Deck 11: Political Parties

Question 1

Which term best describes a nominating process composed of a formal caucus bound by a number of rules that govern participation and nominating procedures?

A)direct primary
B)nominating convention
C)selective congregation
D)party assembly
E)party congress

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is true about political party labels and parties' ability to simplify electoral choice in the general election?

A)Party labels tend to simplify choice in the general election among Republican voters but not voters who think of themselves as Democrat.
B)Party labels do not simplify choice among independents because Democrats and Republicans pursue similar policy goals.
C)Many independents do not derive value from the party labels.
D)Because government can never get anything done,most Americans do not attach themselves to any party label.
E)Though most Americans identify with one of the two major parties,party labels simplify choice among independent voters.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

When recruiting candidates,parties typically look for candidates who have an unblemished record and a(n)

A)cheerful temperament.
B)pleasant physical appearance.
C)record of military service.
D)ability to raise money.
E)unknown family name.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A political party is an organization seeking

A)grants and other funds from the government.
B)influence over government by electing its members to office.
C)to influence the government through lobbying.
D)the greater good of the nation.
E)to promote its ideology throughout the world.

Question 5

Which nomination process is more responsive to new issues and new candidates?

A)caucus
B)presidential appointment
C)convention
D)conference committee
E)primary

Question 6

Political parties effectively lower the information costs of voter participation because they provide

A)a media blitz for each candidate.
B)a forum for candidates to debate issues.
C)brand-name recognition.
D)a clearinghouse for disseminating position papers and policy analyses.
E)a ground game of yard signs,bumper stickers,and door hangers.

Question 7

Party get-out-the-vote efforts are critical for overcoming

A)the general lack of knowledge in the electorate.
B)the tendency to vote only in primary elections.
C)Americans' native distaste for parties.
D)the free-rider problem in voting.
E)the prisoner's dilemma of voter competition.

Question 8

Unlike interest groups,political parties are organizations that seek to influence government by

A)encouraging citizens to vote.
B)electing its members to office.
C)influencing administrative procedures.
D)taking public stands on various policy issues.
E)coordinating citizens with similar preferences.

Question 9

The Republican Party's traditional support of lower taxes is an example of an issue associated with the party's

A)media savvy.
B)connection to populist sentiment.
C)brand name.
D)general support of an active government on social issues.
E)continuation of the policies of Jimmy Carter.

Question 10

In modern American politics,how are most candidates nominated to elected office?

A)through petitions
B)by party caucuses
C)through primary elections
D)through nominating conventions
E)by presidential appointment

Question 11

How are nonprofit voter mobilization groups like America Votes and MoveOn,with their legions of volunteers,classified?

A)as nonpartisan groups with nonpartisan goals
B)as nonpartisan groups legally but as parties' shadow appendages in actuality
C)as party subsidiaries
D)as antipartisan groups
E)as funded by federal government grants

Question 12

What is the name of the process by which a party selects a single candidate to run for each elective office?

A)enlistment
B)winnowing
C)recruitment
D)appointment
E)nomination

Question 13

The type of primary election most conducive to strong political parties is the __________ primary.

A)open
B)run-off
C)closed
D)blanket
E)jungle

Question 14

As opposed to interest groups,political parties are composed mainly of __________ seekers.

A)vote
B)office
C)policy
D)benefit
E)money

Question 15

Which of the following explains why parties form?

A)to adhere to the mandate of Article IV of the Constitution
B)to confuse voters and thereby win their support
C)to resolve collective action problems
D)to weaken the link between elections and governing
E)to seek the collective good of the country

Question 16

The first step in the process of getting out the vote involves

A)voter registration.
B)primary elections.
C)nominating conventions.
D)submitting required campaign finance information.
E)transporting voters to the polls.

Question 17

When recruiting candidates,parties consider that,at the very least,a serious candidate for a seat in the U.S.House of Representatives must be able to raise several __________ dollars.

A)hundred
B)thousand
C)hundred thousand
D)million
E)billion

Question 18

The United States has a(n) __________ system.

A)anarchic
B)multiparty
C)one-party
D)three-party
E)two-party

Question 19

A primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates only for the party in which they have previously registered is called a(n) __________ primary.

A)open
B)run-off
C)closed
D)blanket
E)exclusive

Question 20

When recruiting candidates,parties consider that,at the very least,a serious candidate for a U.S.Senate seat must be able to raise several __________ dollars.

A)hundred
B)thousand
C)hundred thousand
D)million
E)billion

Question 21

Since the New Deal,which of these groups has been most supportive of the Democratic Party?

A)Jews
B)Catholics
C)Protestants
D)Christian fundamentalists
E)Mormons

Question 22

In American presidential elections,women are somewhat more likely to support the

A)Democrats.
B)Libertarians.
C)Republicans.
D)Reform Party.
E)Green Party.

Question 23

As part of its brand name,the national leadership of the Republican Party supports

A)increases in social programs.
B)regulation of business and industry.
C)environmental protection programs.
D)increased restrictions on abortions.
E)a more progressive tax system.

Question 24

The committee system of both houses of Congress is organized by

A)the Electoral College.
B)the parties.
C)the executive bureaucracy.
D)Article I,Section 9,of the U.S.Constitution.
E)Joint Congressional Rule 5.

Question 25

The actual selection of the Speaker of the House is made by the

A)president.
B)vice president.
C)Electoral College.
D)major party caucus.
E)House Rules Committee.

Question 26

Which of the following groups are part of today's Democratic Party coalition?

A)opponents of immigration and advocates for corporate tax reductions
B)organized labor and members of racial minorities
C)businesses and fundamentalist religious organizations
D)supporters of school prayer and opponents of affirmative action
E)former members of the Anti-Masonic Party

Question 27

Currently,about what percentage of African Americans describe themselves as Democrats?

A)10 percent
B)30 percent
C)50 percent
D)70 percent
E)90 percent

Question 28

Party leaders can act as __________ by seeking ideas that will expand their party's base of support.

A)party facilitators
B)partisan catalysts
C)advocacy boosters
D)policy entrepreneurs
E)strategic guides

Question 29

Presidents are more likely to get their legislative proposals through Congress if

A)they make speeches to joint sessions of Congress.
B)they are supported by the president's party and party leaders in Congress.
C)they donate personal funds to the campaigns of congressional incumbents.
D)they offer executive branch jobs to members of Congress.
E)the FBI collects dossiers of embarrassing material about each member of Congress.

Question 30

Which term describes an individual voter's psychological tie to one party?

A)political ego
B)long-term polarity
C)partisan fixation
D)political orientation
E)party identification

Question 31

Which of the following groups is NOT a part of today's Republican Party coalition?

A)firearms owners
B)business interests
C)social conservatives
D)evangelical Christians
E)African Americans

Question 32

Since they began focusing on abortion and other social issues in the 1970s,the Republican Party has been very successful in winning the votes of

A)women.
B)Catholics.
C)Unitarians.
D)Christian evangelicals.
E)Protestants.

Question 33

Committee assignments in Congress are made by

A)party groups.
B)seniority standards.
C)the president.
D)the president pro tempore.
E)random selection.

Question 34

In addition to leading the executive branch,the president also has responsibilities to

A)preside over the Senate and break tie votes.
B)settle disputes over religious doctrine.
C)set the docket of the Supreme Court through the solicitor general.
D)schedule legislation for debate in the House of Representatives.
E)be the leader of his or her party.

Question 35

Which term best describes party members who are strong party identifiers and who also contribute their time,energy,and effort to party affairs by ringing doorbells,stuffing envelopes,attending meetings,and contributing money to the party cause?

A)party activists
B)party loyalists
C)party reformers
D)party extremists
E)party aficionados

Question 36

When Jason Rae worked for the Democratic Party for several years on get-out-the-vote drives,attended their meetings,and supported party efforts,he behaved as a party

A)activist.
B)ideologue.
C)reformer.
D)extremist.
E)aficionado.

Question 37

Upper-income Americans tend to affiliate with the Republican Party because

A)the stock market does much better under Republican policies than Democratic policies.
B)upper-income Americans are concentrated in the South,a region of traditional Republican support.
C)they have a concern about protecting their foreign assets with a strong U.S.military.
D)they desire to use their wealth to fund social programs.
E)they have an economic self-interest in lower taxes.

Question 38

Exit polls revealed that Barack Obama overwhelmingly captured which of the following potential voting blocs in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections?

A)Latinos
B)Libertarians
C)American Indians
D)Protestants
E)Canadian immigrants

Question 39

Upper-income Americans are considerably more likely to affiliate with

A)the Republicans.
B)the Democrats.
C)the Green Party.
D)no political party.
E)the Libertarian Party.

Question 40

In American electoral politics,the differences between men and women in presidential voting is known as

A)the sex breach.
B)the gender gap.
C)sexual disparity.
D)the battle of the sexes.
E)feminine favoritism.

Question 41

The American two-party system emerged for the first time with the

A)Whigs and Democrats.
B)Republicans and Democrats.
C)Progressives and Democrats.
D)Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
E)Federalists and Hamiltonians.

Question 42

The first Republican president was

A)George Washington.
B)Andrew Jackson.
C)Abraham Lincoln.
D)Theodore Roosevelt.
E)James Buchanan.

Question 43

The Federalist Party disappeared altogether after some Federalist leaders

A)worked toward the abolition of slavery in the Southern states.
B)demonstrated pro-British sympathies during the War of 1812.
C)became involved in highly publicized voter fraud and electoral scandals.
D)compromised on key states' rights issues immediately preceding the Civil War.
E)set tariffs so low that the government had to default on its debts.

Question 44

The primary purpose of national party conventions is to

A)select the party's presidential nominee.
B)select the party's vice-presidential nominee.
C)select the party's slate of House and Senate candidates.
D)choose a new party chair.
E)allow party activists to screen congressional candidates.

Question 45

The Republican Party was initially motivated by

A)limiting the practice of homesteading.
B)commercial and antislavery interests.
C)containment of transcontinental railroad construction.
D)removal of protective tariffs and agricultural price supports.
E)personality conflicts and patronage politics.

Question 46

Richard Nixon's southern strategy refers to his appeal to

A)disaffected white Southerners.
B)disenfranchised African American southerners.
C)sunbelt industries in the growing American South.
D)politically powerful senior citizens relocating to the American South.
E)the growing number of Latino voters.

Question 47

The Republican Party gained the votes it needed to end Democratic dominance of the political process through Richard Nixon's

A)southern strategy.
B)evangelical appeal.
C)pro-civil rights agenda.
D)peace with honor plan.
E)share-the-wealth agenda.

Question 48

The organizational genius behind the Jacksonian movement who established a central party committee,state party organizations,and party newspapers was Jackson's vice president and eventual successor,

A)John Tyler.
B)James Polk.
C)John C.Calhoun.
D)William Henry Harrison.
E)Martin Van Buren.

Question 49

The majority of young adults in the United States today describe themselves as

A)Democrats.
B)Libertarians.
C)Republicans.
D)independents.
E)apathetic.

Question 50

At the national level,the most important organization for the Democratic and Republican parties for raising campaign funds,heading off factional disputes,and endeavoring to enhance the party's media image is the national

A)caucus.
B)congressional campaign committee.
C)convention.
D)campaign commission.
E)supreme soviet.

Question 51

The divisions between Republicans and Democrats at the beginning of the third party system revolved primarily around

A)slavery issues only.
B)economic issues only.
C)foreign policy issues.
D)the expansion of the union.
E)economic issues and slavery.

Question 52

During the Great Depression,President Franklin D.Roosevelt developed a program for economic recovery that would substantially increase the size and reach of America's national government.He named this program the

A)New Deal.
B)New Frontier.
C)Great Society.
D)New Covenant.
E)Fair Deal.

Question 53

The Whigs formed primarily

A)around antislavery issues.
B)around economic issues.
C)to oppose the Jacksonian Democrats.
D)to oppose Lincoln and the Republicans.
E)to balance the federal budget.

Question 54

The Reconstruction program collapsed in the 1870s primarily as a result of

A)divisions within the Democratic Party.
B)economic resistance by northern industries.
C)violent resistance by the newly freed slaves.
D)divisions among congressional Republicans.
E)civil disobedience by northern antislavery activists.

Question 55

The New Deal coalition is most closely associated with which of the following party systems?

A)first party system
B)third party system
C)fourth party system
D)fifth party system
E)sixth party system

Question 56

The divisions during the fourth party system were primarily between

A)North and South.
B)urban business interests and rural farmers.
C)Protestant and Catholic.
D)reformers and machine politicians.
E)eastern landowners and western settlers.

Question 57

From the collapse of the Federalists until the 1830s,a period called the "Era of Good Feeling," America had only one political party,the

A)Whigs.
B)Populists.
C)Republicans.
D)Democratic-Republicans.
E)Anti-Masons.

Question 58

The body that runs the day-to-day business of the national parties is the

A)national convention.
B)national committee.
C)congressional campaign committees.
D)national congregation.
E)supreme soviet.

Question 59

The parties have evolved today into

A)minor political entities.
B)service organizations.
C)institution crafters.
D)policy repositories.
E)nonprofit purveyors of branding merchandise,like T-shirts and key chains.

Question 60

The National Republican Campaign Committee is an example of a

A)national committee.
B)national convention.
C)congressional campaign committee.
D)home committee.
E)political action committee.

Question 61

The president does not rely on his party for any support.

Question 62

Political parties seek to influence the government.

Question 63

Hispanics are increasing in importance and policy relevance in the United States.

Question 64

Political parties are largely irrelevant to the operation of Congress.

Question 65

Closed primaries prohibit anyone who is not a registered party member from participating.

Question 66

Typically,third parties in the United States have represented social and economic interests that

A)appeal to the wealthy.
B)are not given a voice by the two major parties.
C)have ultimately proved extremely unpopular with the general public.
D)tend to work specifically against an existing program or party platform.
E)defy the tenets of organized religion.

Question 67

In the United States,third parties are usually influential for only a short time because their

A)electoral support is geographically dispersed.
B)ideas are usually ignored by the major parties.
C)electoral support is demographically dispersed.
D)ideas are usually absorbed by one of the major parties.
E)leaders run out of money and enthusiasm.

Question 68

During elections,interest groups usually sponsor candidates directly.

Question 69

Ralph Nader's 2000 campaign for president is an example of a(n)

A)third-party candidacy.
B)southern strategy.
C)anti-incumbent campaign.
D)antilabor campaign.
E)favorite son candidacy.

Question 70

The United States is referred to as having a two-party system because

A)only two parties have a serious chance to win national elections.
B)only Democratic and Republican candidates run for national office.
C)the national government subsidizes only the Republican and Democratic parties.
D)each state allows only two presidential candidates to run during an election year.
E)only two parties can satisfy the constitutional requirements for a political party.

Question 71

Political parties are responsible for overseeing committee appointments.

Question 72

Political parties organize to resolve the collective action problems associated with successful election campaigns.

Question 73

An electorate that selects several candidates from a single electoral district is called a(n) __________ district.

A)third-member
B)single-member
C)multiple-member
D)all-or-nothing,winner-take-all
E)plurality

Question 74

Political parties organize with the goal of serving the national interest.

Question 75

Political parties generally shy away from trying to get candidates to run for office,preferring instead to support whoever is actually elected.

Question 76

Open primaries are less conducive to strong parties.

Question 77

Ross Perot's 1992 campaign for president is an example of a(n)

A)third-party candidacy.
B)fourth-party candidacy.
C)anti-incumbent candidacy.
D)antilabor candidacy.
E)favorite son candidacy.

Question 78

Political parties are effective at mobilizing voters.

Question 79

Third parties rarely win elective office in the United States because

A)they lack sufficient membership concentration in any one district to win a plurality of votes.
B)American multiple-member districts disadvantage third-party candidates.
C)they consistently offend large numbers of mainstream Americans.
D)congressional statutes prohibit nonmajor party candidates from winning elections.
E)they rarely offer interesting or popular policy proposals.

Question 80

Most candidates for office are nominated in primary elections.