Chapter 9: Political Parties – 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 the organization that recruits and campaigns for candidates.
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The federal system goes a long way toward explaining why U.S. 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 in Europe is that, in t he 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 Hamilto n 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 were not easily separated fro m 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 U.S. 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 of 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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O ne 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 fac tion 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 but ultimately failed to
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solve the problem of how 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 a direct say in making laws.
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Sch olars have identified ____ critical or realigning periods in American politics.
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5
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The three clearest cases of critical or realigning elections seem to be
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1865, 1896 and 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 slave ry and the election of 1860 is incorrect ?
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Party loyalities 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 contro l 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 bec ause
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party labels have lost their meaning for a growing number of voters.
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In 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 nineteenth century because
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a and d. (political parties provided voters with ballots and government printed ballots listed candidates in columns.)
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One would generally expect split - ticket voting to occur mo re 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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four
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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 camp aign committee
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This person manages the day - to - day work of the party
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National chairman
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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 rule s 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 generally stresses the importance of
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loyalty.
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Throughout the 1970s, the general thrust of the 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 the Democrats sought to make their party
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achieve a fairer distribution 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 "superd elegate" refers to
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elected officials and party leaders who are not required to pledge themselves in advance to 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 the 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 percent
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The three areas of rule - changes approved by the 1992 Democratic National Committee were
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rules violation penalty, win ner - reward systems, proportional representation.
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According to the text, the role of national conventions has been transformed by party rules into a
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place where delegates ratify decisions 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 nineteenth 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 are referred to as
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solidary parties.
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The political involvement of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit provides an example of a(n)
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sponsored party.
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An example of an organization that sponsors a local party i
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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 example of the winner - take - all principle in the U.S. 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 Fr ee Love party (a fictitious party) is, as you might guess, free love. This party is most likely a(n)
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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 a(n)
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factional party.
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The Populist party i s an example of a(n)
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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 i s that
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dissident elements were able to influence elections through party primaries and nati onal conventions.
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Even thoug h minor parties have had little success in national elections, they have played an important role 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 (have) become increasingly important.
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policy interests 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 convention 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 candidate was the success of
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Jesse Jackson in the 1988 Democratic party caucuses.
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The typical convention delegate―Democratic or Republican―can best be characterized as a(n)
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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 chances that the party will nominate a candidate who is unappealing to the average voter.
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Why should the 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, ideologi cal differences between convention delegates and rank - and - file party voters have 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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