GOVT 2305 Final (Set B)

During the earliest years of the United States, who nominated the candidates for president?

Nominations were controlled by each party's congressional caucus.

Successful interest groups quickly become

bureaucratized.

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program is administered

by the states, with benefit levels varying between states

Which of the following was important in caring for the poor during the nineteenth century?

churches and religious organizations

The result produced when voters cast a ballot for the president and then automatically vote for the remainder of that party's candidates is called the

coattail effect

A benefit that is sought by an interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to nonmembers is called a

collective good

The solidary benefits of interest groups include

friendship and consciousness-raising.

Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the proliferation of groups promoted

governmental responsiveness.

Which of the following is the strongest factor in predicting which groups in society receive the most benefits from government's social policies?

groups that are the most politically powerful

Bicameral

having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses

The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that

interests should be free to compete with each other for governmental influence

The right of candidates to spend their own money on running for office

is protected absolutely by the First Amendment, according to the Supreme Court.

Checks and Balances

mechanisms through which each branch of govt is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches, major examples include the presidential veto power over congressional legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments, and judicial review of congressional enactments.

Which of the following is a program of forced savings?

medicare

When a group is called a membership association, it means that

members play an important role in the daily activities of the group.

The term soft money refers to

money donated to a party to sponsor party building and voter registration.

The goals of American social policy are

often controversial

When state legislators concentrate the members of one party in as few districts as possible in order to ensure that their opponents will elect as few representatives as possible, it is called

packing

Social case work, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was largely concerned with

personal counseling and "mental hygiene."

Another name for lobbying is

petitioning

If the winner of an election is whoever receives the most votes, regardless of the percentage of votes received, the candidates are running under a ______ system.

plurality

When a coalition of credit card companies forms an interest group called the Partnership to Protect Consumer Credit, this indicates that

private interests are hiding behind the ideals of public interests.

The central thrust of federal housing policy has been to

promote home ownership.

Most European nations employ what system of elections?

proportional representation

Charter schools are best described as

public schools that are free to design special curricula.

If people were motivated to join an environmental organization because they strongly believed in protecting the environment and supported the goals of the group, then we would say they were motivated by

purposive benefits.

A PAC can contribute ______ to any candidate for federal office, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year.

$5,000

Elastic Cause

(Article I, Section 8), enumerates the powers of congress and provides congress with the authority to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry them out.

The principle of "one person, one vote" was established by the Supreme Court in the

1960s

A majority system, which is used on a limited basis in the United States, requires that a candidate must win ______ to win an election.

50 percent plus one of all votes cast

In 2010, approximately what percentage of American workers were offered health insurance through their jobs?

60 percent

Federalist Papers

A series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay supporting ratification of the Constitution

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central govt and regional govt

Articles of Confederation

America's first written constitution; served as a basis for America's national govt until 1798

What do public opinion polls reveal about welfare policies?

Americans view welfare beneficiaries as "undeserving."

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the constitution, which states that laws passed by national govt and all treaties are are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision

Virginia Plan

Framework for the constitution, introduced by Edmund Randolph, that called for representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state

New Jersey Plan

Framework for the constitution, introduced by William Paterson, that called for equal state representation in national legislature regardless of population

What distinguishes lobbying from other strategies of influence?

Lobbyists try to exert pressure directly on government officials themselves

Which of the following statements about campaign spending in Senate elections is true?

Incumbents generally spend more money than challengers in Senate campaigns.

Which of the following is not covered by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act?

Individual contributions to 501c(4) and 527 committees.

How did deregulation of the mortgage industry in 1999 help produce the housing crisis of 2007 and 2008?

It allowed many new mortgage companies to form, offering "predatory" loans that people could not afford to repay.

What was the main fear concerning the consequences of outdoor relief?

It perpetuated poverty.

Why is the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 important to lobbyists?

It requires agencies to create opportunities for public comments before implementing new rules and regulations.

How did the Great Depression change American attitudes about welfare?

It revealed that poverty could be caused by a flawed economic system, not just by personal irresponsibility

The fact that interest groups favor the wealthy and well educated can be understood as a reflection of what eternal dilemma in American politics?

Liberty is often inconsistent with equality

Which of the following statements about political parties and interest groups is most accurate?

Political parties have declined in influence in recent years, while interest groups have become more numerous, active, and influential.

After the election of 2004, President George W. Bush announced that ______ would be the centerpiece of his domestic policy.

Social Security reform

Which program was designed to help augment the benefits to the aged, blind, and disabled?

Supplemental Security Income

The Great Compromise

The agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state and equal number of senators regardless of population, but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population

______ is the most common electoral system used in general elections in the United States.

The plurality system

Which of the following can be concluded from the results of the 1996 welfare reforms?

The reforms have reduced the number of people on welfare but have done little to reduce poverty

Why did many members of Congress vote to ban advocacy groups from running ads that mention a candidate's name within thirty days of a primary election and sixty days of a general election?

They thought that the ban would make it less likely for wealthy advocacy groups to flood the media with ads and unfairly influence the outcome of elections

Which of the following Supreme Court cases illustrates the use of litigation by an interest group?

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services

Which of the following was a key part of President Obama's overhaul of No Child Left Behind?

a proposal that states could apply for waivers that would exempt them from some of the requirements of No Child Left Behind

Partisan loyalty is likely to be highest in the election of

a state legislator

Confederation

a system of govt which states retains sovereign authority except for the powers expressly delegated to the national govt

When interest groups generate phony letters and phone calls in order to resemble a grassroots movement, this technique is called

astroturf lobbying

Medicare is a ______ program; Medicaid is a ______ program.

contributory; noncontributory

One reason that the AFDC program grew significantly in the 1970s was that

court decisions made it more difficult for the government to legally terminate people's benefits for a lack of eligibility

The number of families receiving welfare

decreased dramatically between 1993 and 2004 but increased significantly between 2004 and 2008.

By using donor lists or magazine subscription lists, candidates are able to engage in

direct-mail solicitations

Which of the following programs most benefits the working poor?

earned income tax credits

The first organized interest groups arose in response to the

economic interventions of the federal government during the 1890s.

What is the most significant force determining the distribution of opportunities in the United States?

education

The ______ is the last example of indirect voting in national elections.

electoral college

The Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 was designed to

encourage administrative agencies to negotiate with important interest groups.

The idea that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to achieve their goals is called

equality of opportunity

What contemporary political scientists call an interest group, James Madison called a(n)

faction

The G.I. Bill of Rights of 1944 and the National Defense Education Act were examples of the

federal government's approach to education policy during the 1940s and 1950s.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, election campaigns tended to be

labor intensive

Which of the following is the best example of direct democracy in practice in the United States?

referendum

Organized interest groups enhance American democracy by

representing the interests of large numbers of people and encouraging political participation

Populists supported the initiative because they

saw it as a way to limit the influence of interest groups in the legislative process.

One way that the AARP has been effective at overcoming the free-rider problem is by providing ______ benefits to its members.

selective

What is the shadow welfare state?

social benefits that are distributed by private employers who are being subsidized by the government

Which of the following social policies is currently the most costly to the government?

social security

Expressed powers

specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article I, Section 8) and to the president (Article II)

If you voted for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator, you engaged in

split-ticket voting

Parties with a direct interest in a regulatory rule or decision are often termed

stakeholders

The free-rider problem occurs because

the benefits of a group's actions are broadly available and cannot be denied to nonmembers.

The boundaries of legislative districts in the United States are to be redrawn every ______ years.

ten

A major factor in John Kennedy's 1960 presidential victory over Richard Nixon was

that Kennedy had a much stronger performance than Nixon during televised debates.

When did the American welfare state begin?

the 1930s

Which of the following groups has had the greatest success with a strategy of litigation?

the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Three-Fifths Compromise

the agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that stipulated that for purposes of the apportionment of congressional seats, every slave would be counted as 3/5 of a person.

Who is the incumbent?

the current officeholder, running for re-election

Separation of Powers

the division of governmental powers among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making

Which event helped lead to a change in the way that the electoral college chose the president and vice president?

the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1803

Bill of Rights

the first 10 amendments to the U.S Constitution, ratified in 1791; they ensure certain rights and liberties to the people

Which of the following political officers are subject to recall elections?

the governor of the state of California

Judicial Review

the power of the courts to review and or declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional; supreme court asserted this power in Marbury v. Madison

Electoral college

the presidential electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for president/vice president

A cost-of-living adjustment is based on

the rate of inflation

"King Caucus" refers to

the use of each party's congressional caucus to nominate presidential candidates during the early nineteenth century.

Early presidential primaries and caucuses are more important because

they can help a candidate secure media attention and financial support.

Antifederalists

those who favored strong state govt and a weak national govt and who were opponents of the Constitution proposed at the American Constitution Convention of 1787

Federalists

those who favored strong state govt and supported the Constitution proposed at the American Constitution Convention of 1787

Which of the following groups is most likely to belong to the New Politics movement?

upper-middle-class professionals, for whom the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s were key experiences

Members of interest groups in the United States are typically people

with higher levels of income and education.