POL 101-08 final
Which of the following is true about US and Canadian health care?
All of these are accurate
A major drawback of purely electronic voting is
All of these are correct
Which of the following is true about the McCain-Feingold Act?
It banned nearly all soft money contributions
The national judiciary (including district courts) was created by:
The Judiciary Act of 1789
Presidential candidates who accept federal funding for their general election campaigns
are subject to strict expenditure limits.
Donald Trump got 57% of the votes in Missouri in the 2020 race (Biden got 42%). Missouri has 8 representatives in Congress. How many electoral votes from Missouri did Trump win?
10
In 2020, Donald Trump won 56% of the Missouri vote. 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
Between 1959 and 2019, the percentage of elderly Americans living in poverty went from about ________ percent to about ________ percent.
35; 9
How long is the term of office for a U.S. Senator?
6 years
In recent years, about ________ percent of U.S. House incumbents won reelection.
90
The Republican party was formed
as a coalition of anti-slavery forces
What does Roesler argue about ideological consistency and the role of the government?
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
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
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
Under Weber's model of the "ideal type" of bureaucracy, the bureaucracy should:
Be composed of professionals appointed based on competence
Why is the Social Security tax (also known as the payroll tax) considered regressive?
Because it only taxes the first $137,700 of salary and people making less than that pay a higher percentage of their income.
According to the text, which is NOT a reason why Biden won in 2020?
Biden cheated with the help of Hugo Chavez
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
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 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 best summarizes Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) after the 2016 elections?
Despite having control of both Congress and the presidency, Republicans were unable to pass any repeal of the ACA.
Under the original provisions of the Constitution, U.S. senators were:
Elected by state legislatures
The original party system in the US pitted the ______ and the _______.
Federalists; Democratic Republicans
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
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
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 2021, six 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
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
How did the Affordable Care Act affect health insurance coverage among the working poor?
It expanded Medicaid coverage for low-income workers, but numerous states opted out of this expansion and therefore there are still millions who lack insurance.
Which of the following is NOT true about voting by mail?
It increases privacy protections.
Which of the following statements about the impeachment process is most accurate?
It is a political exercise.
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.
Generally speaking, turnout in the United States is:
Lower than in most other democracies
________ is the Speaker of the House and __________is the Senate Majority Leader
Nancy Pelosi; Chuck Schumer
A presidential election would end up in the House of Representatives if
No one candidate received a majority of the Electoral College votes
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
John Oliver pointed out in his clip on voting machines that
President Donald Trump is 100% correct about why paper ballots are superior
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.
Which of the following statements best summarizes the Democratic and Republican parties' views on the appropriate role of government in the economy?
Republicans tend to draw on the ideas of laissez-faire economics as they argue for significant reductions in nonmilitary spending; Democrats stress the importance of government regulation in promoting a strong economy.
Which of the following presidents were NOT impeached?
Richard Nixon
Which president was pardoned "for all offenses against the United States which he . . . has committed or may have committed"?
Richard Nixon
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.
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
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
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.
Which of the following statements about advanced industrialized nations and health care is most accurate?
The United States is the only advanced industrial nation without universal access to health care for its citizens.
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.
How does the balance of control over foreign policy between Congress and the president differ from the intentions of the framers of the Constitution?
The president has far more authority and control now than what the framers intended.
How do interest groups use litigation as a strategy of influence?
They file amicus curiae briefs, finance lawsuits, and bring suit directly on behalf of the group.
What is the trend in individual and corporate income tax rates in the past 40 years?
They have become less progressive over time.
In the American federal system, the responsibility for running elections rests largely with
state and local governments.
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
Which of the following was NOT a factor in Donald Trump's 2016 win over Hillary Clinton?
Trump spent significantly more money on TV ads during the campaign
The joint resolution known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force brought by President G. W. Bush empowered the president to:
Use all necessary and appropriate force against terrorists or their allies
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 statements about how voters decide is most accurate?
When voters are satisfied with their economic prospects, they tend to vote for the party in power.
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.
An iron triangle is made up of an alliance between
a legislative committee, an interest group, and an executive agency.
A Senator who votes based on what she thinks is best for her constituency is called
a trustee
As discussed in the lecture, which is true regarding campaign rules?
all of these are accurate
Which is NOT true regarding regulations?
all of these are accurate
Which of the following is accurate regarding photo ID and voter fraud?
all of these are accurate
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
Which of the following is NOT a benefit/reason for having a bureaucracy?
all of these are benefits/reasons for bureaucracies
What is accurate regarding banks in Canada?
all of these are correct
Which of the following cases is NOT an example of judicial activism?
all of these are examples of judicial activism
Which of the following is NOT a false conspiracy theory posed by former President Trump, his lawyer, or one of his allies on Fox News?
all of these are false conspiracy theories that have been proven false and thrown out of court by both Democratic and Republican judges
Which of the following is NOT a reason Roesler believes the Black Lives Matter protests have been more successful at changing public perception of police mistreatment of minorities than earlier movements?
all of these are reasons Roesler believes the BLM protests have helped change public opinion
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
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
In describing the "military-industrial complex," President Eisenhower was referring to
an unhealthy relationship between the U.S. armed forces, the defense industry, and Congress.
One of the major tools of bureaucratic control presidents possess is the
appointment power over political appointees atop the career civil service.
In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win
at least 270 electoral votes.
Congress is a __________ legislature with __________ members.
bicameral, 535
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
Independent expenditures by Super PACs
can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money on political campaigns.
Halsey is still waiting for her check from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after her house was flooded. Frustrated, she called his member of Congress, Meghan Trainor. A member of Congresswoman Trainor's staff spoke with someone at FEMA and Halsey quickly got her check. This is:
casework
Impeachment offenses are
charged by the House and tried in the Senate, with the Chief Justice presiding and a two-thirds vote needed for conviction.
In 2019, the House impeached President Trump on
charges that he sought to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating Joe Biden and his son.
A(n) ________ occurs when a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election.
closed primary
In ________, legislators rewrite bills to reflect changes discussed during hearings.
committee markup
The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by
congress
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.
________ are used to express opposition to a Supreme Court outcome or to signal to the losing side that some members of the Court support its position.
dissenting opinions
The campaign funds raised and spent by 501(c)(4) organizations are called "dark money" because
donors and amounts contributed do not have to be made public.
In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency charged Volkswagen with cheating on emissions tests of its diesel vehicles. This is an example of bureaucratic
enforcement
One of the earliest activities party workers engage in once the general election campaign begins is
ensuring that citizens are registered to vote.
The bureaucracy's hierarchical structures and standardized procedures are intended to foster
equal treatment of citizens.
The right of due process is best described as the right of
every person not to be treated arbitrarily by a government official or agency.
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
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
If the government decides to offer a subsidy to the solar industry to help people buy solar panels, that would be an example of ______. On the other hand, if the federal reserve took steps to expand the amount of credit available in the economy, that would be an example of ________.
fiscal policy; monetary policy
Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of bureaucracy (civil service)?
freedom for worker improvisation
In the ________ election, voters select who they want to fill a political office. In the ________ election, voters choose each party's candidate to compete for a political office.
general; primary
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
According to the lecture and the CGP Grey discussion, the Electoral College
has become "bastardized" because of our two-party system
In the last few decades, executive orders
have become routine instruments of presidential governance rather than emergency wartime measures.
Congress is most responsive to
higher income voters and wealthy interest groups
An overwhelming majority of court cases in the United States are heard
in state courts.
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
The depression of the 1930s:
increased Americans desire for government intervention in the economy.
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
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.
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
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
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
If Senator Nate Ruess 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, he would be a:
keynesian
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.
President Clinton was unusual among modern presidents because he left the White House
more popular than when he entered.
The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the U.S. House of Representatives
more responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
Which of these is NOT accurate about politics in America?
most politicians are corrupt
A criticism of interest group pluralism is
not all interests are equally represented in debates over government and policy.
If a defendant is found not guilty in a criminal case, the government is
not entitled to appeal the verdict.
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
In 2017, Democrats called for investigations into allegations that Trump's campaign had colluded with Russian operatives to help him win in the 1016 election. When they took over the House in 2019, they began investigating it. This is an example of which power of Congress?
oversight
In court cases the ________ is the party that brings charges and the ________ is the party accused of a violation of the law.
plaintiff; defendant
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
If the federal government decided to hire Google to provide email services to all of its employees rather than maintaining its own, in-house email services, this would be an example of
privatization
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
After the massacre of 17 children at the Parkland, Florida high school, the Florida legislature ________ a bill banning assault rifles and __________ a bill that declared porn dangerous.
refused to debate; passed
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
The mission of the National Performance Review was to
reorganize the federal bureaucracy to make it more efficient, more accountable, and less wasteful.
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
Political parties hold primary elections or caucuses in order to
select a single candidate to represent the party in the general election.
The idea behind micro-targeting is to
send different campaign messages to different demographic groups of voters.
In modern political campaigns, ____ has/have recently emerged as a valuable tool in reaching public.
social media
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.
When members of Congress delegate power to the executive branch, it
substantially enhances the importance of the presidency.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
substantially increased the federal government's role in elementary and secondary education.
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 Affordable Care Act originally required
that state governments expand their Medicaid programs to cover more poor people or lose all the Medicaid funds that they receive from the federal government.
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.
Which of the following would be an example of how federal bureaucrats make rules while engaging in implementation?
the Environmental Protection Agency requiring that, under the Clean Air Act, the average fuel economy for new vehicles must be at least 35.5 miles per gallon
The development of the internet by ________ is an example of bureaucratic ________.
the U.S. Department of Defense; innovation
A writ of habeas corpus declares that
the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.
Congress's tendency in recent years to give executive agencies fewer clear guidelines for implementing laws is the result of
the greater scope and complexity of the tasks that the federal government has undertaken.
Who selects the president if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote?
the house of representatives
Who has the MOST real power in the Senate?
the majority and minority leaders
Which of the following groups receives the MOST benefits from government's social policies?
the middle class and the elderly
What is a key power of the Fed?
the power to expand and contract the amount of credit available in the United States
A signing statement is an announcement
the president makes about his or her interpretation of a congressional enactment he or she is signing into law.
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
Trump appointed 3 very conservatives justices to the Supreme Court. What did CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin argue will be the impact of that on the Right to Privacy?
they will likely be the deciding votes to end the Right to Privacy and overturn Roe v Wade, ending the right to an abortion
The MOST visible indication of oversight is the
use of public hearings before congressional committees and subcommittees.
President Trump was impeached for all of the following EXCEPT:
violation of Emoluments clause
The condition in which voters grow tired of the campaign (as illustrated by the crying girl, Abby) is called
voter fatigue
Trump won in 2016 by ________________ while Biden won in 2020 by ________________.
winning key swing states by less than 40,000 votes; winning key swing states by about 220,000 votes
Members of interest groups in the United States are typically people
with higher incomes, more education, and management or professional occupations.
Justice Stephen Breyer has been assigned to write the Supreme Court's opinion in a case. After Justice Breyer drafted the opinion and circulated it to the other justices, Justice Elena Kagan decides that she wanted to emphasize a particular point in the majority opinion. For that purpose, Justice Kagan will likely
write a concurring opinion.
