Deck 7: Political Parties

Question 1

A political party is mainly different from an interest group in that

A) Parties run candidates for office
B) Parties raise money
C) Parties rely on leadership
D) Parties rely on membership

Answer 1

Parties run candidates for office

Question 2

Each of the following is an overlapping element of political parties according to V. O. Key EXCEPT

A) The party in government
B) The party division between state and national levels
C) The party in the electorate
D) The party organization

Answer 2

The party division between state and national levels

Question 3

The most important activity of the political party is facilitating participation through

A) Aggregating individual policy preferences
B) Structuring and simplifying alternatives for voters
C) Stimulating interest in politics and government
D) All of the above

Answer 3

All of the above

Question 4

Parties directly contribute to the democratic process by all of the following EXCEPT

A) Promoting government responsiveness
B) Promoting accountability by scrutinizing the party in power
C) Promoting dissent and conflict over issues
D) Promoting stability and peaceful resolution of conflict

Question 5

The United States is known for the its ___________ party system.

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Multi

Question 6

Democrats and Republicans have dominated political competition in the United States since

A) 1856
B) 1976
C) 1776
D) 1926

Question 7

One reason that perpetuates a two party system in the United States is

A) Electoral rules
B) Political divides
C) Social divisions
D) Economic divisions

Question 8

Power of the political party has ________ over time.

A) Declined
B) Increased
C) Fluctuated
D) Stayed the same

Question 9

Partisanship in the electorate and in government has been increasing since the

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

Question 10

Political parties have _________ to maintain their relevance to the political system.

A) Struggled
B) Adapted
C) Grown
D) Shrunk

Question 11

A political party

A) Is an organization that nominates and runs candidates for office under its own label
B) Pursues the goal of winning governmental offices
C) Pursues the goal of enacting policies that the party favors
D) All of the above

Question 12

Anthony Downs (1957)

A) Viewed parties as teams competing for governmental power
B) Observed that parties formulate policies to win elections
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 13

Each of the following is a difference between parties and interest groups EXCEPT

A) They use different methods to influence the political process
B) Parties incorporate more issues than interest groups
C) Parties are private organizations
D) Interest groups are private organizations

Question 14

According to a 2016 Gallup poll, _____ percent of Americans want a viable third party.

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

Question 15

Why do political parties persist?

A) They have the money to do so
B) They adapt to the changes of the political system
C) They are inherently necessary
D) They are constitutionally guaranteed

Question 16

Which state currently has a non-partisan legislature?

A) Minnesota
B) Nebraska
C) Massachusetts
D) Oregon

Question 17

The party __________ consists of ordinary citizens who identify with the party and who usually support the party's candidates with votes and occasionally with campaign contributions.

A) In the electorate
B) In power
C) In government
D) Organization

Question 18

The party __________ is the elected and appointed officeholders

A) In the electorate
B) In government
C) In power
D) Organization

Question 19

There are ______ primary motivations for participating in party activities.

A) Three
B) Two
C) Four
D) No

Question 20

The motivation of party participation changes one's view of

A) Compromise
B) Internal governance of the party
C) Political patronage
D) All of these

Question 21

A political machine

A) Is a party organization headed by a party boss
B) Is normatively better than a regular party
C) Has not existed in the U.S.
D) All of the above

Question 22

Within a political machine, power and control is held

A) By a party boss
B) Through patronage, graft, and bribery
C) Through vote rigging
D) All of the above

Question 23

Role theory states that parties perform each of the following roles EXCEPT

A) Recruiting candidates
B) Mobilizing and influencing voters
C) Coordinating officeholders
D) Creating conflict with interest groups

Question 24

Aldrich (2011) identified the following party systems EXCEPT

A) Federalists vs Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans
B) Mass electoral parties
C) No parties
D) Candidate-centered

Question 25

Policy motivated activists want to use parties to help others, and are known as

A) Amateurs
B) Purists
C) Intense policy demanders
D) All of these

Question 26

A one party system is generally

A) More democratic that a two party system
B) Not democratic
C) More democratic than a two party system or a multiparty system
D) None of these

Question 27

Most contemporary democracies have _________ party systems

A) One
B) Two
C) Bipartisan
D) Multi

Question 28

Examples of multiparty political systems are all of the following EXCEPT

A) Germany
B) Japan
C) Jamaica
D) Israel

Question 29

Generally, in a two party system

A) There are only two parties
B) There are only two viable parties
C) Neither party can capture a true majority
D) Neither party incorporates the will of the people

Question 30

The U.S. has a two party system because of

A) Historical factors
B) Electoral rules
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 31

The tendency for single-member district plurality systems to favor a two party system is known as

A) Key's Law
B) Duverger's Law
C) Downs' Law
D) Murphy's Law

Question 32

Proportional representation yields itself to

A) Multiparty systems
B) One party systems
C) Two party systems
D) None of these

Question 33

The single-member district plurality system

A) Hinders the development of third parties
B) Encourages the development of third parties
C) Makes for the most democratic system
D) None of these

Question 34

Third parties in the United States have included all of the following EXCEPT

A) The Socialist Party
B) The Populists
C) The Progressives
D) The Conservative Communists

Question 35

One primary significance of third parties is

A) Giving voters another option to the "lesser of two evils" problem
B) Mobilizing citizens who were already going to vote
C) Swaying elections away from candidates that may have otherwise won the election
D) All of these

Question 36

A divided government is

A) The separation of church and state
B) When one party controls the presidency and another controls Congress
C) The separation into three branches of government
D) One that has no party discipline

Question 37

Conditional party government

A) Was developed by Rohde and Aldrich
B) Explains the polarization of Congress
C) States "party government" is conditional on high levels of ideological agreement within the party.
D) All of the above

Question 38

Unified government ensures that the party in control of the presidency and both houses of Congress can dominate the policy agenda.

Question 39

The role of political parties and strong partisanship in creating stability in government was called into question by the Capitol riots of 2021.

Question 40

The increasing number of independent voters ensures more opportunity for third party candidates in elections.

Question 41

Parties have been readily accepted since the founding of the country.

Question 42

Political scientists view parties as essential organizations in promoting the long-term health and stability of the democratic process.

Question 43

Minor parties never influence who wins an election.

Question 44

The major purpose of a political party is to win elections.

Question 45

Political parties are nothing like interest groups.

Question 46

Factions and parties are essentially the same in today's political system.

Question 47

As long as representative democracy exists, there are always going to be coalitions of like concerns with the interest and resources to seek influence over who gets nominated to office.

Question 48

Republicans have won fewer presidential elections than Democrats.

Question 49

The method of choosing the chief executive does not affect the number of parties.

Question 50

Third parties can help shape the political platforms of the two major parties.

Question 51

Why are there political parties? Why does the United States only have two major parties? What could be done to change this?

Question 52

Most Americans favor the creation of a third major party. Assuming this is possible, what are the advantages and disadvantages of having a competitive third party? Would this make politics more or less partisan? Why or why not?

Question 53

How would you identify the policy demanders in your state or congressional district? Who is recruiting and providing major support for candidates? How much influence do they have over nominations?

Question 54

Does role theory or rational choice theory better explain the formation of parties? Why? Can role theory and rational choice theory be complementary? In other words, is it rational to create roles?