Political Science Third Midterm Exam

A political action committee (PAC) can contribute ________ to any candidate for federal office, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year:

$5,000

What is the primary function of a PAC?

to raise and distribute money to election campaigns.

The Populist Party appealed to which of the following groups?

western mining interests, small farmers, and urban workers.

The two major parties in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s were the ________ and the________.

Democrats; Whigs.

One way that AARP has been effective at overcoming the free-rider problem is by providing ________ benefits to its members:

Selective

Which of the following was eliminated as a result of 2002 campaign finance reforms?

Soft money.

527 committees ("Super PACs") and 501(c)4 groups (dark money) are independent groups not covered by the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act:

True

Digital participation in the U.S. has surged in recent years:

True

The Supreme Court's decision in Buckley v. Valeo (1976), was significant because it introduced the idea that money counts as "speech" under the Constitution:

True

Voter turnout refers to the percentage of the eligible electorate that actually goes out to vote on election day:

True

Voting is the most important form of traditional democratic participation:

True

Winning elections is the ultimate goal of a political party:

True

527 committees are an important part of the American political system because they:

are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a political party.

Political party leaders are:

not willing to provide financial backing to candidates who are unable to raise substantial funds on their own.

A serious candidate for a U.S. House of Representatives race must raise at least _________ while a serious candidate for a U.S. Senate race must raise at least _________:

several hundred thousand dollars; several million dollars.

Suffrage refers to:

the legal right to vote.

One of the earliest activities party workers engage in once the general election campaign begins is:

ensuring that citizens are registered to vote.

A loose, informal relationship of public officials, interest groups, and activists who are all concerned with the same policies is called an issue network:

True

Although average citizens have some influence in the nominations process, party elites play an outsized role in selecting the candidates who will compete in the general election:

True

An individual's psychological attachment to one party or another is called a party identification:

True

An interest group is a group of individuals who organize to influence government policies and programs:

True

An iron triangle is made up of an alliance between a legislative committee, an interest group, and an executive agency:

True

During the early nineteenth century, the Jeffersonian Party's main base of strength was in the South:

True

Internal mobilization occurs when conflicts within the government create divided factions that try to mobilize popular support:

True

It took Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy" to give the G.O.P. the votes it need to end Democratic Party control of national politics:

True

Keli Carender, a conservative blogger in Seattle, was one of the first founders of the Tea Party Movement that took off during the early years of the Obama administration:

True

Many states have recall elections, which allow voters to remove governors and other state officials from office before the expiration of their terms in office:

True

Political parties in America arose from the political process as it emerged during the early years of the Early American Republic:

True

Russian hackers meddled in the 2016 elections:

True

The 2018 midterm election, more than most midterm contests, revolved around the president -- President Trump's outsized personality and frequent inflammatory rhetoric inflamed anger on the part of some voters and inspired fierce loyalty on the part of others:

True

The Federalist Party disappeared, in part, as a result of:

the party gradually faded after charges of treason following the War of 1812.

Which of the following groups is most likely to belong to the New Politics movement?

upper-middle-class professionals, for whom the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s were key experiences.

Historically, realignments occur:

when new issues combine with economic or political crises to mobilize new voters and persuade large numbers of voters to reexamine their traditional partisan loyalties.

In 1964, Republican Party presidential nominee _________ was in favor of less taxation and less government regulation of the economy — two ideas that became major themes for the modern Republican Party.

Barry Goldwater.

Which state has the most electors in the Elector College?

California

The practice of lobbying is protected by the Second Amendment to the Constitution:

False

A grassroots lobbying campaign occurs when an interest group buys advertisements in newspapers around the country in order to publicize an issue:

False

An advertisement emailed only to evangelical Christian voters about a Democratic candidate's support for abortion would be an example of message bundling:

False

Another name for lobbying is electoral stalking:

False

In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win at least 300 electoral votes:

False

National defense is a good example of a solidary benefit:

False

Presidential candidates are required to accept public financing for their presidential campaigns:

False

The Christian Coalition is an example of a business group:

False

The Democratic Party freed the slaves:

False

The National League of Cities is a good example of a professional association:

False

The Sierra Club is an example of an ideological group:

False

The U.S. uses a national popular vote to select the president:

False

A political party is an organization:

that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office.

The United States uses referendums to pass policy initiatives at the national level:

False

The first party system was characterized by conflict between the ________ and the ________.

Federalists; Jeffersonian Republicans.