Chapter 9: Political Parties: The Insurgents versus the Establishment

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. By its nature, representative democracy involves uncertainty in which candidates might ______.

a. choose to run for office and which party they will claim

b. win an election and how citizens decide which candidates to support

c. seek the support of a major party and which candidates might win the nomination

d. be recruited by a major party and which candidates might eventually win the nomination of their party

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Political parties are best defined as ______.

a. grassroots movements that find themselves in the heart of a political conflict or policy issue in an efficient and organized way

b. disorganized factions of candidates and activists that seek to control the democratic process through the election process

c. hierarchical layers of leaders, politicians, and supporters that seek to influence public policy through lobbying and political donations

d. organized groups of candidates, officeholders, voters, and activists that work together to elect candidates for political office

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Political parties provide which of the following for potential voters?

a. candidate labeling

b. grassroots support

c. political influence

d. financial and physical resources

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Political leaders face the challenge of ______.

a. organizing at a local level in order to create an efficient means by which candidates are selected

b. influencing voters through informal mechanisms that support the platform of the individual candidates

c. creating an attractive and consistent message that gets their candidates elected and maintains party cohesion

d. creating a unifying party platform that all candidates will follow in order to gain control of the political process

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Which two candidates found themselves unexpectedly emerging as major forces as political outsiders during the 2016 campaign season?

a. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

b. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders

c. Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz

d. Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Traditionally, most of the drama in an American presidential election is between ______ or ______.

a. parties; candidates

b. lobbyists; voters

c. candidates; lobbyists

d. parties; voters

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Both Senator Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump would normally find themselves too ______ to pose a legitimate threat to their party’s status quo.

a. contrasting

b. weak

c. unpredictable

d. extreme

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. In 2016, Trump and Sanders found themselves advancing in the electoral process based upon ______.

a. their likability factor in multiple Gallup polls

b. voters’ profound disgust with politics as usual

c. their proposed policies and their party platforms

d. their past political experience as political insiders

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders failed to concentrate their campaigns on the so-called ______ and actually gained favor among voters for it.

a. party establishment

b. grassroots movement

c. uninformed voters

d. party outsiders

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Anti-establishment campaigns that focus on candidates as “outsiders” with criticism of party elites are generally reflective of the trend known as ______.

a. patriotism

b. conservatism

c. populism

d. centrism

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. In general, supporters of Bernie Sanders felt that the Democratic Party establishment in the 2016 presidential election ______.

a. favored Secretary Clinton

b. favored Senator Sanders

c. created a level playing field for all candidates

d. effectively swung the election to Donald Trump

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.4: Reflect on the implications of the presidential election of 2016 for the Democratic and Republican Parties.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sanders’ Supporters Cry “Foul!”

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. The reigning political paradox of our era is ______.

a. partisanship is strong but parties are weak

b. parties are powerful and partisanship is declining

c. voters exercise power and parties do not

d. candidates gain votes while parties do not

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Americans’ Identification with Either of the Two Major Political Parties is Changing

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Government benefits such as special provisions in the tax code that are provided to businesses in hopes of enabling them to succeed and keep workers on their payroll were referred to as ______ by Senator Sanders.

a. business entitlements

b. capital incentives

c. political necessities

d. corporate welfare

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Which movement did Senator Sanders most endorse prior to his running for president?

a. Black Lives Matter

b. Occupy Wall Street

c. Corporate Welfare

d. Bank Bailouts

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. The Sanders campaign message that seemed to resonate most with voters who supported him was that the playing field is ______.

a. necessarily tilted in order to keep American businesses from failing

b. unacceptably tilted toward the top 1% of Americans

c. artificially benefiting the poor to the harm of the rich

d. in need of redefining in order to assist corporate enterprise

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Unlike Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders refused to accept campaign donations from ______.

a. individual donors

b. small business owners

c. Wall Street companies and their employees

d. political action committees

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment..

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. In 2010, President Obama proposed extending ______, which angered Senator Sanders because they would benefit the wealthy more than the working class.

a. tax cuts

b. tax increases

c. excise taxes

d. tax abatements

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Which of the following was a policy supported by Bernie Sanders?

a. instituting a personal property tax

b. raising income taxes on the middle class

c. taxing banks that failed

d. increasing taxes on the wealthy

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Besides the Affordable Care Act, which of the following policies was supported by Bernie Sanders?

a. ensuring educational loans were easier to qualify for

b. lowering interest rates on personal credit cards

c. making college education tuition free and debt free

d. raising interest rates on big banks and corporations

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Hillary Clinton criticized many of the ideas of Bernie Sanders as ______.

a. unrealistic

b. uninterpretable

c. unpredictable

d. unenforceable

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Hillary Clinton said that Senator Sanders wanted the United States to resemble ______, which had taxes of more than 26% of its GDP.

a. the United Kingdom

b. Denmark

c. Germany

d. France

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Bernie Sanders Challenges Fellow Democrats to Focus More on Income Inequality

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. Unlike Senator Sanders and most other presidential candidates, Donald Trump had never ______.

a. demonstrated political interest

b. led a large organization

c. been a successful businessman

d. previously held elected office

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. The GOP or “Grand Old Party” refers to ______.

a. the Democratic Party

b. the Republican Party

c. the Tea Party

d. the Green Party

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. The Republicans and the Democrats have been the two major parties in the United States since ______.

a. the presidency of Thomas Jefferson

b. the Civil War

c. the onset of the New Deal

d. the 1960s

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Donald Trump’s tendency to ______ led many conservative Republicans to question whether he would remain faithful to their party.

a. declare bankruptcy

b. speak “off the cuff”

c. switch parties

d. buy and sell property

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Many Republicans blasted Donald Trump’s promises to cut deals in order to benefit the U.S. economy as contradicting their philosophy of ______.

a. conservatism

b. elitist leadership

c. constitutionalism

d. limited government

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Due to his celebrity and his extensive news coverage, Donald Trump did not have to depend on ______ in his run for president.

a. voter support

b. financial donations

c. party resources

d. public momentum

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. One study in March 2016 estimated that Donald Trump had received ______ in free media coverage.

a. $1 million

b. $500 million

c. $2 billion

d. $5 billion

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Donald Trump made frequent use of what social media application while campaigning?

a. Facebook

b. Twitter

c. Instagram

d. Tumblr

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. The majority of Trump supporters state that they support him because he has tapped into their ______.

a. deep frustration with politics and political parties

b. hidden fears and biases

c. feelings of patriotism and isolationism

d. concerns for the security of the United States

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Donald Trump Challenges Fellow Republicans on Policy and with Controversial Remarks

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Which of the following do Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump share in common?

a. intense fear of new immigration

b. faith in the current path of American policy

c. feelings of economic optimism

d. a refusal to rely on large outside contributions

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sanders and Trump Shared in a Basic Challenge to Their Parties’ Establishment

Difficulty Level: Hard

32. As observed by Donald Trump, one important political trend, made evident early in the 2016 campaign season, was the ______.

a. approval of Republican insiders

b. attraction of new potential voters

c. shared fear of terrorism and immigration

d. degree of Republican party infighting

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sanders and Trump Shared in a Basic Challenge to Their Parties’ Establishment

Difficulty Level: Hard

33. In the early history of the United States, many of the framers saw political parties as ______.

a. divisive factions

b. cohesive organizations

c. necessary evils

d. unifying agencies

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Parties Act to Identify, Support, and Nominate Candidates for Elected Office

Difficulty Level: Easy

34. The proposal for party reform that emphasizes cohesive partisan positions that present voters with a clear set of choices and allows members’ voices to be effectively incorporated into party positions and issues is defined as the ______ model.

a. realist candidate

b. responsible party

c. potential voter

d. idealist candidate

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Parties Act to Identify, Support, and Nominate Candidates for Elected Office

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. Political Scientist V. O. Kelly, Jr. identified what three primary roles for potential parties in American representative democracy?

a. (1) recruitment/nomination, (2) labeling, and (3) policy enactment/opposition to other parties

b. (1) labeling, (2) lobbying, and (3) party unification and policy enactment

c. (1) campaigning, (2) financial and physical support, and (3) policy proposal and legislative agendas

d. (1) candidate vetting, (2) recruitment/nomination, and (3) campaign planning and agenda setting

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Act to Identify, Support, and Nominate Candidates for Elected Office

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. As organizations, political parties seek to unify people under a shared banner of ______ goals.

a. economic, psychosocial, and theoretical

b. political, philosophical, and heuristic

c. social, economic, and ideological

d. economic, political, and security

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Unite People as Organizations

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. From an organizational perspective, parties tend to be ______.

a. centralized

b. decentralized

c. democratized

d. radicalized

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Parties Are Decentralized.

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Because of federalism, ______ play a key role in party politics.

a. national committees

b. national leaders

c. local activists

d. state parties

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Parties Are Decentralized

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Because of the ability for party groups to legally raise and spend large sums of money, many state party organizations are ______.

a. thriving

b. growing

c. struggling

d. closing

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Parties Are Decentralized

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Who traditionally chooses the national chair of his/her party?

a. the Speaker of the House

b. the president

c. the exiting chairperson

d. the presumptive nominee

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Party Leaders Are Advisers, Not Rulers

Difficulty Level: Medium

41. What type of power does the national party have over the state and local parties beneath it?

a. supervisory

b. administrative

c. regulatory

d. advisory

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Party Leaders Are Advisers, Not Rulers

Difficulty Level: Medium

42. State parties are governed by a(n) ______ comprised of elected members that govern the operations of the state party.

a. central committee

b. advisory council

c. regulatory commission

d. administrative body

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Party Leaders Are Advisers, Not Rulers

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. Recruitment is best described as the process through which political parties ______.

a. select candidates for the ballot

b. communicate their policy agendas

c. identify potential candidates

d. develop the party platform

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates

Difficulty Level: Easy

44. Parties sometimes try to discourage prospective candidates because they fear that these candidates will ______.

a. draw votes away from the party’s preferred choice

b. gain undeserved favor with the voting public

c. stray from the party’s official policy platform

d. ignore the direct orders of party leadership

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates

Difficulty Level: Medium

45. Which of the following best describes the phases of a candidate’s campaign?

a. party support, candidate vetting, recruitment

b. recruitment, candidate vetting, party support

c. party support, decision to run, nomination process

d. decision to run, nomination process, party support

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates

Difficulty Level: Hard

46. The formal process through which parties choose their candidates for political office is called ______.

a. vetting

b. recruitment

c. nomination

d. orientation

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Easy

47. In order to get a party’s nomination, a candidate must get the support of ______.

a. lobbyists

b. rich donors

c. party leaders

d. delegates

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

48. Most of the details about how delegates are selected are worked out by ______.

a. the voters

b. the parties themselves

c. the Federal Election Commission

d. the state legislatures

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

49. The majority of states choose their delegates through ______.

a. presidential primary elections

b. statewide caucus meetings

c. local party elections

d. party committee decisions

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

50. A system in which eligible voters may participate in a party’s primary election regardless of that voter’s partisan affiliation is called a(n) ______.

a. closed primary

b. caucus

c. blanket primary

d. open primary

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

51. A system in which primary elections are open only to registered voters from a particular political party is called a(n) ______.

a. closed primary

b. caucus

c. blanket primary

d. open primary

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

52. Which of the following is most responsible for two-party dominance in the United States?

a. the single-member plurality system

b. the Bill of Rights

c. the proportional representation system

d. the Two Party Act of 1833

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: America’s Electoral System Leads to Two-Party Dominance

Difficulty Level: Medium

53. Fed up with the state of the Democratic and Republican Party, you’re thinking of creating a third party in 2018. On which issue would you most likely have success, at least initially, in differentiating your new party from the existing party?

a. climate change

b. an assault rifle limitation

c. a woman’s right to choose

d. elimination of PACs in campaign finance

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Hard

54. A process through which a state’s eligible voters gather to discuss candidates and issues and select delegates to represent their preferences in later stages of the nomination process is called a ______.

a. primary

b. census

c. caucus

d. referendum

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

55. Of the following, what best describes the 2016 presidential election?

a. It was just like any other election.

b. It was an election that featured outsiders.

c. It was an election without scandals.

d. It was an election that was easily predictable.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

56. Because of their complexity, caucuses tend to draw ______.

a. national attention

b. fewer participants

c. more participants

d. party leaders

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

57. Which of the following does not accurately describe political parties?

a. A national political party plays a key role in presidential elections.

b. Political parties are decentralized organizations.

c. State parties have no autonomy separate from the national parties.

d. Candidates get fundraising help from national and state political parties.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties Unite People as Organizations

Difficulty Level: Hard

58. Democratic officeholders and other party leaders who cast votes in the formal stages of the nomination process and are not tied to the outcomes of any state results are called ______.

a. delegates

b. observers

c. superdelegates

d. administrators

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

59. The Republican Party tends to assign its delegates using a ______.

a. superdelegate system

b. caucus system

c. winner-take-all system

d. committee system

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

60. A win in an early primary/caucus state benefits a candidate by establishing ______.

a. candidate momentum

b. voting patterns

c. delegate selection

d. electoral votes

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Hard

61. To take advantage of the benefits of holding an early primary or caucus, many states try to engage in a process known as ______.

a. rear-ending

b. caucus stacking

c. bulldozing

d. front-loading

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

62. By tradition, which state presidential primaries have been the first two on the schedule?

a. Texas and Oklahoma

b. Iowa and New Hampshire

c. Illinois and Kansas

d. New York and New Jersey

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Easy

63. The final phase of the nomination process takes place at the party’s ______ convention.

a. precinct

b. county

c. state

d. national

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

64. Many state political party organizations are struggling today. What is the most significant explanation for this?

a. Many non-party groups are able to raise large sums of money for political causes.

b. There is a growing ideological gap between national and state political parties.

c. Many federal laws restrict state parties’ activities.

d. Recent Supreme Court decisions have reduced state parties’ autonomy.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties are Decentralized

Difficulty Level: Hard

65. Which of the following best describes the relationship between candidates and their party?

a. Party leaders seek to win elections by depending upon incumbent candidates with a winning record.

b. Candidates need to win and depend more on the support of the voters than the party itself.

c. Party leaders seek to impact the political process by relying on candidates who have the best chance to win an election.

d. Politicians rely on their party to help them get elected but in doing so grant power to party leaders.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Hard

66. According to political scientist John Aldrich, things get really interesting when ______.

a. party leadership exerts control over the candidates

b. candidates no longer feel that the party leadership is serving their own goals

c. candidates seek outside financing and support and forego party resources

d. party leadership fails to control a renegade candidate and loses party unity

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

67. A person’s beliefs about political goals, public policies, and which acts to shape individual electoral choices is called his or her political ______.

a. identity

b. ideology

c. platform

d. partisanship

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Party Identification and Political Ideology

Difficulty Level: Medium

68. In recent decades, the Democratic Party has been connected with policies of ______, and Republicans have been connected with policies of ______.

a. liberalism; conservatism

b. conservatism; liberalism

c. democracy; republicanism

d. federalism: constitutionalism

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Party Identification and Political Ideologies

Difficulty Level: Medium

69. In general, the major parties try to make their case to the public by ______.

a. appealing to the base of their constituency

b. appealing to undecided voters

c. offering sharp contrasts to each other

d. focusing on issues that are common to all Americans

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Medium

70. When a voter chooses a candidate from one party for one office and a candidate from a different party for another office on the ballot, this is known as ______ voting.

a. off-party

b. mixed-ballot

c. counterbalanced

d. split-ticket

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Americans’ Identification with Either of the Two Major Political Parties is Changing

Difficulty Level: Medium

71. Which of the following statements is not true regarding party leadership?

a. The president chooses the chair of his/her national party.

b. State parties can put pressure on national parties.

c. A national party’s decision is final and the state parties will comply with it.

d. The national party chair serves as a prominent spokesperson of the party.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Party Leaders are Advisers, Not Rulers

Difficulty Level: Hard

72.The pressures that parties face to point out sharp differences between their positions and those of the opposition have led to increasing ______.

a. parity

b. polarization

c. unity

d. partisanship

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Hard

73. The inability to compromise and enact legislation driven by sharp polarization is known as ______.

a. gridlock

b. polarization

c. partisanship

d. front-loading

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Medium

74. One important faction within the Democratic Party that has pushed the party to call for a raise in the minimum wage is ______.

a. business interest groups

b. labor unions

c. political action committees

d. the Tea Party

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Medium

75. Which faction of the Republican Party has become increasingly influential in the past few years?

a. labor unions

b. political action committees

c. the House Freedom Caucus

d. business interest groups

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Medium

76. For the past 150 years, control of government has been ______.

a. under the leadership of the Republican Party and the Tea Party

b. dominated by the Democratic Party and its leaders

c. in the hands of political independents and political third parties

d. shifting back and forth between the Democratic and Republican Parties

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

77. Eras of stability of the composition of political parties and the issues around which they coalesce, brought on by shorter periods of intense change, are known as ______.

a. periods of polarization

b. systems of unification

c. partisan politics

d. party systems

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

78. The first party system was between the ______ and the ______.

a. Federalist Party; Democratic Republicans

b. Whigs; Tories

c. Republican Party; Democratic Party

d. Depression-era Democrats; business-oriented Republicans

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Development of Political Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

79. A critical point in which public support shifts substantially from one party to another is known as ______.

a. polarization

b. realignment

c. periodization

d. partisanship

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

80. Periods of realignment may be ushered in by ______, which signal a change either in the balance of power between two major parties or the emergence of a new party system.

a. essential events

b. critical elections

c. periods of polarization

d. systems of innovation

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

81. By 1824, the Democratic-Republican Party was largely dissolved and had become known as the ______ Party.

a. Whig

b. Federalist

c. Tory

d. Bull Moose

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

82. The third-party system was primarily influenced by the issue of ______.

a. trade

b. slavery

c. national defense

d. international policy

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

83. During the fourth party system, Democrats and Republicans continued to dominate national politics but were occasionally challenged by ______.

a. special interests

b. political action committees

c. third parties

d. federal intervention

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

84. During the fifth party system, the ______ dominated due to economic instability caused by the Great Depression.

a. Republican Party

b. Federalist Party

c. Bull Moose Party

d. Democratic Party

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

85. During the sixth party system, Democrats were focused on vigorous ______ government and Republicans were focused on ______ government.

a. federal; smaller

b. international; federal

c. state; large

d. federal; international

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

86. A political party that operates over a limited period of time, in competition with two other major parties, is referred to as a ______.

a. political action committee

b. third party

c. disruptive faction

d. SuperPac

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

87. In recruiting, a party will try to do all of the following except ______.

a. selecting a candidate who will appeal to a specific group with a high concentration of voters

b. finding a candidate who best reflects the party’s philosophy

c. discouraging their own members from running if they do not have a good chance of winning

d. recruiting candidates who can self-finance their campaigns

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates

Difficulty Level: Medium

88. The two major political parties in the United States at present are ______.

a. the Republican Party and the Green Party

b. the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party

c. the Republican Party and the Democratic Party

d. the Democratic Party and the Green Party

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Easy

89. Despite their lack of success at the national level, third parties have had better luck in ______ races.

a. statewide

b. international

c. countywide

d. local-level

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

90. One way the major parties have limited the competitiveness of third parties is by preventing their candidates from taking part in presidential _____.

a. primaries

b. caucuses

c. debates

d. conventions

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Hard

91. Which of the following statements best describes how politics affects political parties?

a. Political parties try to appeal to as many people as possible regardless of their ideology.

b. The Republican Party tries to distinguish itself from the Democratic Party by offering different issue positions.

c. People generally support a party that is willing to make compromises with another party.

d. Americans prefer a rotation of political parties in the government.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Hard

True/False

1. Once in office, elected officials are free to conduct their own political careers with little intervention from their political party leadership.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Unite People as Organizations

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. In terms of drama, 2016 was different because many of the major candidates were seen as too extreme to pose a legitimate threat to the political establishment.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. The responsible party model requires little or no party cohesion in order to succeed.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Act to Identify, Support, and Nominate Candidates for Elected Office

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. In reality, political parties are basically a large collection of state organizations that, in turn, are loose collections of local groups.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Political Parties Are Decentralized

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. To be fair, parties try to encourage prospective candidates within their own ranks who aren’t seen as having a good chance of winning.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Political ideology and party identification are closely related but distinct concepts.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Party Identification and Political Ideologies

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. One main difference between Republicans and Democrats in the assignment and selection of delegates is that the Republicans include the use of superdelegates, while Democrats do not.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. In the current party system, the Republican Party’s base has been shifting away from the Northeast and toward the rapidly growing South.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the winner of the presidency did not win a majority of the popular vote.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.4: Reflect on the implications of the presidential election of 2016 for the Democratic and Republican Parties.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The “What Ifs” of Parties and Insurgency

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. The Democratic and Republican Parties have both worked to encourage the growth of third parties.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Donald Trump entered the White House in January 2017 wildly popular with Republicans.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.4: Reflect on the implications of the presidential election of 2016 for the Democratic and Republican Parties.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The “What Ifs” of Parties and Insurgency

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Each and every new party system in American history has brought with it at least one new major party.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Hard

13. Independent voters are more likely to split a ticket than people who are partisans.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Americans’ Identification with Either of the Two Major Political Parties is Changing

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. One important way that parties try to influence or shape elections is through the ______ of candidates.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. In many states, voters are not required to predeclare their party affiliation and may select which primary they want to participate in on the day of the primary election. This is an example of a(n) ______.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. If the election of 2016 is so critical that it signals a change in the balance of power between the two major parties or the emergence of a new party system, it would be considered a ______.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The third-party system saw the issue of ______ as its most important cause for realignment.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Third-party candidates tend to focus on a ______ issue that they don’t think the major parties are emphasizing enough.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The degree to which voters are connected to a political party is known as ______.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Party Identification and Political Ideologies

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Since the 1980s, the political party with which Americans have quantitatively identified the most is the ______ Party.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.3: Evaluate the changing role of parties as labels for citizens to learn about candidates and their positions on issues.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Americans’ Identification with Either of the Two Major Political Parties is Changing

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. During the fifth party system (1930s–1960s), the ______ Party has dominated the White House and Congress.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Explain how the 2016 election was particularly unconventional as compared to previous elections. Focus your discussion on what we know about the traditional American two-party system of politics.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.1: Reflect on the ways in which the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenged their parties’ establishment.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Presidential Candidates Shake Up the Field…and Conventional Wisdom about the Power and Cohesion of Their Parties

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Explain the role of recruitment in the political party process and focus your discussion on the effectiveness of recruitment in the 2016 election.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office; 9.4: Reflect on the implications of the presidential election of 2016 for the Democratic and Republican Parties.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties Shape Elections by Recruiting and Supporting Candidates; The Presidential Election of 2016 Throws Conventional Wisdom out of the Window

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Discuss the causes of political polarization and gridlock and the roles they play in American politics today.

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Political Polarization Leads to Gridlock in American Governance

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. What factors have led to the relative stability of American party systems throughout the nation’s history? What has led to change most recently?

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. What do you see as the future of third parties in the American political system?

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.5: Examine the role of parties in government and the traditional dominance of two major political parties in national elections.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: While the Landscape of Parties in Government Has Changed, It Has Historically Been Dominated by Two Major Parties; Minor Parties May Challenge the Two Major Parties

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Parties make strategic decisions about how to conduct presidential primaries. What are some of these decisions and how might these decisions ultimately affect the selection of candidate and the policy positions adopted in the general election?

TOP: Learning Outcome: Describe the roles and relative importance of major entities and influences in American political life.

KEY: Learning Objective: 9.2: Identify the roles the political parties play in supporting and nominating candidates for office.

REF: Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Parties Select Candidates through the Nomination Process

Difficulty Level: Hard