Using a normal vote, Republicans would have overcome democrats by four to five percentage points in elections between 1952 and 1972. Given that, how have democrats continued to win elections?
by adding attractive candidates who augmented their lead in party identification
Voting based on what you think a candidate will do in office exemplifies
prospective voting
The American electoral system is based on winner-take-all rules. These rules encourage
a moderate two-party system
Congressional elections are most often won by
incumbents
What is the benefit of a political action committee (PAC) receiving funds from a non-profit education and organizing group, called a 501(c) committee?
the 502(c) committee doesn't need to disclose its donors right away
Which of the following is an example of a valid criticism of the Electoral College?
the electoral college makes it possible for a person to become president without receiving a majority of support from the nation's voters
Which of the following statements about female voters is accurate?
Women make up the majority of the U.S. electorate
Individuals cast votes for an intermediary elector to the Electoral College, which votes on their behalf for a presidential candidate. In this system
smaller states have disproportionately higher influence in the selection of president
What is the first step a candidate must take when running for public office?
Gaining the party nomiation
What is one advantage of fixed terms for elected positions?
Government cannot hold elections only at times that benefit those in office
James has been putting off registering to vote,and it's finally election day. In which of the following states must James live if can take advantage of same-day registration?
Wisconsin
What is one difference between 527s and 501s?
51s are not obligated to report the identities of their contributors
Which of the following helps explain why wealthier citizens are more likely to vote?
Wealthy citizens are more likely to think they can affect the political system to their advantage
What is the annual limit on independent expenditures by parties and interest groups?
There is no limit.
Which of these is an example of the use of "hard money"?
money donated to a campaign to buy TV ads for the candidate
Which of the following best defines bicameral?
A legislative body divided into two houses or chambers
A political party member in Congress who is in charge of keeping other members informed of party leadership's plans, counting votes before action on important issues, and rounding up party members for voting is referred to as a
whip
________________________ has/have tried to prevent the most flagrant abuses of redistricting intended to leave one particular group of voters disadvantaged. However, it frequently turns a blind eye to partisan redistricting.
The Supreme Court
A member of Congress proposing an amendment to a roads bill that would enable him to provide much-needed funding to improve the roads in his home district is an illustration of
localism infused in congressional affairs
Pres. Andrew Jackson succeeded Pres. Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson had attempted to remove Was Secretary Edwin Stanton from his position and failed. Congress was already unhappy with many of his decisions and policies, so after Joh
impeachment
The primary method Congress uses to maintain oversight of the executive branch is
holding committee hearings
What is one of the results of the Supreme Court decisions allowing districts to be redrawn?
voting districts may be drawn along racial lines as long as race is not the dominant and controlling criteria used
What is the best predictor of voting behaviors of members of Congress?
party affiliation
What is the only way a bill that has been killed in committee can reach the floor?
through discharge petition
Which of the following lists best describes the working conditions in the Senate as compared to the House?
more prestige; minority party plays a larger role; leaders have only a few formal powers' nonhierarchical' members may serve on two or more major committees
Which of the following is an example of impeachment?
a majority of the House requests that the Senate try the president for removal from office
Which of the following statements explains the role of majority-minority districts in American politics?
the creation of majority-minority districts has increased the number of minority representatives in Congress but may have made Congress less responsive to concerns of minority groups
What differentiates reapportionment from redistricting?
Reapportionment deals with adjusting the number of representatives a state sends to the House, based on population. Redistricting is done by state legislatures to ensure roughly equal populations within each district
What was the reasoning behind creating a bicameral legislature rather than a single-house legislature?
framers were worried single-house body would be prone to rash decisions. they wanted laws to be made through patient deliberation
By giving members of the House 2-year terms, the framers of the Constitution were intending
that elected representatives to the House would follow the wishes of their constituents more closely than members of the Senate would
Presidents are granted advisers and cabinet members. One of the most powerful entities for helping a president to prepare a budget to present to Congress is
the Office of Management and Budget
The framers of the Constitution solved several problems surrounding the president's fair election by including ______________ in election to insulate the president from public pressure
the Electoral College
Through the Constitution, presidential power is checked by
separation of powers
Congress holds the power to declare war, but in the wars with Korea, Vietnam, Panama, and both wars in Iraq, how have the pres. at the time been able to begin military action?
Through their role as Commander in Chief
What is the main skill supporting presidential leadership?
persuasion
One of the most important resources of the president is his relationship with
the public
In carrying out the agenda and managing a bureaucracy, the personality and character of the person serving as president
helps determine which presidents transform the position
An electoral mandate suggests public opinion is on the president's side, which ________ the president's level of support in Congress
usually has a positive effect on
How can a bill still be passed after is has been vetoed by the president?
Congress can vote to override the pres. veto
What conclusion can be drawn from analyzing the actions of George W. Bush when he supported a stimulus package to fight a growing recession?
Even conservative presidents feel compelled to involve the federal government in managing the economy.
An executive order is a presidential command that
has the force of law
What characterized the power of the presidency from the founding of the nation to the end of the nineteenth century?
For the most part the presidency did not dominate the political life of the nation
What characterizes a situation in which a president's approval rating drops by a large amount?
Members of the president's party are much less likely to follow executive leadership
The power of the president to negotiate treaties was given by
Article II of the Constitution
The ultimate weapon in the president's arsenal of resources to influence Congress is probably
mobilization of the public
If we wanted to most closely apply the principle of popular sovereignty to control over the bureaucracy, which of the following officials has an interest in seeing that the bureaucracy as a whole is coherently organized and well-run?
the president
Which of the following statements about civil servants in American bureaucracy is true?
The civil service does not generally attract the most talented people in our society because it has so little prestige
Despite the popular impression that policy is decided by the President and Congress and merely implemented by the federal bureaucracy, policy is, in fact
also made by the bureaucracy
The ______________ regulated the nation's monetary policy with the goal of avoiding both inflation and recession
Federal Reserve Board
Congress uses the _______________ to assess the performance of each agency every year
budget process
Citizens are not customer. In addition to satisfaction with a product or service, citizens require _______________, ______________, and __________ from bureaucracies.
equity, transparency, accountability
The system under which a successful political candidate or party would use political appointments to the bureaucracy as a way of rewarding loyal supporters and allies by providing government jobs and by firing the supporters of the opposing party was know
patronage or spoils
The boards directing independent regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission,
serve staggered terms so that no one president can replace the entire board or commission
The diffusion of responsibility within the bureaucracy
makes the coordination of policies both time-consuming and difficult
Which of the following statements best summarizes why Congress passes laws that are vague about goals and procedural guidelines?
Members of Congress believe something should be done about a specific social problem but are unclear on or disagree about how to best solve it
When bureaucrats are asked to execute orders with which they do not agree,
slippage is likely to occur between policy decisions and performance
Congressional oversight is an important tool for
holding the executive branch accountable
Whey does "cutting the fat" approach to scaling back the bureaucracy decrease the morale of federal government employees?
It sends the message that they and their work are not valued by political leaders or the public
An employee at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who reports to his or her department heads that a colleague has been taking bribes is an example of
a whistle-blower
The many quasi-judicial processes within the bureaucracy are subject to oversight through appeals to
Congress
Interest groups monitor and lobby agencies that
serve or regulate their own members