POS2041 Exam 2 Review

In general, the more the government does, ______.

the more incentives it creates for organized political action

Which of the following statements regarding news in the colonial days is true?

the news took vast amounts of time and effort

Thomas Jefferson explained to a friend, "The basis of our government being ______, the very first object should be to keep that right."

the opinion of the people

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spearheaded demonstrations throughout the South through his organization, which was called ______.

the southern christian leadership conference

Party labels provide useful information for performance voting, so voters can easily vote for the in-party when the voter thinks the government is doing well and vote for the out-party when the voter thinks the government is doing badly.

true

Politicians pay close attention to group differences in polling data because they determine feasible coalition-building strategies.

true

Republicans typically favor a smaller, cheaper federal government; they advocate lower taxes, less regulation of business, and lower spending on social welfare. They would be more generous only to the Defense Department.

true

a staple of political advertising is _________

- simplicity and symbolism - exaggeration - repetition

The proliferation of alternative media gives viewers the opportunity ______.

- to see even more sensationalized news - to opt out of political information all together - to select the news sources they find most congenial with their political views

Since 1972, on average, about ______ of all eligible voters register and vote in presidential elections.

58%

Today, almost ______ of television households subscribe to cable or to satellite services.

78%

Other things being equal, the voting rates for men and women ______.

had been roughly equal for decades but women are now more likely to vote

Which of the following describes the distribution of those willing to call themselves Democrats or Republicans-that is, partisan identification-from 1952 through 2010?

it remained surprisingly stable

Because of the basic constitutional guarantees that allow citizens to express their views and compel government leaders to take those views into account, it is both possible and essential for political leaders and policy advocates to try to ______.

Shape and mobilize public opinion on behalf of their causes

Which of the following is true about opinion leaders?

They are a small segment of the public that forms opinions by paying close attention to political events and issues and from whom the uninformed majority takes cues about the issues.

divided government:

allows each party to block the other party's more extreme proposals and forces both to compromise when making policy

The franking privilege __________

allows members of Congress free access to the postal system for official correspondence.

The "party in the electorate" refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is ______.

composed of those voters who identity with the party and regularly vote for its nominees

What ideological label do we use to describe those who distrust government, have greater faith in private enterprise and free markets, and are more willing to use government to enforce traditional moral standards?

conservatives

The term party organization refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is ______.

dedicated to electing the party's candidates

the term civil rights __________

describes the protections of individuals against arbitrary and abusive government action

Typically, more than half of voters tell pollsters that the two major parties ______.

do such a poor job that a third major party is needed

Most scholars who study public opinion believe that expressed opinions seldom represent underlying attitudes.

false

Most successful large organizations circumvent the collective action problem by offering selective incentives, which are benefits available to everyone regardless of membership in the group.

false

Politicians can never trust the information provided by a lobbyist, so the costs of doing business are very high.

false

Regardless of religious affiliation, the more active people are in religious life, the less socially conservative they are likely to be.

false

Small groups are harder to organize because transaction costs are higher and free riding is more severe.

false

The most important information shortcut voters use to make predictions is the candidates' recorded policy positions.

false

The profusion of news across the spectrum of political ideology has resulted in a better-informed citizenry.

false

The rise of public interest groups and the fragmentation of the interest group universe has increased concern about the role of iron triangles and captured agencies.

false

When politicians participate in news making, they usually have one or both of two audiences in mind—the public and ______.

fellow politicians

Which political party was committed to the abolition of slavery and attracted a former president to serve as its candidate when it won 10% of the popular vote?

free soil party

Pluralist politics is all about building coalitions, which means ______.

getting people to agree on an action even in the absence of agreement on the purposes of the action

Political scientist John Aldrich observed, "A new form of party has emerged, one that is in service to its ambitious politicians but not ______ them."

in control of

By the end of the 1960s, households with televisions outnumbered those with

indoor plumbing

The rise of public interest groups and the fragmentation of the interest group universe, as well as the ability of legislators to learn from past mistakes, broke up the ______ made up of members of Congress, lobbyists, and regulatory agencies.

iron triangles

Because the fit between the words and concepts used in polling questions and how people actually think about issues is never perfect, even the most carefully designed question ______.

is subject to some measurement error

"Pack journalism" refers to:

journalists repeating the same story because they talk to one another and validate each other's reporting

When politicians strategically give important information to the news media on the condition that its source not be identified by name, this is referred to as a ______.

leak

Americans seem to support a wide range of economic and social policies that commonly are classified as ______.

liberal

issue voting is:

made easier by party labels

Issue voting is ________

made easier by party labels because the typical positions of Republicans and Democrats differ in predictable ways on many issues

political parties are:

not mentioned in the Constitution

In theory, ideologies promote consistency among political attitudes by connecting them to a more general principle or set of principles. In practice, ideologies ______.

often combine attitudes linked more by coalitional politics than by principle

What are the main conduits of public opinion in a pluralist political system?

opinion leaders and issue public

Every expansion of suffrage since the adoption of the Constitution has had to do which of the following?

overcome both philosophical objections and mundane calculations of political advantage

modern-day civil rights struggles tend to be focused on:

preventing majorities from subjugating minority groups

What is the term for when the news media affects the criteria with which we evaluate candidates or elected leaders?

priming

Interest group leaders and their constituents are involved in a(n) ______ relationship with all of the familiar problems and challenges such relationships pose.

principal-agent

the reaction to 9/11:

recalled the internment of Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941

A republic differs from a democracy because

republics delegate power to a smaller number of elected citizens and republics often have a greater number of citizens and a greater sphere of country

Elections allow ordinary citizens to, in aggregate,

reward or punish elected officials for their performance in office

Why are the personal characteristics of the candidates important to voters?

since much of what these agents do is out of public sight, these give clues about a candidate's personal values

Most people get to fake news from _______

social media

Prominent public interest groups ______.

tend to grow when opponents run the government and shrink when sympathetic politicians are in power

Casting a vote is making a prediction about the future ______.

that electing one candidate will produce a better outcome in some relevant sense than electing another candidate

Which of the following is an example of an infotainment news program?

the Daily Show

A system of proportional representation helps preserve smaller parties because votes for their candidates are not wasted.

true

Aggregate public opinion on abortion is both highly stable and acutely sensitive to how the issue is framed.

true

Campaign messages are often chosen opportunistically, rather than thought out well in advance.

true

Elections create strong links between public opinion and government action in the United States

true

For most people, basic political orientations, whether reflections of ideologies, a few core values, or simple party preferences, are quite resistant to change.

true

Many early observers of the presidential selection process expected the House to make the choice most of the time.

true

Market competition has provided a collective good in offering more people easier access to a greater variety of news.

true

Pack journalism refers to journalists following the same story in the same ways because they talk to one another while reporting and read each other's copy for validation of their own reporting.

true

The Republicans' competitive status is threatened, however, by demographic trends. The Republican coalition includes a disproportionate share of White (86%), male, older, religiously active, and socially conservative people, all shrinking portions of the electorate.

true

The most famous leaker in American history was "Deep Throat," who continuously provided news reporters at the Washington Post leads for investigating the June 1972 break-in at Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel.

true

The nomination process enables the parties to solve the coordination problem posed by competing presidential aspirants.

true

The relationship between politicians and reporters is built on a tension between reciprocity and competition.

true

The threat of collective punishment by the voters gives the majority party a strong incentive to govern in ways that please voters.

true

Voters who coalesce around causes such as gun control or gun rights are examples of single-issue voters.

true

When the National Rifle Association wants to prevent new restrictions on firearms, its members shower Congress with letters, e-mails, faxes, and phone calls supporting its position. This is an example of grassroots lobbying.

true

a focus group is:

a group of voters who are observed as they discuss political candidates, issues, and events

The ______ ballot, introduced during the Progressive Era and still in use today, lists candidates from all parties and is marked in the privacy of a voting booth.

Australian

Why did the Framers have such a pervasive fear of political parties?

Historical experiences about the dangers that resulted from factional strife along with 18th century social beliefs caused the fear.

Which Washington, DC, location has become synonymous with the lobbying firms that represent America's biggest and most powerful interests?

K street

What party found its only presidential success by nominating a popular military hero without known political coloration and obscuring party divisions by not writing a party platform?

Whig Party

When politicians strategically give important information to the news media on the condition that its source not be identified by name, this is referred to as ______.

a leak

Aggregate public opinion on abortion is

both highly stable and acutely sensitive to how the issue is framed