Deck 9: Why Tough Campaigns Are Good for Democracy

Question 1

Many commentators are worried that the United States is in decline because of _____.

A) diminishing stocks of natural resources
B) inability to deal with long-term fiscal problems
C) declining moral standards
D) increasingly powerful rival nations

Answer 1

B

Question 2

How do the relative influence of masses and elites affect the political process and policy outcomes?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

How should political research distinguish between elites and masses, according to this chapter? How does this approach categorize party activists and campaign workers, and why?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

What conditions suggest that, over recent decades, the influence of ordinary citizens on policymakers has probably increased, rather than decreased?

Question 5

What "exogenous" influences (that is, influences other than polarized elite conflict) likely explain the polarization of ordinary citizens?

Question 6

According to this chapter, which of the following is the most promising approach for developing reforms to reduce the destructive conflict of polarized politics?

A) Reforming the media to provide more balanced information.
B) Reforming the presidency and Congress to improve cooperation.
C) Reforming electoral processes in ways that help moderate candidates.
D) None of the above

Question 7

In the near-failure to pass the debt limit extension, the legislators least willing to compromise were _____.

A) Republicans associated with the Tea Party movement
B) Democrats associated with MoveOn.org
C) party leaders of both parties
D) members of the House and Senate Budget Committee

Question 8

This chapter argues that in the debate over the Clinton administration's proposed health care reform, the President and Republican leaders largely _____.

A) sought to appeal to moderate, centrist voters
B) responded to mobilized groups and their base constituencies
C) worked with each other to develop a bipartisan bill
D) followed expert advice without regard to political pressures

Question 9

According to this chapter, which of the following types of actors probably contributed to the first stages of polarization in Congress?

A) Citizens' groups and the Christian Right
B) Party activists and highly attentive citizens
C) Informal party organizations
D) All of the above

Question 10

The ideological attitudes of "engaged citizens" and the trends in party strength among states and districts have combined to produce _____.

A) an electoral realignment
B) enduring Republican control of Congress
C) an electoral foundation for bipartisanship
D) an electoral foundation for polarization

Question 11

Which of the following describes the process in which large ideological differences between the parties developed, in Congress and in the electorate?

A) Large differences developed first in Congress.
B) Large differences developed first in the electorate.
C) Large differences developed at the same time in both.
D) Large differences developed in the 1980s, then diminished, in both.

Question 12

Which of the following is an aspect of the polarization of the political parties?

A) Independent voters usually prefer one of the parties.
B) Democratic politicians are consistently liberal.
C) Both parties solicit campaign funds from interest groups.
D) All of the above

Question 13

The term polarized populism refers to the idea that _____.

A) policymakers respond to ideologically mobilized mass constituencies
B) most voters are divided into two opposing ideological factions
C) reformers seek to increase the influence of the public
D) the public wants the parties to have clearly distinct policies

Question 14

American politics nowadays has exceptionally severe conflict _____.

A) between the Democratic and Republican Parties
B) between the president and Congress
C) between the federal government and the states
D) within each of the political parties

Question 15

The conclusion of Chapter 9 borrows a well-known quip, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Explain the role of ordinary citizens in polarized politics, as the chapter presents it. Evaluate some of the main evidence and arguments for this view. What kinds of research could help to establish the respective roles of masses and elites in polarized politics?