Political Parties, Elections, and Pressure Groups

All of the following are functions of political parties except...

• educating the electorate
• recruiting and nominating candidates
• helping monitor poll taxes
• monitoring the actions of officeholders

Selecting people to run for office represents which job of political parties?

• Nominating
• Watchdog
• Spoiler
• Informing the public

Presidential debates are an important part of the political process.  Which function best describes the purpose of these debates?

• Helping candidates learn what is important to the opposing party
• Recruiting and nominating candidates
• Monitoring the actions of officeholders
• Educating the electorate about campaign issues

The president comes to Virginia to help a member of his political party campaign for Senate.  The President is...

• nominating a candidate for public office
• educating the electorate about the campaign issues
• helping candidate win an election
• monitoring the actions of the opposing political party

Sally is listening to a campaign ad on the radio.  The voice of the candidate explains her position on climate change and the need for new policy.  The role the media is playing in the political process is...

• emphasizing select issues
• promoting a biased perspective
• discouraging voter participation
• encouraging voters to support propaganda

Where along the political spectrum do both political parties try to win votes in the general election?

• extreme right
• in the middle
• extreme left

What is not a similarity between political parties?

• They organize to win elections.
• Both liberal and conservative views are reflected.
• Their party platform
• They try to appeal to the political center.

How a political party feels on certain issues is stated in their...

• radio addresses
• mailings
• pamphlets
• platforms

One of the major influences of a third party is its ability to...

• introduce new ideas or press for a particular issue
• define itself in a way that wins majority support by appealing to the political center
• reflect both liberal and conservative views
• organize to win elections

In order to win an election, a major party is most likely to...

• propose cuts to popular programs
• appeal to the political center
• divide campaign funds between candidates equally
• orgnaize leaders of special interest groups