Ch9 pre test – Flashcards

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Which of the following statements about political parties in the United States is true?
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Parties today are relatively weak but they are not weak in all areas of the country
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The key term in the definition of a political party is
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label, to give a candidate party identification
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Party identification among voters is one way of gauging the strength of a party. Another cited by the text is the
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strength of organization that recruits and campaigns for candidates
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The federal system goes a long way toward explaining why the US parties are ____________ than their European counterparts
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more decentralized
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One reason why political parties in the United States today are weaker than Europe is that in the United States
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party leaders do not typically select people to run for office
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In most states candidates for office are chosen by
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primary elections
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In Europe almost the only way a person can become a candidate is by
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being nominated by party leaders
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What role do political parties play in the lives of most Americans?
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most Americans separate political parties from other aspects of their lives
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George Washington's view of parties may have been influenced by
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the constant quarreling between Hamilton and Jefferson in his cabinet
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Why should George Washington among other Founders of our nation have been so opposed to political parties
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because disputes over policies and elections where not easily separated from disputes over government legitimacy
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The Founders saw political parties as
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factions motivated by ambition and self-interest
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The first organized political party in American history was
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made up of the followers of Jefferson
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Some were so distraught by the election of Thomas Jefferson that they
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organized to have New England secede from the Union
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During the founding period of US history political parties could best be characterized as
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small coalitions based more on geography and class than on common economic interests
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According to the text, when did political parties in the United States develop a comprehensive organizational form and appeal?
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From the time of President Jackson to the Civil War
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The first Republican party, with its base of support in the South, was organized in the 1790s by
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Thomas Jefferson
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The Federalist party could not compete effectively in national elections because
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it had such a limited sectional and class base
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National party conventions were developed as a reform of
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party caucuses
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In the Jacksonian era for the first time a party system was built
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from the bottom up
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Prior to 1824 presidential candidates were nominated by
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caucuses comprising members of Congress
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Party conventions emerged during the Jacksonian era as a means of
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giving some measure of local control to the presidential nominating process
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The first Convention in American history was that of the _______ party
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anti masonic
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Which of the following statements about the modern Republican party is correct?
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it emerged as a major party only after the Civil War
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One effect of the geographic split in parties that occurred as a consequence of the Civil War was the
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emergence of strong party factions such as the mugwumps
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The _____ a faction of the Republican party were opposed to the patronage system and feared the influx of immigrants who could be incorporated into the political machine
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progressives
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The progressives favored all of the following except
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better relations with business
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The progressive movement reduced the level of political corruption by ultimately failed to
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solve the problem of ow to select candidates
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Procedures such as the initiative and the referendum arose as efforts to give
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citizens are direct say in making laws
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Scholars have identified _____ critical or realigning periods in American politics
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5
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Th three clearest cases of critical or realigning elections seem to be
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1865; 1896; 1932
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Which of the following were major issues in the three clearest cases of critical or realigning periods?
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slavery and economics
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Which of the following statements concerning slavery and the election of 1860 is incorrect?
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Party loyalties remained fluid after 1860.
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Which of the following statements about the critical election of 1896 is correct?
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The Republicans won the support of those in cities.
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The elections of Ronald Reagan could not have represented a realignment because
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They left control of Congress in the hands of the Democratic Party
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Dramatic realignments such as the one that occurred in 1932 may not occur again because
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Party labels have lost their meaning for a majority of voters
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In the recent elections ticket splitting has been most common
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In the South
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Ticket splitting was almost unheard of in the 19th century because
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A and D
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One would generally expect split ticket voting to occur more often when
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States adopt the office ballot
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The national convention meets every _____ years to nominate a presidential candidate
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4
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Between the national conventions party affairs are managed by a _____ made up of delegates from each state and territory
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national committee
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In Congress each party has a ____ that helps members of Congress who are running for re-election or would be members seeking election
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congressional campaign committee
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This person manages the day to day work of the party
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National Chariman
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Beginning in the 1960s the _____ became more bureaucratized while the _____ became more factionalized
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Republican party Democratic party
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Who selects the time and place of the national convention and issues a call for the convention
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A party's national committee
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The number of convention delegates from each state along with the rules under which they are chosen is determined by
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The party's national committee
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Which of the following statements about the formula by which delegates to the nominating conventions are apportioned is correct?
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The Democrats and Republicans use different formulas
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The formula for the selection of delegates to the Republican national convention general stresses the importance of
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Loyalty
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Throughout the 1970s the general thrust of Democratic rules commissions considering delegate selection was to
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Weaken the influence of party leaders and enlarge the role of the rank and file
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The Republicans changed the goal of their national party to the election of candidates while Democrats sought to make their party
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achieve a fairer distributions of power
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Democratic rule changes were drafted in 1972 by a commission headed by
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George McGovern
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The Hunt commission's changes in the Democratic party rules were designed to
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increase the influence of party leaders
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The term 'superdelegate' refers to
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elected officials and party leaders who are not required to pledge themselves in advance a presidential candidate
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All of the following statements concerning the delegates to the 2004 conventions are correct except
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More of the Democrats were male
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Over 40 percent of the delegates to the conventions of both parties
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were born again Christians
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The winner reward systems of delegate distribution were banned in campaign of
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1992
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The 1992 Democratic National Committee penalized states that violated the rules with what percentage loss of their national delegates?
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25%
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The three areas of rile changes approved by the 1992 Democratic National Committee were
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Rules violation penalty Winner reward systems Proportional representation
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According to the text the role of national conventions has been transformed by party riles into a
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Place where delegates ratify decisons made by voters
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Within both major parties it is the _____ level that has most obviously declined
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Grassroots
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Party machines
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Are characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity
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The classical machine type party was developed and perfected
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In the 19th century before the large scale Irish and Italian immigrations
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Old style political machines counted heavily on the support of
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Civil servants
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Unlike political machines ideological parties tend to be
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Factionalized
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The ideological groups or reform clubs of the 1950s and 1960s gave rise to ideological parties composed of
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Single issue activists
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According to Barbara Mikulski the training grounds for national political activists today are
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Social movements
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People can join a party for reasons other than patronage. The text cites all of the following other reasons except
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to join a delegating committee (caucus groups)
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Party organizations based on their members' enjoyment of the sociability of politics re referred to as
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soldiary parties
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The political involvement of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroirt provides an examples of an
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Sponsored party
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An examples of organization that sponsors a local party is
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The United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit
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Today a person wanting to win an election will most often seek the support of
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A personal following
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Which of the following statements about the traditional party organization in the United States is correct
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it exists but only in a few states
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Which of the following statements about the two party system is correct?
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The United States is one of the few countries with such a system
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To win in a plurality system such as that in the United States a candidate must
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Gather more votes than anyone else
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The plurality electoral system in the United States means that
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Every party must be a broad based coalition
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Why should elections based on a plurality system discourage new parties from forming?
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Because under this winner take all system, no incentive is given for finishing second (or lower)
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The most dramatic examples of the winner take all principle in the US electoral system is the
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Electoral college
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The two party system has worked in the United States but not in Europe because
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Americans agree on enough issues to form broad coalitions
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The most recent independent candidate for president who was able to get on the ballot in every state was
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Ross Perot
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Which of the following statements about minor parties in the United States is correct?
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They were once discouraged by the election laws of many states
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The platform of the Free Love party (a fictitious party) is as you might guess, free love. This party is most likely an
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One issue party
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The Libertarian and Socialist parties in the United States are examples of
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Ideological parties
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George Wallace's American Independent party was an example of an
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Factional party
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The Populist party is an example of an
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Economic protest party
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An example of an economic protest party is the
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Populist party
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Which of the following kinds of minor parties tends to endure the longest?
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Ideological
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The kind of minor party that has probably had the greatest influence on public policy is the
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Factional party
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Many strong social movements in the United States (e.g the antiwar movement of the late 1960s) never produced a significant third party. One reason for this is that
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Dissident elements were able to influence elections through party primaries and national convetions
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Even though minor parties have had little success in national elections they have played an important rile in many elections by
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Influencing the public policy positions of the two major parties
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In the days when party conventions were heavily influenced by party leaders and elected officials it was relatively easy to ignore
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The policy preferences of dissident factions
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At party conventions in recent years the _____ has become increasingly important
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Policy interest of the party
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National convention delegates compared to their respective party members tend to be
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More liberal if they are Democrats more conservative if they are Republicans
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A meeting of party followers at which conventions delegates are picked is known as a
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Caucus
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The makeup of state party caucuses can best be characterized as
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Highly partisan
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Compared to primary voters members of caucuses are more likely to
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Support the most ideological candidate
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An example of how the partisan makeup of state party caucuses can result in the choice of the most ideological candidates was the success
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Jesse Jackson in the 1988 Democratic party caucuses
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The typical conventions delegate - Democratic or Republican - can best be characterized as an
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Issue oriented amateur
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The disadvantage of the new primary system that has developed in the United States is that it
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increases the changes that the party will nominate a candidate who is unappealing to the average voter
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Why should Democrats have been so unsuccessful in winning the presidency before 1992 at the same time that they were so successful in winning congressional seats
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Because their presidential candidates tended to be out of step with voters on issues of taxation and social policy
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Since 1972 ideological differences between conventions delegates and rank and file party voters ave been greatest among
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Democrats
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How can the differences between the two major parties in the United States best be characterized?
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There are large policy differences among activists and much smaller ones among the rank and file
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The text argues that the central problem of the parties today is how to
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Appeal to moderate voters despite the parties ideological orientation
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Political parties in other democratic nations are more effective at mobilizing voters than those here
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True
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American political parties are the oldest in the world
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True
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For the modern political parties the appeal of their label to voters is less important than the efficiency of their operations
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False
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A powerful party is one with label that strongly appeals to the voters
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True
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A political party exists at three levels: label organization and a set of leaders
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True
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