Parties and Interest groups (Chapter 11)

Social protest tactics are frequently used by interest groups when

they have more members than money

Starting in the 1960s, a group that abandoned the New Deal coalition for the Republican Party were

Southern Democrats

An important consequence of the revolving door in American politics is that

lobbyists ad politicians are frequently well-known to each other

Parties are especially useful in the American political system because they can

coordinate activity across both branches and levels of government

Social protest tactics have been used most effectively by

the civil rights movement

Opponents of issue advocacy advertisements criticize them because they

are thinly veiled campaign ads

Program monitoring by interest groups is important in part because it

holds bureaucrats and other politicians accountable for their behavior

Pluralists would likely argue that the most important role of interest groups is

participation

Since party activists are more likely to participate in primaries than the average party identifier,

the likely winner of most Democratic primaries will be more liberal than the average voter

A major advantage of the patronage system for machine politicians is that it

secures a small army of campaign workers for them

Due to the positions that they take on issues, party activists usually push the ideological positions that their party's candidates take toward the middle of the ideological spectrum.

false

High-powered lobbying groups would probably take advantage of ______ to ensure that they maintain an elevated level of access to Congress.

the revolving door

Despite what the responsible party model states that they should be, American party platforms are often

compromises between competing factions within the same party

Direct lobbying can be aimed at all three major branches of the federal government.

true

According to the pluralists, politicians are most interested in dealing with ______.

groups

Just as pluralists would predict, parties are important in democracies because they ______.

serve as linkage institutions between citizens and their government

Based on what Barbour and Wright argue about the importance of money to interest groups, a chronic lack of financial resources almost certainly guarantees an interest group's failure because ______.

it would not be able to hire staff and professional assistance to help it accomplish its goals

In contrast to James Madison in Federalist No. 10, Barbour and Wright maintain that political parties

are essential to a healthy democracy

An implication of Barbour and Wright's discussion of the forces that drive apart and push together American political parties ideologically is that

statewide candidates will probably be more moderate than candidates in smaller districts

Divided government and incremental realignment are both characteristics of

the sixth party era

Over the past several decades, party identification has tended to become stronger and more widespread in American politics.

false

One similarity between lobbying Congress and lobbying the executive branch is that both are

subject to the revolving door phenomenon

The ideological differences between the major American political parties are wider than those observed in most other industrialized democracies.

false

Elitist democrats would aver that, in contrast to what the responsible party model states should happen, American political candidates

run and finance their own campaigns

Large portions of the responsible party model do not apply to the American party system very well.

true