POS2041 Exam #3
Under federal law, PACs can contribute up to ________ per candidate for federal office for a primary election and general election combined.
$10,000
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 to launch a competitive bid for reelection?
$20,000
Under federal law, PACs can contribute up to ________ per candidate for federal office in a primary election.
$5,000
The election of ________ was a realigning election.
1932
The most embarrassing Gallup poll failure in predicting a presidential election was
1948 Truman-Dewey.
Television first appeared as a tool for campaign ads during the
1950s.
Ticket splitting was most recently prominent during which decade?
1970s
PAC contributions account for about ________ of total congressional campaign spending.
20 percent
A properly drawn sample of one thousand individuals has a sampling error of roughly plus or minus
3 percent.
Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ of the popular vote.
40 percent
It is relatively rare for a party nominee to get less than ________ of the partisan vote in a presidential or a congressional race.
80 percent
About ________ of people who regularly listen to National Public Radio do not donate money to their local station.
90 percent
Which of the following groups primarily uses litigation as its lobbying method?
ACLU
The limits of interest groups' use of extreme tactics might be gauged by the congressional Democratic backlash against the ________, which tried to block the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
AFL-CIO
Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party, voting more than 80 percent Democratic in presidential elections?
African Americans
Which of the following states is solidly Republican?
Alabama
A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is the American tradition of free association. the extent of diverse interests in American society. America's federal system of government. the separation of powers in American government.
All of these answers are correct.
During the 20th century, American parties lost their exclusive control over nominations. campaign financing. candidate platforms. the staffing of government jobs.
All of these answers are correct.
Political parties serve to offer citizens a choice in the direction of their government. allow a coalition of common interests join together for a political purpose. offer the public a choice between policies and leaders. bring numerous candidates for office under a common label.
All of these answers are correct.
Sources of polling error can include use of random telephone polling. unrepresentative samples. respondents' lack of knowledge or interest in the issue. question wording.
All of these answers are correct.
Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign? pollsters media consultants fundraising specialists campaign consultants
All of these answers are correct.
Which of the following is true about public opinion polling? Opinion polls are the most relied-upon method of measuring public opinion. Polls can be erroneous at times. Sampling error decreases as the size of the sample increases. Polling accuracy diminishes when respondents are unfamiliar with the issues in question.
All of these answers are correct.
Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single-issue group?
American Conservative Union
Friedrich Engels believed that communism would not take root in the United States because
American workers lacked sufficient class consciousness.
Which of the following is true of Americans' pride in their democracy?
Americans' pride in their democracy has decreased rapidly in recent decades, largely as a result of increasing partisanship.
________ lost the 1964 presidential election in large part because his views were seen as too extreme.
Barry Goldwater
A candidate for which minor party in 1912 managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?
Bull Moose
The Democratic Party's long-time regional stronghold, "the Solid South," stemmed from a realignment during which historical period?
Civil War era
Which of the following statements about party identification is true?
Currently, more people identify as Democrats than as Republicans.
Currently, the greatest percentage of Americans identify as
Democrats or leaning Democrat.
________ was the only Republican elected president from 1932 to 1964.
Dwight Eisenhower
Which of the following states is a competitive state, meaning that it could potentially vote either Democratic or Republican?
Florida
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.
________ warned Americans of the "baneful effects" of factions (political parties) in his 1797 farewell address.
George Washington
Which of the following is an example of a single-issue party?
Greenback Party
Political parties in the United States originated partly as a political feud between
Hamilton and Jefferson.
Which demographic is in particular key to the future of both parties?
Hispanic voters
Which voting demographic, despite being conservative on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, sides heavily with the Democratic Party?
Hispanics
________, a Populist, won six western states in the presidential election of 1892.
James B. Weaver
________ is associated with the Era of Good Feeling.
James Monroe
Which of the following statements about Americans and ideology and political thinking is true?
Most Americans do not demonstrate blind faith in their party of choice.
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.
All of the following use top-two primaries EXCEPT
New York.
Which of the following is true of the relationship between public opinion and shifts in major government policies?
On highly salient and emotional issues in particular, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion.
Which of the following is true of political campaigns and party politics in the United States?
Party organizations are less powerful than they used to be in part because of the rise of television advertising.
What are the two distinguishing characteristics of political socialization?
Political socialization is cumulative, and it is most heavily developed during childhood.
What was especially unusual about the "Era of Good Feeling"?
President Monroe ran unopposed in 1820.
________ representation systems are those in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to each political party's share of the popular vote.
Proportional
Americans who attend religious services at least once a week are most likely to vote for which political party?
Republican
The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ Party as a major political party.
Republican
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
________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party.
Retrospective voting
In 1992, ________ won 19 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election.
Ross Perot
Economist Mancur Olson refers to what aspect of interest groups as "the size factor"?
Small groups are ordinarily more united on policy issues and often have more resources, enabling them to win out more often than large groups.
You are LEAST likely to find a "blue state" in which region?
South
________ does NOT have a competitive multiparty system.
The United States
Which of the following actions by a member of Congress would likely lead Edmund Burke to classify that member as a "trustee"?
The member votes against a resolution declaring war, believing it unwise, despite her constituents having a majority opinion in favor of the war.
The most recent party realignment had a realigning election in ________.
The most recent party realignment had no single realigning election.
Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups?
The opinion of the majority should always prevail, in a policy dispute, over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority.
What condition must be met if a PAC spends money to support a particular candidacy?
The spending effort cannot be coordinated with the candidate.
Which of the following is true of letter writers and demonstrators?
Their opinions tend to be more extreme than those of the population as whole.
How do pluralists counter the argument that well-funded interest groups have more influence on policymaking than other interest groups?
They argue that the system is very open and almost all interests are included.
Which of the following statements is LEAST likely to apply to economic or social liberals?
They believe that government should be used to promote traditional values.
What does it mean when the text suggests that parties are "linkage institutions"?
They connect citizens with government.
Which of the following states is solidly Democratic?
Washington
________ once said that he spent nearly all his adult life in government and yet had never seen a government.
Woodrow Wilson
To have great influence, an outside lobbying group must generally have one of two things: a lot of money or
a committed membership
Which of the following is an interest group more likely to champion than a political party?
a controversial issue
Party identification refers to
a person's sense of loyalty to a political party.
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 selection sample of constituents
The term iron triangle refers to
a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest.
All of the following are characteristic of a party realignment EXCEPT
a very close electoral result.
Which of the following is NOT an interest group function?
addressing a broad and diverse range of public issues
The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns as long as there is no coordination with the candidate.
A general belief about the role and purpose of government is called
an ideology.
In his definition of public opinion, the author states that the politically relevant opinions of private individuals become public opinion when they
are openly expressed.
Local party organizations
are still important, but their role in congressional, statewide, or presidential campaigns is secondary to that of candidates.
In the 1830s, the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the "principle of ________" was nowhere more evident than in America.
association
The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through
both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.
The most numerous economic groups are
business groups.
The largest number of PACs are those associated with
business.
James Carville and Roger Ailes are both examples of
campaign strategists who have earned legendary reputations.
The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ruling held that corporation and union spending on elections
can be unlimited but not coordinated with election campaigns.
Some groups pursue collective goods. A collective good is one that
cannot be selectively granted or denied to individuals; it belongs to all.
Prospective voting is characterized by
choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.
Which of the following would NOT be considered a secondary socializing agent?
church
The second-largest number of PACs are those associated with
citizens' groups.
The air we breathe is an example of a
collective good.
All of the following ideological types are prevalent in the United States EXCEPT
communists.
Which of the following was NOT part of the Republican Party platform in the 2018 midterm elections?
cuts in military spending
Outside lobbying does NOT include
developing and maintaining close contacts with policymakers.
The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?
economic activity
Which of the following ideological types favor government activism in the economic realm?
economic liberals and populists
Journalist Walter Lippmann suggested that
effective government cannot be run by politicians that base their public opinions on poll results.
Students are most likely to hear stories about America's heroes and greatness when they are in
elementary school.
In 20th-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
James Madison argued
for regulation of interests through a governing system of checks and balances.
Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the
formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.
The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called the
free-rider problem.
In terms of party identification, slightly more than half of adults call themselves
fully Republican or Democrat.
Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?
fundamentalist Christians
The accuracy of polling is diminished when respondents
give what they regard as the socially correct response to certain questions even though they think differently.
Super PACs have been criticized primarily for
giving too much influence to the wealthy.
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.
PACs tend to contribute the most money to
incumbents.
Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for
information.
An amicus brief
is a written document in which a group explains to a court its position on a legal dispute the court is handling.
An informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem is a(n)
issue network.
A main difference between iron triangles and issue networks is that
issue networks are generally less stable than iron triangles, in that the members of an issue network may change as the issue develops.
In the dynamics of an iron triangle, what benefit do interest groups provide to friendly government agencies?
lobbying support for agency programs
Historically, dramatic change in party identification is uncommon and is almost always a consequence of
major upheaval.
According to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics, what was roughly the amount spent on lobbying per hour that Congress was in session?
more than $1 million
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's "spiral of silence" theory contends that
most individuals are reluctant to speak out against the dominant opinion.
National party organizations can dictate the day-to-day decisions of
neither local nor state party organizations.
What term do scholars use for a purported opinion offered by a respondent who is unfamiliar with the specific issue?
nonopinion
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.
Negative television campaign ads
now constitute the largest share of political ads.
Roughly how many American workers currently belong to unions?
one in nine
If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that
one or both major parties will absorb its issues, and the minor party will lose support.
Selective perception is primarily a result of
partisanship.
As an agent of political socialization, the American family will likely have its greatest effect on an individual's
party identification.
The main reason for the high cost of American political campaigns is the cost of
paying for television ads.
Which of the following is NOT a primary socializing agent?
peersCorrect
The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is
pluralist theory.
The winner-take-all system is also known as the ________ system.
plurality
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.
Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to
pressure from constituents.
Another name for an interest group is
pressure group.
Which of the following was NOT part of the Democratic Party platform in the 2018 midterm elections?
privatizing social security
At the state level the central committees
provide only general guidance for the state organizations.
Effective inside lobbying is based upon
providing useful and persuasive information to key officials.
A(n) ________ party is a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that partisan politics is having a corrupting influence on government and policy.
reform
"Agency capture" occurs when
regulatory agencies side with the industries they are supposed to regulate rather than with the public.
The most powerful religious force in contemporary American society is the
religious right.
James Madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has, in the modern policy process, actually contributed to the problem by
resulting in greater divisions of power that allow special-interest groups more points of access and outsized influence in the policy process.
The accuracy of a poll is usually expressed in terms of
sampling error.
In general, public opinion
sets limits on government action.
An interest group that focuses on achieving legalization of marijuana at the federal level would be an example of a(n)
single-issue group.
The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between
small farmers and states' rights advocates, and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.
Regarding state party organizations, the day-to-day operation is usually the responsibility of the
state chairperson.
Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?
straight-ticket voting
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, young adults are substantially more likely than senior citizens to support
stronger environmental regulations.
The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ultimately led to the creation of
super PACs.
In recent decades, lobbyists in Washington, D.C., have increasingly
targeted the executive branch in their efforts to influence policy decisions.
The principal medium for election politics is
television.
Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group?
the AARP
The dominant labor interest group is
the AFL-CIO.
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?
the Bush administration's efforts to press the case for war
Some analysts predict that soon the most important medium of election politics will be
the Internet.
The most obvious sign of the party realignment of recent decades has been the strong tendency of
the South to vote Republican.
The citizens of ________ have the largest number of organized interest groups at their disposal.
the United States
Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S. parties?
the direct primary
Negative campaigning in presidential elections was first used in
the early years of the country.
The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is
the existence of single-member election districts.
Why have issue networks become more prevalent?
the increasing complexity of policy problems
A flaw in pluralism theory is the fact that
the interest group system is unrepresentative, because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others.
The society of Northern Ireland is presented by the text as a demonstration of what difference with U.S. society?
the lack of crosscutting between groups
About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at
the local level.
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.
A purposive incentive is defined as
the satisfaction of contributing to a worthy goal or purpose.
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.
Women are less likely than men to favor
the use of force to settle international disputes.
Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S. parties primarily due to
their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Political scientist Theodore Lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that
there is no concept of the public interest in a system that gives special interests the ability to determine the policies affecting them.
Citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that
there is no material incentive for members in their pursuit of the group's goals.
Economic groups have an advantage over noneconomic groups in part because
they have greater access to financial resources.
In an effort to overcome the free-rider problem, noneconomic groups have
used Internet resources and computer-assisted mailing lists to target potential donors.
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.
In acknowledging the dilemma inherent in group activity, James Madison
worried that government would be overly dominated by groups, but recognized that a free society is obliged to permit the advocacy of self-interest.
What demographic is most likely to support the new party during a major party realignment?
younger voters
