US GOV Exam 3

Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the

formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.

Prospective voting is characterized by choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.

true

The federal government's licensing of broadcasting was based primarily on Regulation and licensing of broadcasting occurred primarily because

the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies.

Proportional representation systems are those in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to each political party's share of the popular vote.

true

It is impossible to separate the history of democratic government and

political parties

The most important and influential media source for modern election campaigns is

television

Political parties serve to ensure that there is an acknowledgement and celebration of political victories.

false

One of the greatest setbacks to the organizational strength of political parties in the United States was

the direct primary

One of the strongest evidences of a recent party realignment can be seen in the tendency of

the South to vote Republican

The issue of slavery gave birth to the Whig Party as a major political party.

false

The majority of the money to finance political campaigns is the cost of

paying for television ads

Today political campaigns involve a number of influential players. Which of the following are active participants in campaigns? (select all that apply)

campaign consultants

pollsters

media consultants

fundraising specialists

If a PAC spends money to support a particular candidacy

the spending effort cannot be coordinated with the candidate.

The first political parties in the United States started with the differences of political thoughts between

Hamilton and Jefferson

Which of the following is an example of a single-issue party?

Greenback party

Some analysts predict that soon the most important medium of election politics will be

the internet

The winner-take-all system is also known as the________ system.

plurality

According to the text, what is it that "linkage institutions" do?

They connect citizens with government.

Both parties have are making a strong effort to lure ______________________ as a key to their future electoral success.

Hispanic voters

Strong party loyalty can be seen by the number of voters who exercise

straight-ticket voting.

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party.

Retrospective voting

PACs associated with ______________ happen to make up the largest number of PACs.

business

An _________________ is an informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem.

issue network

The water we drink and the air we breathe are an examples of a

collective good

Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for bribery.

false

The advantage that economic groups have over all other interest groups exist because

they have greater access to financial resources

The National Rifle Association as an example of a(n)

single-issue group

The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is pluralist theory.

true

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.

Which of the following defines a purposive incentive?

The satisfaction of contributing to a worthy goal or purpose.

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.

The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?

economic activity

An iron triangle is

a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest.

Interest groups seek to influence the courts by

both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.

The main criticism for Super PACs is for

giving too much influence to the wealthy.

A collective good is one that

cannot be selectively granted or denied to individuals; it belongs to all.

Interest groups do all the following EXCEPT?

addressing a broad and diverse range of public issues

The _________________ exist when individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate.

free-rider problem

The most numerous economic groups are business groups.

true

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.

PACs tend to contribute the most money to incumbents.

true

Which of the following describes a low-choice media system?

Most locations had a single daily newspaper and three television networks—ABC, CBS, and NBC.

Which of the following term describes framing?

The process of selecting certain aspects of reality and then crafting news stories around those aspects.

Which of the following statements about partisan-centered communications is accurate?

Most partisan Internet sites seek to intensify partisan outrage.

The start and proliferation of conservative talk radio started

after the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine.

Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press?

the presidency

The ________________ led editors to substitute news reports for partisan commentary.

telegraph

Objective journalism is based on the idea that the reporter's job is to scrutinize the partisan debate, and inform the news audience about which party has the better argument.

false

Yellow journalism of the late 19th century was characterized by

the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.

Which of the following statements is true?

Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts in a fair manner.

Which of the following is associated with people's exposure to partisan news outlets?

People who have a heavy exposure to partisan news outlets tend to

have greater political interest and engagement.

The signaling function of media is characterized by the

informing the public of breaking events and new developments.

Which of the following is the news media most likely to focus on

events events that are timely

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory oversight over

broadcast radio.

The reason the news product is designed to fascinate as well as to inform is

that news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue to survive.

The news is often an exaggerated picture of reality because it

emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories.

The _____________________ required broadcasters to "afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance."

Fairness Doctrine

More than any other event in history, Watergate demonstrated the

power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power.

Early American newspapers could not have survived without political party support.

true

Priming has occurred when a news viewer expects violent crime to escalate because the evening news starts with a violent crime each night.

true

Political party

an ongoing coalition of interests joined together to get its candidates for public office elected under a common label.

Campaigns are both

party-centered campaigns and candidate-centered campaigns.

Parties are________ ______________ serving to connect citizens with government.

linkage institutions

Party competition

narrows voters' options to two, enabling diverse interests to act in unison.

Hamilton's Federalist Party.

•Focused on strengthening the federal government through national commerce.

•Election defeat in 1800 ended Federalist control.

Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party.

•Focused on small farmers and states' rights advocates.

•Policy differences split the party under Monroe.

•Became the party we know today as the Democratic Party.

Democrats reorganized into a ________ _____________ organized at the local level and open to all citizens.

grassroots party

The slavery issue began to dominate

political competition

Northern-based Republicans won the presidential election of 1860.

Election of Lincoln, who had called for the end of slavery, prompted the southern states to secede from the Union

The two-party system has endured since

the Civil War.

Party realignments

periods of extraordinary change, have typically involved three basic elements:

•Emergence of unusually powerful and divisive issues.

•Election in which voters shift their partisan support.

•Enduring change in the parties' policies and coalitions.

Realignments are rare.

•Civil War—Republicans (the "Union Party") gain control.

•1896—Republicans solidify control.

•1932—Democrats gain control.

Control of the South shifted to the Republicans.

•State governments and House seats have also gone mostly to Republicans.

•Democrats offset southern losses with gains in the North.

•Current realignment has been slow.

•Change is especially seen in the ideological transformation of the Republican Party.

Parties today are

polarized.

Party identification is key.

•Rare for a party nominee to get less than 80 percent of the partisan vote.

Voters who cast a ___________ __________ uniformly support their party’s candidates.

straight ticket

Far less common is split-ticket voting, supporting candidates from both parties.

•Only about 10 percent of voters split their ticket.

For nearly all its history, the United States has had a

two-party system.

Most democracies have a ___________ __________: three or more parties have the capacity to gain control of the government.

multiparty system

American officials are elected by winning a plurality of the votes in

single-member districts.

By comparison, in a proportional representation system legislative seats are allocated according to the party’s share of the popular vote.

•Encourages minor party participation.

Overriding goal of a major American party is to gain power by

getting its candidates elected.

Median voter theorem

•maximizing votes by appealing to the voter whose preferences are between the two parties.

Party coalitions

groups and interests that support a party.`

Gender gap

•exists only between white men and women.

•Hispanic vote will be key in

future

Single-issue parties:

•Free Soil Party.

•Greenback Party.

Reform parties:

•Progressive Party, early 1900s.

•Reform Party, late 1900s.

Factional parties:

•Bull Moose Party (1912).

•States' Rights Party (1948).

•American Independent Party (1968).

Ideological parties:

•Populists, late 1800s.

•Libertarian Party and Green Party today.

Minor (Third) Parties

Single-issue parties

Factional parties

Ideological parties

Reform parties

Democratic and Republican parties have multiple organizational units.

national

state

local

Party organizations

focus on the contesting of elections.

Today, candidates have the

lead role.

Initially party organizations enjoyed nearly complete control of elections—especially, in selecting nominees, who would then share the spoils of office.

•Nomination: the selection of the individual who will run as the party’s candidate.

Party bosses lost their power to __________ _________, which give control of nominations to the voters.

primary elections

Local party organizations.

•95 percent of party activists work at this level.

State party organizations.

•Central committee; chairperson.

•Concentrate on statewide organizational efforts and races.

National party organizations.

•Power largely confined to setting organizational policy.

•Run presidential nomination conventions.

•Major campaign role is raising money.

Changes in the media also contributed to the shift in control of campaigns

away from the parties.