Combo with "Chapter 7" and 16 others
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
What is the major difference between the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader?
*speaker of the house is the most powerful federal official. the speaker is active in developing the party's positions on issues and in persuading party members in the house to support them. speaker can sometimes influence legislation by exercising the power to decide who will speak and when. they choose the chair person.
Which of the following are example of splinter parties?
"Bull Moose" Progressive Party and American Independence Party
Most European democracies are governed by a
2-party system
The political structure of America today is best described as
2-party system
A properly drawn sample of one thousand individuals has a sampling error of roughly plus or minus ________ percent.
3
In the Constitution, procedural due process is protected by the
4-6th, 14th
Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ percent of the popular vote.
40
Gideon v. Wainwright is to the Sixth Amendment as Mapp v. Ohio is to the
4th
Asian Americans account for about ________ percent of professionals and technicians in the United States.
5
MoveOn and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are both examples of
527 groups.
Since the 1960s, the level of turnout in presidential elections has averaged ________ percent.
55
Which constitutional amendment protects the individual against self-incrimination?
5th
The right to counsel is guaranteed by the ________ Amendment.
6th
The average pay for full-time female employees is about ________ percent of that for full-time male employees.
80
What was the primary cause for an increase in the public's support for a military invasion of Iraq during the six-month period leading to the start of the war?
Bush administration efforts to press the case for war
What is an incumbent?
Current office holder
What are the two major parties in American politics today?
Democrats & Republicans
Harvard's Robert Putnam argues in his book Bowling Alone that
America has been undergoing a long-term decline in its social capital.
If Americans vote less than Europeans, why are they more likely to work in a political campaign than are citizens in Europe?
America's federal structure provides more campaign opportunities.
Friedrich Engels believed that communism would not take root in the United States because
American workers lacked sufficient class consciousness.
3. (p. 319) What technology led editors to substitute news reports for opinion commentary? A. radio B. telegraph C. broadcast TV D. cable TV E. power-driven printing press
B. telegraph
Which of the following parties demonstrates the difficulties in classifying minor parties in American politics because it started out as a single-issue party but changed over time?
Green party
Which of the following is NOT an example of an ideological party?
Greenback Party
Which of the following are examples of economic protest parties?
Greenback party and populist party
Political parties in the United States originated partly as a political feud between
Hamilton and Jefferson
How old must one be to serve in the House of Representatives? What about the Senate?
House: 25 Senate: 30
How many voting members of the House are there? What about the Senate?
House: 435 Senate: 2 per state
What type of party is mostly likely to be the longest lived?
Ideological parties
Party dealignment is
None of these answers is correct.
Since the 1980s, the Supreme Court has addressed the exclusionary rule by
None of these answers is correct.
Which of the following statements is true?
Objective journalism is based on communication of facts and fairness.
Which of the following is correct with regard to obscenity and the law?
Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
Which of the following is true of the relationship between public opinion and shifts in major government policies?
On high-profile issues particularly, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion.
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
Voter identification cards find the most support among
Republicans
In terms of party identification, about two-thirds of adults call themselves
Republicans and Democrats
What is the greatest restriction on appeals in the United States?
a federal law that bars in most instances a second federal appeal by a state prison inmate
Ideology
a general belief about the role and purpose of the government
As distinct from alienation, apathy is
a general lack of interest in politics.
In which decade was ticket splitting most prominent?
a period in the 1970's
Party identification
a person's ingrained sense of loyalty to a political party (partisanship)
Historically, the American press has shifted from
a political to a journalistic orientation
Which of the following in NOT considered a major era for the American party system since 1800?
The Republican Revolution
What party elected their first President, Abraham Lincoln, in 1860?
The Republicans
How did the Supreme Court's position on the rights of the accused in state courts change in the 1960s?
The Supreme Court began to protect the rights of the accused from action by the states.
How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment in recent years? Explain.
The Supreme Court has typically let Congress and the state legislatures determine the appropriate penalties for crime. It has upheld some challenged state punishments in high profile cases, and some states continue to have extremely high incarceration and execution rates. With regard to the death penalty, however, the Court has placed some limits on states' ability to execute prisoners, particularly mentally retarded and juvenile ones.
Citizens in which of the following countries are most likely to volunteer time and money to promote community causes?
The U.S.
Explain how party coalitions in the U.S. reflect the nature of party competition. Does coalition formation tend to moderate or radicalize parties? Explain.
The overriding goal of a major American political party is to gain control of government by getting its candidates elected to office, which means that political compromise is essential. The major parties must appeal to different groups that may disagree on some issues; a reasonable amount of compromise is therefore necessary. The parties must also appeal to many of the same groups. The result is, in most circumstances though not all, a moderate form of political conflict in which the parties' coalitions overlap substantially in terms of the groups that comprise them.
party organizations
The party organizational units at national, state, and local levels; their influence has decreased over time because of many factors.
split ticket
The pattern of voting in which the individual voter in a given election casts a ballot for one or more candidates of each major party.
What is an electorate?
The people eligible to vote
Which of the following is one of the two major advantages of journalists in covering the political game and strategic aspects of news instead of the policy frame?
The political game is a constant source of fresh material.
hired guns
The professional consultants who run campaigns for high office.
service relationship
The situation in which party organizations assist candidates for office but have no power to require them to accept or campaign on the party's main policy positions.
One of the reasons why voter turnout is lower in the United States than in Western European countries is that
U.S. registration laws place a greater burden on the individual.
A member of Congress who wants to act on what the majority of his or her constituency thinks on a particular issue would be advised to respond to which of the following indicators?
a poll based on a random sample of constituents
Which of the following events/phenomena do some analysts consider to have cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000?
a poor televised debate performance
Public opinion polls
a sample is interviewed in order to estimate the opinions of a whole population
One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources is that
a small number of news organizations and news services generate most of the news.
Regular voters tend to be characterized by
a strong sense of civic duty.
All of the following are characteristic of a party realignment EXCEPT
a very close electoral result.
What is a social movement?
a way for citizens disenchanted with government to actively express their opposition
What party was formed primarily by bankers, merchants, and industrialists?
Whig party
________ once said, "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war."
William Randolph Hearst
Which statement about women's rights is correct?
Women have made substantial gains in the areas of appointive and elective offices.
_______ once said that he spent nearly all his adult life in government and yet had never seen a government.
Woodrow Wilson
What did Shakespeare mean when he wrote, "The past is prologue"?
You are what you are today because of your history
The Supreme Court upheld the use of tax-supported vouchers to attend private or parochial school in
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris.
Voting
a. allows elected officials to claim that their policies reflect the will of the people. b. provides citizens with a regular way to express themselves. c. is the most widespread form of political participation. d. is both a means by which government controls the people and a means by which the people control government.
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.
During the twentieth century, American parties lost their complete control over
a. nominations. b. financing. c. platforms. d. the staffing of government jobs.
Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign?
a. pollsters b. media producers c. fundraising specialists d. campaign consultants
Sources of polling error can include
a. question order. b. unrepresentative samples. c. respondents' lack of knowledge or interest in the issue. d. poorly worded questions.
What Illinois policy did the Supreme Court invalidate with its decision in Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968)?
allowing the prosecution an unlimited number of challenges in capital cases
The inevitable discovery exception
allows the use of evidence that would have been discovered regardless by other means or through other forms of evidence.
Party identification refers to
an emotional attachment to a political party.
A consistent pattern of opinion on particular issues that stems from a coherent set of political beliefs is called
an ideology.
What is a single-interest group? What is an example of a single-interest group?
an issue-speciic policy agenda. Pressure govt on almost every conceivable policy. Ex. National Rifle Association
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison built what political party?
anti-federalist
The term "civil liberties" refers to specific individual rights that
are constitutionally protected from infringement by government
In his definition of public opinion, the author claims that the opinions of private individuals become public opinion when they
are openly expressed
American party organizations
are still important, but their role in campaigns is secondary to that of candidates.
Among the following, the news media are usually guided by events that
are timely
Political protests
are today usually planned events.
What Article in the Constitution created the presidency?
article II
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
authorizes states to deny marital rights to a same-sex couple that has been granted these rights by another state.
Libertarians are opposed to governmental intervention
in both the economic and social spheres.
A conservative is opposed to government intervention
in the economic but not the social sphere.
In the twenty-first century, voting rates in the United States have
increased in presidential elections, while continuing to remain lowest in local ones.
The frequency of elections in the United States reduces voter turnout by
increasing the personal effort needed to participate in all elections.
In the United States, the primary responsibility for registration of the individual voter rests with the
individual
The focus of civil liberties is the ________ and the focus of civil rights is the ________.
individuals; group
The media perform the signaling role by
informing the public of breaking events and new developments.
The traditional media have "softened" their news by
infusing it with more stories about celebrities, crime, and the like.
CNN and MSNBC have responded to Fox's ratings success by
installing talk-show hosts with partisan or hard-edged appeals.
Primary agents
interact closely and regularly with the individual
Most successful Internet blogs have a conservative/liberal (which one) bias?
internet has a liberal bias
Non-opinions
invalid responses because people are not informed
The technological change that brought about the decline of the partisan press was the
invention of the high-speed rotary press.
What is grassroots lobbying based on?
is based on pressure designed to convince government officials that a group's policy position has popular constituent support
Protest activity is a reversal to the pattern of voting in that it
is more likely to involve younger citizens rather than older ones.
Why is the president's veto power a sign of both weakness and strength?
it arises when congress refuses to accept the president's idea
The policy of affirmative action arose when
it became apparent that disadvantaged Americans would not attain equal employment opportunities through lawsuits that benefited single individuals only.
One reason that affirmative action is so controversial is that
it is viewed as giving preferential treatment, which is unpopular, instead of simply ensuring equal treatment.
Why was voter registration created?
it was a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day
The chief obstacle to Americans' participation in community activities is the
lack of personal motivation to get involved.
The Supreme Court concept of suspect classifications suggests that
laws that classify people differently on the basis of their race or ethnicity are presumed to have discrimination as their purpose.
Culminating in a historic victory in 1954, black activists in the early twentieth century generally pursued civil rights through
leagal action
The term "public opinion" is frequently used in reference to all of American society. This perspective is
less accurate than the idea that Americans form many publics, which differ greatly in such things as the level of attention they pay to politics.
Secondary agents
less intimate connection
Which of the following ideological types favor government activism in the economic realm?
liberals and populists
What is a vote for cloture?
limits a debate to 30 hours. defeats a senate filibuster
Compared with U.S. citizens of higher income, those of lower income are
much less likely to vote in elections.
What are the constitutional requirements for becoming president?
must be at least 35 years old, be a natural born US citizen, and have been a US resident for at least 14 years.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four basic elements of the major parties at the national level?
national candidate
What did the framers want from a president?
national leadership, statesmanship in foreign affairs, command in time of war, enforcement of the laws
How many states ratified the Equal Rights Amendment?
nearly 3/4ths
National party organizations can dictate the day-to-day decisions of
neither local nor state party organizations.
The reason the news product is designed to fascinate as well as to inform is because
news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue to survive.
What does it mean if the "closed rule" is applied to a bill?
no amendments will be permitted
What term do pollsters use to define a purported opinion offered by a respondent who, in truth, has no view on a specific issue?
non-opinion
The process of political socialization in the United States is
normally cumulative; political beliefs attained earlier in life tend to be retained to a substantial degree.
Like all other rights, the right of free expression is
not absolute.
When it comes to protest activities, a majority of Americans are
not highly supportive of such activities, despite America's tradition of free expression.
The conviction of members of the U.S. Communist Party in the early 1950s was initially upheld as a lawful restriction of the right
of free speech.
What is a collective good?
offered by economic groups. Goods that belong to all; they cannot be granted or withheld on an individual basis.
What do congressional staffers spend most of their time on?
on constituency service and public relations
If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that
one or both major parties will absorb its issue, and the minor party will lose support.
Civic duty and apathy are attitudes that are usually acquired from
one's parents
Roughly how much of campaign spending is devoted to producing and airing televised political advertisements?
one-half
When the nation was founded, who was eligible to vote?
only white males who owned property
What is a closed primary? What type of primary do most states hold?
participation is limited to voters registered or declared at the polls as members of the party whose primary is being held. in most states the nominees are chosen in a closed primary.
Selective perception is primarily a result of
partisanship.
Which of the following is NOT a primary socializing agent?
peers
Selective perception
people selectively choose from incoming information those aspects that support what they already believe
Economic conservatives
people who believe that the government should leave the distribution of economic benefits largely to the workings of the free market
Economic liberals
people who believe that the government should use its power to help the economically disadvantaged
Who are key players in the modern campaign?
political consultants: campaign strategists, pollsters, media producers, and fundraising and get out the vote specialists
The history of democratic government is virtually synonymous with the history of
political parties
The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is called
political socialization.
A person who favors government intervention in both social and economic affairs is a(n)
populist
The Watergate scandal illustrates the
power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power.
The Supreme Court's position on prior restraint of the press is that
prior restraint should apply only in rare circumstances, and it is better to hold the press responsible for what it has printed than to restrict what it may print.
The FCC's equal time requirement
prohibits broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates and denying it to their opponents.
State central committees
provide only general policy guidance for the state organizations.
One special contribution of Internet-based news is that it
provides the ordinary citizen with an opportunity to be part of the news system
According to Gunnar Myrdal, what is America's curse?
racial discrimination
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the justices
reaffirmed the essential aspects of Roe v. Wade.
What did the Communications Act do?
regulated broadcasting and created the federal communications commission to oversee the process
Scholars have done the LEAST study into the political influence of which primary socializing agent on American citizens?
religion
The most powerful religious force in contemporary American society is the
religious right
Objective journalism is based on the idea that the reporter's job is to
report the facts and cover alternative sides of a partisan debate.
In applying the reasonable basis test, courts tend to
require government only to show that a particular law is reasonable.
What did the War Powers Act do?
requires the president to consult with congress whenever feasible before sending troops to combat. Requires president to inform congress within 48 hours of the reason for military action.
Justice Holmes's "clear and present danger" test holds that government can
restrict speech that threatens national security.
________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party
retrospective voting
The accuracy of a poll is usually expressed in terms of
sampling error
The inclusion of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights in the Fourteenth Amendment, so that these rights are protected from infringements by the state governments, is called
selective incorporation.
The idea that ordinary people have a right and a duty to participate in public affairs is the essential component of the ideal of
self-government
In her book Young v. Old, political scientist Susan MacManus notes that
senior citizens tend to oppose increases in public school funding.
What was yellow journalism characterized by?
sensationalism
The function that the national party organizations perform in relation to congressional candidates can best be described as a
service role—helping candidates conduct their personal campaigns.
In general, public opinion
sets limits on government action.
All of the following tend to decrease voter turnout EXCEPT
sharp policy differences between major parties.
On-the-scene coverage of a natural disaster is an example of the press's role of
signaler
Agenda-setting is an action that falls under which of the major roles played by the press?
signaling
Spoken words that are known to be false and harmful to a person's reputation are an example of
slander
The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between
small farmers and states' rights advocates, and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests
A sustained action by citizens disenchanted with government to express their opposition and work to bring about the change they seek is a
social movement
In Schenck v. United States (1919), the Supreme Court ruled that
speech could be restricted when the nation's security is at stake.
Regarding state party organizations, the day-to-day operation is usually the responsibility of the
state chairperson.
What is an indication of strong party loyalty?
straight ticket voting
Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?
straight ticket voting
Any law that attempts a racial or ethnic classification is subject to the
strict scrutiny test
The citizens of ________ are most likely to participate as campaign volunteers during an election.
the U.S.
________ does not have a competitive multiparty system.
the U.S.
________ provides no free television time to political parties and allows candidates to purchase air time.
the U.S.
Agenda-setting effect
the ability of the media to influence what is on people's minds
Which of the following characteristics does the Internet have that traditional media lack?
the ability to allow readers to interact with news reporting
The movement for women's rights was initially aligned with
the abolition movement.
Which of the following defines "political culture"?
the characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics
Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S. parties?
the direct primary
The yellow journalism of the late nineteenth century was characterized by
the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.
According to the Supreme Court, prayer in public schools violates
the establishment clause.
When does the honeymoon period occur?
the president's first months in office. A time when congress, the press, and the public are more inclined than usual to support presidential initiatives.
What is the "Rose Garden strategy"?
the presidential strategy of controlling communications by making nearly all pronouncements from the same location
The news media's common-carrier role is based on the idea that
the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public.
The term "framing" is used to describe
the process of selecting certain aspects of reality and making them the most salient part of the communication, thereby conveying a particular interpretation of a situation.
What development brought about a dramatic reduction in television's capacity to generate an interest in news?
the rapid spread of cable
The "long tail" is a phenomenon related to
the rate of Internet news readership.
What event occurred in 1877 in the South that brought about rapid legal discrimination against blacks?
the removal of federal troops
. In Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), the Supreme Court justices determined that
the right to privacy did not extend to consensual sexual relations among adults of the same sex.
To accurately poll the citizens of the United States as opposed to the citizens of a single state,
the sample requirements will be nearly the same.
The federal government's licensing of broadcasting is based primarily on
the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies.
What is the free-rider problem?
the shared characteristic of collective goods. It's where individuals can obtain the good even if they do not contribute to the groups efforts.
The key factors in determining the accuracy of an opinion poll are
the size of the sample and whether the sample was selected from the population by a random method.
"The Bradley Effect" describes
the tendency of black candidates to receive fewer votes than the polls predicted.
Which of the following encourages the two major parties to build broad coalitions?
the two-party system and the need to gain a plurality
Women are less likely than men to favor
the use of force to settle international disputes.
What issue has done the most to bring young Americans to the voting booth in the twenty-first century?
the war in Iraq
Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S. parties primarily due to
their ability to adapt to changing circumstances
All of the following statements about Latino Americans are true EXCEPT that
their average annual income is relatively close to the national average.
Each of the following statements could be considered true of either economic or social liberals, EXCEPT that
they believe that government should be used to promote traditional values.
Which of the following groups of people is most adversely affected by the country's registration system?
those with less income and education
Disadvantaged Americans have generally gained their rights
through struggle against entrenched interests
Since the height of the busing era, the trend in public schools has been
towards greater segregation
On what day of the week are elections in the U.S. traditionally held?
tuesdays
How many presidents have been impeached in U.S. history?
two. clinton/johnson
According to James Madison, what is the source of most factions, or political parties?
unequal distribution of property and money
The Fourth Amendment protects Americans from
unreasonable searches.
The Supreme Court's decision in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case
upheld the principle of affirmative action.
Cultural conservatives
use the government to promote traditional values
What is framing?
used to describe the way in which events are cast. its a process of selecting certain aspects of reality and making them the most salient part of communication.
In comparison with citizens in Western European democracies, Americans are less likely to
vote in national elections.
When the United States first came into being, married women were not permitted to
vote, hold office, serve in juries, own and dispense property without the husband's consent.
In the United States,
voter registration requirements have usually been set by the states.
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
was conducted by African Americans seeking equality of rights.
Government can lawfully prevent a political rally from taking place
when it can demonstrate that harmful acts will necessarily result from the rally
What is prospective voting?
when some voters are swayed by what candidates promise to do if elected.
Agents of socialization
where political socialization takes place
The adoption of voter identification cards by several states
will likely cause a decline in voter turnout.
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.
What is the reason that the reporting of the national news is relatively uniform among news sources?
wire services
Most European parties on the political left tend to appeal mainly to
working class voters
Libel applies to defamation of an individual's reputation through the
written word.
The Great Depression brought about a transfer of loyalties by many to the Democratic Party as led by Roosevelt, especially among
young voters
Many white working-class citizens failed to vote in the 1968 and 1972 elections because they felt alienated by the centrality of which political issue?
civil rights
If a person yells "fire" in a crowded theater when there is no fire, and people are hurt in the ensuing panic, that individual abused his freedom of speech according to the doctrine of
clear and present danger
Most states conduct ________ primaries.
closed
All of the following ideological types are prevalent in the United States EXCEPT
communists
The demand that women should receive equal pay relative to men for work that is similarly demanding, involves similar responsibilities, and requires similar levels of education and training is the basis of the concept of
comparable worth.
What is a "faction"?
conflicting groups
Who/what is involved in the impeachment of a president?
congress is involved. house of representatives decides by majority vote if the president should be impeached. then the senate conducts the trial and votes on presidents case in a 2/3 vote to be removed from office.
On both radio and television, most successful partisan talk shows have been hosted by conservatives/liberals (which one)?
conservatives
Housing in America
continues to evidence a high degree of racial segregation.
In comparison with today's newspapers, early American newspapers
could not have survived without political party support.
In Mapp v. Ohio, the selective incorporation process was extended to include
criminal proceedings in the states.
What largely sets party structure at the State and local levels?What largely sets party structure at the State and local levels?
custom and convention
What term best describes the structure of the major political parties?
highly organized
The Lemon test is designed to
ensure the secular nature of a government action.
The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ruling (1954) held that racial segregation in schools violated the
equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The exclusionary rule states that
evidence obtained illegally is inadmissible in court.
Which of the following is NOT considered an important role of minor parties with respect to the major parties?
facilitator
In twentieth-century American history, the most important minor parties were ________ parties.
factional
Which of the following groups in the U.S. shows a higher level of support for collective bargaining?
factory workers
What does the Whig theory contend about the presidency?
holds that the presidency is a limited or constrained office of expressly granted constitutional authority
The establishment clause prohibits government from
favoring one religion over another or supporting religion over no religion.
What political party "died" in the early 1800s?
federalists
The freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition are found in
first amendment
In the Johnson flag-burning case, the Supreme Court ruled that
flag burning, although offensive, cannot be prohibited.
Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the
formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.
In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the Supreme Court
found corporations and unions could not be banned from spending money on campaigns.
The individual right that is widely regarded as the most basic of individual rights is
freedom of expression.
Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?
fundamentalist Christians
Gideon v. Wainwright required the states to
furnish attorneys for poor defendants in felony cases.
Who warned of the baneful effects of political parties in his 1797 farewell address?
george washington
Native Americans were not
given citizenship status en masse until the twentieth century.
Of the 2009-2010 health care reform legislation, a Gallup poll found that nearly a third of the public mistakenly believed that the legislation package included
government committees that would decide which elderly patients would receive life-saving treatment and which would not.
The Fourteenth Amendment applies to discriminatory action by
government only
In the case of McNabb v. United States, Justice Felix Frankfurter defined the "history of liberty" primarily in terms of whether
governments had observed procedural guarantees.
The USA Patriot Act
grants the government new powers of surveillance, relaxed restrictions on the sharing of intelligence surveillance information with criminal investigators, gives intelligence agencies the authority to share crime-related information with law enforcement agencies, was enacted in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In the 1960s, presidential candidates
had longer sound bites, on average, in broadcast television newscasts.
The Supreme Court
has generally protected symbolic speech, though less substantially than it has protected verbal speech.
Most successful Internet blogs
have a liberal bias.
On both radio and television, most successful partisan talk shows
have been hosted by conservatives
In terms of news consumption, since the 1980s young adults
have been less informed than older ones.
What word means "to name"?
Nominate
What type of party is most likely to fade once its leader has stepped aside?
Splinter
Which of the following would NOT be considered a secondary socializing agent?
church
Which of the following would be considered the worst setback by affirmative action proponents?
Adarand v. Pena
In 1912, a candidate for which minor party managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?
Bull Moose
Which minor party made the strongest showing in the 1912 Presidential election?
Progressive Party
The Supreme Court halted the general use of quotas in the granting of federal contracts in the 1995 case of
Adarand v. Pena.
What term refers to general agreement among various groups?
Consensus
At which of the following times did the American media step back from their watchdog role?
after the September 11th terrorist attacks
When can police legally begin their interrogation of a suspect?
after the suspect has been warned that his or her words can be used as evidence
Eighteen, nineteen, and twenty year-old Americans were granted the right to vote in ________.
1971
Today, women currently hold about ________ of the seats in Congress.
1 in 6
A dictatorship is said to be a _____ system
1-party system
How many American workers belong to unions?
1/8 are unionized
Which of the following amendments contains a due process clause?
14th
Women in America obtained the right to vote in national elections in ________.
1920
Native Americans were made "official" citizens of the United States in ________.
1924
The election of ________ represented a party realignment.
1932
The only presidential election in which the Gallup poll erred badly was
1948 Truman-Dewey.
A peak moment in the modern civil rights movement occurred with the March on Washington in ________.
1963
Ticket splitting was most prominent during which decade?
1970s
According to polls, men and women tend to disagree on certain issues. Of the following issues, about which are men and women closest in agreement? A. abortion rights B. affirmative action C. poverty assistance D. education assistance E. use of military force
A
As an agent of political socialization, the American family has its greatest effect on individuals' A. party identification. B. choice and form of higher education. C. professional career. D. knowledge of particular public policies. E. rate of political participation.
A
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's "spiral of silence" theory contends that \nA. most individuals are reluctant to speak out against dominant opinion.\n B. people tend not to express their views until asked. \nC. people holding deviant opinions tend to be more vocal, and hence silence the majority. \nD. most individuals like to challenge dominant opinions.\n E. None of these answers is correct. A
A
Libertarians are opposed to governmental intervention \n A. in both the economic and social spheres. \nB. in the economic but not the social sphere. \nC. in the social sphere, but not the economic sphere. \nD. in neither the social nor the economic spheres. \nE. only with regard to affirmative action. A
A
Scholars have done the LEAST study into the political influence of ________ on American citizens. A. religion B. families C. schools D. media E. peers
A
The accuracy of polling is diminished when respondents \nA. give what they regard as the socially correct response. \nB. are asked about familiar issues. \nC. have an opinion and reveal it.\n D. admit they are not familiar with an issue and offer no opinion. \nE. None of these answers is correct. A
A
The process of political socialization in the United States is A. normally cumulative; political beliefs attained earlier in life tend to be retained to a substantial degree. B. highly structured; children are subjected to an intense system of government-mandated political indoctrination. C. highly effective; Americans are the best informed citizens in the world. D. extremely narrow; most Americans get nearly all their opinions from a single source. E. uniform; there are almost no differences in the opinions of various groups, such as northerners and southerners.
A
Which of the following ideological types favor government activism in the economic realm? \nA. liberals and populists \nB. populists and libertarians \nC. conservatives and liberals \nD. populists and conservatives \nE. liberals and libertarians A
A
Which of the following is NOT a primary socializing agent? \n A. peers \nB. school \nC. church \nD. family \nE. None of these are primary socializing agents. A
A
Which of the following is true of the relationship between public opinion and shifts in major government policies? A. On high-profile issues particularly, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion. B. Analysts Page and Shapiro concluded that leaders' opinions ultimately affect most policy issues more than the larger public opinion. C. The linguist Noam Chomsky claimed that democracy consistently preserved the will of the people over the will of elite interests. D. Analysts Robert Erikson, Michael MacKuen, and James Stimson found a pattern consistent with their claim that "public opinion has little influence over policy". E. All these answers are correct.
A
Which of the following is true of the Georgia law that required citizens without a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport, to obtain a voter identification card, which would cost them twenty dollars and expire after five years?
A federal judge invalidated Georgia's twenty-dollar fee requirement, but the photo ID requirement stood.
Discuss the major characteristics of the political socialization process through which Americans acquire their political opinions.
A first characteristic of political socialization is that most people's political outlook is formed uncritically during childhood. A second characteristic of political socialization is that its effect is cumulative; political orientations usually grow firmer with age. Political socialization takes place through a number of agents of socialization, both primary and secondary. Primary agents include the family, school, and church, with family being the most powerful of all agents of socialization. Secondary agents have a less intimate relationship with the individual, and include peers, the media, and leaders.
primary election (direct primary)
A form of election in which voters choose a party's nominees for public office. In most states, eligibility to vote in a primary election is limited to voters who designated themselves as party members when they registered to vote. A primary is direct when it results directly in the choice of a nominee; it is indirect (as in the case of presidential primaries) when it results in the selection of delegates who then choose the nominee.
prospective voting
A form of electoral judgment in which voters choose the candidate whose policy promises most closely match their own preferences.
retrospective voting
A form of electoral judgment in which voters support the incumbent candidate or party when their policies are judged to have succeeded and oppose the candidate or party when their policies are judged to have failed.
proportional representation
A form of representation in which seats in the legislature are allocated proportionally according to each political party's share of the popular vote. This system enables smaller parties to compete successfully for seats.
ideological (minor) party
A minor party characterized by its ideological commitment to a broad and noncentrist philosophical position.
factional (minor) party
A minor party created when a faction within one of the major parties breaks away to form its own party.
single-issue (minor) party
A minor party formed around a single issue of overriding interest to its followers.
reform (minor) party
A minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy.
Explain the term partisan press. Why was it superseded by the objective press?
A partisan press is one that concentrates on advancing a particular ideological or partisan viewpoint. The American media, with few exceptions, no longer follows this pattern, although some European newspapers still do so. At one time, the American press was quite partisan. This situation changed with technological innovations such as the telegraph and rotary printing press, which changed the economics of American newspapers. Partly as a reaction against the excesses of yellow journalism, newspapers turned to the objective model of reporting, which concentrates on objective reporting of facts and reports on differing sides of controversial issues. They accomplished this in part by a direct company policy focus on objective reporting and a new focus on the professional ethics of objective journalism by journalism schools
What is meant by a party realignment?
A party realignment occurs when many significant social groups alter their voting behavior and switch their allegiance from one political party to another. Party realignments have four basic elements: The existing political order is disrupted; voters shift their support in favor of one party; a major change in public policy occurs as a result of the stronger party; and there is an enduring change in the party coalitions, which works to the lasting advantage of that party.
grassroots party
A political party organized at the level of the voters and dependent on their support for its strength.
What are primary elections and what impact have they had on party organizations?
A primary election is a method of nominating party candidates in which the party nominee is chosen by voters rather than by party leaders. Primary elections weaken party organization by depriving the party of control over the candidates who will run under its banner.
party competition
A process in which conflict over society's goals is transformed by political parties into electoral competition in which the winner gains the power to govern.
Identify the factors that account for the relative uniformity in news reporting among major American news institutions.
A reason for the relative uniformity of news reporting is objective journalism, in which the emphasis on facts and salient events provides journalists with a basis for agreement. Put differently, because almost all journalists view the world and their job in roughly the same way, they tend to report the same things. Another reason for the lack of diversity in reporting is that a small number of news organizations generate most of the news. For example, the Associated Press (AP) wire service is the major source of national and international news for most newspapers. National networks tend to report the same stories and to agree on what are the most important aspects of those stories, and network correspondents cover the same beats and rely on many of the same sources, which leads them to report more or less the same things.
two-party system
A system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control of the government.
multiparty system
A system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition.
35. (p. 320-321) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory oversight over which of the following? A. radio B. cable TV C. Internet content D. newspapers E. All these answers are correct.
A. radio
Which of the following statements is true?
About one in four single-parent families that are headed by women live below the poverty line.
Three-fourths of Ivy League students surveyed could not identify ________ as the author of the phrase, "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Abraham Lincoln
What is affirmative action? What is the Supreme Court's general position on affirmative action?
Affirmative action is a deliberate effort to counteract de facto discrimination and provide full and equal opportunity in areas such as education and employment for traditionally disadvantaged groups. This policy attempts to require providers of opportunities to show that their policies are not discriminatory. The Supreme Court has limited the application of affirmative action. In general, the Supreme Court has allowed practices seeking to redress instances of discrimination unless those practices infringe on the rights of individuals or unless they involve the strict use of quotas.
Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party, voting about 85 percent Democratic in presidential elections?
African Americans
Which of the following is true of age differences in news consumption?
Age differences in news consumption shrink for Internet-based news but do not disappear.
Which of the following is true? (sex)
All are true; the Supreme Court ruled states could not adopt discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians (1996), Boy Scouts can ban gays (2000), and states cannot ban homosexual relations among consenting adults (2003).
Why are people of higher income and education levels more likely to be politically active?
Americans of lower income and education levels tend to vote less than those at the top. People of higher income and education are more likely to possess the financial resources, communication skills, and time to engage in potentially rewarding political activities, such as voting. Also, the U.S. political system does not have structures (for example, a labor party or universal registration) that would encourage lower-income and less educated citizens to participate. In addition, it has been shown that most candidates for office and elected politicians make their appeals to middle and upper-income voters to a much greater degree than to lower-income voters.
Describe three systemic reasons why Americans vote at a lower rate than Western Europeans.
Americans vote at a lower rate than Europeans for several reasons. Although both American and European governments require their citizens to register to vote, European governments are responsible for locating and placing individuals on registration rolls. In the United States it is up to the individual to register. This personal responsibility discourages registration and hence lowers American voter turnout. The frequency of American elections reduces voter turnout by increasing the effort required to participate in all of them, and American elections are held during a workday instead of a holiday or weekend, making it even more difficult to get to the polls. Another reason for low voter turnout is the restrictive voter registration requirements that some states have in place. America also lacks the strong socialist or labor parties, politically-oriented trade unions, and class-based political ideologies that encourage the lower-income classes to vote in Europe.
party realignment
An election or set of elections in which the electorate responds strongly to an extraordinarily powerful issue that has disrupted the established political order. A realignment has a lasting impact on public policy, popular support for the parties, and the composition of the party coalitions.
Why have issue networks become more prevalent than iron triangles?
An issue network is built around specialized interests and knowledge. Unlike iron triangles, an issue network disbands after the issue is resolved.
political party
An ongoing coalition of interests joined together to try to get their candidates for public office elected under a common label.
Why have the Democratic and Republican parties been so durable as to maintain existence since the Civil War? Explain.
Analysts believe that the durability of the Democratic and Republican parties is due to their remarkable ability to adapt during times of crisis. These two major parties have survived many periods of social, economic, and political unrest not by maintaining a consistent ideology, but by adapting to the changing needs of the maintaining and realigning elections (for example, the elections of the Great Depression of the 1930s produced fundamentally new Democratic and Republican parties). Instead of being destroyed by these elections, the parties emerged with new bases of support, new policies, and even new philosophies. Democrats and Republicans remained the dominant parties in America. After the Great Depression, the Democrats became the country's majority party and emphasized a new social and economic role for national government. The party survived—indeed succeeded—only by responding to the crisis and adapting its policies to address the current needs of the people. Such capacity for adaptation has ensured the Democrats' and Republicans' longevity and dominance in America's two-party system.
All of the following statements about Asian American rights are true EXCEPT that
Asian Americans have the second highest median family income of any group.
A conservative is opposed to government intervention \nA. in both the economic and social spheres.\n B. in the economic but not the social sphere. \nC. in the social sphere, but not the economic sphere. \nD. in neither the social nor the economic spheres. \nE. only with regard to affirmative action. B
B
A consistent pattern of opinion on particular issues that stems from a coherent set of political beliefs is called A. conservatism. B. ideology. C. socialization. D. politicization. E. None of these answers is correct.
B
A properly drawn sample of one thousand individuals has a sampling error of roughly plus or minus ________ percent. \nA. 5 \nB. 3 \nC. 2 \nD. 8\n E. 10 B
B
Dramatic change in party identification is uncommon and is almost always a consequence of A. a change in the policy position of the president. B. major upheaval. C. popular satisfaction with a government initiative. D. a change in the law. E. a Supreme Court ruling.
B
Friedrich Engels believed that communism would not take root in the United States because A. the poorer American classes still had enough material wealth to be happy with their station. B. American workers lacked sufficient class consciousness. C. the government was already providing substantial financial assistance to the working class. D. the Social Security system provided workers with a safety net not available to workers in Europe. E. the government of the U.S. was too militantly anti-communist and would not allow propaganda to spread.
B
In his definition of public opinion, the author claims that the opinions of private individuals become public opinion when they A. first enter people's heads. B. are openly expressed. C. become part of the conflict between the Rep. & Dem. parties. D. are measured in opinion polls. E. become part of the conflict between populists and libertarians.
B
In terms of party identification, about two-thirds of adults call themselves \nA. liberals.\n B. Republicans or Democrats. \nC. Republicans.\n D. Independents. \nE. Democrats. B
B
Of the 2009-2010 health care reform legislation, a Gallup poll found that nearly a third of the public mistakenly believed that the legislation package included A. vastly increased funding for Medicaid, the federal health care program for low-income individuals. B. government committees that would decide which elderly patients would receive life-saving treatment and which would not. C. an elimination of the Medicare program. D. government-sponsored health care for illegal immigrants. E. a legalization of partial-birth abortions.
B
The most powerful religious force in contemporary American society is the \n A. Protestants.\n B. religious right. \nC. Catholics. \nD. Jews. \nE. Muslims. B
B
To accurately poll the citizens of the United States as opposed to the citizens of a single state, \nA. a much larger sample size will be required. \nB. the sample requirements will be nearly the same. \nC. a smaller sample size will be required. \nD. less randomization will be needed because the sample size will be larger. \nE. a larger sampling error can be accepted. B
B
Which of the following groups in the U.S. shows a higher level of support for collective bargaining? A. workers in the service sector B. factory workers C. small farmers D. white-collar workers E. workers in the skilled crafts
B
________ once said that he spent nearly all his adult life in government and yet had never seen a government. A. Theodore Roosevelt B. Woodrow Wilson C. Abraham Lincoln D. George W. Bush E. Harry Truman
B
In the 2008 presidential election, ________ used the Internet most successfully to attract followers and raise donations.
Barack Obama
________ lost the 1964 presidential election in a landslide because his views were seen as too extreme.
Barry Goldwater
Which of the following is true of discrimination against the disabled in the United States?
Before 1975, four million children with disabilities were getting either no education or an inappropriate one.
Which country has the highest estimated voter turnout in major national elections in recent decades?
Belgium
A ______ is an agreement that protects a person against loss caused by a third party.
Bond
A person who favors government intervention in both social and economic affairs is a(n) \nA. libertarian. \nB. liberal. \nC. populist.\n D. social conservative. \nE. economic conservative. C
C
Americans who attend religious services at least once a week are most likely to vote for which political party? \nA. Libertarian \nB. Democrat \nC. Republican \nD. Populist \nE. Green C
C
In general, public opinion \nA. determines specific government actions.\n B. is unrelated to government action.\n C. sets limits on government action. \nD. generally affects government action only on election issues. \nE. is strongest during a presidential election. C
C
Party identification refers to \nA. the percentage of polled individuals that claim membership in a particular party.\n B. formal membership in a political party. \nC. an emotional attachment to a political party. \nD. a political party's platform—the stances on issues that define its beliefs. \nE. the ability of individual citizens to identify the major issue positions of the major political parties. C
C
Selective perception is primarily a result of \nA. economic class. \nB. religion. \nC. partisanship. \nD. race and ethnicity.\n E. age and generational beliefs. C
C
The key factors in determining the accuracy of an opinion poll are the A. population size and the sample size. B. sample size and the timeline over which the sample was taken. C. size of the sample and whether the sample was selected from the population by a random method. D. sample size and whether the sample has the same percentage of men and women as the population. E. anonymous nature of the sampling process and sample size.
C
The only presidential election in which the Gallup poll erred badly was A. 1928 Hoover-Smith. B. 1936 Roosevelt-Landon. C. 1948 Truman-Dewey. D. 1964 Johnson-Goldwater. E. 2000 Bush-Gore.
C
The term public opinion is frequently used in reference to all of American society. This perspective is A. accurate, since Americans are one people & indivisible. B. less accurate than a view of public opinion based on the majority, since the political system operates on the principle of majority rule. C. less accurate than the idea that Americans form many publics, which differ greatly in such things as the level of attention they pay to politics. D. less accurate than a view of public opinion based on what the news media are saying about the public. E. accurate, because there is little diversity in American public opinion.
C
What are the two distinguishing characteristics of political socialization? A. Schools are the most influential agent of political socialization, and political socialization is strongest during childhood. B. Family is the strongest agent of political socialization, and political socialization is strongest during high school and college C. Political socialization is cumulative, and is most heavily developed during childhood. D. Political socialization is transitory, and is most heavily developed during young adulthood. E. Political socialization occurs primarily among educated populations, and is most heavily developed during adulthood.
C
Which of the following statements is true? A. Franklin Roosevelt had little faith that public opinion would preserve the Social Security program, and expected it to be dismantled within a few decades. B. Public opinion on the usefulness of the Social Security system tends to swing back and forth dramatically with the health of the national economy. C. George W. Bush attempted to privatize aspects of social security, only to back down in the face of determined resistance. D. Franklin Roosevelt attempted to increase the size of the Social Security system, but backed down in the face of strong public opinion against any expansion. E. Ronald Reagan refused, against the wishes of his party, to propose reform of the Social Security system, because he knew public opinion would oppose it.
C
31. (p. 320) The circulation battle of which two newspapers may have contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War? A. Chicago Tribune and Boston Herald B. Los Angeles Times and New York Times C. New York Journal and New York World D. Gazette of the United States and National Gazette E. San Francisco Examiner and New York Journal
C. New York Journal and New York World
14. (p. 326) One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources is that A. the government dictates much of what is reported. B. there are only a few important events each day that merit news coverage. C. the network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate. D. reporters are not given much freedom by their editors. E. modern journalists have become fairly lazy and use mostly wire reports to create news copy for the network newscasts.
C. the network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate.
soft money
Campaign contributions that are not subject to legal limits and are given to parties rather than directly to candidates.
hard money
Campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose.
What term refers to a temporary alliance of several groups coming together to govern?
Coalition
What is a candidate-centered campaign, and how does it differ from a party-centered one? Identify some advantages and disadvantages of candidate-centered campaigns.
Candidates effectively control the candidate-centered campaign, while a party-centered campaign is dominated by parties. In the former, voters tend to select individuals; in the latter, voters tend to make their choices based on party traditions and party platforms. One advantage of candidate-centered campaigns is that they bring flexibility and new blood to electoral politics. This means the political system can more quickly adapt to new realities. Also, candidate-centered campaigns encourage national officeholders to be more responsive to local interests, because personal support among local constituents is the key to re-election. A disadvantage is that such campaigns are heavily influenced by the contributions of special interests. Another disadvantage is that officeholders' accountability to the public is reduced because an incumbent can always blame other officeholders for policy problems. Party-centered campaigns are characterized by collective accountability.
What customarily defines the party in power?
Citizens policies and behavior
A member of Congress who wants to act on what the majority of his or her constituency thinks on a particular issue would be advised to respond to which of the following indicators? A. letters from constituents B. the editorial positions of newspapers in the constituency C. public demonstrations by constituents D. a poll based on a random sample of constituents E. the number of yard signs on major streets
D
Journalist Walter Lippmann suggested that \n A. polling, even when done scientifically, cannot be trusted because it is in people's nature to be dishonest in response to political questions. \nB. the dominance of polling has brought about an ideological shift toward the more radical ends of the political spectrum among elected representatives.\n C. polling had provided political parties with even more entrenched power, reducing the influence of third party candidates. \nD. effective government cannot be run by politicians that base their public opinions on poll results.\n E. pollsters have had more effect on the outcome of presidential elections in recent decades than have the people who do the voting. D
D
The accuracy of a poll is usually expressed in terms of A. population density. B. census parameter. C. population error. D. sampling error. E. interview error.
D
The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is called A. popular culture. B. social communication. C. socio-economic change. D. political socialization. E. political assimilation.
D
The term generational effect is used to describe the influence of watershed events on the political outlook of \nA. older voters. \nB. African American voters.\n C. female voters. \nD. younger voters. \nE. swing voters. D
D
Three-fourths of Ivy League students surveyed could not identify ________ as the author of the phrase, "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people". \nA. George Washington \nB. James Madison \nC. George Gallup \nD. Abraham Lincoln \nE. Thomas Jefferson D
D
What was the primary cause for an increase in the public's support for a military invasion of Iraq during the six-month period leading to the start of the war? \n A. the inability of the United Nations to discover strong evidence of weapons of mass destruction\n B. mainstream media coverage of the actions of the Iraqi government \nC. grass-roots efforts by conservative groups that argued it was necessary for greater national security\n D. Bush administration efforts to press the case for war\n E. election-year posturing on national security issues by congressional candidates for office D
D
Which of the following statements about Americans and ideology and political thinking is true? A. Liberalism and conservatism have such imprecise meanings that it is not useful to think about politics in these terms. B. Americans overwhelmingly identify themselves as liberals. C. Americans are highly sophisticated in their political thinking. D. Only a minority of Americans can be classified as true ideologues. E. Americans are highly consistent in their political thinking.
D
Which of the following would NOT be considered a secondary socializing agent? A. leaders B. the media C. peers D. church E. None of these answers is correct, as all represent secondary socializing agents.
D
Women are less likely than men to favor A. affirmative action. B. abortion rights. C. higher levels of education spending. D. the use of force to settle international disputes. E. All these answers are correct.
D
11. (p. 327) Which of the following broadcast news sources has seen its audience grow? A. ABC B. CBS C. NBC D. NPR E. None of these answers is correct.
D. NPR
The Miranda warning was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000 in
Dickerson v. United States.
________ was the only Republican elected president from 1932-1964.
Dwight Eisenhower
All of the following ideological types are prevalent in the United States EXCEPT A. liberals. B. conservatives. C. populists D. libertarians. E. communists.
E
Each of the following statements could be considered true of either economic or social liberals, EXCEPT that A. they favor government activism in the area of distribution of economic benefits. B. they prefer a smaller role for government in upholding social and cultural traditions. C. they favor more government spending for the poor. D. they believe lifestyle choices should be left to the individual. E. they believe that government should be used to promote traditional values.
E
In a test of "civic literacy" conducted in 2007, the average college senior scored a grade of ________. A. A B. B C. C D. D E. F
E
Society in Northern Ireland is presented by the text as a demonstration of what difference with U.S. society? \n A. the lack of importance in measured public opinion for the political process \nB. the status of the family as a secondary agent of socialization instead of a primary agent \nC. the relatively small influence that government propaganda has on the individual \nD. the lack of religion as a defining frame of reference\n E. the lack of crosscutting between groups
E
Sources of polling error can include A. question order. B. unrepresentative samples. C. respondents' lack of knowledge or interest in the issue. D. question wording. E. All these answers are correct.
E
What term do pollsters use for a purported opinion offered by a respondent who, in truth, has no view on a specific issue? \nA. uninformed response \nB. faulty opinion \nC. invalid answer \nD. confused response \nE. non-opinion E
E
Which of the following is true about public opinion polling? \nA. Polls are the most relied-upon method of measuring public opinion.\n B. Polls can be erroneous at times. \nC. Most large news organizations have their own in-house polls.\n D. The Gallup pollsters have correctly predicted the winner of presidential elections most of the time since 1936. \nE. All these answers are correct. E
E
Which of the following is true of letter writers and demonstrators? \nA. They tend to be individuals who have participated in violent or physical expressions of political opinion. \nB. They tend to espouse a more conservative ideological leaning. \nC. They tend to have a greater effect on policymakers than the public opinion polls of the general population.\n D. Roughly 10 percent of Americans participate in a mass demonstration or write a letter to the editor each year.\n E. Their opinions tend to be atypical of the population as whole. E
E
6. (p. 321) The FCC restriction requiring broadcasters to "afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance" was known as the A. "Equal Time" rule. B. objective-reporting model. C. signaling function. D. common-carrier function. E. Fairness Doctrine.
E. Fairness Doctrine.
What is sectionalism?
emphasizes a devotion to the interests of a particular region
What did political scientist Larry Bartels demonstrate in his book Unequal Democracy?
Elected officials are substantially more responsive to the concerns of their more affluent constituents than to those of their poorer constituents.
The two major American political parties are ______ -oriented.
Election
candidate-centered politics
Election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence.
party-centered politics
Election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence.
Voluntary school prayer in the public schools was ruled unconstitutional in
Engel v. Vitale (1962).
What is equality of result? What relation does it have to de facto and de jure discrimination?
Equality of result is the aim of policies intended to reduce or eliminate discriminatory effects so that members of traditionally disadvantaged groups may obtain the same benefits of society as members of traditionally advantaged groups. De facto discrimination is discrimination that is a consequence of social, economic, and cultural biases and conditions. De jure discrimination is discrimination based on law. Equality of result is intended to combat the effects of de facto discrimination. Busing and affirmative action are examples of policies designed to achieve equality of result. Many Americans, however, believe that the government should only address de jure discrimination.
In a test of "civic literacy" conducted in 2007, the average college senior scored a grade of ________.
F
What is the meaning of the term "bipartisan"?
Finding common ground and work together
Justice Stone argued in 1938 that
First Amendment rights are the basis of most other rights.
Which of the following are examples of single-issue parties?
Free soil party and right to like party
Which of the following statements is true?
George W. Bush attempted to privatize aspects of social security, only to back down in the face of determined resistance.
The Gazette of the United States was founded to promote the policies of President
George Washington
________ warned Americans of the "baneful effects" of factions (political parties) in his 1797 farewell address.
George Washington
Discuss the racial problems addressed by the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What provisions of the Constitution provided the basis for each of these policy decisions?
In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), the Supreme Court justices overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. Chief Justice Warren stated that segregated schools were inherently unequal, and thus violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Warren stated that the maintenance of separate school systems generates feelings of social inferiority on the part of minority students. Because the Fourteenth Amendment applies only to acts of government, private firms are not affected by it. In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress used its commerce power to entitle all persons equal access to establishments serving the general public, and to forbid discrimination in hiring, promotion, and payment of employees in medium and large firms. Congress's commerce power was utilized to restrict discrimination in public places and employment.
How do European parties differ from American parties?
In Europe, where there are no primary elections, parties are stronger and have much tighter control over nominations, campaigns, candidate funding, and elections. American parties, due to federalism and a tradition of individualism, remain loose associations of local, state, and national organizations. European parties tend to divide along class lines, while America's two-party system requires each party to accommodate a wide range of interests in order to gain the voting plurality necessary to win elections. The European proportional representation system also results in the viability of smaller parties than can get representation in legislatures even with a small proportion of the vote.
Explain why the single-member district system of elections tends to promote a two-party system.
In a single-member district system, each constituency selects only one representative for an office on the basis of which candidate receives a plurality of the vote. This system promotes a two-party system in America. It discourages minor parties because it is, essentially, a winner-take-all contest. For example, if a minor party receives 20 percent of the vote in each congressional district, it would win no seats in Congress. Despite the fact that one in five voters voted for the minor party, the winning candidate in each district would be the major-party candidate with the larger proportion of the remaining 80 percent of the vote. In contrast, a system of proportional representation is not a winner-take-all contest. In European democracies, for example, seats in the legislature are allocated according to a party's share of the popular vote. This system encourages minor parties; if a minor party wins 20 percent of the vote by way of illustration, it receives 20 percent of the legislative seats. America's single-member district system disadvantages minor parties and, therefore, promotes a two-party system.
packaging (of a candidate)
In modern campaigning, the process of recasting a candidate's record into an appealing image.
Which of the following states has a voter identification card law?
Indiana
Compared to European countries, why is voter turnout low in the U.S.?
Individual americans have to register to vote, us does not encourage voting by holding elections on the weekend and does not impose penalties such as fines for not voting. Also the absence of a major labor or socialist party
How has the Internet affected the watchdog capacity of the media?
It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media.
Which of the following statements about the patronage system is true?
It was a means of rewarding party workers for their loyalty.
Which of the following is true of the Internet organization MoveOn.org?
It was instrumental in helping Barack Obama defeat Hillary Clinton in their race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination
Populist ________ won electoral votes in six states in the presidential election of 1892.
James B. Weaver
_______ is associated with the Era of Good Feeling.
James Monroe
Which minor party did NOT participate in the 2004 presidential election?
Libertarian Party
Which of the following statements is true of age discrimination in the United States?
Mandatory retirement ages for most jobs have been eliminated by law.
The famous speech featuring the words "I have a dream" in the civil rights movement was delivered by
Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 2004, by order of the state's Supreme Court, ________ instituted same-sex marriage.
Massachusetts
The vicious character to which current political ads are prone may be gauged by a 2002 ad that associated disabled war veteran ________ with Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.
Max Cleland
A party without wide voter support is known as a______ party.
Minor
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.
Which of the following statements has been shown by scholarly research to be true?
Network journalists tend to be negative.
Of the following states, which tends to have larger numbers of Caribbean Hispanics?
New Jersey
Which newspaper was the first to reduce the price of a daily copy to a penny?
New York Sun
Give three reasons why some Americans vote regularly while others do not.
One reason some Americans vote more regularly than others is that they have a more developed sense of civic duty than others. Civic duty is a belief that citizens have certain responsibilities, one of which is voting. Citizens who tend not to vote have a weak sense of civic duty. Another factor is age. Because younger people are less likely to have the political interest that can come with home ownership, permanent employment, and a family, they are less likely to vote than older people. Finally, voting is closely related to socioeconomic status. The higher a person's socioeconomic status, the more likely he or she will vote. This relationship is particularly strong in the United States because there is no socialist or labor party to appeal to people of low socioeconomic status
Which of the following statements about Americans and ideology and political thinking is true?
Only a minority of Americans can be classified as true ideologues.
What term refers to multiple cultures and groups?
Pluralistic society
What term represents the largest number of ballots cast?
Plurality
Winner take all elections are based on the ______ concept, in which only one candidate is elected to each office.
Plurality
Define what is meant by a political ideology. Why is ideology important to consider when discussing the political thinking of the American people?
Political ideology is a consistent pattern of opinion on particular issues that stems from a basic underlying belief or beliefs. Most Americans do not meet the test of consistency in their political preference on particular issues, so it has been concluded that no more than a fourth of Americans can be considered to have a true ideology. However, most Americans can be said to have ideological leanings, such as social or economic liberal or conservative, libertarian, or populist. Ideology can be a useful way of looking at how Americans think about government and in describing changes in public attitudes.
What are the two distinguishing characteristics of political socialization?
Political socialization is cumulative, and is most heavily developed during childhood.
What term describes the smallest unit of election administration?
Precinct
The first woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court was appointed by
President Regan
________ elections tend to draw the largest percentage of voters in the U.S.
Presidential
Explain the concept of prior restraint of the press. Include one example of how the Supreme Court has ruled on this issue
Prior restraint is government prohibition of speech or publication before the fact. The Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional, except in extreme circumstances of national security or public safety, as an illegal restraint on free expression. The burden of proof in such instances is on the government: it must clearly show that a grave danger would result from the publication. The doctrine of prior restraint was detailed in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971).
Explain the concept of procedural due process and list several of the procedural rights protected by the Constitution. Do these rights apply to all levels of government? Explain.
Procedural due process refers to procedures or methods that government must follow before a person can legally be deprived of life, liberty, or property. The U.S. Constitution offers procedural safeguards designed to protect a person from wrongful arrest, conviction, and punishment. These procedures include prohibitions on unreasonable search and seizure, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and excessive bail or fine, and include guarantees of legal counsel, jury trial, speedy trial, and the confrontation of witnesses. These rights apply to the federal government through the Bill of Rights and have been extended to cover state action by selective incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment.
According to the Supreme Court, which is true regarding freedom of assembly?
Public officials can regulate the time, place, and conditions of public assembly, provided the regulations are reasonable
Discuss the general relationship between public opinion and the policy actions of government.
Public opinion has a powerful though inexact influence on government. Although public opinion rarely determines exactly what government will do, public opinion serves to constrain the policy choices of officials. Some policy actions are beyond the range of possibility because the public will not accept change in existing policy or will not support policy that clearly conflicts with basic values. Many policy issues are sufficiently complex to limit public understanding of their intricacies, and thus elected officials may not be able to rely on wider public opinion. In addition, officials must anticipate the public response to policy, since people may react negatively to policies that fail or are followed by unfavorable developments. Evidence indicates officials are reasonably attentive to public opinion, particularly on highly visible issues of public policy.
The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ party as a major political party.
Republican
Which of the following is NOT a primary function of a political party?
Reviewing supreme court rulings
The right to privacy was instrumental in which decision?
Roe v. Wade
In 1992, ________ won 19 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election.
Ross Perot
Which of the following is the only country that comes close to the United States in terms of the percentage of its citizens who are behind bars?
Russia
In 2007 the Supreme Court reversed its stance on partial-birth abortion, largely due to the replacement of Sandra Day O'Connor with
Samuel Alito.
Which region of the world has the highest proportion of women serving in its national legislatures?
Scandinavia
Yellow journalism contributed to public support for the
Spanish-American War
What is meant by selective incorporation? Discuss the history of this process and its importance to the protection of individual rights.
Selective incorporation refers to the absorption of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech and press, into the Fourteenth Amendment. These rights are thereby protected from infringement by the states. After the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment was debated in Congress. There was no indication its framers intended it to protect First Amendment rights, such as freedom of speech and press, from state action. Seventy years later, the Supreme Court invoked the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause in a free speech case, which was followed by a series of cases that established the process of selective incorporation. In doing so, the Court declared certain rights to be a fundamental part of democratic society and, therefore, to be protected from state intervention. At first, the Court included only free expression rights in its interpretation. In the 1960s, selective incorporation was used also to protect fair trial rights.
Who is the party leader of the party in power?
Senate majority leader
The first women's rights convention in the United States was held in 1848 in
Seneca Falls, New York.
What was politically significant about Geraldine Ferraro in 1984?
She became the first woman to run on the national ticket of a major political party.
Which of the following are examples of ideological parties?
Socialist Party and Libertarian Party
Historically speaking, states with the most restrictive voting registration laws are concentrated in which region?
South
Describe the provisions and impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act entitles all persons to equal access to restaurants, bars, theatres, hotels, gasoline stations, and similar establishments serving the general public. It also bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the hiring, promotion, and wages of employees of medium-size and large firms. However, this legislation did not immediately result in equality of opportunity of hiring practices. The Act did not require employers to prove that their employment practices were not discriminatory, and many continued to give preferential treatment to white males. The concentration of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was equality in housing. To prevent discrimination in housing, this act prevented building owners from refusing to sell or rent housing because of a person's race, religion, ethnicity, or sex. An exception is allowed for owners of small multifamily dwellings who reside on the premises.
Which of the following is true about the Sedition Act of 1798?
The Act prohibited malicious newspaper stories about the president.
How informed is American public opinion? Explain.
The American public has a generally low level of knowledge about politics and public affairs. Even citizens with college educations routinely flunk current affairs tests administered by pollsters. Yet the public's lack of information about specific issues is not as significant a factor as some might perceive. Citizens do not necessarily need to be well informed about a particular issue to have a reasonable opinion about it. The fact that the citizen is unaware of the government's economic policy options would not render his or her opinion irrelevant.
Which of the following is true of the appeal process?
The Constitution does not guarantee an appeal after conviction, but the federal government and all states permit at least one appeal.
How do the motivations of the press differ and often lead to a greater coverage of crime stories than the political process or world events?
The concern of the press is with the dramatic; it attempts to find and develop good stories. The press is not accountable to the public, but it does rely on revenue generated through advertising, and thus must attempt to maximize readership or viewership. The focus on crime stories increased in the early 1990s in an attempt to bolster sagging audiences.
Who is the second most powerful official in government?
The conference committee (house and senate compromise)
nomination
The designation of a particular individual to run as a political party's candidate in the general election.
What steps did the government have to take to regulate broadcast media, and why were those steps necessary?
The development of the broadcast media brought initial chaos primarily because nearby stations often used the same or adjacent radio frequencies, interfering with each other's broadcasts. Congress passed the Communications Act, which regulated broadcasting and created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to oversee the process. Broadcasters had to be licensed, and because the number of frequencies is limited, licensing required political impartiality. The Communications Act also contained an "equal time" provision, which prohibits broadcasters from selling or giving airtime to a political candidate without offering to sell or give an equal amount of airtime to other candidates for the same office.
What is the equal protection clause? What three tests are associated with discrimination in law?
The equal protection clause is part of the Fourteenth Amendment, which reads in part that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This clause has been used by the courts to protect minorities from discrimination. The tests associated with legal discrimination are the reasonable-basis test and the strict-scrutiny test. The first test stipulates that some inequalities (such as unequal tax rates for people of different income levels) are acceptable as long as they are related to legitimate government interests. The second test is premised on the belief that racial and ethnic-based classifications are unconstitutional almost by definition. There is a third form of judgment—an "intermediate" category, which has been used with regard to sex classifications, and is less rigid than the strict-scrutiny test but more rigid than the reasonable-basis test. For example, the exclusion of women from the military draft has been judged by the courts to be constitutional, whereas most other forms of gender discrimination in law have been judged unconstitutional.
Discuss the differences between the First Amendment's establishment and free exercise clauses.
The establishment clause has been interpreted by the courts as meaning that the government may not favor one religion over another or support religion over no religion at all. Thus, a wall of separation must be maintained between church and state. The free exercise clause means that Americans are free to hold any religious beliefs they want, although they are not always free to act on their beliefs. The Supreme Court has allowed government interference when the exercise of religious belief conflicts with otherwise valid law.
air wars
The fact that modern campaigns are often a battle of opposing televised advertising campaigns.
single-member districts
The form of representation in which only the candidate who gets the most votes in a district wins office.
party coalition
The groups and interests that support a political party.
Explain the four roles of the modern media
The modern media effectively perform four significant roles: those of signaler, common-carrier, watchdog, and partisan advocate. The signaling role requires the press to bring relevant events and problems into public view. In its common-carrier role, the press serves as a channel through which political leaders can address the public. The watchdog role requires the press to scrutinize official behavior and uncover evidence of deception, carelessness, or corruption. Finally, the press functions as a partisan advocate. Although the traditional media perform this function to a degree, the newer media (the talk shows and blogs) specialize in it.
Identify and discuss the frames of reference that Americans rely upon when forming their political opinions.
The text outlines three of the major frames of reference through which Americans form their political opinions. Party identification is the first, referring to a person's ingrained sense of loyalty to a political party. It often remains stable through adulthood, but can be influenced or changed by the issues or candidates of the moment. Political ideology is another major frame of reference, and refers to an individual's coherent set of political beliefs (if they have them). In the United States, this can be broadly broken down into groups such as economic or social liberals or conservatives, libertarians, or populists. A third broad frame of reference is group thinking, in which individuals see politics through the lens of a group affinity. There are many different kinds of groups, including those defined by religion, economic class, region, race and ethnicity, gender, and age.
A political party is a group of persons who seek to control government through
The winning of elections and the holding of public office
Which of the following is true of letter writers and demonstrators?
Their opinions tend to be atypical of the population as whole.
The news provides a refracted version of reality because it
emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories.
Should elections be held on weekends or perhaps as national holidays—why or why not?
This is an open-ended question. Conducting elections on weekends or as national holidays would make turnout easier, but would apathetic citizens change their behavior and vote, or would they ignore elections as usual? Also, making elections national holidays would have consequences for the national economy.
Unlike in many other democracies, elections in the United States are traditionally held on
Tuesdays
money chase
U.S. campaigns are very expensive and candidates must spend a great amount of time raising funds in order to compete successfully.
Define unconventional activism and its aims, and provide historical examples; describe Americans' attitudes toward unconventional activism.
Unconventional activism is another name for social movements and protest politics. Social movements are usually channeled through conventional forms of participation, such as political lobbying, but citizens sometimes take to the streets in protest against government policies. Protest politics can threaten established authority, and occasionally provoke a violent response from government, as the Kent State shootings illustrate. Through demonstrations, picket lines, and marches, protesters dramatize their opposition to official policies. The abolitionist, labor, women's suffrage, and civil rights movements all used unconventional activism to varying degrees. In general, most Americans are not highly supportive of protest politics. Protest politics have undergone changes in recent years, and are now much more likely to be planned events involving detailed coordination to bring higher attention to a particular cause.
What does the term "split-ticket voting" mean?
Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election
What term describes the unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city counsel members?
Ward
Which one of the following occurred after the Brown decision?
a. Civil Rights Act of 1964 b. Voting Rights Act of 1965 c. 1957 Little Rock riots d. "I have a dream" speech
Which of the following is true about public opinion polling?
a. Polls are the most relied-upon method of measuring public opinion. b. Polls can be erroneous at times. c. Most large news organizations have their own in-house polls. d. The Gallup pollsters have correctly predicted the winner of presidential elections most of the time since 1936.
Which of the following is true?
a. Public schools are becoming more segregated nationally. b. Many urban public school districts have ended the use of busing for desegregation purposes. c. White flight to suburban schools has made it more difficult to desegregate urban schools. d. The Supreme Court, after ordering cutbacks in busing, said that communities were free to use alternatives, such as increased spending on schools in poor neighborhoods.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the Swann case on busing differed from the Brown decision in that Swann
a. addressed the problem of de facto discrimination. b. applied to many northern communities in addition to communities in the South. c. sanctioned the use of busing in desegregation. d. dealt specifically with the issue of busing.
Native Americans
a. today number more than 2 million. b. have a far higher infant mortality rate than the national average. c. have in recent years filed suit to reclaim their ancestral lands. d. are less than half as likely to finish college as other Americans.
The "motor voter" law
a. was passed in 1993. b. made it easier for citizens to register to vote. c. linked voter registration to the vehicle registration process. d. was passed in 1993 and linked voter registration to the vehicle registration process.
In contrast with European news media, American news media are more likely to
act primarily as neutral transmitters of information.
The individual freedoms in the Bill of Rights were extended by the Fourteenth Amendment to include protection from deprivation of due process rights by
actions of state and local governments.
The central issue in the Bakke case was
affirmative action.
Voter registration in the United States
began as a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day.
Cultural liberals
belief that lifestyle choices such as same-sex marriage and abortion should be left to the individual
How have the traditional media "softened" their news?
boosting entertainment content in hope of luring viewers away from cable programs
What minor party managed to earn more votes than one of the major parties in 1912?
bull moose party
One example of a policy that aimed chiefly to overcome de facto discrimination is
busing to achieve racial integration in the schools.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was aimed in large part at eliminating discrimination
by private individuals in their employment practices and in their operation of public accommodations (e.g., hotels, restaurants).
James Carville, Dick Morris, and Roger Ailes are all examples of
campaign strategists who have earned legendary reputations.
Prospective voting is characterized by
choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.
Equality of result policies are primarily directed at ________ discriminatory effects.
de facto
Organizationally, U.S. party organizations are
decentralized and fragmented.
Which of the following is NOT a significant reason for the weakening of the major parties since the late 1960s?
decrease in the number of party loyalists and members
In 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the pursuit of racial integration in public schools through busing
deprived white students of their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection.
During the era of objective journalism, the commitment of newspapers to two-sided news reporting
did not extend to their editorializing
The poll tax was used to
disenfranchise African Americans in the South
In a 2004 case involving the issue of whether a U.S. citizen accused of terrorist acts is entitled to constitutional protections, the Supreme Court held that such citizens
do have the right to a judicial hearing.
Who was the only Republican president elected from 1932 - 1964?
dwight eisenhower
What are the characteristics/authorities of a standing committee in the House or Senate?
each standing committee has legislative authority in that it can draft and rewrite proposed legislation and can recommend to the full chamber the passage or defeat of the bills it handles
Women gained the right to vote
early in the 20th century
What primary purpose do the most fully organized interests serve?
economic activity
Libertarian
economic conservative and cultural liberal
Populist
economic liberal and cultural conservative
Journalist Walter Lippmann suggested that
effective government cannot be run by politicians that base their public opinions on poll results.
Today, the majority of African Americans in the nation
live in neighborhoods where whites are in the minority.
Candidate-centered politics encourages all of the following EXCEPT
long-term consistency in policymaking.
Dramatic change in party identification is uncommon and is almost always a consequence of
major upheaval.
In the case of United States v. Virginia (1996), the Supreme Court ruled that
male-only admissions policies at state-supported military academies were unconstitutional.
Most candidates for office in the United States aim their appeals at
middle income voters
Education and income affects voter turnout
more in the United States than in Europe.
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's "spiral of silence" theory contends that
most individuals are reluctant to speak out against dominant opinion.
With regard to affirmative action, the Supreme Court in recent years has
moved to narrow its application.
The Communications Act
mposed on broadcasters an "equal time" restriction that prevented preference for some political candidates over others.
What is pork-barrel legislation?
such projects are often derided as pork by outsiders but are embraced by those who live in the state or district that gets a federally funded project, such as a new hospital , research center, or highway
________ has executed more convicted criminals in the past quarter century than any other state.
texas
During what decade did the American news audience change from a growing to a shrinking one?
the 1980s
De jure discrimination and de facto discrimination are two ways in which some Americans are treated as less equal than others. Examples of public policies designed to address each of these forms of discrimination are
the Brown decision (de jure), and affirmative action (de facto).
"You have the right to remain silent....Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law....You have the right to an attorney." This is called
the Miranda warning.
The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is
the existence of single-member election districts.
According to the Supreme Court, prior restraint on the press is only acceptable if
the government can clearly justify the restriction.
The Democratic Party's long-time regional stronghold, "the Solid South," stemmed from a realignment during which historical period?
the immediate post Civil War era
The Supreme Court has reasoned that a right of privacy is provided by
the implication of said right by the freedoms in the Bill of Rights..
What technological change brought about the decline of the partisan press?
the invention of the telegraph and the hand-cranked rotary press
Which of the following, relative to the others, is typically more protective of individual rights?
the judiciary
Society in Northern Island is held up by the authors as a demonstration of what difference with U.S. society?
the lack of crosscutting between groups
Political socialization
the learning porcess required for political orientations
About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at
the local level.
What generally happens if a minor party gains a large following?
the minor party will have served the purpose of making the major parties more responsive to the public's concerns.
What is the chief obstacle to Americans' participation in community activities?
the motivation to join in
Which of the following does NPR serve as an example of?
the one true success story of public broadcasting
Which of the following is NOT one of the three primary "social" components of the major parties?
the party activists
Public opinion
the politically revelant opinions held by ordinary citizens that they express openly
What is logrolling?
the practice of trading one's vote with another member's so that both get what they want.
Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press?
the presidency