Government test 2 2

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Government policy often seems to differ from public opinion partly because _____.: public-opinion polls are inaccurate gauges of what the public believes with respect to most policy issues
Even a scientific poll may have validity problems partly because _____.: American poll respondents tend to be ill-informed on many issues
Survey research suggests that some 60 percent of adults adopt the party preference of their _____.: parents
On both economic and social issues, _____________ comprise the most liberal religious grouping.: jews
Currently, men are _____ women to vote for Democratic candidates.: less likely then
Persons who attend college tend to become more politically _____________ than before.: liberal
Cleavages in public opinion are more common in the United States than in many other countries partly because the United States has a _____.: socially heterogenous population
Compared with African Americans as a group, Latinos as a group are ____ likely to identify with the Republicans.: more
Survey research suggests that compared with white Southerners a few decades ago, white Southerners are now _____.: more likely to identify with the republican party
A reasonably accurate public-opinion poll must _____.: reflect the views of knowledgeable individuals
Assume an opinion poll with a sampling error of 3 percent. If 47 percent of the respondents said that they intended to vote for Candidate X, you can infer that _____. (poll results are a photograph in time): between 44 percent and 50 percent of the voters favored Candidate X when the poll was taken
The authors of American Government indicate that _____.: as oneâ€™s political activism (or elitism) increases, oneâ€™s ideological consistency (conservative or liberal) tends to increase
Compared with congressional elections, voter-participation rates in presidential contests tend to be _____.: higher
The United States is frequently criticized forâ€”compared with many other democracies around the globeâ€”its low voter-participation rate in its highest- turnout elections. According to American Government, this criticism would be less valid than it is n: registered proportion of the American voting-age population increased
As originally written, the Constitution required the direct popular election of _____.: representatives
The authors of American Government point out that _____.: fairly recent federal legislation has increased Southern black votersâ€™ registration and turnout rates and has changed white politiciansâ€™ campaign behavior
In the 1972 presidential election, the newly enfranchised group of 18 to 20-year-olds voted in a proportion _____________ that of the population as a whole.: smaller than
Between the extremes of Americans completely active and completely inactive in politics, one study suggests, the _____ are the most likely to vote and participate in partisan politics.: campaigners
Which of the following statements makes the best tendency statement? The more _____________ a person has, the more likely he or she is to vote.: age and education
Among African Americans and whites of the same socioeconomic status, white political participation tends to be _____________ African American political participation.: less than
The authors of American Government would agree that _____.: compared with voters in democracies abroad, Americans vote in more elections, have lower turnout rates, and exert more influence on the nationâ€™s governance
American Government suggests that the profile of the nationâ€™s voters may make governance here a little more responsive to the interests and conflicting ideologies of _____________ than it is to the interests and ideologies of other groups within the el: upper status anglo whites
American Government indicates that _____.: PACs of all kinds typically give more money to incumbent candidates than to challengers for their congressional seats
In European democracies, practically all candidates for elective office are nominated by _____.: party leaders
In the United States, in contrast to most other democracies, debilitating federal and state laws regulate political parties. American Government suggests that the most consequential of these laws deal with _____.: candidate selection
In most American states, nominees for most elective offices are selected by _____.: voters in primary elections
American Government points out that the _____.: organizations that rely mainly on purposive incentives have a more difficult time recruiting members than do the groups that rely chiefly on solidary or material incentives
The chronological development of predominant nominating devices has followed this sequence: _____.: caucas, convention, primary
Read the section â€œThe Rise and Decline of the Political Partyâ€ and then answer this and the next two questions: American Government points out that _____.: progressive reformers provided no clear-cut alternative to strong political parties as vehicles for locating, recruiting, and supporting candidates for public office
Regarding party realignments, American Government indicates that _____.: distinct changes in the Southern electorate from the early 1950s through the mid-1990s may herald a major regional realignment of the two major parties
Compared with earlier eras of American party history, the progressive era produced reforms that have tended to give American political parties more ____than before: inability to hold their officeholders accountable
In the section â€œThe National Party Structure Today,â€ American Government points out that: the Democratic and Republican national conventions are now meetings of delegates who ratify the previously made choices of primary-election voters and party activists.
American government idicates that the: new-style machines differ from the old-style machines in that the new-style machines get their financial backing from different sources.
The American two-party system has persisted partly because its electoral system requires successful parties to _____.: form broad coalitions before the first election
The persistence of the American two-party system is partly explained by our _____.: plurality, winner-take-all election system
In almost every state, the winner-take-all feature of American general elections means that the presidential candidate with a _____of a stateâ€™s popular vote gets ____ of its electoral votes.: plurality/ all
Whereas the ____ minor parties have probably had the greatest influence on public policy, the ____ ones have been the longest lasting.: factional...ideological
At both of the major-party national conventions nowadays, the _____________ is (are) likely to be predominant.: policy interests of political activists
Compared with rank-and-file voters in both major parties, the two major-party national convention delegates tend to be more ideologically _____.: extremist
Survey research suggests that the policy differences between the two major partiesâ€™ respective national convention delegates are _____________ the policy differences between their respective rank-and-file voters.: greater than
Turnout for presidential primaries totals about _____ percent of the turnout for general elections.: 50
The new presidential-primary system in America tends to _____.: increase the likelihood of the partiesâ€™ nominating candidates that are unappealing to average voters
Presidential candidates of both major parties face a dilemma because _____.: they (the candidates) must often take conflicting policy stances to win first nomination to candidacy and then election to office
In the United States, a personâ€™s getting nominated as a major-partyâ€™s candidate for a public office typically entails more _____________ than is the case in most European democratic nations.: individual-candidate effort
Compared with presidential contests, off-year congressional races will typically _____.: permit incumbents to take more credit for constituent service
Differences between presidential and congressional elections are _____.: making congressional contests largely autonomous from presidential ones
The Constitution prescribes the maximum number of _____ to which each state is entitled.: senators and minimum number of representatives
Oversimplifying a bit, one may say that a 1964 Supreme Court decision outlawed _____ of congressional districts.: malaportionment but not gerrymandering
As a result of the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the states gaining House seats were mostly in the ____________ parts of the United States.: southeastern and southwestern
With a few exceptions, congressional candidates today win their declared partyâ€™s nomination mainly by getting on the ballot via voter petitions, _____.: forming personal-follower organizations, and getting the most primary votes
The congressional sophomore surge occurs because _____.: first-term incumbents can mold constituencies favoring themselves, not their parties (or even Congress itself)
The way that individuals get elected to Congress tends to _____.: give party leaders little influence over rank-and-file members
The Constitution requires that _____.: both senators and representatives be inhabitants of their respective states
To get the activist support necessary to mount a campaign, presidential candidates in both major parties will typically take ideologically _____.: extremist stands in the primary/caucus campaign and centrist stands in the general election campaign
The commentary for this lesson specifically likens primary elections in most states to _____.: simultaneous civil wars
About ____ states have closed primaries.: 40
At this writing, provided that certain conditions are met, partial public funding of campaigns is available to _____________ candidates.: presidential but not congressional
Most of the campaign money donated to congressional candidates comes from _____.: individual contributors
Compared with challengers for congressional seats, congressional incumbents usually receive _____________ campaign money from political action committees (PACs).: more
American Government points out that: high-spending candidates sometimes lose their electoral contests
with the Democrats, between 1960 and 2000, the Republicans had more success in winning the presidency partly because ____.: â€œstrongly Republicanâ€ voters tended to have a better turnout record than did â€œstrongly Democraticâ€ voters
Issues play a key role in election outcomes partly because _____.: voters tend to have strong principles and considerable information regarding issues with an immediate impact on their lives
According to American Government, the decisive voters in elections are the ones who focus on _____.: what they think about the various candidatesâ€™ past performance in public office
Because of the interaction of political, economic, andâ€”especiallyâ€”local factors, prediction of congressional election outcomes is _____________ prediction of the outcomes of presidential contests.: more difficult than
Read the rest of Chapter 8 and then answer this question: American Government indicates that _____.: both â€œnormalâ€ and â€œcriticalâ€ elections can produce significant changes in public policies
American interest groups have proliferated partly because the _________ in the United States encourages organizations to try to influence governmental policy-making.: fragmentation of political authority
One factor accounting for the rise of American interest groups has been the _____.: increase in the number and scope of governmental activities
American Government suggests that _____.: institutional interest groups with relatively few clients can clearly and forcefully tell government what policies their clients desire
In general, as the size of the membership of a social movement increases, the extremism of its policy positions tends to _____.: decrease
In the post-World War II era, the labor union movement has seen an increase in its _____.: teacher and government-employee membership
Modern membership interest groups know that _____ are an especially sophisticated means of mobilizing supporters and raising money.: computerized direct mailings
Knowing that the Washington system of pressure groups has an upper-class bias tells you _____________ of these groups.: much about the membership but nothing about the relative success
Most major American political conflict occurs _____.: within the upper middle class
American Government suggests that an interest groupâ€™s influence is best measured by its _____.: organization
The single most important tactic of the typical lobbyist is supplying legislators and bureaucrats with current _____.: trustworthy information on hard-to-get details of specific issues
The typical lobbyistâ€™s power increases whenever the lobbyist is dealing with an issue that involves _____.: complicated economic or technical problems
When a lobbyist is working on a given issue, his/her key targets are legislators or bureaucrats who _____.: are undecided or wavering as to a position
One consequence of the 1973 federal campaign-finance reform law was to _____.: enable congressional members to accept money from PACs of all persuasions and still vote as they see fit
The First Amendment protects interest-group activity as a form of _____.: political speech
When your edition of American Government was written, the most significant federal legal or regulatory restraints on interest-group activity were the _____.: tax-code tax-exemption provisions and the campaign-finance laws
In the United States, public officials and the mass media have a love-hate relationship partly because _____.: mass-media owners must make a profit and accommodate varied and competing interests of numerous constituencies
The American people gained access to widespread and objective news coverage partly because of the _____.: advent of merchant advertising
Compared with television, newspapers offer politicians the advantage of less _____.: cost
The emergence of electronic media has _____.: enabled politicians to build personal followings that are independent of political parties
The national mass media will typically _____.: have considerable â€œscorekeeperâ€ impact on early presidential caucus/primary results
Compared with newspapers, radio and television are ____ competitive and ____ regulated.: more... more
Research suggests that, of the following four choices, radio and television are the most likely to _____ political beliefs.: change existing
American Government suggests that typical American citizens would be the most likely to take cues from the mass media on an election for a _____.: county treasurer
According to American Government, the mass media are the most likely to have the least effect on the _____.: behavior of voters
American Government points out that _____.: government agencies that fail to cultivate or to try to shape public opinion are likely to find themselves in a precarious position
Survey research suggests that the public at large tends to _____.: consider television stories more reliable than newspaper stories
______ stories are the kinds that are most likely to reflect journalistsâ€™ respective political ideologies.: Feature and insider
American government is the â€œleakiestâ€ in the world partly because of the _____.: interbranch competition for power built into the constitutional system
Political research conducted in 1993 suggests that a plurality or majority of Americans think that the mass media _____.: deserve less confidence now than when they first started paying attention to news
Research shows that negative political advertising ____ voter turnout and ____ voter preferences.: decreases... changes
Washington-based members of the mass media have a dilemma in that they must try to strike a suitable balance between _____.: their need for reliable sources and their adversarial attitude
In the ongoing battle between the Washington-based members of the mass media and federal government officials, the federal governmentâ€™s most effective weapon is control over _____.: presidential "rewards"
colloquial term for average citizens and what they want or believe: John Q. Public
a phrase coined by Joseph Kraft in a 1968 newspaper column to refer to Americans who have moved out of poverty but are not yet affluent and who cherish traditional middle-class values.: Middle America
a phrase used to describe people, whatever their economic status, who uphold traditional values, especially against the counterculture of the 1960s.: silent majority
a measure of one's social standing obtained by combining factors such as education, income, and occupation.: social status
The moral teachings of religous institutions on religous, social, and economic issues.: religous tradition
Differences in the political views and voting behavior of men and women: gender gap
A survey of public opinion: poll
A sample selected in such a way that any member of the population being surveyed (eg all adults or voters) has an equal chance of being interviewed: Random Sample
In general, a person who favors a more active federal government for regulating business, supporting social welfare, and protecting minority rights, but who prefers less regulation of private social conduct.: liberal
In general, a person who favors more limited and local government, less government regulation of markets, more social conformity to traditional norms and values, and tougher policies toward criminals.: conservative
A more or less consistent set of views as to the policies government ought to pursue.: political ideology
The difference between the results of two surveys or samples. For ex., if 1 random sample shows that 60% of all Americans like cats and another random sample taken at the same time shows that 65% do, the sampling error is 5%.: Sampling Error
People who wish to maximize personal liberty on both economic and social issues. They prefer a small, weak government that has little control over either the economy or the personal lives of citizens.: Libertarians
People who hold liberal views on economic matters and conservative ones on social matters. They prefer a strong government that will reduce economic inequality, regulate businesses, and impose stricter social and criminal sanctions. The name and views ha: Populists
An identifiable group of persons who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource-such as money or political power.: Political Elite
A standard of right or proper conduct that helps determine the range of acceptable social behavior and policy options.: Norm
The citizens who are elgible to vote after reaching a minimum age requirement. In the US a citizens must be at least eighteen years old in order to vote.: Voting-age population
People who are registered to vote. While almost all adult American citizens are theoretically elgible to vote, only those who have completed a registration form by the required date may do so.: Registered Voters
A bill passed by Congress in 1993 to make it easier for Americans to register to vote. The law, which went into effect in 1995, requires states to allow voter registration by mail, when one applies for a driver's license, and at state offices that serve: Motor-Voter Law
A requirement that citizens pass a literacy test in order to register to vote. It was established by many states to prevent former slaves (most of whom were illiterate) from voting. Illiterate whites were allowed to vote by a "grandfather clause&quo: Literacy test
A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote. It was adopted by many states to prevent former slaves (most of whom were poor) from voting. It is now unconstitutional.: Poll tax
A clause added to registration laws allowing people who did not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867 (before African Americans were legally allowed to vote). This was to exempt poor and illiterate whites: Grandfather clause
The practice of keeping African Americans from voting in primary election (at the time, the only meaningful election in the one-party south was the democratic primary) through arbitrary implementation of registration requirements and intimidation. Such p: White primary
A gov-printed ballot of uniform size and shape to be cast in secret that was adopted by many states around 1890 in order to reduce the voting fraud associated with party-printed ballots cast in public.: Austrailian ballot
Individuals, usually outside of gov, who actively promote a political party, philosophy, or issue they care about.: activists
A group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label- a "party identification"- by which they are known to the electorate.: political party
The factions in the republican party of the 1890s to the 1910s composed of reformers who opposed the use of patronage and party bosses and favored the leadership of experts. After 1910 they evolved into a nonpartisan "good government" movement: mugwumps or progressives
Periods during which a sharp, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties. The issues that separate the two parties change, and so the kinds of voters supporting each party change.: Critical or realigning periods
Voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election. For ex., voting for a Republican for senator and a Democrat for president.: Split ticket
Voting for candidates who are all of the same party. For ex., voting for Republican candidates for senator, representatives, and president.: Straight ticket
A ballot listing all candidates for a given office under the name of that office; also called "Massachusetts" ballot: office-bloc ballot
A ballot listing all candidates of a given party together under the name of that party; also called an "Indiana" ballot: party-column ballot
A meeting of party delegates elected in state primaries, caucuses, or conventions that is held every four years. Its primary purpose is to nominate presidential and vice prez candidates and to ratify a campaign platform.: national convention
A committee of delegates from each state and territory that runs party affairs between national conventions.: national committee
A party committee in congress that provides funds to members who are running for reelection or to would-be members running for an open seat or challenging a candidate from the opposition party.: congressional campaign committee
A paid, full-time manager or a party's day-to-day work who is elected by the national committee.: national chairman
Party leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses. Party rules determine the percentage of delegates seats reserved for party officials.: superdelegates
A party organization that recruits its members by dispensing patronage- tangible incentives such as money, political jobs, or an opportunity to get favors from gov- and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity.: political machine
A party that values principled stands above all else, including winning. It claims to have a comprehensive view of American society and government radically different from that of the established parties.: ideological party
The social rewards that lead people to join local or state political organizations. People who find politics fun and want to meet others who share their interests are said to respond to solidary incentives.: solidary incentives
A local or state political party that is largely staffed and funded by another organization with established networks in the community. One example is the Democratic Party in and around Detroit, whic has been developed and led, and to a degree financed b: sponsored party
The political support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks.: personal following
An electoral system with 2 dominant parties that compete in state or national elections. Third parties have little chance of winning.: two-party system
An electoral system, used in almost all American elections, in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if he or she does not receive a majority of the votes.: plurality system
An association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest.: caucus
The person currently in office: incumbent
The tendency of lesser-known or weaker caondidates to profit in an election by the presence on the ticket of a more popular candidate: coattails
A committee set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or special interest group that raises and spends campaign contributions on behalf of one or more candidates or causes.: political action committee (PAC)
Drawing the boundaries of political districts so that districts are very unequal in population.: malapportionment
Drawing the boundaries of political districts in bizarre or unusual shapes that make it easy for candidates of the party in power to win elections in those districts.: gerrymandering
An increase in the votes that congressional candidates usually get when they first run for reelections.: sophmore surge
An issue dividing the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters.: position issue
An issue on which voters distinuish rival parties by the degree to which they associate each party or candidate with conditions, goals, or symbols the electorate universally approves or disapproves of. Ex. of such issues are economic prosperity and polit: valence issue
An election used to fill an elective office.: general election
An election prior to the general election in which voters select the candidates who will run on each party's ticket. Before presidential elections, a presidential primary is held to select delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of major par: primary election
A primary election limited to registered party members. Prevents members of other parties from crossing over to influence the nomination of an opposing party's candidate.: closed primary
A primary election that permits voters to choose an election day the primary in which they wish to vote. They may votes for candidates for only one party.: open primary
A primary election that permits all voters, regardless of party, to choose candidates. A Democratic voter, for example can vote in a blanket primary for both democratic and republican candidated for nomination.: blanket primary
A second primary election held in some states when no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the first primary; the runoff is between the two candidates with the most votes. These are common in the south.: runoff primary
held to select delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of major parties.: presidential primary
Spending by PACs on political matters that is done directly and not by giving money to a candidate or party.: Independent Expenditure
Funds solicited from individuals, corporations, and unions that are spent on party activities, such as voter-registration campaigns and voting drives, rather than on behalf of a specific candidate. These funds need not be reported to the Federal Election: Soft money
Voting for a candidate because one favors his or her ideas for addressing issues after the election.: Prospective Voting
Voting for or against the candidateor party in office because one likes or dislikes how things have gone in the recent past.: Retrospective Voting
An interest group organized to influence gov decisions, especially legislation. Is to attempt to influence such decicisions.: Lobby
a person attempting to influence government decisions on behalf of the group.: Lobbyist
An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy.: Interest Group
A valued benefit obtained by joining a political organization.: Incentive
The social rewards that lead people to join local or state political organizations. People who find politics fun and want to meet others who share their interests are said to respond to these.: Solidary Incentives
Benefits that have monetary value, including money, gifts, services, or discounts, received as a result of one's membership in an organization.: Material Incentives
The benefit that comes from serving a cause or principle from which one does not personally benefit.: Purposive Incentives
Political organizations that attract members by appealing to their political convictions with coherent sets of (usually) controversial principles.: Ideological Interest Groups
A political organization the stated goals of which will principally benefit nonmembers.: Public-Interest Lobby
A widely shared demand for change in some aspect of the social or political order. The civil rights movement of the 1960s was such an event , as are broadly based religous revivals. A social movement may have liberal or conservative goals.: Social Movement
A signal telling a congressional representative what values (eg liberal or conservative) are at stake in a vote- who is for, who against a proposal- and how that issue fits into his or her own set of political beliefs or party agenda.: Political Cue
An assessment of a representative's voting record on issues important to an interest group. These are designed to generate public support for or opposition to a legislator.: ratings
A journalist who searches through the activies of public officials and organizations seeking to expose conduct contrary to the public interest. The term was first used by Pres. FDR in 1906 to warn that antibusiness journalism, while valuable, could be ex: Muckracker
A brief statement no longer than a few seconds used on a radio or television new broadcast.: sound bite
A rule of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) stating that if a broadcaster sells time to one cadidate for office, he or she must be willing to sell equal time to opposing candidates.: equal time rule
A rule of the FCC that if a person is attacked on a broadcast (other than in a regular news program), that person has the right to reply over that same station.: right-of-reply rule
A rule of the FCC that if a broadcaster endorses a candidate, the opposing candidate has a right to reply.: political editorializing rule
A former rule of the FCC that required broadcasters to give time to opposing views if they broadcast a program giving one side of a controversial issue.: fairness doctrine
An area easily reached by a television signal. There are about 200 in the country.: market (television)
Info provided to the media by an anonymous public official as a way of testing the public rxn to a possible policy or appointment.: trial balloon
Words that reflect a value judgement, used to persuade the listener without making an argument. Ex. calling someone "the esteemed Senator Smith" vs. "the radical senator": loaded language
Paying attention to only those parts of a newspaper or broadcast story with which one agrees. Studies suggest that this is how people view political ads on TV.: selective attention
Media reports about public events that are regularly covered by reporters and that involve simple, easily described acts or statements. Ex. the pres. takes a trip or congress passes a bill.: routine stories
Media reports about public events knowable to any reporter who care to inquire, but involving acts and statements not routinely covered by a group of reporters. Thus the reporter must take the initiative and select a particular event as newsworthy, decid: feature stories
Info not usually made public that becomes public because someone with inside knowledge tells a reporter. The reporter may have worked hard to learn these facts, in which case it is called "investigative reporting", or someone official may have: insider stories
A national press that is suspicious of officialdom and eager to break and embarassing story about a public official.: adversarial press
A public official's explanation of current policy provided to the press on the condition that the source remains anonymous.: background story (news)

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