Chapters 7-14 Quiz Questions

Which of the following is true about US and Canadian health care?

All of these are accurate

Presidents often prefer to negotiate executive agreements rather than treaties because:

Executive agreements do not need the consent of the Senate.

Between 1959 and 2015, the percentage of elderly Americans living in poverty went from about ________ percent to about ________ percent.

35; 9

More than ________ percent of all cases in the United States are heard in state courts.

97

If Senator Iggy Azalea believed that the best way for the government to respond to the recession is to pump up the economy with tax cuts AND increased spending, she would be:

Adopting Socialist policies

How the Constitution balances the threat posed by organized interests with the need for liberty is discussed in the

Federalist Papers, no. 10.

The original party system in the US pitted the ______ and the _______.

Federalists; Democratic Republicans

Prolonged debate in the Senate with the purpose of killing a bill is called a(n):

Filibuster

The main political value of the vice president is to

bring the president votes in the election from a group or region that would not otherwise be a likely source of support.

Contributing to the campaigns of candidates is basically a strategy of

buying access

In 2018, a coalition of interest groups who favor legalizing medical marijuana in Missouri organized a campaign through voter signatures and put their proposal directly on the ballot for a vote of the people. This is called a(n)

initiative

In the last few decades, executive orders

have become routine instruments of presidential governance rather than emergency wartime measures.

Which of the following foreign policy goal was President Trump able to successfully implement?

he was not able to complete any of these promises

Congress is most responsive to

higher income voters and wealthy interest groups

Who selects the president if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote?

house of representatives

Which of the following is NOT an important activity/function of Congress?

implementing laws

In 2015, the United States and Iran signed an agreement

in which the Iranians pledged not to build nuclear weapons in exchange for the United States lifting its economic sanctions against Iran.

The depression of the 1930s:

increased Americans desire for government intervention in the economy.

What is the MOST important and beneficial resource that lobbyists provide government officials?

information

When President Lincoln issued a series of executive orders for which he had no clear legal authority during the start of the Civil War, it illustrated the

inherent powers of the presidency.

The "individual mandate" of the Affordable Care Act refers to

the requirement that uninsured individuals purchase health insurance.

The power of the Supreme Court to review state actions and legislation is implied by

the supremacy clause of Article VI.

What is the primary function of a PAC?

to raise and distribute money to election campaigns

The North American Free Trade Agreement is a(n)

trade treaty between Mexico, Canada, and the United States designed to lower and eliminate tariffs.

President Bush created a new Doctrine, in which he states that the US can

unilaterally attack another country even though they have not attacked us

The condition in which voters grow tired of the campaign (as illustrated by the crying girl, Abby) is called

voter fatigue

The filibuster

was rarely used throughout most of American history but has become a frequently used tactic in the U.S. Senate during the last 20 years.

Congress is a __________ legislature with __________ members.

bicameral, 535

Which of the following is accurate regarding photo ID and voter fraud?

(ALL OF THESE ARE ACCURATE) - In-person voter fraud (the rationale for photo ID) is extremely rare and has never affected an election - Absentee ballot fraud (which photo ID does not prevent) has been known to affect local elections - Whites are much more likely to have a photo ID than minorities. - In order to justify Voter ID, President Trump claimed that you need a photo ID to buy a box of cereal

Which of the following is a concern raised by CPG Grey in his clip on the electoral College system?

(all of these are accurate; CPG Grey discussed all of these issues) -votes in less populated states (like Montana) are worth more than votes in heavily populated states like Texas -everyone's votes are NOT equal - candidates only focus on a few swing states - a candidate can win with only 22% of the vote

Based on the clips in the lecture, television personalities referred to women candidates for president in which of the following ways?

(all of these were comments made on national tv) -she reminds men of their nagging wives -she feels castrating, overbearing and scary -her voice makes me envy the deaf -she has a likeability problem

A major drawback of purely electronic voting is

- The possibility of computer error - The possibility of manipulating the computer program - The lack of a paper trail

Which of the following is a benefit/reason for having a bureaucracy?

- promoting public health & safety - preventing fraud -providing uniformity of service

What is accurate regarding banks in Canada?

-Candian banks are heavily regulated by the government -The Canadian banking system hasn't had a crash in 150 years -Regulation in Canada has created a stable banking system

Which is true regarding regulations?

-The Trump administration decided to allow coal companies to dump coal ash waste into rivers -chemicals from plastics and pesticides have caused penis deformation -The Trump administration decided to allow nerve gas pesticides on food for human consumption -The Trump administration has reduced regulations

Donald Trump got 56% of the votes in Missouri in the 2016 race (Hillary got 38%). Missouri has 8 representatives in Congress. How many electoral votes from Missouri did Trump win?

10

How many votes must a presidential candidate secure to be elected president?

270 electoral college votes

A closed rule means that:

A bill may not be amended on the House floor

What does Roesler argue about ideological consistency and the role of the government?

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds

Congress can override the president's decision to sign or veto a bill by:

A two-thirds majority vote in both houses

Which of the following would be an example of a ballot initiative?

A vote on whether recreational marijuana usage should be legalized in Missouri..

A state's electoral votes can be calculated by:

Adding together the number of representatives and senators that it has

The government uses Monetary policy to adjust the economy through

Adjusting interest rates to affect the money supply

Who was the founder of the Democratic Party?

Andrew Jackson

Before the Civil Service Act of 1883, how were government appointments handled?

Appointments were made to political supporters as part of a spoils system.

Under Weber's model of the "ideal type" of bureaucracy, the bureaucracy should:

Be composed of professionals appointed based on competence

Super PACs:

Can raise unlimited money from corporations

The trend in control of American national campaigns and elections has been toward:

Candidate-centered campaigns

Which Supreme Court nominees were accused of sexual misconduct (such as sexual harassment or attempted rape) during their confirmation hearings?

Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh

Which of the following is a theoretical assumption of pluralism?

Competition among interests will produce balance, with all interests moderating each other.

In a case addressing the constitutionality of the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court ruled that

Congress does not have the power to take existing Medicaid funds away from states if they do not comply with the expansion requirements.

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that

Corporations are people and can therefore spend as much as they want on political campaigns

Which of the following statements best describes how recent administrations have approached the issue of bureaucratic reform?

Democratic administrations have aimed to make the existing bureaucracy work more effectively while Republican administrations have sought to reduce bureaucracy by contracting out government work to private companies.

________ occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.

Divided government

Under the original provisions of the Constitution, U.S. senators were:

Elected by state legislatures

The necessary and proper clause is important to congressional power because it gives Congress:

Flexible power beyond the enumerated powers

Why are parts of the B2 bomber (and other military projects) made in so many different states?

For political engineering, to ensure that Congress continues to fund it

During the great depression, seniors were the most likely to be in poverty, but are the wealthiest group today thanks to programs like Social Security and Medicare. What does that tell us about American government?

Government can solve problems, but only if we what we want it to do so

________ is the process through which bureaucrats attempt to translate laws into specific rules and actions.

Implementation

Which of the following statements about the Supreme Court is true?

In 2019, five of the nine justices were appointed by Republican presidents.

Why is Marbury v. Madison (1803) an important case?

In this case, the justices authorized the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review over laws passed by Congress.

Which of the following accurately expresses the reality behind the myth of corrupting interest groups?

Interest groups help to give people a voice in government

In DC v Heller (2008), the Supreme Court created a new constitutional right which

guaranteed individuals the right to bear arms

Some people say that money buys elections. A more realistic statement would be that money:

Is necessary but not sufficient for victory

Which of the following is NOT true about voting by mail?

It increases privacy protections.

Which of the following voter combinations fits BEST into the Democratic Party coalition?

Jewish, urban laborer, over 50

Based on the lecture, distinguish between Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint (3 points). Explain how ONE of the cases that Roesler discusses in the Judiciary lecture are either activist or restrained decisions (2 points).

Judicial Activism is when judges would play an active role in shaping laws and policy. They believe that they are there to protect the rights of the minorities, and are more willing to strike down laws. Judicial Restraint is when the judges believe they should refer to the elected branches of the government. These judges are unlikely to strike down laws unless they clearly violate the Constitution. In Brown v Board of Education, they were considered more activists. The judges took the constitution, and used it to defend the minority instead of the majority. They said that segregated schools were not constitutional. (5/5 points)

In 2018, Trump appointed Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Kennedy. What did CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin argue will be the impact of that on the Right to Privacy?

Kavanaugh will likely be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v Wade, ending the right to an abortion

Despite the myth of Congress as the broken branch, the public:

Keeps electing the same member

Which of the following is true about President Obama's foreign policy decisions since taking office?

Many of Obama's policies were a continuation of Bush's policies

Which of the following was NOT a significant factor in shaping the post-World War II world?

NAFTA

A presidential election would end up in the House of Representatives if

No one candidate received a majority of the Electoral College votes

In a typical tort case,

One individual charges that he or she has been injured by another's negligence or malfeasance

A writ of certiorari is a(n):

Order from the Supreme Court to a lower court to send up the record of a case for review

A PAC is a(n)

Organization established to make contributions to political candidates

An interest group is a(n):

Organized group of people with common goals seeking to influence the government

Essay: 3rd Parties in the US-- 1 paragraph; 6 points total; Use complete sentences Part A. Based on the CPG Grey clip in the lecture, discuss the impact of First Past the Post (Plurality Voting/SMD) systems on 3rd parties. (3 points) note: you need to explain our FPTP system and it's impact on 3rd parties -- how/why it affects the outcome Part B: Explain how Ranked Choice Voting would change this. (2 points) Part B. How does this relate to Lasswell? (1 points)

Our FPTP system is basically a majority rules (whoever gets the most votes). People will recognize that a third party candidate cannot win, so they pick someone similar in ideas or they vote against someone. Even if a third party gets votes, it splits the votes with another candidate, thus ensuring a lost. A ranked choice voting system would change this because you could vote for who you want, a second choice, and third choice, without splitting the votes for your ideas/candidates. Lasswell believed politics was who gets what, when, and how so if people are able to vote for what they actually want and believe, they might actually get to have what the want and what they are voting for. (4/6 points)

According to the text, why are people who identify with parties more likely to vote compared to independents?

Party labels provide information cues.

John Oliver pointed out in his clip on voting machines that

President Donald Trump is 100% correct about why paper ballots are superior

Since the Supreme Court's decision in a historic 1995 case on "majority-minority" (racial gerrymandering) districts:

Race cannot be the "predominant factor" in designing a congressional district

What kind of governmental agencies exist, free of political interference, to formulate and enforce government rules in various economic areas?

Regulatory commissions

Which of the following statements best describes the representation of women and minorities in the U.S. Congress?

Representation of women and minorities has increased over the past two decades but is not comparable to their proportions in the general population.

According to the text and lecture, George Washington:

Saw political parties as a negative influence on the political system

What was the legal question before the Supreme Court as a result of the 2000 presidential elections?

Should Florida continue to manually recount ballots?

In recent years, the House has exhibited considerably more intense partisanship and ideological division than the Senate. Why?

Since House members represent districts that have been gerrymandered to favor their party, members are less willing to seek compromise.

Several Supreme Court Justices (including former Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas) voted against expanding the right to privacy in Lawrence v Texas (2003). Their argument was that the framers never explicitly wrote a right to privacy in the constitution; so therefore, the Court cannot strike down laws based on such a right (since it does not exist). This is an example of _________

Strict Constructionism

Super PACs were made possible in part by the

Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Essay: 2 parts (4 points) Part1. Explain the "how" in Lasswell's definition of politics. (1 point) Part 2 (3 points). Relate the "how" in Lasswell's definition to either: the Colbert clip on how Gerrymandering changed the outcome of the 2012 House elections OR to the Citizenship question on the census (be sure to explain who wants it and why) OR the gerrymandering in the Wisconsin state legislature.

The "how" is Lasswells definition of politics is important. How we design and conduct elections can affect the outcome. For example, Republican's want the citizenship question on the census. They don't want non-citizens to be counted in the census. Many minorities and people who are not "citizens" would be more for democrats. Republicans do not want them counted when they draw the redistricting lines, making it harder for the democrats to win. (3/4 points)

Which of the following is an example of government privatization?

The Department of Justice contracting with private prisons to hold federal prisoners

Which of the following best describes a way in which the House differs from the Senate?

The House is more centralized and more formally structured than the Senate.

What has to happen in order for the president to be impeached and removed from office?

The House must impeach by a simple majority; the Senate must convict by a 2/3 majority

The national judiciary (including district courts) was created by:

The Judiciary Act of 1789

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the process of confirming judicial appointments?

The Senate must approve a nominee by a two-thirds vote.

How is the Speaker of the House determined?

The elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker.

Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?

The federal courts play an important role in shaping American law and politics.

What distinguishes the modern presidency from the institution originally envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution?

The modern presidency is much more powerful than the Framers intended.

Which of the following is true about American foreign policy in the twenty-first century?

The president plays the dominant role in shaping foreign policy.

Although Madison warned of the dangers of interest groups, he also argued that:

They are inevitable in any democratic system

Which of the following statements concerning third parties is true?

Third parties often have their programs adopted by one of the two major parties.

What was Stephen Colbert's reason for forming his SuperPAC? Hint: recall the Herman Cain rally

To poke fun at our campaign finance system of undisclosed amounts of money coming from undisclosed sources

In his farewell address to the nation, ____________ warned the U.S. people, "to have . . . as little political connection as possible" with foreign nations and to "steer clear of permanent alliances."

Washington

Which statement about party identification and gender in the United States is MOST accurate?

Women are significantly more likely than men to identify with the Democratic Party, whereas more men identify as Republicans.

Which of the following statements about age and political participation is true?

Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people.

When Congress passes sweeping legislation, it often delegates significant power to the executive branch, which gives the President

a great deal of discretion in the way the law is implemented

The Democratic (Jeffersonian) Republicans were best known for their support of

a weak national government, with the states retaining most powers.

According to Roesler and the text, forming PACs and contributing to the campaign coffers of candidates is basically a strategy of buying

access

When a president "recognizes" a country, it means that the United States

acknowledges the legitimacy of that country's government and territorial claims

Which of the following cases is NOT an example of judicial activism?

all of these are examples of judicial activism

Which of the following differentiates an interest group from a political party?

an interest group seeks to influence government on a narrow range of issues whereas a party attempts to win elections and govern

Lil Nas X rides his horse up to his voting station and the election judge asks him which party's ballot he would like to vote on (cast a ballot) today. He is in:

an open primary state

When Richard Nixon employed his "southern strategy," he

appealed to disaffected white voters in the South.

The president and the executive branch of the government can affect Supreme Court decisions by:

appointing new justices who will vote according to the president's policies

Presidential candidates who accept federal funding for their general election campaigns

are subject to strict expenditure limits

The Republican party was formed

as a coalition of antislavery forces.

In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win

at least 270 electoral votes

Which of the following groups receives the FEWEST benefits from government's social policies?

children and working poor

Bernie Sanders ran as a Democrat in 2016 even though he was a registered independent. He had a LOT of enthusiastic supporters who were "Independents." Which kind of election was LEAST favorable to Sanders?

closed primary states

In recent years (since Rehnquist), the Supreme Court has become increasingly ____________ and __________

conservative; activist

In describing the "military-industrial complex," President Eisenhower was referring to

coordination among the U.S. armed forces, the defense industry, and Congress to promote increased military spending.

According to the lecture and the CGP Grey discussion, the Electoral College

has become "bastardized" because of our two-party system

The House Rules committee is important because it

decides the order in which bills come up for a vote on the House floor and determines the specific rules that govern the length of debate and opportunity for amendments.

Congressman Drake won his last election by less than 1% of the vote and faces re-election in five months. He favors gun control and background checks but his constituents hate the idea. He votes against a gun control measure requiring background checks. This is an example of him acting as a __________

delegate

The growing use of executive agreements by presidents over time has had the effect of

diminishing the importance of the Senate's constitutional treaty power.

Interest groups are permitted to spend as much money as they want on issue advocacy during a campaign season, as long as they

do not coordinate their efforts with a candidate's own campaign organization

The campaign funds raised and spent by 501(c)(4) organizations are called "dark money" because

donors and amounts do not have to be made public

The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) was significant because it

dramatically increased the flow of money from interest groups and Super PACs into politics and electoral campaigns.

If a man is arrested because his home was searched by police without a legal warrant, he could argue in court that he had been denied

due process of law

One of the earliest activities party workers engage in once the general election campaign begins is

ensuring that citizens are registered to vote.

In United States v. Nixon, President Nixon based his refusal to relinquish the tapes of his White House conversations with aides to the court on the principle of

executive privilege.

If you were an outside interest group and wanted to influence the Supreme Court's ruling on a case it will hear next month, what action would have the most influence?

file an amicus curiae brief

Which of the following is NOT an example of the way the media can shape foreign policy?

forcing a congressional vote on a particular policy agenda

A person who enjoys the benefits of a groups collective efforts but does not contribute to those efforts is called a

free rider

Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of bureaucracy (civil service)?

freedom for worker improvisation

Since 1950, compared with the entire workforce, the number of federal employees has

gradually declined

Which of the following is the correct order of the five steps a bill must generally pass through to become a law?

introduction; committee review; House and Senate approval; reconciliation; presidential approval

A pattern of stable relationships between an agency in the executive branch, a congressional committee or subcommittee, and one or more organized groups of agency clientele is the definition of

iron triangles

Which of the following statements about privatization (contracting out) is FALSE?

it always saves money since the private sector is always more efficient than the government

Which of the following is true about the McCain-Feingold Act?

it banned nearly all soft money contributions

What did the Daily Show Clip on the VA illustrate about the Obama administration reform attempts of the Veterans Administration?

it illustrates how hard it is to change the bureaucracy

A member of the U.S. Supreme Court believes that she should defer to the views of Congress when interpreting federal statutes. This person is an advocate of

judicial restraint.

President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House (but acquitted by the Senate) for allegations that he

lied in a civil lawsuit about an affair.

The goal of the War Powers Resolution was to

limit the power of the president to commit American troops to military action without authorization from Congress.

Interests groups were heavily involved in the recent Michigan Affirmative Action cases. Some groups sponsored the lawsuit, other filed amicus curiae briefs for both sides. All of these groups would be using which interest group tactic?

litigation

The best way for Federal Reserve Board officials to help boost a stagnant economy is to

lower interest rates so that banks can provide more loans at cheaper rates to individuals and businesses.

Generally speaking, turnout in the United States is:

lower than in most other democracies

Part of the reason why welfare programs became so unpopular between the 1960s and the 1990s was that

many Americans came to believe that welfare recipients did not want to work

One-party dominance in House districts tends to produce winning candidates that are

more extremely ideological.

President Clinton was unusual among modern presidents because he left the White House

more popular than when he entered.

The United States spends

more than one-third of the world's total military expenditures.

Compared to the rest of American history, recent congresses have been ________ polarized and ________ productive in terms of passing laws.

more; less

Which president was pardoned "for all offenses against the United States which he . . . has committed or may have committed"?

nixon

A(n) ________ occurs when a voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election.

open primary

During the 2016 primaries, the Republican party establishment __________ Donald Trump during the primaries. This case illustrates the ___________ of political parties today.

opposed; weakness

The theory that competition among organized interests will produce a balance with all the interests regulating one another is

pluralism

Bureaucrats make policy, using the administrative discretion that Congress delegates to them, at the stage of the policy process that is called:

policy implementation

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

private interests groups are hiding behind the ideals of public interest

The national income tax is considered to be a(n) __________ tax.

progressive

The Affordable Care Act

prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions.

Third-party candidates are better off under what system of election?

proportional representation

The fact that the United States remains silent in the face of human rights violations by a number of countries illustrates that

protecting human rights is less important to American foreign policy than security concerns and economic interests.

In an iron triangle, the interest group

provides campaign contributions to members of Congress and lobbies for larger administrative agency budgets.

State ballot-access laws, such as registration fees and petition requirements, have the effect of

reducing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office.

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

referendum

A bureau outside of the Cabinet that has the authority to put restrictions and obligations on individuals or corporations in the private sector is called a(n) __________.

regulatory commission

During the 1980s, the Republicans added ________ to their coalition.

religious conservatives and working-class whites

In Buckley v. Valeo (1976), the Supreme Court:

ruled that limiting personal spending of a candidate violated the First Amendment

Civil servants are given job protections in order to

safeguard against political interference

Roesler argues that "in the realm of group politics, liberty _________"

seems inconsistent with equality

Political parties hold primary elections or caucuses in order to

select a single candidate to represent the party in the general election.

In modern political campaigns, ____ has/have recently emerged as a valuable tool in reaching public.

social media

As the population in the United States grows and shifts, which region(s) of the country have benefited in recent Congressional reapportionment?

south and west

The doctrine of ________ requires courts to follow authoritative prior decisions when ruling on a case.

stare decisis

there are considerable disparities in benefits from state to state in noncontributory programs because

state governments are given grants-in-aid from the federal government to establish and operate their own programs rather than having one uniform national program.

A political party platform is a:

statement of party policy goals

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

substantially increased the federal government's role in elementary and secondary education.

Cases between two or more states are originally heard by

supreme court

Conference committees are

temporary, involve members from both houses of Congress, and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate.

According to Roesler, President Trump's use of Twitter demonstrates

that Trump knows how to use the media to reach voters

What is Billionaire Warren Buffett's main complaint with the US tax code

that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does

The three MOST important federal programs to assist the working poor are

the Affordable Care Act, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Supreme Court in Baker v Carr established that

the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment requires legislative districts be substantially equal in population

Oversight can best be described as

the efforts of Congress to supervise the manner in which its laws are implemented by the executive branch.

A writ of habeas corpus declares that

the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.