Exam 2 Federal Gov

Which of the following describes the democratic ideal?

Government ought to be run by the people.

_____ involves an interest group's rank-and-file membership as well as outreach to ordinary people outside the organization.

Grassroots lobbying

Who was the leader of the Federalists?

Alexander Hamilton

A favorable early evaluation of interest groups can be found in the writings of

Alexis de Tocqueville.

________ is considered "soft news," a mix of information and diversion oriented to personalities or celebrities, and usually unrelated to the day's events or public policies

Infotainment

A country where the government heavily censors Internet news and search engines is

China.

Which event helped to shape the partisan patterns of the North and South for nearly a century?

Civil War

Which independent federal agency regulates interstate and international communication by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable, and satellite?

FCC

Which of the following accurately describes voter turnout in the United States?

It is lower than in most European countries even at its highest points.

What function does the Iowa caucus traditionally serve during a presidential election?

It narrows the field of candidates.

What is one of the strong arguments that supports presidential selection by electoral votes, rather than by popular vote?

It reduces the risk of a nationwide recount.

What was the purpose of the Twelfth Amendment ?

It required the electoral college to vote separately for president and vice president.

When Cesar Chavez tried to organize California farm workers in the 1960s, which of his tactics got sympathy and support from the public, giving him credibility and momentum?

a march to the state capitol

In the discipline of political science, party identification refers to

a sense of psychological attachment to a party.

In the U.S. political system, the most important function of minor parties is that they

act as safety valves.

By definition, the actions of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attackers are considered

acts of terrorism.

Which primary role of interest groups brings new issues into the political limelight, making the government aware of problems and seeing that they get solved?

agenda building

By national law, _________ of the seats in the House of Representatives and ____ of the seats in the Senate are filled in a general election held every even-numbered year.

all; one-third

Which of the following best fits the definition of an interest group?

an organized body of individuals who share political goals and try to influence public policy

One way to determine that a system is NOT democratic is when citizens

are forced to operate outside institutions to influence policies.

In general today, women politically participate

at about the same rate as men.

Most democratic theorists agree that a modern nation-state cannot practice democracy without

at least two political parties regularly contesting elections.

Some negative ads also promote the positive qualities of the other candidate; however, there are negative ads that advocate nothing positive. These are called ____ ads.

attack

Which of the following is an example of high-initiative behavior?

attending a congressional hearing

Group leaders who follow news in specific policy areas are called _____ policy elites.

attentive

What is the main criterion generally used when judging whether a story can be considered newsworthy?

audience appeal

A media event is a situation that is

believed too newsworthy for the mass media to pass up.

Research suggests that "negative ads" appear to

benefit challengers more than incumbents.

The literacy tests that were used in the southern states after 1870 worked primarily against

blacks.

Which type of minor party is formed by factions that have split off from one of the major parties, such as the Progressive Party in 1912 and the American Independent Party in 1968?

bolter party

Unlike conventional participation, unconventional participation in government

challenges or defies established institutions instead of using them.

A group that has as its purpose issues unrelated to its members' vocations is known as a(n)

citizen group.

Henry has decided to join the National Wildlife Council. Any issues the Council focuses on will not affect his professional life, but Henry cares about the treatment of wildlife and wants to be part of a group that can make a difference. Henry is a member of a

citizen group.

The _______ defied conventional wisdom regarding political change through a broad and sustained series of protests and unconventional actions.

civil rights movement

A primary election in which voters must declare their party affiliation before they are given the primary ballot is a(n)________ primary.

closed

When several interest groups band together in order to lobby an issue, it is called

coalition building

An important series of 2003 surveys about perceptions of the Iraq war found that the most misperceptions and misunderstandings about the war were held by people who relied on ________for their news.

commercial television networks

In modern elections, candidates _______________ to learn about voters' interests.

commission public opinion polls

The process of transmitting information from one individual to another is called

communication.

The acronym PAC stands for

Political Action Committee.

During the decades from the economic depression of the 1890s until the stock market crash in 1929, presidential elections were dominated by the __________ Party.

Republican

The four parties named below all played a part in the critical election of 1860. Which one nominated and backed Abraham Lincoln?

Republican Party

Which of the following accurately describes the interest group system in the United States?

Some sectors of society are much better represented than others.

The term Solid South refers to the

South's consistent Democratic voting record for much of the twentieth century.

"Independent, expenditures-only political committees" are a legal term by the Federal Elections Committee (FEC) more commonly referred to as

Super PACs.

In the early days of America, the president was chosen by

a group of political elites in the Electoral College.

If a lobbyist is trying to convince a legislator to support a particular bill, one of the most valuable resources an interest group can have is

a large, politically active membership.

The television hypothesis is used to explain the fact that the citizenry has

a low level of knowledge about public affairs.

Each state has one vote in the electoral college for

each of its representatives and senators.

What role has social networking played for modern candidates?

encouraged candidates to personalize campaign messages

Which of the following is the key objective of paid advertising during the primary season?

ensuring the candidate's name recognition

Political scientist Robert Salisbury compares the role of an interest group leader to that of a(n)

entrepreneur.

Technically, we elect a U.S. president in a _______election.

federal

We elect the president via 50 state elections combined into the electoral college; thus,presidential elections are best described as________ elections.

federal

Research shows that using direct action as a participation tactic appeals most to those who distrust the political system and

feel they can affect political decisions.

The phenomenon of ______________ is referred to as the "revolving door".

former elected officials taking lobbying jobs

The media executives, news editors, and prominent reporters who decide which events to report and how to report the mare known as

gatekeepers.

What term is used by the media to describe an important event that has happened within the past twenty-four hours?

hard news

People who ___________ are most likely to belong to interest groups.

have high income

In just about all elections, but particularly in congressional elections, ________ enjoy great advantages and are difficult to defeat.

incumbents

The Federal Communications Commission is a(n) _____ that is insulated from political control by the Congress or president.

independent regulatory commission

The primary goal of interest groups is to

influence public policy.

When a citizen contributes money to a candidate's campaign, he or she is engaging in

influencing behavior.

Organizing public relations campaigns and sponsoring research are examples of

information campaigns

The number of electoral votes needed to win the presidency

is 270.

The main drawback of protest activity as a tool in influencing the policy making process is that

it is basically a short-term tool, whereas policy making is a long-term process.

Political scientists know less about unconventional forms of political participation because

it is easier to collect data on conventional practices.

The three most important campaign issues in 2016 were national security, immigration, and

jobs.

The most common form of grassroots lobbying is

letter writing

Available evidence seems to indicate that there are_________ among journalists and reporters.

liberal leanings

Available evidence, including an analysis of network coverage and a survey of journalists,seems to confirm that reporters in the major news media tend to have

liberal leanings.

Another name for an interest group is a(n)

lobby.

It is the job of __________ to make sure that people in government know what their members want and that their organizations know what the government is doing.

lobbyists

The text cites a survey that asked respondent show they ranked the ethical standards of people working in twenty-two different professions. Which of these professions ranked last in this survey?

lobbyists

Characteristics frequently associated with nonvoters are

low education, low income, and being relatively young.

A review of ''particularized'' political participation finds that it

may favor private interests over those of the majority

During the 2016 presidential campaign, some candidates sent messages to the smart phones of selected voters. This is an example of

microtargeting

In the text the authors assert that the majority of voters are ideologically more ________ than the voting records of members of Congress would indicate.

moderate

Which primaries allow all those not already registered with a party to choose any party ballot and vote?

modified open primaries

Incumbents in the House of Representatives historically have won

more than 95 percent of the time.

Research indicates that since 1952, ________ of the electorate decides how to vote before the party conventions end in the summer.

more than half

As the American population grew and the electorate expanded by the 1820s, political parties invented the _______ as a new way to nominate presidential candidates, the first of which was held in 1831

national convention

The acronym PAC stands for

political action committee.

The text defines __________ as the actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or support government and politics.

political participation

In the past, ________ conducted all phases of the election campaign.

political parties

Which type of organization sponsors candidates for political office, specifically under the organization's name?

political party

A(n) _______ is a set of interrelated institutions that link people with government

political system

A direct primary is a

preliminary election to choose party candidates.

A __________ election is a preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for office.

primary

The traditional division of mass media into _________ has been made problematic by the Internet.

print and broadcast

Ownership of the broadcast media in the United States is

private, except for public TV and radio stations

When it comes to interest groups, the Internet has become an increasingly important means of

soliciting new members.

Which situation occurs when a voter selects candidates from different parties for the various offices listed on the ballot, such as a Democratic president but a Republican senator?

split ticket

What term refers to a person's education, income,and occupation and the connection this has to the person's level of conventional political involvement?

standard socioeconomic model of participation

All of the following are correct regarding the presence of the Internet in media EXCEPT

the Internet has made it more difficult for other media outlets to communicate their message.

Which party of ideological protest is best known for arguing against government action in society?

the Libertarian Party

Unlike political scientists, economists refer to economic models of rational behavior, which cause them to wonder why people

vote at all since it has no personal payoff.

The text defines suffrage and franchise as the right to

vote.

A voter who voted for a Republican for senator and Hillary Clinton for president in 2016

voted a split ticket.

The percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in a given election is called

voter turnout.

Studies of the party identification and ideological orientation of voters show that

voters tend to identify with the party that most reflects their ideological orientation.

The majoritarian model of democracy favors

voting as the primary means of participation.

The majoritarian model would agree that _____ is the most logical way to garner government responsiveness.

voting in elections

Democratic theory says the primary means by which citizens control their government is through

voting in free elections.

While the courts typically strike down government attempts to restrain the press from disseminating information, the one exception to this is restricting information related to

wartime

When journalists consider it their job to be critical of politicians, searching for inaccuracies in fact and weaknesses in argument, this is called

watchdog journalism.

Unlike Democratic presidential primaries, most Republican primaries prior to 2012 have been

winner-take-all.

What tactic is most commonly used by grassroots lobbyists?

writing letters

Suffrage and franchise both refer to

the right to vote

How much can a PAC legally give to a congressional candidate's election?

$ 5,000

The current limit for PAC contributions to candidates in an election is

$5,000.

The text cites the ________ as a well-known example of unconventional political participation,occurring after individuals were prevented from participating in government conventionally.

1965 march from Selma

The Internet was started in

1969, with support from the U.S. Department of Defense.

____________ was the first candidate elected as a Republican .

Abraham Lincoln

The South still casts many votes for Democrats because of the high proportion of

African Americans.

Which of the following are among the most prominent American interest groups?

American Farm Bureau Federation, Common Cause, AFL-CIO

Which piece of legislation that took effect in 2004 raised campaign spending limits for individuals, but not groups?

BCRA

Content analysis of the 2012 presidential campaign, suggests that more "good press" focused on

Barack Obama

Which of the following was the first known act of unconventional participation in America?

Boston Tea Party

Which political party has a strong claim to being the oldest political party in existence?

Democratic

Black Americans shifted significantly to the Democratic Party in the 1960s largely in response to

Democratic Party support for civil rights legislation.

Almost all political contributions made by unions go to

Democrats.

People who have lower incomes and less education are more likely to consider themselves

Democrats.

Besides allowing citizens to vote, elections serve other purposes. Which of these purposes discourages people from demonstrating in the streets and therefore preserves government stability?

Elections socialize political activity.

The __________ Amendment to the Constitution prohibits states from denying the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Fifteenth

Campaign finance laws are challenged as a violation of the_________ Amendment.

First

What criteria can be used to classify President George Washington as a Federalist?

He supported the Constitution.

Why was the nomination of Hubert Humphrey at the 1968 Democratic convention said to be rigged?

Humphrey had never run in a primary.

________ journalism is an attempt to increase ratings through a process involving both reporting news and running commercials geared to a target audience

Market-driven

is the means by which information is transmitted to large, heterogeneous, widely dispersed audiences.

Mass media

What state traditionally holds a primary almost immediately following the Iowa caucus during a presidential election year?

New Hampshire

Which amendment prohibits states from denying the right to vote on account of a person's sex?

Nineteenth Amendment

The amendment granting women's suffrage is the

Nineteenth Amendment.

__________primaries weaken parties more because it allows voters to float between parties rather than require the voters to participate in the party in which they are registered.

Open

The most long-lasting single-issue party is the________, which was founded for one reason, but has recently shifted its platform toward other conservative positions.

Prohibition Party

_______ is a set of principles formalizing the ideal role of parties in a majoritarian democracy.

Responsible party government

The _____ Party is not considered a political party

Tea

How has the relationship between lobbyists and policymakers changed from the start of President Obama's term to the end of his term?

There is still a cozy relationship between lobbyists and policymakers just as there was when President Obama began his term.

What role do interest groups play in educating policymakers about political issues?

They are an important source of political information.

In the Federalist papers, James Madison foreshadowed today's interest groups when he wrote about factions. What did he finally conclude about factions?

They should be controlled and opposing factions should be mediated by the government.

Who was the first person to lead the Republicans, also nicknamed the Democratic Republicans?

Thomas Jefferson

In 2014, the daily paper with the largest circulation was

USA Today

News reporters who practice watchdog journalism tend to

be highly critical of inaccuracies in fact and weaknesses in arguments posed by politicians.

The "revolving door" associated with politics refers to when members of Congress leave office and

become a lobbyist.

The fairness doctrine required

broadcast stations to provide fair coverage of all views on public issues.

There are more _______ lobbies in the U.S. than any other type of interest group

business

The money from PAC donations comes disproportionately from

business and professional interests.

Which example below demonstrates the free-rider problem?

business owners deciding not to join the Chamber of Commerce

Most lobbyists would agree that compared to other things, _____ help significantly when trying to gain audience with a member of Congress.

campaign contributions

According to your text, the most important recent change in American elections is that

candidates don't campaign just to get elected anymore

In the early days of the nation, members of political parties met in a small, secret meeting called a(n)________ to decide questions of policy and propose candidates for office.

caucus

Which current trend increases the risk that a few powerful individuals could control the news flow to promote their own political interests, the same way political parties influenced the content of early American newspapers?

concentrated ownership

A(n) _____ campaign committee is an organization maintained by a political party to raise funds to support its own candidates in congressional elections.

congressional

What kinds of advertisements both criticize an opponent and advocate policies of the sponsoring candidate?

contrast ads

Voting in free elections to choose leaders is the main way that citizens

control government.

When an election elicits a sharp change in the existing patterns of party loyalty among groups of voters, it is called a(n) _____ election.

critical

Allowing voters to control the nomination of candidates for office, particularly through open primaries, is a factor in the

decentralization and weakening of political parties.

The most distinguishing characteristic of American political parties has always been the

decentralization of power.

A strategy that relies on a group representative's personal contact with policymakers is

direct lobbying.

Some scholars believe that stronger parties would not only strengthen democratic government, but also coordinate policies after the election. But what acts as a barrier to this possibility?

divided government

Of all the social and economic variables affecting political participation, _________ is the strongest single factor

education

Of all the social and economic variables, which one has the greatest influence on most conventional political participation?

education

Some elections stand out in history due to a sharp change in the existing party voting patterns. What situation then occurs that persists for subsequent elections?

electoral realignment

What factors represent the two most convincing reasons why the United States has only two political parties?

electoral system and political socialization

The__________ required any broadcast station that gave or sold time to a candidate for a public office to make an equal amount of time available under the same conditions to all other candidates for that office.

equal opportunities rule

Elections serve the ideal of ________ better than any other means of political participation, particularly in ballot counting that says one person, one vote.

equality

At the time the Constitution was written, groups that pursued some common political interest were called _______, and they were considered dangerous in terms of governmental control.

factions

The first newspapers in the United States were

financed by political parties that advocated party causes

According to the text, interest groups cannot exist without a(n) __________ foundation.

financial

In analyzing the platforms expressed by the two parties at their 2016 conventions, it was found that Republicans mentioned the words ________ more than five times as often as Democrats, and Democrats mentioned the words ________ more than three times as often as Republicans.

free or freedom; equal or equality/inequality

Based on normative theory, citizens should be

free to participate or not participate in government.

What term was coined to describe the tendency for states to move their primaries earlier in the year to gain attention from the candidates and the media?

front-loading

Which process is demonstrated when media executives, news editors, and prominent reporters direct the flow of news, deciding which events to report and how to handle the elements involved,while also upholding journalistic standards?

gatekeeping

Research on bias in the media suggests that in response to polarization, today's political leaders increasingly

go to ideologically friendly media outlets to criticize the rest of the media.

Which term describes the strategy whereby a president seeks to get media coverage and influence policy elites by appealing directly to the American people?

going public

Communication in a democracy must move from government to citizens and from citizens to

government.

Election coverage by the mass media often focuses on which candidate is ahead and which has raised the most money, rather than the candidates' opinions on key issues. What concept does this represent?

horse race journalism

During a presidential election, the tendency of journalists to limit coverage of campaigns to the candidate who is leading or behind in the polls at the time, rather than chiefly covering the issues, is known as

horse race journalism.

The key question about interest groups that determines their success or failure is

how well their interests are represented.

A story that contains no policy content and is not related to the day's events but that commonly discusses popular personalities and is designed to draw greater viewer interest is called

infotainment.

Voters can use a(n) _____ to propose an issue to the legislature. The first step in this process is gathering a specified number of signatures from registered voters.

initiative

A lobby can be described as an organization that

is not a voluntary membership organization, but as institutions has access to resources without any membership

When Bernie Sanders campaigned against Wall Street and wealth inequality in his run for the presidential nomination in 2016, he was pursuing a(n) _______ strategy.

issue-oriented

Large interest groups are often difficult to organize because

many of their potential members prefer to let someone else shoulder the interest groups' financial burden.

One key difference between the two parties is that Republicans tend to approve of _______, while Democrats tend to approve of _______.

national defense spending; social welfare spending

The four most important functions of a political party are structuring the voting choice in elections, proposing alternative government programs, coordinating the actions of government officials and

nominating candidates for election to public office.

How many American political parties existed when the Constitution was written?

none

The Socialist Party has been the most successful party of ideological protest in American history.How many states have been won by Socialist Party candidates for president?

none

Progressivism was a political philosophy that trusted the goodness and wisdom of

ordinary citizens.

It is the job of the Federal Election Commission to

oversee financing of national election campaigns.

A meeting to select party leaders and decide committee assignments that is held at the beginning of a session of Congress is called a

party conference.

What is by far the most important long-term force affecting U.S. elections, particularly in those who make early voting decisions?

party identification

What term is used to describe a person's psychological attachment to a party, or state of mind about a party?

party identification

A voter who determines which candidate he or she will vote for very early in the campaign most likely has based that decision on

party identification.

A centralized organization that dominated local politics by controlling elections, sometimes by illegal means, is known as a

party machine.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text as an important function of the news media in our political system?

polarizing the news

At one time, both major parties were closely aligned with _______, the centralized organizations that dominated local politics by controlling elections and providing jobs and services in return for votes.

party machines

The lobbyist's primary job involves

passing information on to their employers and policymakers.

According to democratic theory, the most important factor in determining voter choice in an election should be

past performance and proposed policies.

The free-rider problem increases the difficulty of attracting

paying members.

A key aspect of ________ is the belief that new interest groups will naturally form when the need arises.

pluralism

American political parties operate more in keeping with the____________ model of democracy.

pluralist

The ability of groups to make government respond to their special problems is best related to ________ theory.

pluralist

The system by which legislative seats are awarded to a party in proportion to the vote that party wins in an election is called _____ representation.

proportional

Which practice is sometimes used by lobbying groups to get attention, but has the disadvantage of being very short-lived?

protesting

The majoritarian model of democracy says that political parties are essential to making the government responsive to

public opinion.

The first media technology to make broadcast journalists into household names was

radio.

What special statewide election was established to remove an individual from office, though it has rarely been used?

recall

A(n) _______ is a direct vote by the people on either a proposed law or an amendment to a state constitution

referendum

The main focus of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to

relax the rules governing media ownership.

The purpose of a trade association is to

represent firms within a particular industry

In evaluating the media and its effect on government, the text concludes that contemporary mass media

resist government attempts to infringe on freedom of the press to promote order.

The strengths, capabilities, and influence of an interest group depend in large part on its

resources.

Of the four main functions of mass media in its coverage of the political system, which one do scholars believe gives the media their greatest influence on politics?

setting the political agenda

In a World Values Survey that listed four types of political participation, people were asked whether they had engaged or approved of them, only________ was clearly identified as widely practiced and therefore conventional.

signing petitions

If someone formed the "Second Amendment Party," apolitical party to run on a platform of removing regulations on gun ownership, that would be an example of a _________party.

single-issue

The Republican Party was established in response to the issue of

slavery.

When citizens place the American flag on the front of their house on Veteran's Day it is an example of_____ behavior.

supportive

In an election campaign, _____ determine(s) the content of the messages and the way they are delivered

synergy

Which form of mass media has no gatekeepers and therefore no checks, constraints, or standards affecting its content?

the Internet

If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes, the election is decided by

the House of Representatives.

What is one of the nation's oldest and largest environmental groups, one that has a long history of protecting national parks?

the Sierra Club

The march from Selma demonstrated to the nation the seriousness of

the civil rights problem.

For years, the broadcast media only were federally regulated under three rules that promoted the public interest. Which one was repealed in 1987, freeing broadcasters to air more controversial and ideological viewpoints?

the fairness doctrine

By law, the U.S. presidential election occurs

the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Compared to the United States, nearly every other democratic country places the burden of voter registration on

the government.

Mass media refers to

the means of communicating to audiences.

When it was first ratified, the Constitution provided that the vice president would be

the runner-up in the electoral college.

The framers of the Constitution left the issue of voter enfranchisement to

the states.

Where in the Constitution are political parties discussed?

they are not discussed in the Constitution

What is the purpose of bipartisan contributions by PACs?

to increase access no matter who is in power

Candidates today often buy a "polling package"consisting of the four elements below. Which one begins in October and conducts short nightly interviews with selected respondents?

tracking poll

An organization that represents firms within a particular industry is known as a(n) ____ association.

trade