Political Science Final Exam

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

97

About what percentage of Congress is female?

??? 37%

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

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

The Senate must confirm

???all federal judicial nominations.

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

???conservative; activist

In an iron triangle, the congressional committee

???opposes the agency's budgetary requests and the programs the interest group favors.

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

Civil servants are given job protections in order to

???safeguard against political interference

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 Fiscal 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

How can a president's veto be overridden by Congress?

by a two-thirds vote by both houses

Congress is most responsive to

higher income voters and wealthy interest groups

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

Who has the MOST real power in the Senate?

the majority and minority leaders

The Senates constitutional power of advice and consent extends to all of the following presidential powers EXCEPT

the presidents power to make executive agreements.

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

the requirement that uninsured individuals purchase health insurance.

Who controls the redistricting process for US Congressional districts?

the state legislatures

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 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.

Social Security benefits and military pensions are examples of government:

Entitlements

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

"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs"

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

35; 9

A closed rule means that:

A bill may not be amended on the House floor

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

ALL ARE ACCURATE On average, Americans spend about twice as much per person on health care annually than Canadians. The average Canadian lives more than two years longer than the average American The US spends about 15 percent of its GDP on healthcare, while Canada spends about 10 percent.

Which is NOT true regarding regulations?

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

Which of the following is accurate regarding Obama's views on bombing other countries?

ALL ARE ACCURATE as a candidate, Obama said the President didn't have the authority to bomb countries without congressional authorization President Obama bombed Libya without specific congressional authorization Obama has criticized the AUMF for giving the president too much authority

Which of the following is accurate regarding the power of the NRA in Congress?

ALL ARE ACCURATE the NRA blocked research into gun violence by the government the NRA was able to prohibit the ATF from banning gun sales to people who are drunk or stoned the NRA ensured that the ATF cannot require gun dealers to check their inventory the NRA wrote laws that Congress voted on

According to Roesler, which of the following is NOT an example of broad constructionism?

ALL ARE EXAMPLES Lawrence v Texas McCulloch v Maryland Griswold v Connecticut

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

ALL ARE EXAMPLES Roe v Wade Brown v Board of Education Bush v Gore

The government uses Monetary policy to adjust the economy through

Adjusting interest rates to affect the money supply

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

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

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

Based on the CPG Grey clip in the lecture, discuss the impact of First Past the Post (Plurality Voting/SMD) systems on 3rd parties (you need to explain our FPTP system and it's impact on 3rd parties-- how/why it affects the outcome)How does this relate to Lasswell?

Based on the CPG Grey clip in the lecture, the FPTP system is fundamentally broken because one, it inevitably creates a two-party voting system and the outcome of multiple parties running at once results in a minority rule. Another issue is the exploitation of re-drawing district lines, known as gerrymandering. This creates a disadvantage for any third-party candidate running up against the two majority parties. Lastly, the spoiler effect is another issue

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

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

The main objective of a PAC is to:

Collect campaign contributions from supporters and pass these onto candidates for office

Which of the following is a theoretical assumption of pluralism?

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

Which of the following committees are formed to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill?

Conference

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.

The concept of oversight refers to the effort made by

Congress to make executive agencies accountable for their actions.

The freerider problem refers to the difficulty an interest group has in getting:

Contributions from all who benefit from the group's work

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

Follow hierarchical principles and have clearly defined jurisdictions

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."

George Washington

Based on the lecture, discuss ONE benefit/reason for having a bureaucracy. Give an example from the text and/or lecture to highlight that benefit.

Having a bureaucracy can be beneficial to large corporations/businesses so that they follow certain rules and regulations. For example, the FDA follows certain bureaucratic regulations to ensure the safety of all consumers. preventing fraud, uniformity of service & public health & safety

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

Implementation

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

Implementing laws

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 would a Democrat be least likely to support?

Increasing defense spending

Some well-known federal operations, like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and, most recently, the Social Security Administration, are organized as:

Independent agencies

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

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

Interest groups help to give people a voice in government

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 members

Explain the "how" in Lasswell's definition of politics. (1 point) How does the Colbert clip on how Gerrymandering changed the outcome of the 2012 House elections relate to the "how" in Harold Lasswell's definition of politics? How does the Citizenship question reflect to the "how" in Lasswell's definition of politics? Be sure to explain who wants to add it and who doesn't want it, and why.

Lasswell's definition of politics is who gets what, when, and how. Thus, depending on what decisions are made, it may change how people are affected. Regarding the citizenship question that may be added to the 2020 ballot, census data will be altered drastically if it were to be added. Some races will be overcounted, and some undercounted. Trump administration claims that "it intends to use the data collected from the citizenship question to better enforce the Voting Rights Act." There was evidence found on a hard drive by the Census Bureau that showed how a citizenship question could help Republicans and hurt Democrats. It would make sense now why Trump would favor the citizen question because he is a Republican. Most people don't want the citizenship question to be added to the ballot because more than 4 million Americans could be missing from the final count. This is an example of the "How" in Lasswell's definition of politics because people's votes will be affected by the citizen question.

In a proportional representation electoral system,

Legislative seats are given in proportion to the percentage of votes received by each party.

The ____________ was essential for the rebuilding of Europe after World War II.

Marshall Plan

Based on the lecture, list ONE way that President Trump's foreign policy is radically different than his predecessors. List one area where he did not successfully change US foreign policy. How does his inability to get everything he wants illustrate the power of other forces in setting policy?

NATO; trade war; Russia; wall; sanctions on russia despite Trump influence of interest groups; role of Congress....

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

An interest group is a(n):

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

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

Party labels provide information cues.

Roesler argues that "in the realm of group politics, liberty___________"

seems inconsistent with equality

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordon has pushed a bill to require the military to purchase M-1 Tanks (which happen to be made in his district) that the military says it doesn't want or need. This is an example of:

Pork

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

Which of the following would a Republican be least likely to support?

Reducing defense spending

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

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.

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.

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

The Judiciary Act of 1789

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

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

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.

What did the Supreme Court justices declare in Miller v. Johnson (1995)?

The racial composition of a district could not be the predominant factor when redistricting.

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.

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.

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

What is accurate regarding banks in Canada?

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

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 Republican party was formed

as a coalition of anti-slavery forces

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

children and the working poor

A(n) ________ occurs when a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election.

closed primary

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.

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 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.

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

ensuring that citizens are registered to vote.

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

Senator Beyoncé wants to kill a bill going through the Senate. However, 56 Senators favor the bill. What can Senator Beyoncé do to prevent the bill from passing?

filibuster

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

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.

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

guaranteed individuals the right to bear arms

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

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

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.

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.

The United States spends

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

In a typical tort case,

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

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

opposed; weakness

After the massacre of 17 children at the Parkland, Florida high school, the Florida legislature ________

passed a bill banning "bump stocks"

The theory that argues that a ruling class composed of wealthy, educated individuals wields most of the power in government is called

pluralist theory.

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 card companies forms an interest group called the Partnership to Protect Consumer Credit, this suggests that

private interests are hiding behind the ideals of public interests.

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.

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.

Congressional leaders form _______ committees when they want to take up an issue that falls between the jurisdiction of existing committees, to highlight an issue, or to investigate a particular problem.

select

Political parties hold primary elections or caucuses in order to

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

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.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

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

In General, Democrats

support social programs and regulation of businesses

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.

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

that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does

A political party is an organization

that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office.

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

Who has the most power in the Senate?

the Majority Leader

Cases between two or more states are originally heard by

the Supreme Court.

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

the due process of law.

A writ of habeas corpus declares that

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