Government Ch. 9 & 10 – Flashcards
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What is a political party (341)?
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A political party is an alliance of like-minded people who work together to win elections and control of the government. Political parties compete against one another for political power and for the ability to put their philosophies and policies into effect.
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What is one reason that America has such low levels of political involvement and voter turnout? (342)
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Some argue that the problem is not that politics are too partisan, but that our parties are not strong enough to function effectively.
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Which system develops when the winner of an electoral race obtains more votes than any other candidate? (342)
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The plurality system
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Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by how many parties? (342)
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2
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The first party system was characterized by conflict between the ______ and the ______. (342)
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Jeffersonian Republicans;
Federalists
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The Federalist Party disappeared forever as a result of this: (345)
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The War of 1812
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What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party? (346)
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Slavery
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Which groups were part of the New Deal coalition (347)?
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FDR rebuilt and revitalized the party around a nucleus of unionized workers, upper middle-class intellectuals and professionals, southern farmers, Jews, Catholics, and African Americans.
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During the 1980s, under the leadership of Ronald Reagan, which two groups did the Republican Party add to their coalition?
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Religious conservatives and working-class whites
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What transpires when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress?
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A divided government
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Third parties in the United States typically represent these:
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Social and economic interests that are disregarded by the two major parties for certain reasons.
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State ballot access laws, such as registration fees and petition requirements, have the effect on this:
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Reducing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office
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A______ is a closed meeting of a political group's members who gather to determine strategy and
select candidates (388):
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Caucus
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A party's ______ contains its philosophy, principles, and policy positions (391):
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Platform
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What tasks does a party's national committee perform?
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Raising funds
Resolving disputes between factions of the party
Enhancing the media image of the party
Heading the political party during the period between conventions
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Strong and often corrupt urban political party organizations during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were called this (358):
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Machines
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An individual's psychological attachment to one party or another is called this (360):
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Party identification
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Women in the United States are ______ the ______ Party (362).
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somewhat more likely to support the Democratic party.
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Men in the United States are ______ the ______ Party (362).
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somewhat more likely to support the Republican party.
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When a congressional election is held that does not coincide with a presidential election, it is called
a (381):
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Midterm election
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In order for a political party to select a candidate to run in the general election, it holds this (382):
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Primary election
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When a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election, it is called a (382):
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Closed primary
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A runoff election is likely to occur when this happens: (383):
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When there are more than two candidates, none of whom has received a majority of the votes cast.
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When American voters support only one party's candidates, they are said to be voting this way (383):
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Straight ticket voting
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If you voted for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator, you engaged in this (384):
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Split-ticket voting
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The result produced when voters cast a ballot for the president and then automatically vote for the
remainder of that party's candidates is called this (384):
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Coattail effect
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The practice of ______ means that district boundaries have been purposefully drawn to unfairly
advantage one group or party (385):
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Gerrymandering
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Early presidential primaries and caucuses are more important because (388):
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They can help a candidate secure media attention, campaign contributions, and increased standing in the polls, or what is called "momentum."
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What is a referendum (392)?
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It is the practice of voting directly for proposed laws. The practice of referring a proposed law passed by a legislature to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection.
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Generally speaking, a recall effort begins with this (393):
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Petition campaign
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Campaign consultants do the following (394-395):
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Consultants offer candidates the expertise necessary to conduct accurate opinion polls, produce the,vision commercials, organize direct-mail campaigns, and make use of sophisticated computer analyses.
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The themes, issues, and messages that candidates present during a campaign are generally based
on this:
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Polls and focus groups
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Spot advertisements are useful because they do this (398):
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They permit a candidate's message to be delivered to a target audience before people can tune out.
They are used to establish candidate name recognition, to create a favorable image of the candidate and a negative image of the opponent, to link the candidate with desirable groups in the community, and to communicate the candidate's stand on selected issues.
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A ______ is a media format in which candidates meet with ordinary citizens, without the input of
journalists or commentators (400):
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Town hall meeting
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Three types of factors, ______, influence the decisions of voters at the polls (403-408):
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Partisan loyalty, issues, and the characteristics of candidates
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Politicians attempt to "balance the ticket" with members of many important groups because:
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Voters tend to prefer candidates who are closer to themselves in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography, and social background
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Private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns are called this (420):
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Political Action Committees (PACs: business and professional groups)
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The term soft money refers to this (357 & 422):
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Money donated to a party to sponsor party building and voter registration.
