question

A criticism of interest-group pluralism is

answer

its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources

question

The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that

answer

interest should be free to compete with each other for governmental influence

question

the teamsters and the AFL-CIO are examples of what kind of interest group?

answer

a labor group

question

Interest groups are concerned with the ___of government, while political parties are concerned with the ___ of government.

answer

policies; personnel

question

The christian Coalition is best described as a(n)___group

answer

ideological

question

The National League of Cities is a good example of

answer

a public-sector interest group

question

Which of the following is NOT a key organizational component of interest groups

answer

newsletter and website

question

The major organizational factors shared by most interest groups are

answer

leadership, money , an agency or office, and members

question

When paid staff conduct most of the daily business of a group, that group is best described as

answer

staff organization

question

A benefit that is sought by and interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to nonmembers is called a

answer

collective good

question

The free-rider problem occurs because

answer

the benefits of a group's actions are broadly available and cannot be denied to nonmembers

question

The solidary benefits of interest groups include

answer

identification with the purpose or ideology of the group

question

If one enjoys the benefits a of a group's collective efforts but did not contribute to those efforts, one is a

answer

free-rider

question

When membership in an organization allows for a reduction in the price of a museum ticket it is called a

answer

promotion offer

question

A___ is the best example of an informational benefit provided by many interest groups.

answer

newsletter

question

why is it important for interest groups to offer selective benefits

answer

it is necessary to limit the extent of the free-rider problem

question

One way the AARP has been effective at overcoming the free-rider problem is by providing__ benefits to its members.

answer

selective

question

members of interest groups in the United States are typically people

answer

with higher levels of income and education

question

The increased number and importance of interest groups

answer

is a response to an increase in the size and activity of government

question

Over the last forty years, the number and scale of interest groups at he national level has

answer

dramatically increased

question

what distinguishes lobbying from other strategies of influence?

answer

lobbyists try to exert pressure directly on government officials themselves.

question

Lobbying is

answer

an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of congress or a state legislature

question

What is the most important beneficial resource that lobbyist provide government officials?

answer

information

question

An iron triangle is made up of an alliance between

answer

a legislative committee, and interest group, and an executive agency

question

How can interst groups use litigation as a strategy of influence?

answer

filing amicus curiae briefs, financing lawsuits, and bringing a suit on behalf of the group

question

Which of the following groups has had the greatest success with a strategy of litigation

answer

NAACP

question

A full page, fully paid spread in the New York Times publicizing a major oil company is best described as

answer

going public

question

When interest groups take out advertisements and hold marches, these are examples of

answer

mobilizing public opinion

question

In recent years, the religious right has had a great effect on American politics through

answer

grassroots mobilization

question

What is the primary function of a political action committee?

answer

to raise and distribute money to election campaigns

question

What type of group generally has the most trouble retaining members

answer

citizens

question

The most important qualification for bien g a lobbyist is

answer

experience with Washington, D.C. and government operations

question

Lobbyists targets ___ with their direct lobbying strategies

answer

All three branches of government

question

The most common interest in Washington D.C. are

answer

corporations and business trade associations

question

Efforts to regulate lobbying activities more effectively may conflict with

answer

the First Amendment right to petition government

question

Which of the following is a correct statement?

answer

Interest groups form both in response to new government policy and to create new policies.

question

Professional lobbyists are often:

answer

all of the above (lawyers, former members of congress, and former employees of government agencies)

question

By what means can interest groups influence elections?

answer

financial support and campaign activism

question

A two chamber legislature is called

answer

bicameral

question

A unites States representative serves for a

answer

two-year term

question

How many United states representatives are elected every two years?

answer

all of them

question

How long is a senate term?

answer

six years

question

Which house of congress is more responsive to interest groups?

answer

House of Representatives

question

Congress's composition is mostly:

answer

white males

question

Why doesnt congress reflect the general population?

answer

to be successful in congress, it helps to be well-financed and well-educated

question

why wouldnt a congress person go against the wishes of his or her district?

answer

he or she may be fearful of losing the congressional seat & he or she probably thinks the same way as his or her constituents.

question

Which of the following affects who gets elected and what he or she does once in office?

answer

all of the above (who decides to run, incumbency advantage, and the way congressional district lines are drawn)

question

Which of the following is not true?

answer

political actions committees are controversial because they are legal

question

The incumbent is the person:

answer

holding the political office for which he or she is running

question

When a legislator is prevented from running for re-election, it is done through:

answer

term limits

question

redistricting occurs

answer

every ten years after the census

question

patronage ensures that

answer

politicians have loyal people working under them.

question

projects that benefit a congress person's district and help him or her get reelected are called

answer

pork barrel

question

what position has the most power in the House of Representatives

answer

Speaker of the House

question

What position has the most power in the Senate?

answer

Majority leader

question

Permanent committees that focus on a particular policy area are called:

answer

standing committees

question

A temporary committee that deals with special problems that fall outside of the jurisdiction of existing committees is called:

answer

a select committee

question

Which permanent committee is formed by members from both houses of congress?

answer

Joint committee

question

Which committee is temporarily convened to work out the differences between the senate and the House versions of a bill?

answer

conference committee

question

A congress person's staff is important because they:

answer

all of the above (develop policy ideas, draft legislation, and negotiate with lobbyists)

question

what committee determines the length of debate on a bill in the House

answer

Rules committee

question

When a senator holds the floor by continually speaking to prevent a vote on a bill, he or she is carrying out a:

answer

filibuster

question

what is the procedure that ends a filibuster in the senate?

answer

cloture

question

A president may prevent a bill from becoming law by utilizing:

answer

his or her veto power

question

A presidential veto my be overridden by:

answer

two-thirds vote in congress

question

A roll-call vote means that:

answer

each legislature's vote is recorded by the clerk.

question

which sector tends to have the most influence at the committee stage?

answer

interest groups

question

Article II of the constitution establishes what about the presidency?

answer

expressed powers (enumerated powers)

question

Powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the constitution but are inferred from it are called

answer

inherent powers

question

what is the term for the power of the president to command the national military and state national guard?

answer

commander in chief

question

what is an agreement made between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the senates "advise and consent"?

answer

executive agreement

question

The war powers resolution was passed over which president's veto?

answer

Nixon

question

Which is not a role of the president?

answer

chief magistrate

question

what is the name of the speech that the president must give congress from time to time?

answer

state of the union

question

the veto power of eh president is classified as what type of power?

answer

legislative

question

The power of an executive to veto specific provisions of an appropriations bill is called the:

answer

line-item veto

question

what term refers to the president's ability to bring a policy agenda before congress?

answer

legislative initiative

question

When the president makes rules directly without congressional approval he or she is using:

answer

an executive order

question

The president appoints the heads of major departments for a group called

answer

Cabinet

question

The presidential foreign policy council composed of many of the president's closest advisers and the 'inner cabinet' is called the:

answer

National Security council

question

The permanent agencies that perform the defined management tasks for the president are within the

answer

Executive Office of the President

question

The agency that prepares the national budget and provides oversight for presidential program finances is the:

answer

Office of management and budget

question

What is an enumerated function of the vice president?

answer

presiding over the senate and casting tie-breaking votes

question

When does the vice president take over ruling the country?

answer

if the president dies

question

What is the equivalent of the US presidency in Great Britain?

answer

The prime minister and queen/king

question

What is the claim by a victorious candidate that the electorate has given him or her special authority to carry out campaign promises?

answer

mandate

question

Why did presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush have such a low "batting average" with congress?

answer

The opposing political party controlled congress

question

What is an attempt to be above partisan bickering in congress?

answer

bipartisanship

question

Why does the media focus a great deal of attention on the president?

answer

News is money, and the president is easy news

question

Who greatly expanded the power of the president by reaching out to the people for support?

answer

FDR

question

What is the general trend of presidential approval ratings?

answer

a tendency to decline over time

question

What is the generally favorable reaction of the public to presidential actions taken in foreign policy cises?

answer

rallying effect

question

What is the term for the complex hierarchical structure of offices, tasks, and rules used by large scale institutions?

answer

bureaucracy

question

which of the following is not a function of the bureaucracy?

answer

appropriations

question

The carrying out of policy decisions is left to the

answer

bureaucracy

question

why do bureaucrats, an unelected group of people, essentially make law?

answer

all of the above

question

When departments and agencies put policies into action it is called:

answer

implementation

question

Why do we have a merit system in the bureaucracy?

answer

to prevent partisan firings

question

What is the largest subunit of the executive branch?

answer

department

question

What is an "independent agency"?

answer

an agency that is not part of a cabinet department

question

why is it important to have independent agencies?

answer

to insulate the organization from partisan influence

question

the head of a department is called a

answer

secretary

question

which agency is not an independent agency?

answer

State Department

question

what type of agency is delegated by congress to have broad powers over a sector of the economy or a type of commercial activity?

answer

regulatory agency

question

what is the term for an agency that is responsible for collecting taxes?

answer

revenue agency

question

what is the largest unit of the justice department

answer

criminal division

question

which is a division of the justice department that handles no litigation?

answer

Federal Bureau of Investigation

question

Which is not a division of the Justice Department?

answer

Federal Reserve Board

question

Which department is concerned with external national security?

answer

State and Defense

question

What is the center of military and policy management in the United States?

answer

Joint Chiefs of Staff

question

What is the use of taxing and spending powers to manipulate the economy called?

answer

fiscal policy

question

Which is the primary department administering fiscal policy?

answer

Treasury

question

Which institution facilitates the exchange of cash, checks, and credits among member banks?

answer

Federal Reserve System

question

What is the Federal Reserve Board's most powerful tool?

answer

raising and lowering interest rates

question

Many of the tax exemptions can be attributed to what insitution?

answer

congress

question

Which term is policy of reducing or eliminating restraints on the conduct of private institutions?

answer

deregulation

question

If a program formerly controlled by the public sector is picked up by the private sector, this is called:

answer

privatization

question

Who is the individual or organization that brings a complaint in court?

answer

plaintiff

question

The individual or organization against whom a complaint is brought in a criminal or civil case is called a:

answer

defendant

question

A system of jurisprudence, including private law, used to settle disputes that so not involve criminal penalties is called:

answer

civil law

question

A precedent allows a judge

answer

to use prior court decisions as a basis for deciding present cases

question

What term is used for the category of law encompassing private law, civil law, and criminal law in which one party argues that a license is unfair?

answer

public law

question

Which of the following is the first court to hear a criminal or civil case?

answer

trial court

question

The highest court in a particular state or in the United States is the

answer

Supreme court

question

Appellate courts

answer

do not hear new evidence and witnesses

question

What are the negotiated agreement in criminal cases between the state and a defendant?

answer

plea bargains

question

Which court can hear cases involving treaties with other nations?

answer

Federal courts

question

Why are federal court rulings important?

answer

They interpret ultimately what the constitution means

question

What is the sphere of a court's power and authority called?

answer

jurisdiction

question

The constitution gives what court the final say in all litigation?

answer

the supreme court

question

The justice on the supreme court who presides over the writing of opinions is

answer

the chief justice

question

how many justices serve on the supreme court?

answer

nine

question

which of the following is a true statement?

answer

The constitution made no provisions regarding the court's size.

question

How are federal judges appointed?

answer

The president nominates a candidate

question

The practice of asking approval of the senators from a federal judge nominee's state before an official nomination is made by the president is called:

answer

senatorial courtesy

question

The person who acts as the government lawyer before the supreme court is the

answer

solicitor general

question

A brief that is filed not by the direct participants in a case is called a

answer

friend of the court

question

the individuals that federal judges employ to research legal issues are called:

answer

law clerks

question

The power of the Supreme court to rule the acts of the other two branches unconstitutional is called:

answer

judicial review

question

What supreme court case established Judicial review?

answer

Marbury v Madison

question

The clause that states that all government activities must comply with the consitution is called the:

answer

supremacy clause

question

The requirement that every police officer informs a person of his or her rights when being arrested is called:

answer

the Miranda rule

question

When nominating a justice to the U S supreme court, presidents:

answer

Have sole authority to appoint the person to the judgeship with approval of any other political body

question

Which of the following is not an accurate description of appointees to the US Supreme court?

answer

they are typically representative of he public at large

question

A supreme court Justice who votes with the majority but does so for different constitutional reasons may write a:

answer

concurring opinion

question

the constitution gives congress power over the supreme court to:

answer

rewrite legislation it feels the court has misinterpreted

question

What can influence major shifts in the supreme court position on broad issues?

answer

change in membership of the court & political trends & public opinion

question

The federal district courts are:

answer

All of the above

question

The highest law in the land in the United States is

answer

the constitution

question

The primary funtion of the judiciary is to

answer

interpret law

question

the judiciary in the United States

answer

is a co-equal branch of government with the legislative and executive branches

question

In the case Bush V Gore over the issue of whether to count "undervotes" in Florida, the Supreme Court:

answer

ended the 2000 presidential elections by not permitting the manual recount of "undervotes"

Government ch. 7-11 – Flashcards

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