Deck 12: Political Parties

Question 1

By regulating career advancement, providing for the orderly resolution of competition, and attending to postcareer care of elected and appointed party officials, political parties deal directly with the problem of

A)groupthink.
B)unrestrained individual ambition.
C)collective action in the electoral process.
D)collective choice in the policy-making process.
E)institutional barriers to policy change.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which term best describes a nominating process comprised 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 3

B

Question 4

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 5

When recruiting candidates, parties typically look for candidates who have an unblemished record and

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

Question 6

What is the term for a primary election in which voters can choose on primary election day which party's primary to vote in?

A)open primary
B)conventions
C)closed primaries
D)independent routes
E)modified systems

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of how parties deal with the problem of ambition?

A)providing for the orderly resolution of competition through primaries
B)providing every member of Congress with a press secretary
C)giving politicians financial bonuses when they win elections
D)firing candidates with a track record of losing
E)auctioning off key party posts to the highest bidder

Question 8

Groups, such as the National Organization of Women (NOW), can do which of the following by providing resources to and aligning itself with the Democratic Party?

A)pick a certain number of delegates to attend the Democratic National Convention
B)receive subsidies for court cases that NOW appeals to the Supreme Court
C)join a larger coalition of groups that can win elections
D)participate in Democratic Party amicus curiae briefs
E)use the Democratic National Committee building to host its annual convention

Question 9

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 10

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 11

To facilitate collective action, the shape of party organization in the United States has followed which simple rule?

A)For every presidential election, a national committee will select a candidate.
B)For every district where an election is held, some kind of party unit should exist.
C)For every initiative by one political party, an equal but opposing initiative is promoted by the other political party.
D)For every political eventuality not mentioned in the Constitution, a political party will address it as a formal policy response in its platform.
E)For every candidate the party must provide a vigorous campaign.

Question 12

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 13

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 14

The United States has a(n) __________ system.

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

Question 15

Political parties organize because of three problems with which politicians and other political activists must cope: collective action in the electoral process, collective choice of policy, and political

A)drift.
B)oversight.
C)organization.
D)compromise.
E)ambition.

Question 16

The process by which a party selects a single candidate to run for each elective office known as

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

Question 17

Groups are willing to give their electoral support to help parties overcome the collective action problem of mobilizing voters because in return parties give groups

A)influence over policy.
B)campaign contributions.
C)positions on party leadership boards.
D)foot soldiers to achieve their group goals.
E)free advertising on party and government websites.

Question 18

Within the American government today, political parties exist as

A)instruments of cooperation bound together by discipline and strong leadership.
B)instruments of competition with the main goal of blocking legislative initiatives.
C)temporary coalitions of individuals who work together briefly on common goals.
D)permanent coalitions of individuals with shared interests who support one another.
E)teams that select the rules and leaders of legislators but do not organize coalitions on specific policy proposals.

Question 19

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

A)open
B)runoff
C)closed
D)blanket
E)jungle

Question 20

The permanence of political parties

A)helps the legislative process because coalitions do not need to be built from scratch on every issue.
B)helps the legislative process by ensuring conflict across all issues.
C)hurts the legislative process because there is so much internal conflict in contemporary parties.
D)hurts the legislative process by eliminating debate on issues.
E)hurts the legislative process by reducing the ambition of elected members.

Question 21

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

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

Question 22

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 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

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 26

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)runoff
C)closed
D)blanket
E)exclusive

Question 27

Who among the following are 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 28

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

A)Western ranchers
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 29

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 30

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 31

Party leaders can act as __________ by pursuing ideas that will help expand their own party's support.

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

Question 32

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 33

Political party turnout efforts are aided by

A)nonprofit groups.
B)the Department of Labor.
C)corporate advertising.
D)National Guard mobilization.
E)overseas hackers.

Question 34

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 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 also simplify choice among independent voters.

Question 35

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 36

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 37

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

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

Question 38

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 39

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 40

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 41

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 42

Which of the following is NOT an example of equilibrium as discussed in the text?

A)Voters can reliably expect Democrats and Republicans to be the main parties in the next election.
B)Voters can expect Democrats to be more ideologically liberal and Republicans more ideologically conservative.
C)Voters can expect Democrats to align with unions and urban interests and Republicans to align more closely with corporations and rural interests.
D)While Democrats are reluctant to change their core ideology, Republicans embrace new principles that successfully draw support from opposition parties and court new constituents.
E)Both Democrats and Republicans are reluctant to fundamentally change their respective party coalitions.

Question 43

The South has transitioned from being a

A)two-party region to being a solidly Republican region.
B)two-party region to being a solidly Democratic region.
C)solidly Democratic region to being a solidly Republican region.
D)solidly Republican region to being a solidly Democratic region.
E)solidly Democratic region to a two-party region.

Question 44

Since the New Deal, which religious group among the Democratic Party has been the most loyal constituent?

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

Question 45

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 46

The majority of young adults in the United States today identify as

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

Question 47

Today's parties have evolved 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 48

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 49

An example of the current effect of region on party identification is the strong commitment to the Democratic Party in the

A)South.
B)Midwest.
C)Northeast.
D)West.
E)Southwest.

Question 50

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 51

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)they are concentrated in the South, a region of traditional Republican support.
C)they have a concern over 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 52

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 53

Which term best describes party members who are strong party identifiers and 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 54

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 55

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 56

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

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

Question 57

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 58

What is a pluralist view of parties?

A)There will always be at least two parties in American politics.
B)Parties need a lot of different money sources to compete in elections.
C)People develop party identification for all kinds of reasons.
D)Parties are composed of politicians holding a wide variety of offices.
E)Parties consist of many organized groups of citizens.

Question 59

Since it began focusing on abortion and other social issues in the 1970s, the Republican Party has increased its share of voters from which group that once leaned heavily toward the Democratic Party?

A)females
B)Catholics
C)Unitarians
D)African Americans
E)Protestants

Question 60

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 committees.
C)convention.
D)campaign commission.
E)supreme soviet.

Question 61

Progressive political reforms ultimately

A)increased voter turnout.
B)weakened political parties.
C)reinforced the spoils system.
D)fostered political corruption.
E)increased political participation by working-class Americans.

Question 62

The divisions during the fourth-party system were primarily between

A)West and South.
B)urban business interests and rural farmers.
C)Protestant and Catholic.
D)reformers and machine politicians.
E)men and women.

Question 63

During the 1964 presidential election, arguments in favor of substantially reduced levels of taxation and spending, less government regulation of the economy, and elimination of many federal social programs were advanced by

A)Milton Friedman, author of a book titled Free to Choose.
B)Richard M.Nixon, author of a book titled Hope and Peace.
C)John F.Kennedy, author of a book titled Profiles in Courage.
D)Barry Goldwater, author of a book titled The Conscience of a Conservative.
E)Ronald Reagan, author of a book titled The Right Course for America.

Question 64

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 65

A local party organization that controls local politics through patronage and the nomination process is known as

A)a party machine.
B)a political army.
C)boss rule.
D)czar rule.
E)a party monolith.

Question 66

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 67

The presidential election of 1840 was the first in which

A)a former general was elected president.
B)both parties competed in every state.
C)tariffs were a campaign issue that divided the two parties.
D)photographs of candidates were widely circulated.
E)the American (or Know-Nothing) party fielded a major candidate.

Question 68

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many cities and counties and even a few states had such well-organized political parties that they were called

A)party machines.
B)political armies.
C)party monoliths.
D)political monarchies.
E)iron oligarchies.

Question 69

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 70

In the presidential election of 1832, political parties first used which method to select presidential candidates?

A)national party conventions
B)congressional caucuses
C)New Hampshire primaries
D)Electoral College
E)rotation in office

Question 71

Richard Nixon's Southern strategy refers to Nixon's 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 72

A major reform of the Progressive Era was the introduction of the

A)party caucus.
B)Australian ballot.
C)patronage system.
D)Electoral College.
E)fairness doctrine.

Question 73

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 74

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 75

The first Republican president was

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

Question 76

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 77

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 78

When a political machine uses its power to control who is hired for government jobs to reward party supporters, this practice is known as

A)patronage.
B)indemnity.
C)mobilization.
D)capitalization.
E)patriarchy.

Question 79

The organizational genius behind the Jacksonian movement who established a party central 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 80

The New Deal Coalition most closely associates 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