Chapter 8 Review Questions

which of the following groups is likely to be Democratic? I. white-collar workers II. blue collar workers III. trial lawyers IV. women who do not work outside the home

II and III

which of the following is the best definition of "realignment"?

a major ideological and demographic shift within a party

the event in which the parties formally nominate their candidate for the presidency is called

a national convention

even though the United States has many minor political parties, it remains

a two-party system

the gradual disengagement of people from the political parties in order to become Independents is known as

dealignment

all of the following are functions of political parties EXCEPT dictating policies choosing candidates running campaigns giving cues to voters coordinating policymaking

dictating policies

the political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and the Congress is called

divided government

a two party system differs from a multiparty system in that it

encourages moderation in policymaking and discourages change

a citizen's personal affinity for a political party which results in the citizen voting for candidates of that political party, is known as party

identification

obstacles to third parties' success include all of the following EXCEPT the winner take all rule lack of funding from interest groups inability to participate in the debate lack of ballot access inability to get media attention

inability to get media attention

the top official of each of the two major parties is the

national committee chair

which of the following has led to ticket splitting in recent elections?

partisan dealignment

many Americans do not associate with either major political party and instead claim to "vote for the __________ and not the __________"

person; party

which of the following is true of an open primary?

they allow crossover voting

political party platforms can best be described as which of the following?

they are intentionally vague

all of the following are true of the party machine EXCEPT they were successful in creating party loyalists they provided jobs and favors for voters they were corrupt legislation has largely dismantled them they relied on the merit principle when hiring employees

they relied on the merit principle when hiring employees

which of the following is true of the Southern states?

they were once loyal to the Democratic Party but now are loyal to the Republican party

which of the following was least likely to join the New Deal coalition?

wealthy voters

which of the following statements about political parties is accurate?

while the Democrats and Republicans have dominated American politics, they have also seen competition from a wide variety of third parties

the US has a "single member, plurality" system, often referred to as

winner-take-all