UNIT 2 TEST- POLITICAL PARTIES, INTEREST GROUPS AND ELECTIONS
6. On average, how much money must a U.S. senator raise every week of his or her six-year term in order to acquire enough money to launch a competitive bid for reelection?
$20,000
MoveOn and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are both examples of
527 groups.
Party dealignment is
A process that has discouraged the formation of third parties
Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party, voting about 85 percent Democratic in presidential elections?
African Americans
3. Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign? pollsters media producers fundraising specialists campaign consultants
All these answers are correct
A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is a. the American tradition of free association. b. the extent of diverse interests in American society. c. America's federal system of government. d. the separation of powers in American government. e. All these answers are correct.
All these answers are correct
Political parties serve to a. link the public with its elected leaders. b. enable people with different backgrounds and opinions to act together. c. offer the public a choice between policies and leaders. d. narrow voters' electoral options. e. All these answers are correct.
All these answers are correct.
The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns, which basically gutted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
2.In the 2008 presidential election, ________ used the Internet most successfully to attract followers and raise donations.
Barack Obama
The largest number of PACs are those associated with
Buisness
The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?
Economic activity
Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the
Formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.
Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?
Fundamentalist Christians
PACs tend to contribute the most money to
Incumbents
5.Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability?
Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole, but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress.
Roughly how much of campaign spending is devoted to producing and airing televised political advertisements?
One-half
Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to
Pressure From Constituents
Effective inside lobbying is based upon
Providing useful and persuasive information to key officials
What party has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians, based on its positions on topics like abortion and school prayer?
Republican
Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?
Straight-Ticket Voting
Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group?
The AARP
________ does not have a competitive multiparty system
The United States
The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called
The free-rider problem
8. About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at
The local level.
Citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that
Their members receive no direct economic benefit from attainment of the group's goals.
Economic groups have an advantage over non-economic groups because
They have greater access to financial resources
According to James Madison, the source of most factions is the
Unequal distribution of property
The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through
both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.
1. Most states conduct ________ primaries.
closed
15. If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that
d. one or both major parties will absorb its issue, and the minor party will lose support.
4.Organizationally, U.S. party organizations are
decentralized and fragmented
9. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the Supreme Court
found corporations and unions could not be banned from spending money on campaigns.
Which of the following events/phenomena do some analysts consider to have cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000?
the "spoiler effect," where the Green Party siphoned (took away) potential Democratic/Gore voters.
The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is
the existence of winner-take-all, single-member election districts.
14. Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to
win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.
