question

The two major roles of members of congress are

answer

Representation and lawmaking

question

The textbook identifies all of the following as types of representation EXCEPT

answer

Authoritative representation

question

Which of the following is NOT one of the checks and balances that Congress can use in relation to the executive branch?

answer

The power to declare executive orders unconsttutional

question

All of the following powers can be exercised only by the Senate EXCEPT

answer

Declaring war

question

The process of redrawing congressional districts to match population shifts in states with more then one representative is called:

answer

Redistricting

question

When deciding whether to run for a seat in Congress, strategic politicians will ask al of the following questions EXCEPT:

answer

Will this seat lead to the presidency?

question

It has been increasingly difficult for the parties to work together in Congress in recent years because of:

answer

Increasing party polarization and hyperpartisanship

question

The public disliked Congress for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

answer

There has been an increase in corruption among members of Congress in recent years

question

Congress finds it difficult to make policy that solves national problems because

answer

Constituents reward them for taking care of their individual interests

question

The founders created the congressional decision making process to be:

answer

slow and deliberate

question

According to the textbook, presidents have difficulty surviving two terms in office and maintaining their popularity because:

answer

Presidents have too little power to meet public expectation

question

The president's authority over foreign and defense policy comes from all of the following EXCEPT his power:

answer

To declare war

question

The cycle effect refers to the tendency for presidents to:

answer

Experience predictable shifts in their popularity over the course of their presidency

question

The president's public approval rating tends to b affected by all of the following EXCEPT:

answer

The population of the first lady

question

Divided government occurs when:

answer

One party controls the presidency while the other party controls at least one house of Congress

question

All of the following are duties of the President of the United States EXCEPT:

answer

Head justice of the Supreme Court

question

Presidents have a hard time maintaining support while in office because:

answer

A gap exists between what presidents promise and what the power of the office allows them to do

question

According to the text, an effective head of government is expected to do all of the following EXCEPT:

answer

Act as a symbol for all American

question

The cycle effect on president popularity is caused by the:

answer

Fact that almost every decision a president makes will be unpopular with some people, and the number of people angry with him grows over time as he makes more decisions

question

Among the president's legislation powers are all of the following EXCEPT:

answer

The line-item veto

question

The major reason presidents re not as successful in a divided government is:

answer

Republicans and Democrats stand for different approaches and solutions to the nation's problems

question

Which of the following statements concerning the functions of the law is incorrect?

answer

The weakness of the law is that we can easily break a rule that we do not know exist

question

The legal system of the United States is

answer

largely a common law tradition with elements of the civil law traditional

question

Criminal law deals with harm to ______, whereas civil law involves harm to____.

answer

Society; individuals

question

The powers of the supreme Court listed in the constitution

answer

are not clearly spelled out

question

The characteristics that help determine which court has jurisdiction over a case include all of the following EXCEPT:

answer

the expressed wishes of the pesident

question

Senatorial courtesy refers to the

answer

tradition of granting senators considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states

question

According to the text, which of the following is NOT criteria used by presidents in choosing Supreme Court nominees?

answer

Endorsements receive by national news media

question

A writ of certiorari is

answer

a petition by the losing side in a lower court for the Supreme Court to hear an appeal

question

All of the following statements are true concerning the common law traditionEXCEPT:

answer

Most of the United States uses the common law tradition as the basis of its legal system

question

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the American legal system?

answer

It focuses on procedural due process more than substantive outcomes

question

Marshal justified the claim that the Court has the power of judicial review on the ground that

answer

it is within the province of the courts to say what the law is

question

Based on the discussion in the textbook, we can conclude that getting a case before the U.S. Supreme Court is

answer

very difficult

question

Elections perform all of the following functions EXCEPT

answer

decreasing political efficacy.

question

Citizens' feelings of effectiveness in political affairs is called

answer

political efficacy.

question

What method has increased voter registration in some states in recent years?

answer

Motor Voter registration bills (voters are registered when they register for their driver's license)

question

Those who are LESS likely to vote tend to be

answer

poor rather than wealthy.

question

A party's effort to inform potential voters and persuade them to vote for that party is known as

answer

voter mobilization.

question

The single biggest factor accounting for how people decide to vote is

answer

party identification.

question

_______ voting occurs when people base their voting decisions on well-informed opinions and consideration of the future consequences of their votes.

answer

Prospective

question

_______ voting occurs when people use their judgment of the current political situation along with the past performance of the incumbents.

answer

Retrospective

question

______ is the idealized voting behavior, but _______ more realistically reflects how policy considerations influence voters' decisions.

answer

Prospective voting; retrospective voting

question

A party caucus is a meeting of

answer

local party members who choose delegates for the national convention.

question

Front-loading is the process of

answer

scheduling presidential primaries earlier in the primary season.

question

Typically the three important tasks of the presidential convention are to pick the presidential candidate,

answer

select the president and vice presidential candidate, and write the party's platform.

question

All of the following statements concerning the Electoral College are true EXCEPT

answer

The rules of the Electoral College give all the states importance in presidential elections.

question

A valence issue is an issue

answer

on which most voters and candidates share the same position.

question

A _______ issue is one on which the parties differ in their perspectives and their proposed solutions.

answer

position

question

Wedge issues are controversial matters

answer

that one party uses to split voters in the other party.

question

____________________ refers to the leading candidate and expected winner of a nomination or election.

answer

the frontrunner

question

All of the following are reasons why Americans don't vote EXCEPT.

answer

being well educated

question

The disproportionate amount of attention politicians pay to members of the middle and upper classes may best be attributed to the fact that

answer

these voters go to the polls at substantially higher rates than do members of other classes.

question

All of the following statements concerning the legal obstacles to voting in the United States are true EXCEPT

answer

Politicians have been eager to pass major electoral reforms in order to build a stronger base for their parties.

question

Politicians who are thinking about running for the presidency begin their run by

answer

testing the waters unofficially by asking friends and other politicians whether they think that their odds of winning are good.

question

Front-loading affects the selection of a nominee by

answer

making success in earlier primaries all the more important in gaining and keeping momentum.

question

Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates generally spend most of their time and resources in

answer

competitive states, especially large ones.

question

Which of the following news sources has experienced a steady decline in popularity and use?

answer

Newspapers

question

Most politicians like radio and television because these media

answer

allow politicians to reach a broad audience without the adversarial questions of print reporters.

question

The advent of cable and satellite television providers has had all of the following effects EXCEPT

answer

increasing numbers of channels which are devoted to reporting on a broad spectrum of topics.

question

Although the Internet provides people with enormous amounts of information,

answer

it is difficult to sort and evaluate the available information.

question

Which of the following types of news consumers is the least likely to be informed about or interested in politics?

answer

the disengaged

question

Which of the following type of media is the most interactive in that users can actively choose the content that they want to learn about?

answer

the internet

question

Public opinion not only should matter but does matter in American politics because

answer

politicians act as if the public is keeping tabs on them

question

American voter turnout for national elections is:

answer

The lowest, or among the lowest, among industrialized nations

question

All of the following are criteria for ideal democratic citizens EXCEPT

answer

knowledge of the English language

question

All of the following are identified in the text as agents of political socialization EXCEPT

answer

the internet

question

According to studies, Americans tend to be

answer

not very knowledgable about politics

question

Regarding tolerance, Americans are generally

answer

supportive of general issues such as free speech but less supportive when asked to extend rights to unpopular groups

question

Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States ranks____in voter participation.

answer

near the bottom

question

A citizen's ability to hold democratic beliefs, including the acceptance that politics is about compromise, is called

answer

Democratic enlightenment

question

Rational ignorance refers to

answer

the state of being uninformed about politics because the cost in time and energy does not produce tangible or measurable results

question

The process by which citizens take their political cues from more well-informed opinion leaders is known as

answer

the two-step flow of information

question

he tendency for men and women to take different issue positions and to evaluate political figures differently is known as

answer

the gender gap

question

When a population sample is not chosen randomly and scientifically and has too many people in it from one portion of the population, we observe the problem of___

answer

sample bias

question

Pseudo polls that present hypothetical, often negative, information in order to elicit a response from the respondent being polled are called

answer

push polls

question

The ability to receive and evaluate information as events happen allow us to remember evaluation even if we forget the specific events that caused it is called ____

answer

Online processing

question

Political gridlock occurs when

answer

A stalemate that results when rival parties stubbornly refuse to budge from their positions to achieve a compromise in the public interees

question

Parties help overcome the problem of ____ created by the constitution

answer

Fragmented government

question

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the responsible party model?

answer

Each party should act in a polarized fashion to such an extent that their behavior impedes government functions

question

The party that usually gets the most votes is the party that

answer

best appeals to moderate voters

question

Primary voters, party activists, and big-money donors

answer

tend to be more ideological extreme and issue oriented than the voters in the general election

question

According to James Madison, political parties were

answer

a dangerous version of factions

question

The system in which successful party candidates supporters with jobs or favors is called

answer

patronage

question

Electioneering refers to

answer

the process of getting a person elected to public office

question

Parties take part in selecting candidates (electioneering) to run for office by engaging in all of the following EXCEPT

answer

providing the bulk of the money candidates use to run for office

question

The party activity of governing involves ___ and ___.

answer

Controlling government; enacting the party's policy agenda

question

Since the activists tend to be more extreme in their ideologies, they pull party policy agends

answer

back to their exremes

question

All of the following statements concerning parties in American democracy are true EXCEPT

answer

They have become an impediment to the operation of modern democracy

question

The two functions of parties are

answer

electioneering and governing

question

Party officials complain about the open primary because

answer

members of the other party can contaminate the nomination process

question

The dilemma that candidates face is that they must appeal to ____ during the primaries and then turn around and appeal to ____ during the general election.

answer

party activists; moderates

Pol 101 Burnett Quizzes 3-5 – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards