Political Science Final Exam
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- The "standard model" of how judges should make decisions says that they ought to consider three sets of factors: the facts of a case, the applicable laws, and?
- any applicable precedents
- The view that judges should discern the general principles underlying laws or the Constitution and apply them to modern circumstances is called?
- judicial activism
- The term "senatorial courtesy" refers to?
- presidents consulting senators before appointing judges
- In lecture it was pointed out that the House and Senate are quite different from one another. An example of the difference is?
- Senators have the right to filibuster; House members don't
- The principle of stare decisis is important because?
- it makes the law stable and predictable
- The "Civil Rights Restoration Act" was an example of?
- the working of the checks-and-balances system
- A "clientele" department would be found in?
- the "outer" cabinet
- The process of judicial selection has become harsher and more partisan since the Senate's rejection of President Reagan's Supreme Court nominee?
- Robert Bork
- The term "rule making" describes?
- the process OCR went through when interpreting Title IX
- An order from the House Rules Committee that limits debate and forbids amendment fo a bill is called a?
- closed rule
- President Bush has used his signing statements mainly to?
- influence the interpretation of legislation
- Member of Congress use riders to?
- get their pet projects passed
- A parliamentary system is one in which?
- the chief executive is picked by the legislature
- Bureaucrats are expected to treat citizens "impersonally" because?
- they are trying to avoid favoritism and discrimination
- Representatives who always tries to vote the way their constituencies would like them to are called?
- delegates
- Which of the following presidents is an example of "the president as Samson?"
- Gerald Ford
- When committees of Congress do "oversight", they are?
- watching the bureaucracy to be sure it follows Congress's intent
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California wil soon become the top leader in the House when she assumes the tile of?
- Speaker
- An appropriation is a bill in Congress that gives?
- a grant of money to finance a program or agency
- The account of retirement reform in Wasserman demonstrates the importance of?
- an issue network
- President Nixon rationale for refusing to turn over the Watergate tapes was based on?
- his claim of executive privelege
- The chair of a House committee is always
- a member of the majority power
- When a partisan realignment occurs?
- the parties can better address the key issues of the day
- A push poll is?
- influence voters' decisions in a upcoming election
- The fact that most U.S. elected officials are chosen from single-member districts in winner-take-all elections helps explain?
- the fact that the U.S. has only two major political parties
- A primary motivation behind the creation of the Electoral College as a mechanism for selecting the president was?
- distrust of ordinary people
- When Congress banned "soft money," the main effect was?
- to force interest groups to find another way to fund campaigns
- According to your text, when people participate in party politics or in an interest group as a result of "solidary" incentives, they are looking for?
- social life
- What is an example of a "public interest" orginization?
- The League of Women Voters
- "Structural" bias in the mass media results from?
- the fact that media outlets are business
- The "free rider" problem arises because?
- it is not rational for individuals to contribute to public interest groups
- An important part of the job of a "lobbyist" is?
- to advise legislators what interest groups think about proposed law
- Most delegates to national party conventions are now selected by?
- voters in primaries
- Which of the following is a position on a "valence" issue?
- opposition to terrorism
- If a canidate asks for votes on the basis of her successful record in public office, she is appealing to voters who are inclined to vote?
- retrospectivly
- The argument that interest groups, taken as a whole, are representative of the opinions and interests of the whole population is usuall made by?
- pluralists
- Some interest groups pursue goals that, if attained, will principally benefit people who are not members of the groups. These groups are called?
- public interest groups
- Since the 1970s, the public opinion on the issue of abortion has been?
- moderate and stable
- The reelection campaign of Rep. Dick Hayes, described in Wasserman, describd a congressional district that was?
- safe for the incumbent Democrat
- According to Wasserman, while the Democrats have had the advantage in registering new voters, Republicans have had the advantage in?
- targeting
- The "Harry and Louise" advertisements criticized?
- President Clinton's health plan
- Which kind of "bias" is most evident in media coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal?
- anti-establishment bias
- The most important early events for choosing the nominees for president are the New Hampshire primary and the?
- Iowa caucuses
- The social base of the Democratic party has for decades been rooted in the lower socio-econmic classes. This is a result of?
- the realignment of the early 1930s, when the New Deal appealed to those hurting most in the depression
- The case of Everson v. Board of Education established the doctrine of?
- full seperation of church and state
- An unfunded mandate is?
- a federal law which states must carry out using their own money
- The Electoral College is part of the Constitution's answer to which basic question about government?
- Who governs?
- In Grutter v. Bollinger the Supreme Court ruled that?
- racial diversity can be a compelling state interest
- Dividing power between the states and the national government is called?
- federalism
- The part of the Constitution that goes into the most detail in spelling out the powers of the national government is?
- Article I-the Congress
- Generally, the Antfederalists thought that the government created by the U.S. Constitution was?
- too strong and centralized
- According to Mr. Walcott, the most basic purpose of any Constitution is to?
- place limits on the powers of government
- In discussing the "culture wars", your text seperates Americans into two groups?
- the orthodox and the progressive
- "Selecting incorporation" means?
- that federal rights have been applied to the states, but only one at a time
- The "emergency power" used at the outset of the Civil War is an example of Constitutional change through?
- presidential practice
- When racial discrimination is the deliberate result of the law, we call it?
- de jure discrimination
- According to Madison in Federalist 10, a "faction" is?
- a dangerous group that can either be a minority or a majority
- Many of the constitutional amendments passed in the 20th century tended to fall into a pattern of?
- extending democratic participation right to more people
- The "Meal Deal" of 1790 described in Wasserman resulted in a compromise involving?
- the location of the national capital
- The No Child Left Behind program is discussed in Wasserman as an example of?
- cooperative federalism
- The Grutter and Gratz cases illustrate "judicial activism" in that?
- the justices of the Court assumed the role of public policy makers
- Speech Codes
- potentially create a conflict of civil liberties vs. civil rights
- In Federalist 51, Madison is primarily interested in defending?
- separation of powers
- The process of returning more of the responsiblities of governing from the national level to the state level is known as?
- devolution
- Madison and his fellow Federalists believed that the worst kind of tyranny was?
- tyranny by a majority of people
- Compared to people in other countries, Americans typically have a low degree of?
- class conciousness
- Majoritarian Politics
- a policy in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays
- Interest Group Politics
- a policy in which one group benefits and another small group pays
- Client Politics
- a policy in which one small group benefits and almost everybody pays
- Entrepreneurial Politics
- a policy in which almost everybody benefits and a small group pays the cost
- Policy entrepreneurs
- activists in or out of government who pull together a political majority on behalf of unorganized interests
- Process Regulation
- rules governing commercial activities designed to improve consumer, worker, or environmental conditions
- Gross Domestic Product
- the total of all goods and services produced in the economy during a given year
- Monetarism
- the belief that inflation occurs when too much money is chasing too few goods
- Keynesianism
- the belief the government must manage the economy by spending more money in a recession and cutting spending when there is inflation
- Economic Planning
- the belief that government plans, such as wage and price controls or the direction of investment, can improve the economy
- Supply-Side Theory
- the belief that lower taxes and fewer regulations will stimulate the economy
- Reaganomics
- the belief that a combination of monetarism, lower federal spending, and supply-side economics will stimulate the economy
- Monetary Policy
- managing the economy by altering the supply of money and interest rates
- Fiscal Policy
- managing the economy by the use of tax and spending laws
- Budget Resolution
- a congressional decision that states the maximum amount of money the government should spend
- Entitlements
- a claim for government funds that cannot be changed without violating the rights of the claimant
- Insurance Program
- a self-financing government program based on contributions that provide benefits to unemployed or retired persons
- Assistance Program
- a government program financed by general income taxes that provides benefits to poor citizens without requiring contribution from them
- Means Test
- an income qualification program that determines whether one is eligible for benefits under government programs reserved for lower-income groups
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- a provision of a 1975 law that entitles working families with children to receive money from the government if their total income is below a certain level. The program was extended in the early 1990's
- Containment
- the belief that the U.S. should resist the expansion of aggressive nations, especially the former Soviet Union
- Disengagement
-
the belief that the U.S.
was harmed by its war in Vietnam and so should avoid supposedly similar events - Miltary-Industrial Complex
- an alleged alliance between miltary leaders and corporate leaders
- Cost Overruns
- when the money actually paid to military suppliers exceeds the estimated costs
- Gold Plating
- the tendency of Pentagon officials to ask weapons contractors to meet excessively high requirements
- Environmental Impact Statement
- a report required by federal law that assesses the possible effect of a project on the environment if the project is funded in whole or part by federal funds
- Command-and-Control Strategy
- a strategy to improve air and water quality, involving the setting of detailed pollution standards and rules