Deck 4: Political Parties

Question 1

When Tip O'Neill said, "all politics is local," he was talking about how

A) powerful local interests are in state politics.
B) local issues are not generally ideological.
C) all meaningful decisions are made by state and local governments.
D) the federal government only has powers granted to it by state governments.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Since 1994, the state government of Texas

A) has been controlled equally by the two major parties.
B) often shifts in terms of which party is in control.
C) has been dominated by the Democratic Party.
D) has been dominated by the Republican Party.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The main role of the precinct conventions is to select delegates to the ________ and possibly to submit resolutions that may eventually become part of the party platform.

A) state executive committee
B) county convention
C) precinct convention
D) state convention

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The fundamental principles and positions supported by a political party are explained in the

A) party guidebook.
B) party primary.
C) party manifesto.
D) party platform.

Question 5

In recent presidential elections, Texas has

A) consistently supported the Democratic nominee.
B) consistently supported the Republican nominee.
C) consistently supported the Independent nominee.
D) never consistently supported only one party's nominee.

Question 6

In order to win statewide elections, Democrats in Texas want to mobilize which of the following to vote?

A) Latinos
B) African Americans
C) Asian Americans
D) women living in rural areas

Question 7

Most Texas Democrats today would be classified as

A) liberal.
B) moderate.
C) independent.
D) swing voters.

Question 8

Which statement correctly describes the requirements for membership in a major political party in Texas?

A) An individual must apply for membership through a formal process.
B) An individual must have voted in two party primaries in successive elections.
C) One must be a registered voter in the state of Texas and 21 years of age.
D) With no requirements, a registered voter simply chooses which party primary to vote in.

Question 9

Which movement has had the largest impact on state legislative races in recent years?

A) the Tea Party movement
B) La Raza Unida
C) the Libertarian movement
D) the Green Party movement

Question 10

Texans are increasingly identifying themselves as

A) Republican.
B) Independent.
C) Democratic.
D) Libertarian.

Question 11

Why might parties at the state level have less power than those at the national level?

A) The creation of party primaries took control of the nomination from party leaders and gave it to the voters.
B) Voters are more concerned with policy proposals, such as public works programs, rather than partisanship.
C) The rise of media campaigns made candidates more reliant on money than local party volunteers.
D) Much needed funding is usually donated to the national party level, leaving states without much influence.

Question 12

What is the most basic level of the permanent party organization in Texas?

A) ward chair
B) district chair
C) county chair
D) precinct chair

Question 13

The fastest-growing demographic group in Texas is ________, the majority of whom vote ________.

A) Latino; Democratic
B) white; Democratic
C) Latino; Republican
D) African American; Republican

Question 14

The process of ________ occurs throughout our early years, when parents, religious leaders, teachers, and others influence our partisan identifications.

A) acculturation
B) political partisanship
C) political culture
D) political socialization

Question 15

Why are Texas Republicans considered to be in a divided moment?

A) because Republicans are divided over Latino voter recruitment
B) because coalition between the Latino and African American voters has dominated Texas politics in recent years, and the Tea Party movement is becoming more influential within Texas politics and government
C) because of the rise of independent voters and the growing influence of the Tea Party movement
D) because there is tension between pro-business Republicans, who have traditionally dominated Texas politics, and the Tea Party movement that is becoming more influential within Texas politics and government

Question 16

Which of the following is a way in which parties help voters during elections?

A) recruit nominees for office
B) raise money
C) provide volunteers to serve as election judges
D) give voters a party label they can identify with when deciding how to vote

Question 17

In Texas, political parties help candidates by providing

A) legal assistance to respond to policy challenges.
B) fundraising for constitutional amendments.
C) training for a campaign.
D) materials needed to run a negative campaign.

Question 18

Members of the Texas Republican Party have become more conservative and members of the Texas Democratic Party have become more liberal. This evolution best defines

A) partisan drift.
B) partisan allegiance.
C) partisan polarization.
D) the two-party system.

Question 19

The ________ convention is a meeting held by a political party following its precinct convention for the purpose of electing delegates to its state convention.

A) city
B) regional
C) county
D) special district

Question 20

No Democrat has won Texas in a presidential race since ________.

A) Barack Obama
B) Bill Clinton
C) Jimmy Carter
D) Ann Richards

Question 21

In Texas today, rural areas have become more ______________, while urban areas have become more ___________.

A) nonpartisan; Libertarian
B) Shivercrat; Tea Party
C) Democratic; Republican
D) Republican; Democratic

Question 22

The Libertarian Party can be considered

A) fiscal and social liberals.
B) fiscal conservatives and social liberals.
C) fiscal and social conservatives.
D) fiscal liberals and social conservatives.

Question 23

When intraparty disputes split members into different groups, these groups are referred to as

A) factions.
B) teams.
C) enemies.
D) subparties.

Question 24

The ________ movement was a movement during the 1950s in which conservative Democrats in Texas supported Republican candidate Dwight Eisenhower for the presidency because many of those conservative Democrats believed that the national Democratic Party had become too liberal.

A) Dixiecrat
B) La Raza Unida
C) Shivercrat
D) Constitutionalist

Question 25

Between 1927 and 1949, how many Republicans were in the Texas legislature?

A) 15
B) 0
C) 25
D) 50

Question 26

Political parties are now using social media in order to

A) conduct exit polling.
B) mobilize voters.
C) filibuster in the Senate.
D) facilitate nonpartisan elections.

Question 27

Conservative Democrats in Texas are also known as

A) Blue Dog Democrats.
B) Yellow Dog Democrats.
C) Republicans.
D) Libertarians.

Question 28

________ is a system of representation that encourages third-party voting because it allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote.

A) Proportional representation
B) Duverger's Law
C) A single-member district
D) Multimember representation

Question 29

Presidential Republicanism describes a pattern when Texan voters would vote for a Republican president and

A) conservative Republicans for state offices.
B) conservative Democrats for state offices.
C) conservative Democrats for the U.S. House and Senate.
D) conservative Republicans for the U.S. House and Senate.

Question 30

The Latino movement known as La Raza Unida occurred during the

A) 1920s.
B) 1940s.
C) 1960s.
D) 1980s.

Question 31

The mass exodus of more affluent whites from urban areas to suburban areas is sometimes referred to as

A) urban withdrawal.
B) white flight.
C) tax-base erosion.
D) urban racism.

Question 32

Why don't Texans vote for third parties?

A) Because Texas employs what is known as a "first past the post," single-member district electoral system, it makes it difficult for third party candidates to win elections.
B) Third-party candidates really do not make a real effort to win.
C) Third-party candidates do not establish clear-cut positions on issues where there is broad agreement.
D) Third-party candidates develop a campaign strategy that is too narrowly focused.

Question 33

The States' Rights Party, also known as the Dixiecrats, split with the national Democratic Party over which issue?

A) racial integration
B) military intervention in Vietnam
C) education policy
D) economic policy

Question 34

By about the 1940s, a split between liberals and conservatives developed in the Democratic Party that focused on

A) labor and civil liberties measures.
B) New Deal economic policies and civil rights measures.
C) education and civil rights measures.
D) war and New Deal economic policies.

Question 35

Duverger's Law states that

A) proportional representation systems result in two-party systems.
B) one-party systems are the result of white flight.
C) single-member district systems result in two-party systems.
D) presidential Republicanism results in ticket splitting.

Question 36

In the post-Civil War era, the only parts of Texas that showed significant Republican leanings were

A) counties in the Panhandle.
B) rural areas in East Texas.
C) counties located along the Rio Grande River.
D) German counties in the Texas Hill Country.

Question 37

In a "nonpartisan" election,

A) anyone voting in the election must not be a member of a political party.
B) the party affiliations of candidates are not listed on the ballot.
C) candidates participating in the election cannot be affiliated with a political party.
D) only members of "third parties" can participate.

Question 38

What event marked a significant change in how Texans began to vote not only in presidential elections but also in state elections?

A) Michael Dukakis won Texas in 1988.
B) George H. W. Bush moved to Texas.
C) George H. W. Bush won Texas in the general election of 2000.
D) Ronald Reagan was elected as President.

Question 39

Between 2008 and 2018, countywide elections in Dallas County

A) were split 50-50 by Democrats and Republicans.
B) were swept by Republicans.
C) were swept by Democrats.
D) were split equally by Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians.

Question 40

Although the Democratic Party dominated state politics for much of the twentieth century, by the 1950s it faced internal divisions between ________ and ________ Democrats.

A) liberal; conservative
B) moderate; liberal
C) conservative; moderate
D) Blue Dog Democrats; Yellow Dog

Question 41

The Dixiecrat movement led by Strom Thurmond in 1948 opposed the segregationist ideas of President Harry S. Truman.

Question 42

Most third-party candidates in Texas are unsuccessful in their electoral bids.

Question 43

Texas voters often use the party affiliation of the candidates as a way to make voting decisions.

Question 44

The Libertarian Party is both socially and economically liberal.

Question 45

Texas Republicans have held all major statewide elected offices since 1980.

Question 46

Texas Democrats have been relegated to minority status in the state since 1994.

Question 47

By focusing on influencing the Republican primary elections, the Tea Party in Texas is trying to

A) get Tea Party-supported candidates on the ballot, but under the Republican party label.
B) get the experience necessary to become a major party.
C) split the vote among multiple candidates to force runoff elections.
D) bypass state ballot access guidelines for third party candidates.

Question 48

Duverger's Law states that single-member districts result in two-party systems.

Question 49

Local issues are always ideological in nature.

Question 50

The primary function of the precinct convention is to write the party platform.

Question 51

The Tea Party movement is strong in Texas.

Question 52

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Texas was a competitive, two-party state.

Question 53

Most of the African American population of Texas is concentrated in

A) the Panhandle.
B) West Texas.
C) suburban Brownsville.
D) East Texas.

Question 54

Partisan polarization makes it difficult to get legislation passed in the legislature.

Question 55

Social media is an important fundraising tool because it is less costly to solicit campaign contributions using social media than through other methods.

Question 56

Latinos have the largest percentage share of voters in Texas.

Question 57

Similar to other southern states, Texas is

A) religious and socially conservative.
B) socially liberal and not religious.
C) ethnically homogenous.
D) ideologically diverse.

Question 58

In Texas, the most local level of a party organization is the county.

Question 59

Texas requires people to designate party affiliation when registering to vote.

Question 60

Blue Dog Democrats are becoming more and more popular in Texas.

Question 61

Discuss urban, rural, and suburban influences on partisanship. Explain which party tends to dominate in each of these areas, and why.

Question 62

How does strong partisan ideology serve to weaken Texas's political parties?

Question 63

How would you describe the structure of political parties and elections in Texas? What are the different levels of party organization?

Question 64

Has Texas always been a predominantly conservative state? How does this question tie in to the state's shift from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party since the 1960s?

Question 65

How would you explain what political parties are and why Texas has a two-party system?

Question 66

Describe the history of Texas as a one-party state. Which party dominates Texas politics, and what are the historical origins behind this dominance? What were some of the ramifications of one-party rule? What caused the rise of a two-party system in Texas?