Unit Three: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

Question 1

organizations that link the people with government

Answer 1

Linkage Organizations

Question 2

represent specific ideological positions, sometimes can serve as “spoilers” but rarely make much of an impact

Answer 2

Third parties

Question 3

one party controls white house, other
controls congress

Answer 3

Divided government

Question 4

major change in the core members/beliefs of a political party- either one major party is replaced by another, or the two major
parties completely change viewpoints

Answer 4

Realignment

Question 5

when people abandon parties and become independents

Answer 5

Dealignment

Question 6

promote certain policies, candidates, and ideologies

Answer 6

Party activists

Question 7

System where citizens vote for electors which then vote directly for the president and vice president–electoral votes for each state are equal to number of senators + representatives

Answer 7

Electoral college

Question 8

African Americans can vote

Answer 8

15th amendment

Question 9

Direct election of senators

Answer 9

17th amendment

Question 10

Women allowed to vote

Answer 10

19th amendment

Question 11

Allowed DC residents to vote

Answer 11

23rd amendment

Question 12

Eliminated poll tax

Answer 12

24th amendment

Question 13

Lowered voting age to 18

Answer 13

26th amendment

Question 14

a collection of people who share a common interest or attitude, and seek to influence government. These groups use fundraising and lobbying to influence the political process. Interest groups can be unions, government groups, businesses, think-tanks, or ideological groups

Answer 14

Interest group

Question 15

Financial branch of an interest group (the part of the business that donates money)

Answer 15

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Question 16

close relationship between interest groups, congress, and agencies

Answer 16

Iron Triangle

Question 17

government officials often retire and move on to work as lobbyists for interest groups

Answer 17

Revolving door

Question 18

activities aimed at influencing public officials (legislators) and trying to promote or defeat certain legislation; often comes in the form of supplying data to government officials to convince them to vote a certain way

Answer 18

Lobbying

Question 19

referred to as the 4th estate (branch) of government because of its huge impact–it’s a business, driven by profit, so it’s often biased

Answer 19

The Media

Question 20

the media has a tendency to spin the news towards a certain political ideology

Answer 20

Media Bias

Question 21

people hear what they want to hear

Answer 21

Selective perception

Question 22

people avoid listening to media with other viewpoints

Answer 22

Selective exposure

Question 23

Journalists cover elections like a horserace, focusing almost exclusively on the candidate who is doing well at that particular moment

Answer 23

Horserace Journalism

Question 24

1. Set limits on individual contributions to candidates
2. Limited how much money is spent by candidates (later ruled unconstitutional in Buckley v. Valeo)
3. Individuals must disclose contributions
4. Set up option to use public financing of presidential funds

Answer 24

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

Question 25

1. Limited soft money
2. Still allowed PACs and interest groups to spend infinite amounts of money on issue advocacy

Answer 25

McCain-Feingold Act

Question 26

Tax exempt organization created to influence the nomination/election of a candidate

Answer 26

527 Groups

Question 27

• Public Financing
• Limit expenditures
• Free TV ads
• Shorten Campaign Season

Answer 27

Proposed Campaign Financing Reforms