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80 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Is a primary reason why only two major political parties exist in the U.S. that the Constitution puts severe restrictions on other parties?
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no
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Is a primary reason why only two major political parties exist in the U.S. that third parties are usually far to the right or left, and Americans are moderates?
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no
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Is a primary reason why only two major political parties exist in the U.S. that a winner-take-all electoral system makes it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive?
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yes
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Is a primary reason why only two major political parties exist in the U.S. that voters naturally think of themselves as either liberals or conservatives?
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no
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Do political parties in the United States serve the function of informing the public about political issues?
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yes
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Do political parties in the United States serve the function of mobilizing voters and getting them to the polls?
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yes
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Do political parties in the United States serve the function of organizing diverse interests in society?
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yes
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Do political parties in the United States serve the function of establishing the rules governing financial contributions to political candidates?
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no
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Do political parties in the U.S. increasingly identify themselves with coherent ideologies to attract large blocs of
voters? |
no
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Has the percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans been declining since the 1970's?
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yes
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Are national political party organizations generally the strongest political party organizations?
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No, local and state political party organizations are generally the strongest political party organizations.
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Is it increasingly difficult for third parties to gain more than two percent of the popular vote?
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no
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Do most candidates prefer to run as independents rather than as Democrats or Republicans?
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no
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To what does the term “party machine” usually refer?
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local party organization that is tightly disciplined, well staffed and relies on patronage to create party loyalty
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Were blue-collar workers likely to have been part of the New Deal electoral coalition?
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yes
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Were racial minorities likely to have been part of the New Deal electoral coalition?
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yes
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Were southerners likely to have been part of the New Deal electoral coalition?
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yes
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Were farm laborers likely to have been part of the New Deal electoral coalition?
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yes
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Were northern business leaders likely to have been part of the New Deal electoral coalition?
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no
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Do interest groups and political parties both link citizens to the political process?
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yes
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Do interest groups and political parties both lobby members of Congress?
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no; interest groups do, but political parties don't
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Do interest groups and political parties both centralize public authority?
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no; political parties try to when they win government office, but interest groups don't
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Do interest groups typically shift their positions over time?
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no
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Do political parties usually limit themselves to making campaign contributions to candidates?
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no; they try in any legal way possible to help their candidates win elections
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Do political parties seek to gain control of government?
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yes
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Do interest groups seek to influence public policy?
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yes
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Do interest groups tend to have narrow or broad coalitions of support?
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narrow
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Do political parties tend to have narrow or broad coalitions of support?
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broad
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Do political parties usually focus on one issue or many issues?
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many
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Do interest groups usually focus on one issue or many issues?
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many
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Are interest groups usually better able to articulate specific policy positions than political parties?
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yes
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Have national political parties become too closely identified with controversial issues?
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no
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Have court decisions restricted the political parties' abilities to recruit new members?
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no
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Is an interest group most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake is narrow or broad/wide-ranging?
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narrow
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Is an interest group most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake is high or low in public visibility?
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low
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Is an interest group most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake is or is not part of the President’s legislative package?
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is not
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Is an interest group most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake has been dramatized or not dramatized by the media?
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not dramatized
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Is an interest group most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake engages or does not engage legislators’ deeply held convictions?
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does not engage
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Is an interest group most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake unites or divides legislators along party lines?
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unites
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What is the "free rider problem"?
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when people benefit from an interest group’s efforts without making any contribution; this is political "free-loading"
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What is an "amicus curiae brief"?
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an argument or essay filed by a nonlitigant (not part of the case or lawsuit) group or individual who wants to attempt to influence the court
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According to U.S. law, are American labor unions allowed to engage in strikes?
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yes
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According to U.S. law, are American labor unions allowed to deny the public access to a business?
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no
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According to U.S. law, are American labor unions allowed to refuse a subpoena to appear before an investigative committee of Congress?
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no
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According to U.S. law, are American labor unions allowed to disobey a court injunction to return to work?
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no
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According to U.S. law, are American labor unions allowed to require members to make political contributions?
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no
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Are environmentalists likely to maintain a national lobbying organization in Washington, D.C.?
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yes
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Are nurses likely to maintain a national lobbying organization in Washington, D.C.?
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yes
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Are public housing tenants likely to maintain a national lobbying organization in Washington, D.C.?
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no, because they are poor and maintaining a national lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. is very expensive
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Are automobile manufacturers likely to maintain a national lobbying organization in Washington, D.C.?
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yes
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Are automobile assembly-line workers likely to maintain a national lobbying organization in Washington, D.C.?
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yes
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Do interest groups usually influence the political process by lobbying?
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yes
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Do interest groups usually influence the political process by contributing money to candidates?
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yes
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Do interest groups usually influence the political process by filing lawsuits?
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yes
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Do interest groups usually influence the political process by appealing to public opinion?
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yes
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Do interest groups usually influence the political process by nominating candidates?
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no; political parties nominate candidates
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Would an interest group likely have the greatest influence on policy matters involving narrow issues or broad/wide-ranging issues?
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narrow issues
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Would an interest group likely have the greatest influence on policy matters involving technical information or easy-to-understand information?
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technical information
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Would an interest group likely have the greatest influence on policy matters involving only a few interest groups or many interest groups?
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only a few interest groups
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Would a corporate lobbyist be likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with a member of the House of Representatives in whose district the corporation has a plant?
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yes
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Would a corporate lobbyist be likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with a member of the White House staff concerned about the issue?
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yes
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Would a corporate lobbyist be likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with a member of the staff of the Senate committee handling a matter of concern to the corporation?
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yes
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Would a corporate lobbyist be likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with a journalist for a major newspaper concerned about the issue?
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yes
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Would a corporate lobbyist be likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with a federal judge in whose court a case important to the corporation is being heard?
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no; federal judges generally do not meet or discuss cases except with their law clerks/assistants or fellow judges serving on the same court in the same case
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To try to influence political outcomes in Congress, would a corporate lobbyist be likely to ensure that the corporation's political action committee (PAC) makes donations to the
campaigns of members of key committees? |
yes
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To try to influence political outcomes in Congress, would a corporate lobbyist be likely to meet informally with Senate aides over lunch or cocktails?
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yes
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To try to influence political outcomes in Congress, would a corporate lobbyist be likely to bring influential constituents to Washington to discuss important policy matters with their
Representatives? |
yes
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To try to influence political outcomes in Congress, would a corporate lobbyist be likely to organize a demonstration in Washington just before a key House vote?
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no; corporate lobbyists like to be low-key, working "behind the scenes" one-on-one or in a small group, not vocally in public while "causing a scene"
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Is it true about political action committees (PACs) that they may give unlimited contributions to the election campaigns of individual candidates?
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no; the money PACs may give to individual candidates is limited
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Is it true about political action committees (PACs) that PAC spending has not kept pace with inflation?
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no; PAC spending has increased more than inflation over the years
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Is it true about political action committees (PACs) that PAC activity is limited to direct contributions to candidates?
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no; PAC activity includes giving money to political parties or paying for advertising not directly connected to individual candidates
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Is it true about political action committees (PACs) that social issue groups are the source of most PAC dollars?
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no; economic issues groups are the source of most PAC dollars
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Is it true about political action committees (PACs) that PAC spending makes up a higher percentage of congressional campaign funds than of
presidential campaign funds? |
yes
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Is the primary function of political action committees (PAC's) to raise campaign funds to support favored candidates?
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yes
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Has the number of political action committees (PACs) remained stable over the past decade?
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no; PACs have increased over the past decade
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Is most political action committee (PAC) money distributed to challengers in an effort to unseat hostile incumbents?
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no; most PAC money is given to incumbents regardless of political party
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Is the amount of money that political action committees (PACs) can contribute directly to an individual candidate limited
by law? |
yes
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Are political action committees (PACs) illegal in most states?
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no; PACs are legal in all states
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Do political action committees (PACs) rarely attempt to influence legislation through lobbying activities?
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no; PACs regularly attempt to influence legislation through lobbying activities
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When contributing to congressional campaigns, are political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to incumbents of both parties, Democratic challengers, Republican challengers, or third-party challengers?
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incumbents of both parties
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