Deck 5: Party Activists

Question 1

Party activists tend to be more ______ in their views on issues than most voters in their party.

A) moderate
B) extreme
C) conservative
D) liberal

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Tangible rewards for activity in a group are known as ______ incentives.

A) solidary
B) purposive
C) mixed
D) material

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Intangible benefits that people can gain by associating with others and being a part of a group are known as ______ incentives.

A) solidary
B) material
C) mixed
D) purposive

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The sense of satisfaction people feel when promoting an issue or cause that matters to them is known as ______ incentives for joining a group.

A) solidary
B) purposive
C) material
D) mixed

Question 5

Most government workers are now hired under ______.

A) patronage
B) purposive systems
C) civil service rules
D) a spoils system

Question 6

Why is it that leaders of the construction industry are so active politically in states and cities that spend millions yearly on roads and public buildings?

A) They can get patronage.
B) They have purposive reasons for political activity.
C) They are more partisan than other industries.
D) They can get preferments.

Question 7

Someone dedicated to abortion rights, for example, who works for a pro-choice candidate is a likely example of what sort of incentive?

A) Purposive.
B) Solidary.
C) Mixed.
D) Material.

Question 8

Party organizations are likely to:

A) apply strict ideological tests to people who want to volunteer as activists
B) accept help from whatever volunteers are available
C) let activists participate only under strict professional supervision
D) have extensive paid staffs at the local level

Question 9

Scholars have classified party activists into two types. What are they called?

A) Activists and workers.
B) Volunteers and paid staff.
C) Pragmatists and purists.
D) Partisans and helpers.

Question 10

The support of party candidates by ______ is conditional on the candidates' principles.

A) pragmatists
B) purists
C) patronage employees
D) party congressional campaign committees

Question 11

Compared with current local party activists, the activists in the old urban party "machines" in the 1800s and early 1900s were:

A) less typical of the urban population in terms of education and income
B) much more likely to demand purposive benefits
C) much better educated
D) more typical of the urban population in education levels and income

Question 12

Most successful appeals to take part in campaign work come from whom?

A) The party leaders by phone call.
B) Friends or acquaintances of the individual.
C) The local voter registration office.
D) The party executive committees.

Question 13

One of the most distinctive characteristics of American party activists is that compared with the average voter:

A) they tend to be of higher income but with less formal education
B) they tend to have lower income and less education
C) they tend to be of higher income and have more formal education
D) they are more likely to be Hispanic-American than Anglo-American

Question 14

Democratic activists are more likely than Republican activists to be:

A) more highly educated, male, and white
B) female, black, or associated with a union
C) less highly educated, male, and married
D) married white males

Question 15

In recent years, Republican Party activists have been:

A) further to the Right than Democratic activists are to the Left
B) increasingly liberal or leftist
C) more attracted to party work by material benefits
D) less and less conservative

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a reason why party activists can limit party leaders' power?

A) Volunteers are scarce, so party leaders have to pay attention to activists' concerns.
B) Many activists press for internally democratic party organizations.
C) There are so many activists that they can outvote party leaders.
D) Activists are often free to define what they want to do for the party.

Question 17

Most people who work on behalf of the U.S. parties are:

A) Paid staff members
B) Volunteer activists
C) Corporate executive officers
D) Required to adopt the party's stand on each issue

Question 18

Define each of the following and briefly explain why it is relevant to the study of political parties.
-Purposive incentives.

Question 19

Define each of the following and briefly explain why it is relevant to the study of political parties.
-Purist activists.

Question 20

Define each of the following and briefly explain why it is relevant to the study of political parties.
-Solidary incentives.

Question 21

Define each of the following and briefly explain why it is relevant to the study of political parties.
-Material incentives.

Question 22

Define each of the following and briefly explain why it is relevant to the study of political parties.
-Patronage jobs.

Question 23

In what ways has the increasing use of social media made a difference in party organizations' ability to motivate activists and conduct campaigns? How has that affected the parties' functioning?

Question 24

How do the socio-economic characteristics of party activists affect the issue agendas of the parties and the ability of citizens to feel represented by parties? What is the argument that parties are stronger when their activists share the characteristics of the voters they hope to persuade, and what is the argument that this is not necessarily true?

Question 25

If you were a local party leader, would you prefer that most of your volunteers were purist activists, or that most were pragmatist activists? Why is that? In what ways can both types of activist benefit-and disadvantage-a local party organization?

Question 26

What forces caused the use of patronage to decline in the U.S. parties during the past century? How prevalent are patronage jobs today in party politics? In what ways could the use of patronage be considered unhealthy for a democracy, and in what ways could patronage be thought to benefit a democracy?