question

What did the McGovern-Fraser Commission do?

answer

had a mandate to make the democratic party conventions more democratic. (commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation.)

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the largest segment of an American political party is described as

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the party in the electorate (the voters- anyone can call themselves a democrat)

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What happens in proportional representation systems?

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legislative seats are allocated according to each party's percentage of the nationwide vote. (so like reapportionment)

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proponents of a national primary argue that it would:

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concentrate media coverage and increase interest and understanding, no longer allow votes in one state to have more political impact than votes in another, increase interest in more states, bring directness and simplicity to the nomination process

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what group was not part of the new deal coalition

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wealthy new Englanders

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elitist views of interests groups emphasizes that

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a system of interlocking directorates reinforces the power of the few dominant groups

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if no candidate receives an electoral college majority...

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the House of Reps choose among the three electoral vote winners

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according to Olson's law...

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the smaller the group, the more effective it will be

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the debate between gold standard and free silver was during

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the 1860-1928

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because Bush's lead over Gore in the initial count was less than one-tenth of one percent, Florida law mandated

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an automatic recount.

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the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and can interpret them according to their own predispositions is called

answer

selective perception

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party machines in large cities relied primarily on _____ to reward friends and punish enemies

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patronage (the power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges)

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a majority of the delegates to the national convention are selected through

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presidential primaries

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realignments in political preference are typically associated with

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a major crisis or trauma in the nation

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the group responsible for administering and enforcing the federal election campaign act (a United States federal law which increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns) is the

answer

FEC federal election commission.

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largely to prevent corruption associated with stuffing ballot boxes, states adopted ____ around the turn of the 20th century

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voter registration

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element of campaign strategy

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money, momentum, media attention

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who ran as a third party candidate?

answer

George Wallace, Ralph Nader, Teddy Roosevelt, Ross Perot

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according to Olson's law of large groups,

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the large the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good.

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the problem faced by groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group's activity even without joining is called the _____ problem

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free-rider

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elections have a tendency to expand the scope of government because

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voters like to feel that they are sending a message to government to accomplish something

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the process of selecting America's leaders has almost no downtime before it revs up all over again. this is referred to as

answer

the permanent campaign

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what was Nixon's \"southern strategy\"?

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by winning over southern conservatives, Nixon hoped to break the Democratic party's dominance in the south

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frontloading

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the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the year in order to capitalize on media attention

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a study of major party platforms by Gerald Pomper found that they parties broke their promises

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ten percent of the time

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James Madison's way of preventing one group from having too much power

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increase the scope and number of groups

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most successfully affected by campaigns

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reinforcement and activation

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the republicans had a long period as the country's dominant majority party which ended

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in 1932

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most PAC money goes overwhelmingly to incumbents because incumbents

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are the most likely to be able to return the investment

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the member of a presidential campaign who helps reporters make their deadlines with stories that the campaign would like to see reported is the

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press secretary

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the group of people with the lowest voter turnout rate is the

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young people

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ticket splitting refers to

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voting for one party for one office, and another party for the other office

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the weakening of party control over american politics

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is in part due to the increasing influence of the media

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the 1974 federal election campaign act

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placed legal limits on presidential campaign spending

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there has been an increase in interest in working on campaigns among high school seniors over the past quarter century

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false

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what was especially notable about the congressional elections of 1994

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the republicans took control of the house of representatives after 40 years of democratic control

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whig party

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was only able to win the presidency when it nominated aging, but popular, military heroes

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the republican party began as the

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principal antislavery party

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the initiative is put on the ballot as a result of

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a petition signed by a certain percentage of the voters in the previous election

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linkage institutions

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translate inputs from the public into outputs from policymakers

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research has found that those most likely to view the candidates in terms of their personal attributes are

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college-educated voters

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according to exit polls, ____ was a major reason voters selected Bush in 2004

answer

the war on terrorism

question

provisions of McCain-Feingold Act

answer

the banning of soft money contributions, barring of groups from running \"issue ads\" within 60 days of an election if they refer to a federal candidate are not funded through a PAC, the increasing of the amount that individuals can give to candidates to rise with inflation

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the way in which candidates attempt to manipulate money, the media, and momentum to achieve the nomination is through

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campaign strategy

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PACs

answer

contribute before and after elections, only a handful of candidates have completely resisted the lure of PAC money, some contribute to both challengers and incumbents to play it safe, and they have increased since 1974

question

today's campaign promote _____ in american politics

answer

individualism

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in the 1976 case of Burkley v. Valeo, the Supreme Court ruled that

answer

the limitation on the amount of money persons could contribute to their own election campaigns violated free speech and was unconstitutional.

question

compare and contrast a caucus and a primary

answer

Caucus: party members get together in their district or precinct and pledge their support for their favorite presidential candidate, which results in awarding a certain umber of delegates to that candidate. Primary: registered voters participate in selecting the candidate for the party's nomination by voting, as in a general election. can be either open (you can vote for a candidate outside your party) or closed (you must be a member of the party to vote for that party's candidate

question

compare and contrast voting behavior between 1960 and 2008, paying particular attention to the role of religion, race, gender, age, and education

answer

voting has decreased dramatically, voting rights have been given to African Americans by the voting rights act of 1965 thus increasing voter turnout in the south, women voting has increased aka gender gap, younger people have stopped voting, uneducated people don't vote ever, and normally christians affiliated with the republican party

question

describe the process through which candidates are nominated for the presidency

answer

both major political parties select their candidates. voters indirectly vote for their presidential candidate by choosing delegates from their states who will attend a national party convention to nominate a presidential candidate for their party

question

explain the role of the party in the electorate. what recent trends are occurring in party identification, and what effect does this have on party politics and elections?

answer

the party in the electorate are individuals who perceive themselves as party members ; many voters have a party identification that guides and influences their votes. recently, it has become the weakest parts of the US political party system and people are more independent voters. For political parties, it is less likely to rely on past voters for the elections.

question

explain what factors work to make an interest group successful

answer

leaders (key role in formation and in attracting members), patrons and funding (required in order to build their memberships as well as to advocate their policy objectives), and a solid membership base (to attend meetings, pay dues, get things done, and spread the word)

question

how has the nature of policy voting changed in the United States

answer

the electorate use views on foreign policy, domestic affairs, military funding, abortion, religion, and immigration to determine their candidate for voting...not party identification.

question

in what ways do parties serve as linkage institutions

answer

parties pick a policymaker; a nomination is the party's endorsement of a candidate, parties run campaigns, parties give cues to voters, even though party ties have weakened, parties articulate policies parties coordinate policy-making

question

in what ways does candidate image shape voters' decisions

answer

race: blacks vote for democrats, whites vote for republicans, women tend to vote more democratic, people with lower income tend to vote more democratic

question

list the names of the first two political parties in american history

answer

federalists and democratic-republicans

question

list three reasons why third parties have not been successful in american politics

answer

they are single-issue groups and the problem with that is often one of the two parties will \"steal\" the issue, finally addressing it and thereby making the third party unnecessary.

question

list three tasks of political parties

answer

responsible for mobilizing support, uniting people with similar interests, and encouraging voting.

question

describe one way in which the electoral college system affects the way Presidential candidates campaign

answer

The less populated states are overrepresented because states get 2 electors for the senators regardless of population.

question

describe one way in which the electoral college is undemocratic

answer

electoral college removes the idea of \"one person, one vote\" which is the main idea of democracy

question

explain one reason the electoral college has not been abolished

answer

it favors small states because each elector actually represents fewer people than the electors in large states

question

what are matching funds? where do they come from? why have recent candidates including John McCain and Barack Obama in 2008, forgone matching funds?

answer

matching funds are contributions to a project or organization that match contributions of another sponsor or donor. candidates must raise at least $5,000 in individual contributions of $200 or less in each of 20 states and may then apply for federal funds to match all individual contributions of $250 or less that they receive. candidates have forgone matching funds in order to spend as much as they wish and in the early primary states

question

what are the consequences for political parties of a winner-take-all electoral system?

answer

this system discourages small parties aka discourages pluralism.

question

what are the main functions of national political party conventions today?

answer

choose presidential candidate, choose VP, decide on the party platform

question

what is divided government? what is the connection between divided government and party dealignment?

answer

refers to situation in which one party controls executive while the other controls legislative. many scholars believe that the parties have become ineffective because of divided government since they cannot pass any bill.

question

what is lobbying?

answer

represent a stakeholder's interests and educate lawmakers about the effect any proposed legislation or regulation will have on the people the lobbyist represents.

question

what is meant by \"ticket splitting\" and what is its impact?

answer

a vote for candidates of different political parties on the same ballot, instead of candidates for one party only. it creates divided government and can cause gridlock although is likely to ensure that the system of checks and balances is carried out effectively.

question

what is meant by a collective good, and how does this concept suggest a problem for interest groups?

answer

it is something of value that cannot be withheld from a group member; the free rider program cause possible members to get benefits without joining

question

what is the mandate theory of elections? why do winning candidates frequently appeal to the idea of a mandate?

answer

the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate form the people to carry out their platforms and politics. politicians like the theory better than political scientists do

question

what is the significance of the Supreme Court's decision in Buckley v. Valeo

answer

upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns

question

what was Nixon's Southern Strategy?

answer

because African Americans were voting more democratically, Nixon tried to attract Southern conservative democrats by appealing to their unhappiness with federal desegregation policies and a liberal supreme court.

question

what was significant about the election of 1896?

answer

it demonstrated a sharp division in society between urban and rural interests. free silver vs. gold standard

question

the funds allocated to public financing of presidential campaigns based on income tax check offs have

answer

decreased substantially

question

what is true about the bush presidency

answer

the bush doctrine advocates striking potential enemies first and the first four years of the bush presidency were timid and cautious in their approach

question

an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies is called a _____ system

answer

winner-take-all

question

most important widespread political changes that have occurred over the past generation

answer

a partisan realignment in the south, shifting a majority of congressional seats from south to the republicans

question

why are urban party machines no longer very active

answer

progressive reforms that placed jobs under the merit system weakened the machines' power

question

which group is most likely to engage in ticket splitting

answer

independents

question

interest groups employ the strategy of \"going public\"

answer

to create good will among american public, they can benefit from and use public opinion when possible, public opinion may ultimately make its way to policymakers, to help improve their own reputations as meaningful forces among the public

question

a voter support a candidate based specifically on comparing the candidate's stances on teh issues of abortion rights, heath care, and their preferences on such issues is

answer

policy voting

question

the first ______ in april 1970 helped to spur on a number of environmental groups

answer

earth day

question

to a candidate, the most important and desirable result of the early nomination contests is

answer

doing better than expected, thus winning an image as the party's frontrunner and holder of momentum

question

a study of major party platforms by gerald pomper found that the parties broke their promises

answer

10% of the time

question

the law regulating whether an organization or firm should register their employees as lobbyists is the

answer

lobbying disclosure act of 1995

question

the people who keey the party running between elections and make its rules are members of which \"heed\" of the party?

answer

party in government

question

between 1959 and 1995, the interest group world

answer

became more diverse

question

the first party system was characterized by

answer

the dominance of the democratic-republican party

question

andrew jackson was the first president identified as a

answer

democrat

question

the most direct form of democracy

answer

initiative

question

Bush v. Gore

answer

although a recount was legal, the same standards for evaluating ballots would have to be applied in all counties

question

critical election

answer

is a displacement of the majority republicans with the democrats during great depression and the emergence of the republican party during civil war

question

research has found that those most likely to view candidates in terms of their personal attributes are

answer

college-educated voters

question

not a reason for the democratic party adding superdelegates to its national nominating conventions

answer

the insistence of the McGovern-Fraser Commission to have superdelegates play a major veto-like role

question

the proportional representation systems

answer

legislative seats are allocated according to each party's percentage of the nationwide vote

question

proponents of a national primary argue that it would do each of the following except

answer

lengthen the time of the campaign

question

the theory that seeks to explain political processes and outcomes as consequences of purposive behavior is called

answer

rational choice theory

question

news coverage of presidential campaigns tends to emphasize campaign strategies and poll results

answer

the candidates' positions on the issues

question

the process of selecting america's leaders has almost no downtime before it revs up all over again.

answer

the permanent campaign

question

Bush v. Gore showed that

answer

more precise and consistent standards for evaluating ballots would have to be applied in all countries for ballot recounts to be valid

question

elitist views of interest groups emphasize that

answer

a system of interlocking directorates reinforces the power of the few dominant groups

question

in the 1800 election presidential candidates were nominated by

answer

their parties' elected representatives in Congress

question

american national parties are best described as

answer

loose aggregations of state parties

question

the election of 1896 was largely fought over the issue of

answer

economics

question

The Democratic National Convention in _______ led to serious reforms in the methods it used to choose its convention delegates

answer

1968

question

the three kinds of elections in the US

answer

primary elections, general elections, and elections on specific policy questions

question

the first peaceful transfer of power between parties via the electoral process in the history of the world occurred as a result of the presidential election of

answer

1800

question

true about voting

answer

it might not be rational to spent time becoming informed, deciding who to vote for, and turning out on election day, your vote will not make a difference in most cases, there is little difference in policy positions of candidates, the costs of voting frequently outweigh the benefits of voting

question

mcgovern fraser commission

answer

had a mandate to make the democratic party conventions more democratic

question

the final major event of each party's national convention, during the last hour or so on the fourth and final night, is the

answer

acceptance speech by the presidential candidate

question

the key spokespersons for political parties come from which of its major components?

answer

the party in government

question

the most important challenge of running party organisations

answer

money

question

the mcgovern fraser commission was set up to reform

answer

the rules for selecting delegates to the democratic convetion

question

in 2004, the FEC ruled that 527 grops

answer

were not subject to strict contribution restrictions so long as their political messages did not make explicit endorsements of candidates using phrases like \"vote for\" or \"vote against\"

question

tasks candidates must do to organize their campaign

answer

get a campaign counsel, get a campaign manager, get a fundraiser, assemble a campaign staff

question

among the states that allow voter registration at the polls on election day, vote turnout rates are

answer

higher than in other states

question

primary duty of national party chairperson

answer

attending to the daily duties of party, raising money, paying bills

question

most pac money

answer

goes to incumbents rather than challengers

question

right to work laws are most strongly supported by

answer

business groups

question

found to be most successfully affected by campaigns

answer

reinforcement and activation

question

a majority of the delegates to the national convention are selected through

answer

presidential primaries

question

critics are concerned about PACs

answer

because they may control what the electoral winners do once in office

AP Gov Chp 8-11

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