Unit 4
Upper income
A member of which of the following demographic groups would be least likely to support a Democratic candidate for president?
Parties provide voters with a wider variety of candidates than would be the case if political parties
A political party serves all of the following functions in the American political system EXCEPT:
pluralist
According to theorists, interest groups compete and counterbalance one another in the political marketplace.
selecting candidates to run for office
All of the following are commonly used by interest groups to influence public policy EXCEPT:
1960
All of the following are generally seen by political scientists as critical, realigning elections EXCEPT:
Courts of Appeals
All of the following may be called "linkage institutions" EXCEPT:
Raising issues the other parties won't
All of the following obstacles of 3rd parties winning elections except:
because most of the American electorate is centrist
American political parties tend to take middle-of-the-road stands on major issues
a written argument submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case
An amicus curiae brief is
try to place their members in public office
An important difference between political parties and interest groups is that interest groups usually do NOT
enacted in 2002, constituted the first major revision of campaign finance law. Bans soft money contributions to the national political parties.
Bipartisan campaign reform act (2002)
challenged most of the provisions in the Federal Elections Campaign Act
Buckley v. Valeo
have increased more dramatically than any other category of PACs.
Business PACs
A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Supreme Court rejected longstanding ban unions and corporations using their general funds on ads about the election or defeat of a candidate.
Citizens united v. FEC
When groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties
Critical elections in the United States typically have occurred:
A company owning a newspaper and television station in the same market
Cross-Ownership refers to:
the process whereby a large portion of electorate abandons its previous partisans affiliation without developing a new one to replace it.
Dealignment
a decline in both parties and an increase in independents.
During most of the past forty years, the trends in party identification in the United States have been
wealthy groups exercise a disproportionate degree of power.
Elitist theorists argue that
An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.
Free rider
addressed issues and suggested remedies that were being ignored by the major parties
In U. S. history, third parties often have been effective vehicles for change when they:
in-depth reporting on the issues on which the candidates disagree
In a congressional race, the news media are LEAST likely to focus on
less likely than older individuals to follow the news using television, newspaper, and radio
Individuals aged 24 and under are
providing specialized information
Lobbyists are most useful to members of Congress in providing the service of:
soft money contributions made directly to their campaigns
Lobbyists provide members of Congress all of the following EXCEPT:
more likely to win reelection
Most PAC money goes overwhelmingly to incumbents because incumbents
giving money and other political aid to politicians. Persuading office holders to act or vote the right way on issues. A registered organization that donates money to campaigns and causes
PAC
PACs give more money to Republicans, thus giving the party an unfair advantage.
PAC money is controversial for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
There is a shift in voter support from one party to another
Party realignment occurs when:
Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support
Patronage
television or internet
People get most of their news from
dealignment
People gradually moving away from both parties is referred to as
May contribute up to $5,000 for a candidate
Political Action Committees (PACs):
organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices
Political Parties
the attempts of handlers to prevent favorable accounts of events
Political Spin means:
enforcing rigid adherence to their policy positions.
Political parties perform all of the following tasks EXCEPT
Liberals
Polls show that reporters, in both print and broadcast journalism, consider themselves:
the president receives more coverage than Congress.
Regarding the amount of news coverage each gets on the network news,
Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.
Revolving Door
declined
Since 1960, newspaper circulation has:
divided government
Since 1968, American politics has largely been characterized by
include members with narrow interests.
Single-issue groups
short clips of a political speech.
Sound bites are
type of organization that can receive unlimited money from individuals , unions, and corporations. Independent expenditure only and cannot coordinate with the candidate running for office
Super PACs
President increasing communication through the White House press secretary
The "electronic throne" refers to all of the following except?
Gave citizens the right to inspect unprotected government documents
The Freedom of Information Act passed in 1967:
pluralism
The concept that the American political process is dominated by the struggle of multiple interest groups each trying to advance its own political goals can best be described as
potential members of a group failing to join the actual group, as they know they will receive the same benefits whether they are active members or not
The free-rider problem refers to
local party organizations that controlled government and politics during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
The phrase "political machines" describes
a list of priorities to which government officials address their time and energies.
The policy agenda is
corporations
The type of interest group that is LEAST LIKELY to give money to Democratic candidates is
voting for one party for one office, and another party
Ticket-splitting refers to:
are policy generalists.
Unlike interest groups, political parties
party loyalty
Voting a straight ticket reflects
stories that will draw the largest audience
When journalists select stories to cover, the overriding bias is toward
political parties
Which is a linkage institution?
Candidates now raise most of their campaign funds themselves and do not heavily rely on funds from their party.
Which is a reason the power of the two major parties is in decline in the United States?
United Auto Workers (UAW)
Which of the following PACs probably donated more heavily to Democrats than to Republicans?
the founders believe that political parties are divisive and hoped they would not form in the new nation
Which of the following best describes the attitude of most of the founders toward the development of political parties?
influencing rules and regulations of federal agencies
Which of the following is NOT one of the basic interest group strategies in America?
Since the legislature is dominated by one party and the presidency by another, the resulting "gridlock" means that government business is significantly slowed down.
Which of the following is an important consequence of "divided government"?
Controlling the flow of information by the use of a Press Secretary
Which of the following represents the most effective way for a president to manage news coverage?
Lobbyists may provide gifts and trips for legislators
Which statement about lobbying and lobbyists is not true?
those usually formed around a strong personality. may disappear when leaders step aside
candidate centered third party
A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.
caucus
A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote
closed primary
A person who serves in the lawmaking body called congress
congressman
win elections
core function of a political party
serves as the basis of realignment
critical elections
involve voters and reduce power of the bosses, reduces power of political parties
direct primary
always a possibility in a system where the president and numbers of congress are chosen separately.
divided government
mass mailing, litigation, mass media, boycotting, electioneering, and lobbying
effective tactics of interest groups
A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.
elite theory
NRA
example of single issue interest group
AMA
example of traditional interest group
spread, size, organizational structure, leadership, and resources
factors that make interest groups strong
television, radio, newspaper, internet
forms of mass media
influence public policy, get legislation passed to benefit their members, and successful because constituency is narrow but costs are spread among population. gain access to sympathetic policymakers
fundamental goals of interest groups
to get government action on one overriding issue
goal of a single issue interest group
promote economic interests of its members
goal of a traditional interest group
to rotes the status of its members and convince government to take action
goal of an equality interest group
convince government to implement policies that are consistent with their philosophies
goal of ideological interest group
to bring out good policy for society as a whole
goal of public interest interest groups
Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.
hard money
news coverage that focuses on who is ahead rather than on the issues
horse race journalism
those based on a particular set of social, political, or economic beliefs
ideological interest groups
Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.
independent expenditures
private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy
interest groups
called interest groups factions. his dilemma was allowing people to the liberty to form groups and express their views could destroy the hope for an orderly American society.
interest groups according to james madison
news reports that hunt out and expose corruption, particularly in business and government
investigative journalism
A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group
iron triangle
promoting a particular position or issue paid for by interest groups or individuals, but not candidates
issue advocacy
The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
linkage institutions
attempting to influence the decisions of policymakers. interest group lobbying is generally most effective on narrow technical issues that are not well publicized
lobbying
A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.
lobbyist
provide cues for voters, raise and spend campaign funds, support candidates campaigns, register and mobilize voters, provide a platform of issues, recruit candidates for government office, provide patronage, and organize the competition by designing candidates to run under their label.
major functions of political parties
in American politics, the Republican and the Democratic parties
major party
Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication.
mass media
ideological, social issue, and candidate centered
minor (third) parties
media providing the public with new information about subjects of public interest
news media
A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place
open primary
official statement of party policy
party platform
The theory that many interest groups compete for power in a large number of policy areas.
pluralist theory
the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues
policymaking institutions
A ballot vote in which citizens select a party's nominee for the general election.
primary
Candidate gets same percentage of electoral votes as popular vote.
proportional system
refers to sharp changes in issues, party leaders. The regional and demographic bases of power on the two parties and the structure result in new political power.
realignment
The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.
selected perception
The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.
selective exposure
parties that concentrate on a single public policy matter.
single-issue groups
included among groups concerned primarily with social issues are organizations devoted to civil rights, racial and ethnic matters, religion, and public interest protection
social interest groups
Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.
soft money
Interest groups hiring ex-government officials to work as lobbyists in Washington
the revolving door is a practice of
the same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress
unified government
an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins
winner-take-all system
