Vocab Quiz 3 (pgs. 11 - 15)

Question 1

the governing body of a political party made up of state and national party leaders.

Answer 1

National committee

Question 2

the governing authority of the political party. They give direction to the national party chairperson, the spokesperson of the party, and the person who heads the national committee, the governing body of the party. They are also the forums where presidential candidates are given the official nod by their parties.

Answer 2

National nominating conventions

Question 3

a term created by the Democratic Leadership Council in 1992, it denotes a more conservative, centrist Democrat.

Answer 3

New Democrat

Question 4

a shift away from the major political parties to a more neutral, independent ideological view of party identification.

Answer 4

Party dealignment

Question 5

a time period characterized by national dominance by one political party. There have been four major party eras in American history - the era of good feeling, the Republican era following the Civil War, the Democratic era following the election of Franklin Roosevelt, and the Republican era following the election of Richard Nixon.

Answer 5

Party eras

Question 6

the party organization that exists on the local level and uses patronage as the means to keep the party members in line. Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall are examples.

Answer 6

Party machine

Question 7

voted on by the delegates attending the National Convention, they represent the ideological point of view of a political party.

Answer 7

Party platforms

Question 8

the signaling resulting from a national election or a major shift in the political spectrum and characterized by the start of a party era.

Answer 8

Party realignment

Question 9

the different ways an average citizen gets involved in the political process ranging from conventional means of influencing government to more radical unconventional tools that have influenced our elected officials.

Answer 9

Political participation

Question 10

a group of people joined together by common philosophies and common approaches with the aim of getting candidates elected in order to develop and implement public policy. It is characterized by an organization that is responsible to the electorate and has a role in government.

Answer 10

Political party

Question 11

traditional Democratic middle-class voters turning to Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.

Answer 11

Reagan Democrats

Question 12

an evangelical conglomeration of ultraconservative political activists, many of whom support the Republican Party.

Answer 12

Religious right

Question 13

Democratic party leaders and elected party officials who automatically are selected as delegates to the National Convention.

Answer 13

Superdelegates

Question 14

political parties that can be described as ideological, single-issue oriented, economically motivated and personality driven. Examples include the Free Soil Party, Know Nothings, Populist, and Bull Moose Parties.

Answer 14

Third political parties

Question 15

party regulars meeting in small groups asking questions, discussing qualifications regarding the candidate, and voting on whether to endorse a particular candidate. The Iowa caucus has taken on almost as much importance as the New Hampshire primary because of timing.

Answer 15

Caucus

Question 16

an increase reflected in preference polls immediately following a party’s nominating convention.

Answer 16

Convention bump

Question 17

voters, including cross-over voters from other political parties, can express a preference for candidates.

Answer 17

Direct primary

Question 18

where presidential candidates are selected and a separate slate of delegates is also voted on. New Hampshire uses this type of primary.

Answer 18

Dual primary

Question 19

the presidential candidate backed by the home state at the party’s nominating convention.

Answer 19

Favorite son

Question 20

a significant deviation between the way men and women vote.

Answer 20

Gender gap

Question 21

a major characteristic of the modern presidential campaign. The use of paid political ads, 30- and 60-second spots, paid infomercials incorporating charts and graphs, and sophisticated polling techniques have all been used in recent campaigns.

Answer 21

High-tech campaign

Question 22

paid political commercials usually lasting longer than the average 30- or 60-second paid political ad.

Answer 22

Infomercials

Question 23

key speech at the national nominating convention that outlines the themes of the campaign.

Answer 23

Keynote address

Question 24

limited federal funds given to presidential candidates that match private donations raised during the campaign.

Answer 24

Matching funds

Question 25

where voters choose delegates who are not bound to vote for the winning primary candidate.

Answer 25

Non-preferential primary

Question 26

also known as the party conference, it is a means for each party to develop a strategy or position on a particular issue.

Answer 26

Party caucus

Question 27

enrolled party members who are usually active in the organization of a political party and support party positions and nominated candidates.

Answer 27

Party regulars

Question 28

known as PACs, they raise money from the special interest constituents and make contributions to political campaigns on behalf of the special interest group.

Answer 28

Political action committees

Question 29

elections held in individual states to determine the preference of the voters and to allocate the number of delegates to the party’s national convention.

Answer 29

Presidential primary

Question 30

the Tuesday on which a number of primary votes take place, with a heavy concentration of Southern states voting.

Answer 30

Super Tuesday

Question 31

paid political ads 30 seconds in duration.

Answer 31

Thirty-second spots

Question 32

act that prohibited the use of any registration requirement that resulted in discrimination and paved the way for the involvement of the federal government to enforce the law.

Answer 32

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Question 33

scrapped in 1987, it provided that the media air opposing opinions on the same issue.

Answer 33

Fairness doctrine

Question 34

declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, they were passed by southern states after the Civil War aimed at making reading a requirement for voting so that freed slaves could not vote.

Answer 34

Literacy laws

Question 35

consisting of television, radio, newspapers, and magazines, they reach a large segment of the population. It is also considered one of the linkage institutions.

Answer 35

Mass media

Question 36

signed into law by President Clinton, it enables people to vote at motor vehicle departments.

Answer 36

Motor Voter Act of 1993

Question 37

photo opportunities.

Answer 37

Photo ops

Question 38

the factors that determine voting behavior such as family, religion, and ethnic background.

Answer 38

Political socialization

Question 39

made illegal by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, it was a tax instituted by the mainly southern states as a condition to vote and had the effect of preventing African Americans from voting.

Answer 39

Poll tax

Question 40

scientific surveys aimed at gauging public preference of candidates and issues.

Answer 40

Public opinion polls

Question 41

act that resulted in more than 2 million illegal aliens who were living in this country since 1982 being allowed to apply for legal status.

Answer 41

Simpson-Marzzoli Act (1987)

Question 42

dominance by the Democratic Party in the South following the Civil War. The Republicans made strong inroads when Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980 and after the Republicans gained control of the Congress in 1994.

Answer 42

Solid South

Question 43

30- or 60-second statements by politicians aired on the evening news show or Sunday morning talk shows.

Answer 43

Sound bites

Question 44

the right to vote guaranteed to African Americans in the Fourteenth Amendment and women in the Nineteenth Amendment.

Answer 44

Suffrage

Question 45

a linked conglomerate of computer-generated information also known as the Internet.

Answer 45

Information superhighway

Question 46

politicians who use sound bites or other means to present a superficial look at a policy position rather than an in-depth approach in explaining their views.

Answer 46

Talking heads

Question 47

act that finally made the Fourteenth Amendment a reality. As a result of this act, any state not eliminating the poll tax and literacy requirements would be directed to do so by the federal government. It also resulted in the establishment of racially gerrymandered congressional districts in the 1980s and 1990s.

Answer 47

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Question 48

legislation aimed at placing limits on political candidates accepting money and gifts from individuals and special interest groups.

Answer 48

Campaign finance reform

Question 49

a group theory that revolves around an economic strata of society controlling the policy agenda.

Answer 49

Elite and Class theory

Question 50

act that incorporates sunshine laws; opened up the government’s meetings of record to the public and media.

Answer 50

Freedom of Information Act (1974)

Question 51

is a group theory characterized by many interest groups vying for control resulting in a government that is tied up in gridlock (Hyperdemocracy).

Answer 51

Hyperpluralism

Question 52

a public or private organization, affiliation, or committee that has as its goal the dissemination of its membership’s viewpoint.

Answer 52

Interest group

Question 53

the primary instruments of fostering a special interests group’s goals to the policy makers. The term comes from people who literally wait in the lobbies of legislative bodies for senators and representatives to go to and from the floor of the legislatures.

Answer 53

Lobbyists

Question 54

a primary measure of inflation determined by the increase in the cost of products compared to a base year.

Answer 54

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Question 55

interest levels established by the Federal Reserve the effect the ability of the consumer to borrow money. Raising and lowering rates is used as a tool to combat inflation.

Answer 55

Discount rates

Question 56

results in the government giving benefits directly to people, groups, farmers, and businesses. Typical policies include subsidies, research and development funds for corporations, and direct government aid for highway construction and education.

Answer 56

Distributive policy

Question 57

federal body that regulates the money supply by controlling open-market operations; buying and selling of government securities; and establishing reserve requirements, the legal limitations on money reserves that banks must keep against the amount of money they have deposited in Federal Reserve Banks and through discount rates, and the rate at which banks can borrow money from the Federal Reserve System.

Answer 57

Federal Reserve System.

Question 58

policy that determines how the economy is managed as a result of government spending and borrowing and the amount of money collected from taxes.

Answer 58

Fiscal policy

Question 59

currently the key economic measure that analyzes an upward or downward economic trend of the monetary value of all the goods and services produced within the nation on quarterly basis.

Answer 59

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Question 60

the total of all goods and services produced in a year.

Answer 60

Gross National Product (GNP)

Question 61

French term literally meaning “hands off.” Used to describe an economic philosophy of non-government intervention in economic matters such as regulation of business or establishing tariffs.

Answer 61

Laissez faire

Question 62

act that prohibited employers from punishing workers who joined unions and gave labor the right to form unions.

Answer 62

Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)

Question 63

the government’s price guarantees for certain farm goods. The government subsidizes farmers to not grow certain crops and also buys food directly and stores it, rather than let the oversupply in the market bring prices down.

Answer 63

Price supports

Question 64

policy that results in the government taking money form one segment of the society through taxes and giving it back to groups in need. It includes such policies as welfare, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, tax credits for business expenses or business investment, and highway construction made possible through a gasoline tax

Answer 64

Redistributive policy

Question 65

policy that results in government control over individuals and businesses. Examples of regulatory policy include protection of the environment and consumer protection.

Answer 65

Regulatory policy

Question 66

also called the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, it gave workers involved in interstate commerce the right to organize labor unions and engage in collective bargaining and prevented employers from discriminating against labor leaders and taking action against union leaders.

Answer 66

Wagner Act

Question 67

public policy that advocates that the federal budget spend as much money as it receives. Attempt made to pass a constitutional amendment mandating this policy failed.

Answer 67

Balanced budget

Question 68

set up by the Congress, this office evaluates the cost of legislative proposals.

Answer 68

Congressional Budget Office

Question 69

emergency spending legislation that prevents the shutdown of any department simply because its budget has not been enacted.

Answer 69

Continuing resolution

Question 70

the government’s meeting budgetary expenses by borrowing more money than it can pay back.

Answer 70

Deficit spending

Question 71

money paid directly to the government in the form of income taxes.

Answer 71

Direct tax

Question 72

money paid to the government as a result of purchased goods.

Answer 72

Indirect tax

Question 73

its director, appointed with the consent of the Senate, is responsible for the preparation of the massive federal budget, which must be submitted to the Congress in January each year. Besides formulating the budget, the OMB oversees congressional appropriations.

Answer 73

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Question 74

a form of fiscal federalism where federal aid is given to the states with few strings attached.

Answer 74

Block grants

Question 75

the establishment of an income level by government that references the point at which an individual is considered to be living in poverty.

Answer 75

Culture of poverty

Question 76

those benefits guaranteed by law paid to individuals by the federal government, such as Social Security.

Answer 76

Entitlements

Question 77

an alternative to the progressive income tax where individuals pay the same percentage regardless of how much they earn.

Answer 77

Flat tax