Government test 2

proportional representation

a multi-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote. Encourages third-party voting.

open primary

a primary election in which any registered voter can participate in the contest, regardless of party affiliation

closed primary

a primary election in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote

political action committee (PAC)

a private group that raises and distributes and distributes funds for use in election campaigns

presidential Republicanism

a voting pattern in which conservatives vote Democratic for state offices but Republican for presidential candidates.

Dixiecrats

conservative Democrats who abandoned the national Democratic Party due to racial integration in the 1948 presidential election. (third party)

_________ a meeting held by a political party following its precinct conventions, for the purpose of electing delegates to its state convention.

county convention

Tea Party movement

created after Barack Obama's election, a political movement that advocates lower government spending, lower taxes, and limited government. Greater influence in Texas and have tried to influence Republican primary elec-tions.

Voters tend to settle in places with like-minded people so that cities tend to attract more Democrats, and suburban and rural areas tend to attract more Republicans. Our Patchwork Nation book by Dante Chinni and James Gimpel explores this phenomenon nationwide saying _________________________________

explores this phenomenon nationwide, arguing that dif-ferent communities have distinct political characteristics.

Occupy movement

political movement aimed at limiting the influence of Wall Street and big corporations in American politics. Created following government bailouts in 2008

La Raza Unida

political party formed in Texas in order to bring attention to the concerns of Mexican Americans.

One restriction on voting that affected poor people in general during this era was the________

poll tax

_______ the most basic level of political organization at the local level

precinct

________ a meeting held by a political party to select delegates for the county convention and to submit resolutions to the party's state platform;_________ are held on the day of the party's primary election and are open to anyone who voted in that election.

precinct convention

partisan polarization

the degree, in terms of ideology, to which Republicans have become more conservative and Democrats have become more liberal. (more pronounced in the Texas Legislature)

Bundling

the interest group practice of combining campaign contributions from several sources into one larger contribution from the group, so as to increase the group's impact on the candidate

White Flight

the mass exodus of more affluent whites from urban areas to suburban areas

redistricting

the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives in the Texas House, Texas Senate, and U.S. House. This usually happens every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges in existing districts

Nineteenth Amendment

the right to vote in all elections in 1920.

Why don't people vote for third parties?

due to single-member district electoral system

This requirement effectively prevented migrant workers from voting.

early registration - the requirement that a voter register long before the general election; in effect in Texas until 1971

Why might parties at the state level have less power?

"all politics is local," Local issues are usually not ideological in nature. They often deal with who is most effective at creating jobs and keeping districts safe for resi-dents. Partisanship has been less important in running the everyday business of the state.

There are two great exceptions to incum-bency advantage:

(1) scandal can destroy incumbency advantage, and (2) redistricting can ruin the political base of incumbents.

Unlike a private citizen interested in and involved in politics, larger or better-funded interest groups have several advantages: 1. 2. 3. 4.

(1) time; (2) money; (3) expertise; and (4) continuity.

Smith v Allwright

(1935), the Court held there was no violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment requires "equal protection under the law" for individuals of all races. However, the Court said that this requirement applied only to "state action," not action by private groups. Since there was no state law authorizing the white primary, the Court believed there was no "state action," only discrimination by a private organization, the Democratic Party, which is not banned by the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, the Court upheld the white primary until 1944, when, in Smith v. Allwright , it decided that the operation of primary elections involved so much state action and so much public responsibility that the white primary did involve unconstitutional state action.

Primary parties 1. 2. 3.

1. Are the first elections held in an electoral cycle. 2.Held on the second Tuesday in March of even-numbered years. 3.Primary elections determine the party's nominees for the general election.

the early part of the twentieth century, powerful political bosses had eco-nomic power and personal influence over Latino voters. They used this power to support national politicians such as John Nance Garner.

1. Democrat 2. Was the first Speaker in House & Vice president of the US from Texas. 3."vice presidency was not worth more than a bucket of warm spit" 4. His south Texas political base was secured by votes that were controlled by the south Texas political bosses.

Texas Medical Association constructed a grassroots campaign in 1988 to elect its slate of candidates to the Texas Supreme Court. 1. 2. 3. The effort by the medical association was remarkable for its fund-raising success and for its reaching and mobilizing the grass roots.

1. Physicians were encouraged to give to TEXPAC, the medical association PAC and individual contributions to certain candidates. 2.Physicians were given slate cards with recommended candidates, literature endorsing candidates, and even expensively produced videotapes. 3.Encourage families, friends, patients to vote for the candidates endorsed.

The qualifications to register to vote in Texas A voter must be 1. 2. 3. 4.

1. eighteen years of age 2. a U.S. citizen 3. a resident of Texas for 30 days 4. a resident of the county for 30 days felons who have not completed their sentences cannot vote.

General election 1. 2.

1. the election in which voters cast ballots to select public officials. Ex) Major state officials (governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller of public accounts, attorney general, 2.The general election is held the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

Generally, incumbents have a huge advantage over challengers in an election.

1.Officeholders, they usually have greater name recognition than challengers 2. it is easy for incumbents to get publicity by holding town hall meetings,announcing the relocation of new businesses to the dis-trict, or simply by attending community events. 3.They usually have an established network of supporters who helped them get into office at least once previously.

1. Providing a label that helps voters identify those seek-ing office is an important function of (p. 107) a) the state. b) political parties. c) interest groups. d) regional and subregional governments. e) the president. 2. The process by which political parties become more distant from each other in terms of ideology is (p. 108) a) partisan convergence. b) partisan polarization. c) partisan conventions. d) partisan equilibrium. e) partisan deliverance. 3. All of the following groups constitute the Democratic Party base in Texas except (p. 110) a) business leaders. b) Latinos. c) African Americans. d) white liberals. e) urban residents. 4. Which minority group is the fastest growing in Texas? (p. 111) a) African Americans b) Latinos c) Asian Americans d) Native Americans e) All are growing equally. 5. In the state of Texas, the highest level of temporary party organization is the (p. 112) a) state convention. b) state executive committee. c) governor's convention. d) civil executive committee. e) speaker's committee. 6. Which of the following third parties and movements had the most success in winning elections in post-World War II Texas? (pp. 114-15) a) La Raza Unida Party b) The Occupy movement c) The Green Party d) The Kinky Friedman movement e) The Constitution Party

1.b 2.b 3.a 4.b 5.a 6.a

1. The "8F Crowd" (p. 163) a) was a group of legislators who failed the eighth grade. b) was a group of extremely wealthy Texans who met in Suite 8F of the Lamar Hotel in Houston and con-trolled Texas politics for 40 years. c) were 25 legislators who boycotted the eighth session of the legislature in order to prevent the legislators from taking any action because it lacked a quorum. d) was made up of eight lobbyists who were close friends of the governor. e) were the eight most powerful officials in the state who met in Suite F of the Austin State Office Building. 2. Interest groups provide public officials with all the fol-lowing except (p. 164) a) information. b) money. c) media coverage. d) votes. e) committee assignments. 3. The goals of interest groups include all except (pp. 164-65) a) electing people to office in order who support the groups' goals. b) influencing those who control government. c) educating the public and members about issues of importance to the group. d) providing campaign funds for favored candidates. e) maintaining a heterogeneous membership. 4. Interest groups have an advantage over individuals in influencing policy because interest groups usually have (pp. 164-65) a) more time to influence officials. b) greater expertise than individuals. c) more money to influence elections. d) more staff. e) all of the above. 5. When PACs combine small contributions from many sources to form one large contribution, it is called a) bundling. b) compacting. c) cracking. d) polling. e) packing. 6. The most important thing interest groups need to be effective is (p. 166) a) the support of a majority of Texans. b) office space in Austin. c) a variety of issues on which to lobby. d) a large, paid staff. e) access to politicians. 7. Trial lawyers are which type of interest group? a) professional group. b) public employee group. c) single-issue group. d) consumer group. e) business group. 8. Interest groups often hire former legislators as lobby-ists to (p. 167) a) gain greater access to current legislators. b) benefit from the policy expertise of former legislators. c) benefit from the personal "insider" knowledge of the former legislator. d) all of the above. e) none of the above. 9. Lobbying takes place in the (p. 169) a) legislative branch only. b) legislative and executive branches only. c) executive and judicial branches. d) time immediately before an election. e) legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

1.b. 2.e. 3.e. 4.e. 5.a. 6.e. 7.a. 8.d. 9.e.

1. In a primary election, (p. 135) a) voters choose all local officials who will hold office in the following year. b) voters select federal officials for office. c) voters select their party's candidate for a general election. d) voters choose third-party candidates. e) voters cast ballots on proposed constitutional amendments. 2. Which of the following is not a type of election found in Texas? (pp. 135-36) a) general b) primary c) distinguished d) special e) runoff primary 3. Officially, Texas has a (p. 136) a) joint primary. b) extended primary. c) open primary. d) closed primary. e) jumbled primary. 4. The first Tuesday following the first Monday in Novem-ber of even-numbered years is the day for which election? (p. 136) a) primary election b) runoff primary c) runoff for the general election d) secondary election e) general election 5. When are gubernatorial elections held? (p. 136) a) during presidential election years b) during odd-numbered years c) during even-numbered years that are not presidential election years. d) every year e) every six months

1.c 2.c 3.d 4.e. 5.c

Poll Tax- 1. 2.

1.state-imposed tax on voters as a prerequisite for voting. 2.Poll taxes were rendered unconstitutional in national elections by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment

10. Lobbyists are (p. 172) a) all corrupt. b) all unethical. c) important sources of information for legislators. d) harmful to the democratic process. e) never retired legislators. 11. In Texas, the most powerful interest groups represent which interests? (p. 172) a) consumer b) civil rights c) business d) owners of oil wells e) public employee 12. PACs are used to (pp. 172-73) a) stir the public's interest in politics. b) raise money from individuals, which is then bundled and given to candidates c)create media campaigns to influence the course of government. d) create grass-roots campaigns. e) all of the above. 13. One of the most important grassroots tactics of inter-est groups is (p. 173) a) gain support from all the mayors of town in a district. b) to get out the vote. c) to form political alliances with executive and legisla-tive leaders. d) to lobby the judicial branch of national and state government. e) to interpret the needs of their members. 14. Interest groups have a hard time defeating incumbent legislators unless (p. 174) a) the legislator is involved in scandal. b) the legislator has been redistricted. c) the legislator's positions have generated over-whelming opposition in the district. d) all of the above. e) none of the above.

10.c. 11.c. 12.e. 13.b. 14.d.

11. Which of the following is not true? (p. 125) a) Cities in Texas have become more Democratic. b) Cities in Texas are dominated by third parties. Issues in Texas Party Politics c) Rural areas of Texas are solidly Republican. d) Texas soburbs contain pockets of both Democrats and Republicans. e) Democrats dominate elections in Dallas County. 12. African Americans in Texas (p. 127) a) tend to cast their votes for Democrats. b) are a large part of the Republican base. c) vote mainly for independent candidates. d) make up less than 10 percent of the population. e) split their votes evenly between the Democratic and Republican parties.

11.b. 12.a.

11.The distinguishing feature of the 2010 and 2012 cam-paigns in Texas was (p. 153) a) the increased presence of third party candidates. b) the lack of emphasis on state issues. c) the candidates' focus on the state budget. d) the unusually low levels of money spent on media ads. e) the candidates' focus on welfare reforms. 12. The traditional start of the campaign season is (p. 153) a) Memorial Day. b) Labor Day. c) Christmas. d) Thanksgiving. e) Veterans Day. 13. Who is the first Republican to become Texas governor since Reconstruction? (p. 155) a) William Clements b) Rick Perry c) George W. Bush d) Ann Richards e) Kinky Friedman 14. The most costly item for most political campaigns is (p. 156) a) travel. b) security. c) fundraising. d) media. e) food. 15. In 2002, David Dewhurst's ad in the Texas Monthly featuring German veterans hurt in his campaign for which office? (p. 156) a) state Senate b) U.S. Senate c) lieutenant governor d) governor e) attorney general

11.b. 12.b. 13.a. 14.d. 15.c.

Individuals have the best chance to influence public policy when they (p. 175) a) are not opposed by organized interest groups. b) are polite. c) entertain legislators. d) vote. e) live in Austin.

15.a.

Shivercrat movement

1950s in conservative Democrats in Texas supported Republican candidate Dwight Eisenhower for the presidency because many of those conservative Democrats believed that the national Democratic Party had become too liberal.

6. Which of the following is true? (p. 139) a) Poll taxes are legal. b) Women acquired the right to vote in the original 1876 Texas Constitution. c) The poll tax restricted the participation of poor people in the general election. d) You do not have to be a resident of Texas to vote in Texas. e) Latinos vote at higher rates than African Americans. 7. In which of the following elections is voter turnout the highest? (p. 144) a) presidential elections b) gubernatorial general elections c) city elections d) runoff elections e) off-year congressional elections 8. The two most important factors in determining whether someone will vote are (p. 145) a) income and education. b) education and family history of voting. c) income and gender. d) party membership and gender. e) ethnicity and race. 9. Who has benefited the most from early voting? (p. 146) a) Republicans b) Democrats c) All parties have benefited equally d) Independents e) Greens 10. The procedure by which certain states, such as Texas, are required to obtain approval every time they make changes to districts is called (p. 152) a) redistricting. b) reapportionment. c) preclearance. d) external validation. e) judicial review

6.c. 7.a. 8.a. 9.a. 10.c.

7. The Shivercrat movement was (p. 118) a) a group of conservative Democrats in Texas who supported Eisenhower for president. b) a group of liberal Democrats who supported equal rights for all Americans. c) a group of conservative Republicans who rejected the Obama administration. d) a group of liberal Republicans who rejected the Bush administration. e) a group of Libertarians. 8. In Texas, the Republican Party became the dominant party in (p. 122) a) the 1950s. b) the 1960s. c) the 1970s. d) the 1980s. e) the 1990s. 9. Blue Dog Democrats were (p. 123) a) northeastern Democrats with conservative views. b) southern Democrats with liberal views. c) southern Democrats with conservative views. d) northern Democrats with liberal views. e) western Democrats with liberal views. 10. Presidential Republicanism refers to which of the following? (p. 118) a) Texans voting for Republican local candidates b) Texans voting for Republican presidents and Demo-crats for state offices c) Texans voting for Republican presidents and Repub-licans for state offices d) Texans voting for Democratic local candidates e) Texans voting for third-party candidates at all levels

7.a. 8.d. 9.c. 10. b.

Book called Divided by Color, Donald Kinder and Lynn Sanders show that the views of ________________________ They are usually more liberal than ____ on political issues.

African Americans and whites are remark-ably different on issues ranging from the death penalty to affirmative action Whites

Even with the Smith decision, at least one Texas county held unofficial primaries by the Jaybird Party . This was a Democratic political organization that

African Americans. The winners in the Jaybird primary then entered the regular Democratic Party primary, in which they were never defeated for county office and where they seldom had opposition. In Terry v. Adams , the U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled that the Jaybird primary was an integral, and the only effective, part of the elective process in the county. Thus, the Fifteenth Amendment (which deals with the right to vote) was applicable, and the white "preprimary" primary of the Jaybird Party was ruled unconstitutional.

Conservative Democrats, also known as___________

Blue Dog Democrats

Biggest down fall for Dewhurst

Cruz accused Dewhurst of being a moderate and a tax raiser, a toxic accusation in Texas.

Most Texas_______ today would be classified as liberal. The party's base is made up of African Americans, Latinos, and white liberals in urban areas. Most white liberals are located in ____, ____, ____, and _____.

Democrats, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio

Whites in Texas strongly oppose this policy.

Dream Act

With the defeat of the Republican governor _______________, Texas entered a period of____________________

Edmund J. Davis in 1873, Democratic dominance that would last for over a century.

Biggest Lobbying Expenditures

Energy/natural resources, health

Revolving door

Forty Perry aides either have left the administration to become lobbyists or have joined the administration after having been lobbyists. Some have moved back and forth from administration to lobbying in a revolving door fashion.

Texas's large ______ popula-tion, which currently at 38 percent of the state's population. They are mainly ______ party.

Hispanic, Democratic

Special elections

In Texas, special elections are used to fill vacancies in office, to give approval to borrow money, or to ratify or reject amendments to the Texas Constitution.

Another problem with lobbying

Legislators are rubbing shoulders with . . . lobbyists, almost all of whom hustle for business interests. While corporate interests dominate our legislative process, there is virtually no counterbalancing lobby to represent ordi-nary Texans.

Most __________ support DREAM Act___________________________

Most Latinos support the DREAM Act, a policy that would allow undocumented students who serve in the military or graduate from college to become citizens.

Nowhere on the list of Texas's biggest lobby spenders will you find a single group dedicated to the interests of consumers, the environment or human services.

No wonder these citizen interests repeatedly get steamrolled in Austin." Although the categories in both are very broad, it is clear that business interests dominate Texas government.

Functions of political parties in Texas

One of the most important functions of political parties is to select candidates to run for office under the party label. Done through primary elections.

What made the white primary restriction work for Democrats during this era was the fact that Texas was a one-party state, where elections were decided in the Democratic Party primary.

One party Democrat

Former governor Ann Richards received support from the

PAC EMILY's List early in her career. EMILY's List is a national organization that provides campaign funding to female candidates.

Describe the role of PACs in Texas elections?

Political action committees are private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns. Interest groups play a major role in getting out the vote. Interest group money can play a major role in defeating as well as electing candidates.

requiring any changes to election procedures or district lines to be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. district court for columbia

Preclearance

Most whites in the state have settled into the _________, and because whites turn out to vote at much higher rates than Latinos, who are the fastest growing minority group in the state,

Republican Party

"steak men."

Sam Rayburn he was especially concerned with corruption and refused to accept free meals and entertainment from lobbyists. By that he meant that the legislators would sell their votes on a bill for a steak dinner at the Driskill Hotel in Austin.

Duverger's Law

Single Member, the observation that in a single-member district system of electing representatives, a two-party system will emerge. third party vote doesn't win.

Tide lands

Stevenson opposed the Texas position on the Tidelands, offshore lands claimed by both Texas and the national government, which were believed to contain oil.

It was probably the most successful get-out-the-vote campaign ever run by an interest group in Texas.

Texas Medical Association and TEXPAC, the medical association PAC

Women's suffrage

The fight for the women's right to vote. 1.William P. Hobby, proved a key supporter of women's right to vote. It was Governor Hobby who called the legislature into special session in 1919 to the Nineteenth Amen. 2.Thus Texas became the ninth state and the first state in the South to ratify the women's suffrage amendment. of the most influ-ential politicians in the state were opposed to the franchise for women. 3.Joseph Weldon Bailey,- Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, informal Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate opponent of women's suffrage , arguing that women could not vote because they could not perform the three basic duties of citizenship: jury service, posse comitatus service (citizens who are deputized to deal with an emergency), and military service. He believed that women's morals dictated their beliefs and that women would force their beliefs on men.

Labor Day

The traditional start of the campaign season is

T or F While soft money cannot be used by political parties to support federal candidates, it can be used for "party building" activities.

True

T or F. Democrats controlled the Texas House until 2002

True

T or F: Sixty-nine percent of Texas Latinos are American citizens by birth

True

T or F Texas laws require voter approval before any governmental agency in Texas can borrow money and undertake long-term debt. If true, what would this term be called?

True, special elections

T or F In 2010, 65 registered lobbyists were former legislators.

What they have in com-mon is knowledge of "how to pass bills, to kill them, whom to talk to, which clerks are friendly, whose birthdays are coming up—all inside stuff that makes the gov-ernment machine whir."

single-member district

an electorate that is allowed to elect only one representative for each district

Lobbyist

an individual employed by an interest group who tries to influence governmental decisions on behalf of that group

interest group

an organization established to influence the government's programs and policies

African Americans are

are concentrated in east Texas and in the major urban areas, and repre-sent only 11 or 12 percent of the state's population and are usually democrats.

Have greater name recognition than challengers

incumbent

Is the current officeholder

incumbent

issue advocacy

independent spending by individuals or interest groups on a campaign issue but not directly tied to a particular candidate.

In 2008, about 55 percent of the money given to Democratic and Republican legislative candi-dates was given by PACs. About 45 percent of the money was given by _______.

individuals.

Early voting

is a procedure that increases the polling period from 12 hours on Election Day to an additional two weeks prior to the election. The legislature has allowed early voting in an effort to increase participation. For most elections, early voting commences on the 17th day before the elections and ends four days prior to Election Day.

One of the Republican Party's great weak-nesses is ____________

its lack of support among Latinos

Biggest weakness in the Republican Party.

lack of support among Latinos, Democrats hope to mobilize Latinos, who constitute nearly 40 percent of the state's population, to encourage them to vote.

In March 2012 there were 1,377 registered lobbyists in Texas.

lobbyists provide information, campaign contributions, and political support (or opposition) rather than bribes.

Lobbyists in Texas represent

mostly business interests, and they are active in trying to gain access to government officials and inform them of the legislative desires of their client

political socialization

occurs throughout our early years, when our parents, reli-gious leaders, teachers, and others influence our partisan identifications.

The temporary organization of the party includes the __________s. The main role of it is to select delegates to the _________ , after electing delegates in that convention they go to the highest level ___________.

precinct conventions, county conven-tion, State Convention

The terms by which Texas must comply with the Voting Rights Act further com-plicated the situation. Section 5 of the act requires that any changes to election procedures, including the drawing of new district lines, must go through the process of _________________.

preclearance

White primary

primary election in which only white voters are eligible to participate

reapportionment

process that takes place every 10 years to determine how many congressional seats each state will receive, depending on population shifts

If no candidate receives an absolute majority, there is a second primary election called ________ generally held the second Tuesday in April between the two candidates receiving the most votes.

runoff primary

__________ a party meeting held every two years for the purpose of nominating candidates for statewide office, adopting a platform, electing the party's leadership, and in presidential election years selecting delegates for the national convention and choosing presidential electors

state convention

"Soft money" contributions -

they are given to political parties for purposes other than supporting candidates for federal office. Unlike hard money contributions, there are no limits on the amounts of soft money that can be given by individuals to political parties.

Toxic Accsation

to China. Cruz accused Dewhurst of being a moderate and a tax raiser, a toxic accusation in Texas.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

was a piece of legislation initially aimed at ensuring that African Americans were not discriminated against at the polls.

Motor voter law is _________________, is one factor in increased registration.

which allows individuals to register to vote when apply-ing for or renewing driver's licenses

presidential electors

will formally cast the state's electoral votes for the president in the electoral college. Chosen at the state convention.

The issue of lobbying by former officials and their staffs is a significant one, as there is concern that policy decisions may be made _________________________.

with an eye toward future lucrative lobbying jobs.