Ch. 6 - Parties and Interest Groups

Indirect Lobbying

A form of lobbying in which lobbyists build support for their cause through the media, rallies, and other ways of influencing public opinion, with the ultimate goal of swaying legislators to support their cause.

Polarization

A split among elected officials or an electorate along strictly partisan lines.

Runoff Primary

An election held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the regular primary. The two top finishers face off again in a runoff to determine the nominee for the general election. Such elections are held only in some states, primarily in the South.

Nonpartisan Ballots

Ballots that do not list candidates by political party; still often used in local elections.

___________________ is when candidates promote themselves rather than relying on party organizations.

Candidate-centered politics

______________ primaries allow only registered party members to vote in the party's primary.

Closed

The two major parties prevent third parties from achieving electoral success by doing which of the following?

Co-opting their ideas

Party Elections

Elections that determine a party's nominees for offices in general elections against other parties' nominees. Participation in a primary election is sometimes limited to voters registered as members of that particular party.

True or false, in 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court placed a limit on independent expenditures by political parties.

False

True or false, political parties and interest groups are the same thing.

False

Which of the following is something that modern political parties do as effectively as they did in the 1800s?

Fundraising

Independent Expenditures

Funds spent on ad campaigns or other political activities that are run by a party or an outside group without the direct knowledge or approval of a particular candidate for office.

Factional Splits (Faction)

Groups that struggle to control the message within a party; for example, a party may be split into competing regional factions.

Interest Groups

Individuals, corporations, or associations that seek to influence the actions of elected and appointed public officials on behalf of specific companies or causes.

Contract Lobbyists

Lobbyists who work for different causes for different clients, in the same way that a lawyer represents more than one client.

Party Conventions

Meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas.

Soft Money

Money not subject to federal regulation that can be raised and spent by state political parties. A 2002 law banned the use of soft money in federal elections.

Which state has a nonpartisan legislature?

Nebraska

Political Party

Organization that nominates and supports candidates for elected offices.

Political machines encouraged which of the following?

Patronage, corruption, high turnover

Political parties often are the ones to do which of the following?

Plan for future elections and organize government

Super PACs

Political action committees that can spend unlimited funds on behalf of political candidates but cannot directly coordinate their plans with those candidates.

Minority-Party Members

Politicians or officials associated with the party that is out of power, for instance, Democrats in a chamber where the GOP holds the majority of seats.

Candidate-Centered Politics

Politics in which candidates promote themselves and their own campaigns rather than relying on party organizations.

________________ tend to garner support from small business owners and corporations.

Republicans

The 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law placed limits on which of the following?

Soft money

The modern Republican Party tends to have the most support from which of the following regions?

The South

Dealignment

The lack of nationwide dominance by any one political party.

Establishment

The nexus of people holding power over an extended period of time, including top elected officials, lobbyists, and party strategists.

Patronage

The practice of elected officials' or party leaders' handing out jobs to their friends and supporters rather than hiring people based on merit.

Realignment

The switching of popular support from one party to another.

Responsible Party Model

The theory that political parties offer clear policy choices to voters, try to deliver on those policies when they take office, and are held accountable by voters for the success or failure of those policies.

True or false, as political campaigns have become more professionalized, the role of interest groups has increased.

True

True or false, interest groups tend to support incumbents over new candidates for office.

True

True or false, political parties tend to play a larger role at the state level as compared to the national level.

True

Ticket Splitting

Voters' or districts' voting for different parties' nominees for different offices—for instance, supporting a Republican for president while supporting a Democrat for Congress.

Voter Identification

When a voter identifies strongly with one of the major parties, he or she is considered a Democrat or a Republican; many voters, however, are considered weakly aligned with either major party.

State parties have evolved into _____________ organizations.

consulting

Tea Partiers and traditional Republicans disagree about many things. This is known as a ______________.

factional split

Today, the role of political parties in American life can best be described as:

less dominant than in the past

Government tends to be organized on a nonpartisan basis at the _________level.

local

Indirect lobbying involves each of the following EXCEPT ___________________.

meeting personally with a legislator

National parties are really a consortium of _____________.

party chairs

The practice of elected officials giving jobs to political supporters is called __________________.

patronage

A split among an electorate along party lines is known as _____________.

polarization

An election that determines a party's nominees for office is known as a ___________ election.

primary

Direct Lobbying

A form of lobbying in which lobbyists deal directly with legislators to gain their support.

Closed Primary

A nominating election in which only voters belonging to that party may participate. Only registered Democrats can vote in a closed Democratic primary, for example.

Open Primary

A nominating election that is open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliations.

Cause Lobbyist

A person who works for an organization that tracks and promotes an issue, for example, environmental issues for the Sierra Club or gun ownership rights for the National Rifle Association.

General Elections

Decisive elections in which all registered voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates for a political office.

Crossover Voting

Members of one party voting in another party's primary. This practice is not allowed in all states.

Political or Party Machines

Political organizations controlled by small numbers of people and run for partisan ends. In the 19th and 20th centuries, these organizations controlled party nominations for public office and rewarded supporters with government jobs and contracts.

________________ are organizations that nominate and support candidates for elected offices.

Political parties