APGAP Reading Quiz 2A AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES

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1 1. Which of the following is TRUE of political parties in the United States? a. Parties require dues. b. Parties issue membership cards to all members. c. Party members agree on all major issues or they will be expelled from the party. d. They are more powerful than their European counterparts. 2. Compared to 1952, recent polls on party identification have shown that a. more people today identify themselves as Democrats. b. the percentage of Democrats has increased only slightly, while the percentage of Republicans has declined. c. both the percentages of Democrats and Republicans in the country has increased. d. there are more independents than there are Democrats or Republicans. e. more people identify themselves Republicans than Democrats. 3. In terms of organizational structure, American political parties are a. decentralized and fragmented. b. centralized and hierarchical. c. organized more by regions of the country than at the state or national level. d. tightly controlled organisms that exert tremendous control over candidates. e. operated on the principle of democratic centralism: Local and state organizations control the national organizations. 4. Today, unlike the Kennedy era (1960 s), which of the following is TRUE? a. Most Congressional candidates run on their personal record rather than their party's record and platform. A lot of this has to do with the effect of the electronic media, making campaigns far more candidate and personalitycentered. b. Presidents rely most heavily on their party machinery to get their message out. c. Members of Congress feel they owe great loyalty to presidents of their own party. d. Most members of Congress feel their re-election is strongly tied to the success or failure of presidents of their party. e. The parties no longer censure or remove disloyal members from the Congress. 5. Realignments can be typically associated with a. a major crisis or trauma in the nation. The Great Depression in 1932, civil and political unrest in 1968, etc. b. changes in election laws. c. one party winning the presidency while the other controls Congress. d. a major reorganization of the executive branch. e. the creation of new states. APGAP Reading Quiz 2A AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES (Lineberry, Chapter 8 & O Connor, Chapter 11) 6. Party eras in American politics are periods of time in which a. partisan identification is at high levels and political party nominees win most elections rather than independent candidates who are unaffiliated with a party. b. one party dominates. c. one party wins every presidential election. d. political dominance frequently shifts from one party to the other. e. party organizations grow very strong, are able to control the policy positions of their candidates, and win votes by providing jobs and government services to loyal party supporters.

2 7. "Critical elections" always result in the a. displacement of the minority party by the majority party. b. formation of new coalitions for each political party. c. formation of new political parties. d. successful bid by a third political party. e. widespread public questioning of the American election process accompanied by calls for its reform. 8. Which of the following groups was NOT part of the New Deal coalition? a. African Americans b. members of labor unions c. New Englanders d. Southerners e. Catholics and Jews 9. Since 1968, American politics has been characterized by a. divided government. b. Republican control of both the Congress and Presidency. c. Democratic control of both the Congress and Presidency. d. the New Deal coalition. e. Democratic control of the Presidency and Republican control of Congress. 10. From 1968 to 1992, a. a realignment occurred that destroyed the New Deal coalition. b. the Republicans became the majority party. c. the Republicans dominated the Presidency while the Democrats dominated Congress. The trend has been a more divided government going back-and-forth since 1994 with Republicans controlling Congress from & the Democrats regaining the White House from & 2009-? d. the Republicans dominated the federal government while the Democrats dominated state governments. e. the Democrats experienced a slow, "creeping ascendance" that culminated in their gaining control of the entire government with the election of Bill Clinton. 11. Party dealignment means the a. increasing inability of minority parties to win elections. b. decreasing influence of both parties on voters and government. c. lack of party cohesion in Congress. d. realignment of party coalitions. e. the inability of the parties to deal with the nation's problems. 12. Which of the following statements about third parties in the United States is FALSE? a. Third parties are a rare phenomena in American history. centered. b. Third-party candidates almost never win office in the United States. c. Third parties have brought new groups into the electorate. d. Third parties often bring new issues to the political agenda. e. Third parties have changed the outcome of elections. 13. An example of a splinter party would be a. Ross Perot s Reform Party of b. the Green Party of c. the American Independent Party of d. the Libertarian Party in e. the Republican Party in All of the following are reasons that the two-party system has continued to endure in the United States except a. a minor party is unlikely to gather enough public support to elect its presidential candidate. b. under the winner-take-all system, no incentive is given for finishing second or lower. c. Americans agree on enough issues to form broad based coalitions that can be satisfied by only two major political parties. d. minor parties are discouraged by election laws in many states. e. the U.S. plurality system requires parties minor parties to form alliances with other parties to win elections.

3 15. Which of the following are often factionalized and value principle above all else? a. personal followings b. major parties c. ideological parties d. sponsored parties 16. U.S. political parties must strive to become broad-based coalitions or face being irrelevant, in part because of a. the plurality system of elections. Winner takes all! b. the proportional system of elections. c. the nature of political independents. d. the need to articulate clear party platforms. e. all of the above. 17. All of the following are reasons that the two-party system has continued to endure in the United States except a. a minor party is unlikely to gather enough public support to elect its presidential candidate. b. under the winner-take-all system, no incentive is given for finishing second or lower. c. Americans agree on enough issues to form broad based coalitions that can be satisfied by only two major political parties. d. minor parties are discouraged by election laws in many states. e. the U.S. plurality system requires parties minor parties to form alliances with other parties to win elections. Repeat of #14! 18. Which of the following statements about minor parties in the United States is correct? a. They have changed the outcome of Presidential elections on more than one occasion. b. They have been a major force in many national elections since c. They did not play a factor in any of the last three presidential elections. d. Many members of Congress belong to them. 19. The Libertarian Party is an example of a(n) a. economic-protest party. b. factional party. c. solidary party. d. one-issue party. a correct answer would have been: an ideological party 20. Even though minor parties have had little success in national elections, they have played an important role in many elections by a. forcing runoffs that sharpened the policy positions of the two major parties. b. making the cost of running for the presidency much higher. c. forcing presidential candidates to publicly debate more opponents. d. encouraging dissident factions to remain in the Democratic or Republican Party. e. influencing the public policy positions of the two major parties. 21. Which of the following is NOT a role political parties play in American society? a. help voters to know what a candidate stands for. b. link people with government. c. run political campaigns. d. give voters information about government and society. e. ensure that Americans have the right to vote.

4 22. In terms of the Republican party, George W. Bush is a. the party-in-the-electorate b. the party-in-leadership c. the party-as-an organization d. all of the above I suppose I should have used the term the text uses party-in-government for b., but you still got it. (Didn t you?) 23. Which of the following is NOT true about the era in American politics from 1968 to the present? a. Most presidents do not have their party in control of both houses of Congress b. It has been a period of dealignment. c. Voters have been more independent than in previous eras. d. It has been a period of realignment. e. It has been a period of divided government. I threw this one out. I could see how they could ALL be true. 24. Which of the following is the MOST correct about the role of party in the future of American politics? a. The party will likely continue to play an important, if somewhat diminished role. b. The party will likely be eliminated as voters take their cues from new hi-tech sources. c. The party will likely be eliminated as the role of electronic media emphasizes personality. d. The party will likely become stronger and more visible as the need for campaign contributions increases. e. The party will likely return to its previous power in Congress because of an era of divided government. This was on your practice RQ! 25. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The largest component of the American political party is the party-in-government. b. In the American electorate, a few voters are liberal, a few are conservative, but the are in the middle. c. Candidates do not usually adhere to their party s platform once elected. d. Realignments do not usually occur after presidential elections. e. Parties are diminishing considerably in power. This was on your practice RQ! 26. Which of the following is the best definition of a direct primary? a. the selection of party candidates through the ballots of qualified voters b. the selection of party candidates by delegates at a national meeting c. the selection of party candidates by members of the party as an organization d. the selection of party candidates by other members of the party in government This was on the Anita Study RQ! 27. Which of the following is the best representation of the instrument through which the major parties nominate a presidential candidate every four years? a. direct primary b. party platform c. party convention d. party conference e. national committee This was on the Anita Study RQ! 28. Which of the following is the closest approximation to the percentage of the popular vote received by third party candidate, Ralph Nader, in the presidential election of 2000? a. 2% b. 10% c. 22% d. 31% e. 49%

5 29. Which of the following could represent a registered Republican who does not hold elective office, but volunteers on a campaign to help elect a Republican congressional candidate? (1) party-in-the-electorate (2) party-in-government (3) party-as-an-organization (4) party-in-power a. 1 only b. 3 only c. 1 & 3 only d. 2, 3 & 4 only combinations 30. President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office on January 20, 2009 and advocates remaining in Iraq and not immediately raising taxes on the most affluent Americans, differing from the majority of Democrats in Congress and his own stated plans while running for President. If this were to happen, which of the following would be the most likely to occur? a. he would face impeachment from Democratic members of Congress b. he would not be chosen as the Democratic nominee for President by the Democratic party in c. he would not be chosen as the Democratic nominee for President by Democratic voters in d. his stated policies would become the positions of the Democratic Party.