Deck 8: Political Parties

Question 1

Despite being the highest-ranking position in the House, when John Boehner resigned as Speaker of the House in 2015 the party had to work hard to draft a candidate other than the Majority Leader to fill the role. Given the power and influence we have discussed in this class, why would a member not want to be Speaker of the House?

Answer 1

no answer

Question 2

Why is it that the distribution of preferences within each party determines how powerful party leaders are? What else might impact the amount of power party leaders have?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

Of the party leaders discussed in this course thus far, who was most significant and why?

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

When party leaders are not in power Theriault and Edwards argue that power devolves to the committees. Are the committees the only place power goes to when party leaders are weak?
a. What if committees were also weak?

Question 5

Do you think that the party leaders will continue to gain power or at they at their peak? What factors should we look to to make predictions about questions like these?

Question 6

Despite countless warnings from the framers about the dangers of political parties they still formed in the earliest years of Congress and persisted until today. Why did political parties form and how have they survived for so long? Provide examples and, if necessary, reference historical events to support your answer.

Question 7

Trace the history of political parties in Congress. Begin either at the year 1800 or the year 1900 and detail events and changes that occurred for the next 100 years. Be sure to explain the significance of each event for the functioning of Congress and the political parties therein.

Question 8

What broad factors shape the way the political parties in Congress today function? Be sure to consider both electoral and institutional factors. Provide examples and historical context when necessary.

Question 9

Compare and contrast the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader positions. Be sure to discuss their origins, duties, levels of prominence, and any unique challenges one or the other might face.

Question 10

Describe the party leadership structure of the House majority party. Detail each leader, their overall role and duties, and any collaboration they have with other leaders. Be sure to discuss the role of their staff, if applicable, and what actions these members might take to retain their positions.

Question 11

Members form informal or unofficial organizations based on a variety of attributes. What types of attributes might cause members to coalesce? Provide at least four attributes.

Question 12

Party leaders have not always as powerful as they are in the modern Congress. What condition is most important in determining how strong or weak party leaders are?

Question 13

Characterize the ideological difference that separates the modern Democratic and Republican parties.

Question 14

Why did the framers fear the formation of political parties? Provide at least two reasons.

Question 15

What events followed the era of good feelings and how did they change the American political system?

Question 16

Why did the Senate dominate the House and White House for much of the pre-Civil War period?

Question 17

Who was Joe Cannon and what impact did he have on the institution within which he served?

Question 18

What is the institutional effect of congressional districts becoming increasingly distinct by party?

Question 19

Selecting party leadership is one of the most important jobs members have in the modern Congress. What qualities do members look for in their leaders? Name at least four and contextualize each to make it clear what value the quality adds to a leader.

Question 20

If you were a member of Congress and you wanted to pursue a leadership position, what types of things would you do? Describe at least three actions and why they would be effective.

Question 21

In the modern Congress, the parties come down on two different sides of almost every issue. What tends to be the most important concern driving the divide?

A) Regional concerns
B) Strict punishments from party leaders for defection
C) Ideological concerns
D) Fundraising concerns

Question 22

Political parties are established by which of the following?

A) Article I, Section 6
B) Article I, Section 8
C) Article IV, Section 1
D) None of the above

Question 23

What political party failed to George Washington in the presidency, but still dominated Congress for its first few decades?

A) Federalist Party
B) Democratic-Republican Party
C) Whig Party
D) Democratic Party

Question 24

Which framer was both famous for decrying the role of political parties in the American political system, but also went on to help form one of the earliest political parties?

A) James Madison
B) Henry Clay
C) James Monroe
D) George Washington

Question 25

In which decade did the two modern parties start to become more internally homogeneous?

A) 1990s
B) 2000s
C) 1980s
D) 2010s

Question 26

Committee rooms in Congress organize the seating of members based on what attribute?

A) State
B) Seniority
C) Fundraising record
D) None of the above

Question 27

Where does the "era of good feelings" get its name?

A) The seamless inter-chamber relations in
B) The fact that most prevalent leaders of the time also helped write the Constitution
C) The lack of political rivalry in the political system Congress
D) The high level of public approval for state and local governments

Question 28

Instead of calling them political parties, James Madison referred to these groups banding together around common economic interests as ___________.

A) Coalitions
B) Unions
C) Federations
D) Factions

Question 29

John Adams and Alexander Hamilton joined to form which political party?

A) Federalist Party
B) Republican Party
C) Democratic-Republican Party
D) Antifederalist Party

Question 30

At the turn of the 21^st century the two parties were harshly divided. When was the last time in congressional history that the two parties were this intensely divided?

A) 1950s
B) 1900s
C) 1970s
D) 1810s

Question 31

Which prominent party leader would go on to lay the groundwork for the future Senate Majority Leader role?

A) Henry Clay
B) Nelson Aldrich
C) Thomas Brackett Reed
D) None of the above

Question 32

This Speaker of the House held the Democratic Party together by devolving most policy decisions to committee chairs while keeping them together organizationally?

A) Thomas Brackett Reed
B) Joe Cannon
C) Paul Ryan
D) Sam Rayburn

Question 33

The New Deal Coalition delivered control of Congress to Democrats for five decades, but what issue tore at the coalition and started its downfall?

A) Labor union related issues
B) Defense spending
C) Civil rights
D) Tax policy

Question 34

Which of the following was NOT an electoral group part of the New Deal Coalition?

A) Hispanic Americans
B) Union members
C) Catholics
D) African Americans

Question 35

The Textbook Congress was considered _____________________.

A) A high point in history for the power of party leadership
B) A readjustment period in which party leaders clawed back power
C) A low point in history for the power of party leadership
D) None of the above

Question 36

Assume the Republican presidential candidate in 2040 received 64% of the two-party vote in Georgia and 52% of the two-party vote nationwide. Calculate the normalized vote to determine Georgia's presidential vote advantage.

A) 64%
B) 24%
C) 6%
D) 12%

Question 37

What event finally pushed Republicans to take back control of the Senate in the second half of the 20^th century?

A) Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America"
B) Ronald Reagan's landslide victory for the White House
C) Paul Ryan's balanced-budget plan
D) Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign

Question 38

The main goal of the Contract with America was what?

A) To further empower subcommittee chairs
B) To convince Americans that the Republican Party could govern if given the majority
C) To implement universal healthcare from the federal government
D) None of the above

Question 39

Political scientists tend to measure partisan polarization in Congress by examining roll-call votes. What method is most commonly used to do this?

A) Normalized vote calculation
B) Standardized roll-call estimation
C) DW-NOMINATE
D) RC-CALCUALTE

Question 40

Gains by the _________ and losses by the _____________ have exacerbated the divide between the two parties in the past decade or so by further homogenizing the parties.

A) Tea Party; Blue Dogs
B) Blue Dogs; Tea Party
C) Tea Party; Freedom Caucus
D) Blue Dogs; Progressive Caucus

Question 41

Which of the following positions is elected by their entire chamber?

A) Speaker of the House
B) Senate Majority Leader
C) Conference/Caucus Chair
D) Both a and b

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a power of the Speaker of the House?

A) Rules on all points of order
B) Appoints all members of select and conference committees
C) Recognizes members wishing to speak on the floor
D) Chair meetings in which important policy questions are put to the party membership as a whole

Question 43

Despite retaining de facto control, the Senate Majority Leader is the third-ranking member in the modern Senate. Which two positions outrank him?

A) Vice President and Finance Committee Chair
B) President Pro Tempore and Finance Committee Chair
C) President Pro Tempore and Rules Committee Chair
D) Vice President and President Pro Tempore

Question 44

The amount of power the House _______________ has depends very much on how much attention the Speaker of the House pays to detail of the House's day-to-day operations.

A) Majority Whip
B) Majority Leader
C) Conference/Caucus Chair
D) Conference/Caucus Secretary

Question 45

The Minority Leader's power is increased when which of the following occurs?

A) The majority party's margin of control is thin
B) The level of intraparty agreement on policy issues is high
C) Their party holds the presidency as well
D) Both a and c

Question 46

Which party leader, in charge of determining how each member is planning to vote, is viewed as the party's primary legislative strategist and leading spokesman?

A) Clerk
B) Leader
C) Whip
D) Campaign Committee Chair

Question 47

Which party leader, due to the sweeping nature of their duties, hires a cadre of members who serve as deputies and assistants performing the same job as them but on a smaller scale?

A) Leader
B) Whip
C) Secretary
D) None of the above

Question 48

When a bill comes to the floor the member in charge of directing who is to speak and when is known as what?

A) Floor leader
B) Floor whip
C) Floor manager
D) Floor speaker

Question 49

Which of the following tasks will leadership staff NOT be asked to take on?

A) Tracking legislation as it moves through the legislative process
B) Researching potential electoral ramifications of bills working their way through the legislative process
C) Casework
D) Devising political tactics for floor votes

Question 50

Representative McNamee has been defecting from the party on more roll-call votes than he is allowed recently. What action might the Speaker of the House take to punish him?

A) The House Speaker does not have the power to punish members
B) Revoking one of his committee appointments
C) Instructing the Rules Committee not to report a bill of his to the floor
D) Either b or c

Question 51

Which party leader is responsible for sharing staff with their party and chamber's campaign committee?

A) Leader
B) Conference/Caucus Chair
C) Whip
D) None of the above

Question 52

Party leaders hold an outsize responsibility for fundraising for the party. How do they fulfill this duty?

A) Donating to their more vulnerable colleagues via leadership political action committees
B) Accepting gifts from foreign agents
C) Coordinating with a party-directed Super PAC
D) Charging other members money in exchange for moving their bills through the legislative process

Question 53

For what reason have leadership contests become more personal and less issue based?

A) Increasingly homogenous parties
B) Small electorate to appease to
C) More ambitious politicians are serving in Congress
D) Both a and b

Question 54

The position of Senate majority was not established formally until the 1920s. What position did it grow out of?

A) Senate Finance Committee Chair
B) Senate President Pro Tempore
C) Senate Rules Committee Chair
D) None of the above

Question 55

Political parties in Congress are structured by _________________.

A) Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution
B) The members who belong to them
C) A tediously negotiated unanimous consent agreement in the Senate and a set of rules adopted at the start of each Congress in the House
D) The House and Senate Rules Committees