Deck 5: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Campaigns

Question 1

The Internet has become a powerful campaign tool for all of the following reasons except

A)it can disseminate the candidate's message to far-flung audiences.
B)it can mobilize potential supporters.
C)it reduces the amount of spending on negative and misleading advertising.
D)it serves as a vehicle for attracting contributions.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Negative advertising aimed at a political opponent is

A)free of danger of a backlash against the side employing it.
B)a powerful tool in the hands of clever and aggressive politicians but always in danger of backfiring.
C)unlikely to be picked up and believed by the general public in this age of television.
D)necessarily not true.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Probably the most realistic term to describe the status of political parties today is

A)stagnant.
B)declining.
C)growing.
D)transforming.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Grassroots lobbying involves

A)lobbyists positioning themselves to greet legislators on the steps and lawn of the capitol.
B)increasing the number of lobbyists in the state capitol.
C)orchestration of public support in the form of letters, emails, and telephone calls.
D)increasing the amount of time the lobbyist spends on the golf course developing a personal relationship with a legislator.

Question 5

When a voter casts ballots for a Democratic governor and a Republican state legislator in the same general election, they are engaged in

A)fence sitting.
B)ticket splitting.
C)ballot fumbling.
D)voter fraud.

Question 6

In efforts to reform negative advertising,

A)many newspapers and websites report regularly on the content, presentation, and relative accuracy of campaign advertising.
B)some candidates intimidated major newspapers by taking them to court.
C)political parties have created fair campaign practices panels to pass judgment on campaign ads.
D)the Democratic Party has brought court action against Republican candidates in four states for defamation of character of their candidates.

Question 7

States with higher levels of electoral competition tend to

A)support lower taxes.
B)adopt more progressive policies.
C)support gun control.
D)be more Republican.

Question 8

Unregulated funds contributed to national political parties and nonparty political groups is called

A)tin money.
B)soft money.
C)PAC money.
D)hard money.

Question 9

Which of the following type of election is most likely to have the highest costs of campaigning?

A)A close election that would potentially produce a change in the party that holds the seat
B)A close election that would guarantee the previous party holds the seat
C)An election for an open seat that is not expected to be close
D)An election with an incumbent that is not expected to be close

Question 10

Organizations of like-minded individuals who desire to influence government are commonly called

A)political parties.
B)interest groups.
C)lobbyists.
D)political action committees.

Question 11

The most influential category of interest groups in the states is

A)general business organizations.
B)labor unions.
C)schoolteachers and education groups representing the K-12 level.
D)attorneys and state bar associations.

Question 12

Political action committees grew out of

A)a desire to weaken the role of political parties.
B)concern over the rising influence of interest groups.
C)laws that made direct political contributions by corporations and labor unions illegal.
D)an effort to discourage public involvement and participation in politics.

Question 13

The explosion of interest groups in state capitals is primarily caused by

A)the reduction of informed elected officials in state legislatures.
B)an increase in campaign finance expenditures over the years.
C)the expanded role of government and the need for interests that are affected by government to have representation.
D)high value gifts to legislators that in turn encourage groups to lobby.

Question 14

Third political parties have all but which one of the following characteristics?

A)Can rarely generate significant financial and organization necessary to sustain itself
B)Tend to be led by an individual that is disgruntled by the direction of a major party or no longer welcomed by one
C)Appeal to the deep American value of support for the underdog
D)Face difficult challenges in gaining access to the ballots due to high signature requirements

Question 15

In which one of the following states does the Republican Party NOT have a sizeable majority of voters?

A)Hawaii
B)Utah
C)Wyoming
D)Idaho

Question 16

In most states where political parties are strong, interest group influence tends to be

A)equally strong.
B)influential, given the symbiotic relationship with parties.
C)nonexistent.
D)weak.

Question 17

The use of professional political consultants in state and local races

A)is a passing fad.
B)is increasing and likely to remain a feature of the American political scene as campaign technologies are further refined.
C)has been around since the heyday of the political parties in the 1930s.
D)is minimal as they are too expensive, often come from other states, and do not know the local political culture.

Question 18

Which of the following characteristics affect the power of an interest group?

A)The degree of necessity of group services and resources to public officials
B)Legitimacy of the group and its demands with the voters
C)Political cohesiveness of its membership
D)All of these choices.

Question 19

Social lobbying has been supplemented with which of the following key technique?

A)Providing information
B)Providing personal favors
C)Providing meals
D)Lobbyists presence in committee hearings, where they monitor debates

Question 20

Running for public office has become increasingly expensive. To try to level the playing field and diminish the role of private money, most states

A)have banned PACs and forbidden direct contributions from corporations, labor unions, and other special interest groups in state elections.
B)have given up trying to limit the influence of soft money and PACs because of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Buckley v. Valeo .
C)now provide public financing for all major elections.
D)limit contributions and many now provide for public financing.

Question 21

The condition of contemporary American political parties has been described as decline, decay, and demise, but a more accurate description may be that parties are enjoying a period of revitalization and rejuvenation.

Question 22

In 2011, the percent of voters who identified themselves as members of one of the two major parties was about 60 percent.

Question 23

Voters display a remarkable penchant for ticket splitting-that is, voting for a Democrat for one office and a Republican for another in the same election.

Question 24

Most states currently exhibit meaningful two-party competition.

Question 25

The main reason that there are only two major political parties in the United States is attributable to Article VII, Section 4 in the U.S. Constitution, which mandates that the nation will have only two parties.

Question 26

In 2002, Governor Janet Napolitano became the first governor to be elected with full public financing of her campaign in the state of

A)Vermont.
B)Arizona.
C)New Mexico.
D)Maine.

Question 27

Divided government in the states refers to one party controlling the governor's office and the other party controlling the legislature.

Question 28

Political parties in the states often contain factions-that is, identifiable subsets within the party.

Question 29

Labor unions are considered to be the most influential interest groups in most states.

Question 30

About what proportion of the states have adopted some sort of public funding of some campaigns?

A)One-third
B)Two-thirds
C)One-tenth
D)None

Question 31

State political parties have undergone a transformation during the past thirty years and they have proven themselves quite adaptable.

Question 32

Seven states have adopted some form of a fully-funded "clean elections" campaign finance system. Which feature below is NOT generally included in those systems?

A)Candidates must obtain a set minimum number of signatures.
B)Candidates must raise a minimum number of dollars from a set number of donors.
C)Candidates may spend up to $50,000 of their own money.
D)Once qualified, candidates must only spend public funds.

Question 33

Ideologically, Republicans tend to be more conservative, favoring a limited role for government; Democrats tend to be more liberal, preferring a more activist government.

Question 34

American political parties are composed of three interacting parts: the party organization (party committees, party leaders, and activists), the party in government (candidates and officeholders), and the party in the electorate (citizens who identify with the party).

Question 35

Southern states have remained single-party Democratic states.

Question 36

The 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case that held that governments cannot limit a person's right to spend money in order to spread his or her particular political views in political campaigns was

A)Roe v. Wade .
B)Serrano v. Priest
C)South Carolina v. Baker .
D)Buckley v. Valeo .

Question 37

A nonprofit, tax-exempt political organization that accepts contributions and can make expenditures in campaigns, but is not explicitly connected to candidates is a

A)527 group.
B)candidate-centered organization.
C)political action committee (PAC).
D)third-party committee.

Question 38

National political parties are very decentralized organizations.

Question 39

Although two political parties dominate politics in the states, third parties have achieved isolated success in some states and at the local level.

Question 40

The impact and influence of interest groups has been overstated in state politics.

Question 41

Do new technologies, such as the Internet and social media, change the nature of elections? Provide specific examples to illustrate your points. Are these changes good or bad for democracy?

Question 42

Why have third political party successes been so infrequent on the American political scene? What is your opinion of the immediate future of third political parties?

Question 43

The level of negative campaigning in the states has decreased due to the enactment of laws by many state legislatures.

Question 44

​ People join interest groups for many reasons.

Question 45

In Buckley v. Valeo , the U.S. Supreme Court put limits on the amount of money candidates could spend on political campaigns.

Question 46

In comparison to campaigns for national offices, political campaigns in the states are usually unsophisticated and less costly.

Question 47

Political spending in campaigns should be unrestricted by government because PACs and 527s can circumvent the limits.

Question 48

The costs of political campaigns in state elections continue to rise significantly, largely due to U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the expanded use of electronic campaign tactics.

Question 49

There are a variety of interest groups in the states. Identify some of the major types of interest groups and discuss what their motivation is for participating in the political system at the state and local level.

Question 50

Interest groups do not allow people to express what they want to the government.

Question 51

Vermont's law, which limited the amount someone could contribute to a candidate for statewide office to $400 over a two-year election cycle, was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006.

Question 52

Political spending in campaigns should be unrestricted, because money is an inessential part of campaigns.

Question 53

Political action committees (PACs)are very influential at the state level but have been less influential in national politics.

Question 54

Should state governments regulate campaign contributions and spending? Discuss how money may affect politics, specifically in terms of the nature of elections (how they are run), the outcome of elections (who wins), and the policies that are influenced. How would public financing or some other form of campaign finance reform alter these outcomes?

Question 55

What are the functions of political parties in state government? Make sure to provide specific examples to illustrate your points.