6-10 – Flashcard
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The textbook discusses three important agents that can socialize Americans to participate in the political process. What are they?
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The media, the schools, and the family.
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To what do political scientists attribute the relatively restrained scope of government activities in the US compared to most European nations?
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the predominance of conservative thinking in America
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Which value most accurately describes the number of adult Americans who voted in the presidential election of 2012?
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1/2 of adult American citizens
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What was the median age of viewers of CBS, ABC, and NBC news programs in 2010?
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62
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What technique is the key to the accuracy of public opinion polls?
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Random Sampling
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According to decades of survey data, which ideological label do more Americans choose for themselves?
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conservative
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"Letter from a Birmingham Jail," penned by Martin Luther King Jr., in 1963, is a classic defense of which form of political protest?
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Civil disobedience
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Which Republican president called for the government to "get off the backs of the American people"?
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Ronald Reagan
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What is the effect of aging on political participation?
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Aging increases political participation
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Because of the fact that younger people are less likely to participate in the political process by voting, who is more likely to be overrepresented at the polls?
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Conservatives
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The textbook classifies political participation into two broad types. What are they?
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Conventional political participation and unconventional political participation
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Reapportionment occurs once a decade, after every sentence. Why?
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to reallocate seats in the House of Representatives, based on each state proportion of the population
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Which of the following statements about the influence of education on political attitudes and behavior is false?
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Less educated citizens are more likely to vote than better educated citizens
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Consider the effects of growing older on political behavior. What aspects of political behavior increase as people age
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political participation and strength of party attachment
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Of the following statements about the 1936 Literary Digest poll, which predicted Roosevelt's defeat for reelection, which is true?
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The poll oversampled the upper middle class and the wealthy
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Which of these statements aligned with Jacobs and Shapiro's research on how politicians use public opinion polls?
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Politicians use public opinion polls to identify the public policy have the broadest popular appeal
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What is the "paradox of mass politics", according to Russell Newman?
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That the American political system works so well despite the public's lack of knowledge about politics
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Of the following forms of political participation, which is more likely than the others to be classified as non conventional?
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Staging a sit in
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Alice is an 83 year old resident of Oregon. She voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and again in 2012. Alice hopes that the next US president will be a woman and she plans to be around to vote for her. Given what you know about age in relation to voter turnout, will Alice be likely to vote in 2014, when she will be 85?
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Alice would be likely to vote in 2014, unless the infirmities of old age make it too hard for her to cast a ballot
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Which of the following statements would accurately tell Franny how to tell a liberal from a conservative?
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Liberals are more likely than conservatives to envision a wide scope for the central government, often involving policies that aim to promote equality
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In a random sample of 1,000 high school students, 29 percent indicated that they had read the Declaration of Independence at least once. if the margin of error is calculated to be 4 percent, which of the following statements is more likely than the others to be true?
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95 percent of the time, the percentage of those questioned who have read the Declaration of Independence would likely be between 25 and 33 percent.
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Arturo is a 62 year old American who holds the following political opinions: he favors more spending on the military, opposing investing Social Security funds in stocks and bonds, favors free market solutions to America's debt and deficit challenges, and opposes affirmative action. Given what you know about political ideologies and how younger and older Americans compare on issues, which of the following opinions would you expect Arturo also to hold?
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To oppose the marriage of gay and lesbian couples.
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The ideological gap between men and women is evident at the polls, where women are more likely than men to cast their ballots for which type of candidate?
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Democratic candidates who support higher levels of spending on social services as opposed to spending on the military
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When do blacks participate more in politics than whites?
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When their levels of education ore equal to those of whites
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One of the various ways in which parties contribute to democratic governance is by _____.
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Nominating Candidates
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Which statement best describes the functioning of party machines in the late 19th and 20th centuries?
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Parties provided jobs to urban electorates in exchange for votes and kickbacks
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What best explains the demise of city patronage systems in the early 20th century.
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Progressive reforms and ethnic integration
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How are third political parties usually significant?
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They bring new voters into the electorate
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What must precede a major - party realignment?
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A critical election
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One of the important purposes of the "Contract with America" and the more recent "A Pledge to America" was to _____.
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Make politics user friendly to voters
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The official, though ambiguously written, party ____ is/are ratified by delegates and leaders at the national party convention every four years but given little serious attention.
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Platform
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The voters most likely to engage in ticket splitting are _______.
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Independent
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What changed in the demographic of the New Deal coalition after nearly four decades of political control?
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Southern whites began to defect from the Democrats to the Republicans
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What is the most notable characteristic of state party systems in the US
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They are all different
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Who is included in the "party in the electorate"?
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Voters loyal to/identify with one of the two major parties
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Party realignments are rare and cataclysmic events in American political history. According to your text, when did the last one occur?
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1968
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The years 1860-1928 saw the ascendancy of which party
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Republicans
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The US National chairpersons for the Republicans and the Democrats recently agreed that their biggest headache was ______.
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raising money
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A _____ often requires voters to declare party affiliation on their voter registration forms, which for political parties is something akin to the go collecting information for them about who likes their product.
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closed primary
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Richard Nixon's ______ is widely credited with starting the march to the Republican Party in this former Democratic stronghold
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Southern Strategy
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What major concern did the 2000 presidential election between Gore and Bush highlight regarding the role of third parties?
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third parties' spoiler role in elections
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The "Which Party Governs Better?" box suggests that more than half of American voters are ____ the representation they receive from the two major political parties in the United States.
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dissatisfied with
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When can a party change it's platform?
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during the national party convention
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Why does the US have a two party system?
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It developed in the struggle between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans
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According to Figure 8.1, The Downs Model, Republican and Democratic candidates have to be more ______ in their positions to win the votes of their party's base.
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Moderate
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The Tea Party in the Blue Dog Democrats are similar in that they are both splinter groups off one or two major political parties and that they are both _____.
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Ideologically more conservative than the mainstream of their party
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If you are a Democrat or Republican Party operative trying to attract voters who identify with third party candidate, what might be your best strategy?
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Tell those voters that their issues will have a better shot with your candidate than with the other major candidate
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One reason why political parties do not take stronger policy positions on issues and then enforce them is that ____
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Party membership is too moderate
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Which has partly filled in the void of the urban party machine?
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affluent suburbsn county parties
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The Democratic and Republican candidates for president are formally nominated by the _____.
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National Party Conventions
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Money earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising is known as _____.
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soft money
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Researchers studying campaigns stress the campaigns have what three effects on voters?
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Reinforcement, activation, and conversion
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If no candidate receives an Electoral College majority, the election is decided in the ____.
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House of Representatives
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Some people have called the American electoral process _____.
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"The permanent campaign"
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According to Table 9.2, the voter turnout in recent elections was highest the members of which of the following groups?
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Those with an advanced degree
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What is the most common reason given for not voting by U.S. citizens who are registered to vote?
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It's hard to take time off of work or school
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The 2008 election was the first time that _____ voted at the same rate as whites.
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African Americans
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What do voters find to be the three most important dimensions of a candidate's image?
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Integrity, reliability, and competence
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It states with caucuses, _____.
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Supporters of candidates attend a series of open meetings to express presidential preferences
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One impact of the Internet on political campaigns is that _____.
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More people are making political donations
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Which of the following was one of the requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act?
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All candidates for federal office must disclose who contributed money to their campaigns
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How many states employ a winner-take-all system in which their elections are awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes statewide?
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48
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The Electoral College introduces a bias in the campaign and electoral process because _____.
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Less populated states are overrepresented
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Because states are the key battlegrounds of campaigns, candidates often find themselves _____.
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Tailoring their appeal to the particular interests of the state
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Which of the following makes it harder to vote by increasing costs associated with voting?
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Voter ID laws
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If you were running a campaign with a relatively unknown candidate, you would want to allow plenty of time for your candidate to _____.
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Travel extensively in Iowa before the caucuses
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Research on political campaigns suggest that one of the strongest strategies you can use to impact voters is to _____.
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Appeal to long term party affiliation
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One of the downsides to the American system of elections and campaigns is that _____.
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A person who might be an excellent candidate could be discouraged from running
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Of the following people, who is the most likely to participate in a presidential caucus?
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A party activists
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Which of the following statements indicates the high level of political efficacy?
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"One vote can make a difference; I want my vote to be the difference maker."
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Figure 9.1 suggest that _____.
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States with early caucuses and primaries receive a disproportionate amount of attention from candidates in a nomination campaign
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One cost-cutting measure a candidate might come to regret is _____.
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Acting as his or her own campaign manager
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Which of the following most clearly contributed to Barack Obama's victory in the 2012 presidential election?
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Voters thought Obama's policies were more likely to favor the middle class
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When a case that an interest group is interested in, but not actually sponsoring, comes before a court, the group can _____.
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File an amicus curiae brief to present the group's analysis of the case
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In contrast to pluralists, elitists generally argue that
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no one group is likely to become too dominant in politics
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Which of the following raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to political candidates?
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PACs
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Generally speaking, political action committee (PAC) contributions have _____.
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Become increasingly important in congressional elections
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A(n) _____ refers to an organization that seeks to influence the public policy.
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Interest group
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What is lobbying?
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Communicating with government officials to persuade them to support a particular policy position
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The _____ problem occurs when people fail to join the group because they can get the benefits of the group offers without contributing to the group's efforts.
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Free-rider
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In order to overcome the free rider problem, many interest groups offer selective/material benefits. What selective/ material benefits?
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Benefits given only to group members
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Which of the following is the main type of organization that lobbies on behalf of workers?
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labor union
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Which of the following is hyperpluralists' main criticism of the interest group system?
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Interest groups are too powerful and government is to deferential to their demands
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Which of the following is an example of a business interest group?
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The Chamber of Commerce
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How do lobbyists typically speak to influence members of Congress?
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vBy providing specialized expertise
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Members of Congress to receive contributions from political action committees (PACs) _____.
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Make sure that the PACs are granted access to the members and their staff
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Which of the following is an activity that lobbyists regularly engage in?
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Providing elected officials with information about an interest group's position on a bill or issue
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How might pluralism serve to enhance democracy?
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By ensuring that no single interest becomes dominant
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Why are campaign contributions so important for interest groups seeking to influence government?
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Campaign contributions help elect candidates who are friendly to groups' goals
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Why was Madison particularly concerned about factions?
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He believed that factions pursuing their self-interest would work against the broader public interest
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To which of the following might political action committees (PACs) invest their contributions in order to maximize their political influence?
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Campaigns of incumbents
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Political action committees (PACs) are an attractive option for campaign contributions because _____.
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They combine many individual contributions, resulting in one large contribution that is greater than what one individual could do alone
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Why is it significant that business/economic interest groups have more lobbyists in Washington, D.C., than other types of groups?
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Some people fear that government may disproportionately favor business interests in policy making
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Which of the following conditions would eliminate the free-rider problem?
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If participation in an interest group were mandatory
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Interest groups are important subjects of study in American politics because_____.
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They provide a venue for citizens to participate in government
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Why is the correlation between a group's financial resources and its lobbying success so weak?
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Lobbying is a competitive enterprise, with big interests often facing off against one another
