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

Question 1

Political parties serve to

A)connect citizens with government.
B)enable people with different backgrounds and opinions to act together.
C)offer the public a choice between policies and leaders.
D)provide a way for like-minded leaders and citizens to work together.
E)All these answers are correct.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

All of the following are characteristic of a party realignment EXCEPT

A)the emergence of unusually powerful and divisive issues.
B)an enduring change in the parties' coalitions.
C)an election in which voters shift their partisan support.
D)a very close electoral result.
E)an enduring change in the parties' policies.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following was NOT part of the 2016 Democratic Party platform?

A)expanding educational opportunities
B)protecting the Medicare program
C)privatizing social security
D)promoting clean energy
E)raising taxes on the wealthy

Question 5

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 6

Hillary Clinton was the first ________ ever chosen as the presidential nominee of a major party.

A)Christian
B)Harvard graduate
C)former senator
D)woman
E)former secretary of state

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

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 9

________ 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 10

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.

Question 11

The MOST obvious sign of the party realignment of recent decades has been the strong tendency of

A)the South to vote Republican.
B)the Plains states to vote Republican.
C)the West Coast to vote Democratic.
D)Colorado to vote Democratic.
E)the Midwest to vote Democratic.

Question 12

The most recent party realignment had a realigning election in

A)1960.
B)1968.
C)1980.
D)2012.
E)The most recent party realignment had no single realigning election.

Question 13

The election of ________ was a realigning election.

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

Question 14

________ 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 15

Which of the following was NOT part of the 2016 Republican Party platform?

A)stimulating the business sector
B)cuts in military spending
C)lower taxes
D)cuts in overall government spending
E)strengthening the armed forces

Question 16

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 17

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 18

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

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

Question 19

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 20

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 21

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 22

It is relatively rare for a party nominee to get less than ________ percent of the partisan vote in a presidential or a congressional race.

A)50
B)60
C)70
D)80
E)90

Question 23

________ does not have a competitive multiparty system.

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

Question 24

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 25

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 26

________ 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 27

The major emerging voting blocs are

A)Asians and the elderly.
B)Hispanics and young people.
C)whites and the urban educated.
D)people with college educations and city dwellers.
E)environmentalists and Tea Party supporters.

Question 28

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 29

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 30

A candidate for which minor party in 1912 managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?

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

Question 31

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 32

________ 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 33

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 issues,and the minor party will lose support.
E)the media will attack the minor party.

Question 34

Ticket splitting was MOST prominent during which decade?

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

Question 35

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 36

In the recent elections,which voting demographic has become a more cohesive voting bloc and 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 37

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.

Question 38

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

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

Question 39

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

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

Question 40

Which 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 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

Television first became a major medium for campaign ads during the

A)1940s.
B)1950s.
C)1960s.
D)1970s.
E)1980s.

Question 45

________ 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 46

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 47

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 to launch a competitive bid for reelection?

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

Question 48

The main battleground for votes is

A)radio.
B)newspaper ads.
C)magazine ads.
D)television.
E)social media.

Question 49

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 50

Negative television campaign ads

A)are less prominent now than they were three decades ago.
B)now constitute the largest share of political ads.
C)can only be run by the official campaign of a candidate.
D)are,while negative,usually factually accurate.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 51

At the state level the 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 52

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 53

The main reason for the high cost of American political campaigns is the cost of

A)complying with Federal Election Commission rules.
B)actually raising campaign funds.
C)paying campaign managers.
D)paying pollsters.
E)paying for media ads.

Question 54

Some analysts predict that soon the most important medium of election politics will be

A)television.
B)the Internet.
C)radio.
D)newspapers.
E)magazines.

Question 55

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

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

Question 56

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

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

Question 57

All of the following use top-two primaries EXCEPT

A)New York.
B)Washington.
C)California.
D)Nebraska.
E)Louisiana.

Question 58

Negative campaigning in presidential elections was first used in

A)the early years of the country.
B)Andrew Jackson's campaigns for the presidency.
C)the 1860 election.
D)the Depression years.
E)the 1960s.

Question 59

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.

Question 60

James Carville and Roger Ailes are both examples of

A)minor party candidates who earned more than 5 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 61

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

Question 62

What is meant by a party realignment?

Question 63

How do European parties differ from American parties?

Question 64

Why have the Democratic and Republican parties been so durable since the Civil War?

Question 65

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 66

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 67

Explain why the single-member district system of elections tends to promote a two-party system.Also,compare the single-member district system with proportional representation systems.

Question 68

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.