because they confuse voters about the issues
E) generally reflect the brand-name differences between the parties

Question 48

Which of the following is part of the Democratic or Republican parties' processes for selecting a presidential candidate?

A) runoff elections
B) primary elections held throughout the early months of a presidential election year
C) a super-primary election held in all fifty states on the same date
D) the electoral college
E) Internet voting

Question 49

Which of the following has the most direct impact on government policy?

A) party in the electorate
B) party in government
C) party organizations
D) party backbenchers
E) nodes

Question 50

Modern American political parties are best described as:

A) groups that are hierarchically organized
B) groups that can be aptly summarized as political machines
C) umbrella organizations for loosely connected groups with similar goals
D) a collection of cohesive organizations
E) groups that adhere to the principle "the greatest good for the greatest number"

Question 51

A ballot vote to select a party's nominee is known as a:

A) primary election
B) political caucus
C) congressional caucus
D) general election
E) special election

Question 52

The loyalty that people have to one party is called:

A) party activism
B) a running tally
C) their party identification
D) their brand name
E) patriotism

Question 53

Which of the following explains how partisanship has changed over the last fifty years?

A) a decline in the number of Republican identifiers since the 1970s
B) an increase in the number of Democratic identifiers since the 1970s
C) an increase in the number of independents since the 1950s
D) partisanship has remained relatively stable since the 1950s
E) a complete reversal of the 1970s; Republican identifiers now significantly outnumber Democratic identifiers

Question 54

Ralph Nader's run for president in 2000 showed that minor-party candidates are:

A) unimportant because so few Americans identify with these parties
B) unimportant because Nader, like most minor-party candidates, received only a small percentage of the vote
C) important because they can, like Nader, dominate press coverage during the election
D) important because they usually have the resources and money to weaken a major-party candidate with negative attack ads, as Nader did to Al Gore
E) important when the election is close enough that the minor-party candidate's vote total could potentially influence which major-party candidate wins in a critical state like Florida

Question 55

When one party controls both the legislature and the presidency,we have:

A) unified government
B) divided government
C) responsible party government
D) conditional party government
E) coordinated government

Question 56

People who identify strongly with a political party are likely to:

A) vote for that party's candidates, except when they disagree on an important issue
B) ignore politics because they have already made up their minds
C) volunteer for a party and its candidates
D) be less informed about the issues than independents or weak partisans are
E) be less patriotic because they put the interests of their party over the interests of their country

Question 57

When the parties select their nominees for president:

A) citizens vote for delegates at a national nominating convention, which then selects the candidate
B) the party primaries and caucuses are purely for show, with the decision being made at the national convention by party leaders
C) citizen votes do not really matter because of the electoral college
D) so-called superdelegates decide the nominee
E) citizens determine the nominee through Internet voting on the last night of the nominating convention after all the speeches have been delivered

Question 58

A 527 organization:

A) is an organization that seeks to gain government contracts
B) typically will coordinate electoral strategy with candidates and party leaders to develop a consistent and unified campaign message
C) became illegal following the Supreme Court's famous Buckley v. Valeo decision
D) contributes a significant amount of money to campaigns but must limit contributions and spending to comply with federal campaign finance laws
E) seeks to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate

Question 59

Which of the following groups decides on the committee assignments and leadership positions within Congress?

A) the national party organization
B) the party caucus or conference
C) constituency groups
D) leadership political action committees
E) There is no group that decides; committee assignments are based solely on seniority.

Question 60

While the ________ is primarily responsible for recruiting candidates and raising their funds,they have little impact on ________.

A) party organization; the party in the electorate
B) party in government; the party organization
C) party organization; determining what government does
D) party in government; proposing and debating legislation
E) party organization; the party in government

Question 61

Although political parties do many things that enhance American democracy,they do not always do what we might like,because:

A) our constitutional system was written to prevent parties from having much power
B) they do not care about American democracy
C) politicians are motivated by interests in careers, policy goals, and winning office
D) their members do not agree on many important issues
E) party leaders are usually East Coast elites who do not care about the problems facing Americans in rural and working-class communities

Question 62

Describe the evolution of political parties from the first party system to their more recent incarnations.How have their organizations changed over time? How have their roles changed? Has their impact increased or decreased?

Question 63

Under what conditions do we see political parties acting cohesively in Congress and,importantly,promoting accountability to the public?

Question 64

Define the terms party organization,party in government,and party in the electorate.Explain how they are related to each other and how they shape the behavior of American political parties.

Question 65

Two common complaints about political parties in the United States are that there are only two of them and that they are not very different from each other.Evaluate these complaints.Are there only two viable political parties? Are they very different from each other? Explain your answers.

Question 66

In the last fifty years,elected officials from the Republican and Democratic parties have become more ideologically polarized.Explain what that means and discuss the impact this has had on American politics.

Question 67

What is party identification? How do citizens develop it and what impact does it have on their political behavior? In answering these questions,be sure to draw from examples given in your textbook.

Question 68

What are some of the functions that modern American political parties perform in government and in elections? Do parties,in filling these roles,contribute to a better American democracy? Why or why not?

Question 69

Given what you have learned about American political parties,would you prefer that they be stronger or weaker? Why? Draw on both concepts and examples from the text in order to explain your answer to this question.

Question 70

At times there have been stark transformations in the American party coalitions called realignments.Using either the transition from the second to the third party system,or from the fourth to the fifth,explain what a realignment is and how it occurs.

Question 71

What does it mean to say that political parties have brand names? What do the Republican and Democratic brands stand for? What is the importance of the party coalitions in supporting these brands?