Shared Flashcard Set

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Pols 1101
Test 3
99
Political Studies
Undergraduate 2
04/24/2009

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Public Opinion
Definition
The standard by which governmental conduct is measured. The judge of the value of political figures. The measurement of the virtue of political figures.
Term
Fundamental Political Values
Definition
Values that unify Americans in a common set of goals for government.
Term
Gender Gap
Definition
The differences in voting behavior between men and women.
Term
Why are groups and associations so critical to the formation of political opinions?
Definition
Individuals often consciously or unconsciously adopt the views of groups with which they identify.
Term
Key difference between those who go to college and those who don't?
Definition
There is a higher level of political participation of those who attend college.
Term
A liberal would most likely support?
Definition
An expansion in government social services.
Term
Opposition to legalized abortion is a position most likely held by which political party?
Definition
Conservatives.
Term
What is the core political value held by most conservatives?
Definition
Liberty.
Term
What is one political effect on peoples underlying beliefs and values?
Definition
They color the peoples perception so that they often make automatic judgments on particular issues.
Term
What is the ability of citizens to influence government through a knowledge and interest in politics?
Definition
Political efficacy.
Term
What is the Marketplace of Ideas?
Definition
The competition between competing opinions and ideas that is aired in the public forum.
Term
What has not been the focus of the Bush administrations war on terror?
Definition
Donations to academic institutions.
Term
What is the small group selected by pollsters to represent the entire population?
Definition
Sample.
Term
The typical margin for error in a sample survey of 1,500 respondents is what?
Definition
3 percent.
Term
Errors in polling, such as question format, affect the polls' what?
Definition
Validity.
Term
What did James Madison identify as the greatest source of political conflict for the United States?
Definition
The differences between the rich and poor.
Term
When a politician who uses polling data believes an issue is more important to people than it actually is, he or she is falling for the what?
Definition
Illusion of saliency.
Term
If I decide to support a candidate because I see that he or she is the front runner in a poll, I become the victim of the what?
Definition
Bandwagon affect.
Term
An important reason that public policy and public opinion may not coincide in the United States is why?
Definition
The American system of government includes arrangements such as an appointed judiciary that can produce policy decisions that may run contrary to prevailing popular sentiment.
Term
The main goal of the group Rock the Vote is what?
Definition
Draw young voters into political participation.
Term
The main problem with voting as a form of political participation is what?
Definition
The citizens cannot communicate very much information by only casting a ballot.
Term
Voting does what?
Definition
Gives ordinary Americans more equal chance to participate in politics.
Term
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the criteria for determining eligibility to vote were determined by what?
Definition
The state governments.
Term
Throughout American history, which of the what was not a common restriction government placed on voting rights?
Definition
Occupational requirements.
Term
In what year was the Constitution amended to allow women the right to vote?
Definition
1920.
Term
What has been the central challenge for establishing democracy in Iraq?
Definition
Securing Sunni participation in politics.
Term
What an important difference between Hispanic Democratic voters and non-Hispanic Democratic voters?
Definition
Hispanic Democrats tend to be more socially conservative than non-Hispanic Democrats.
Term
The phenomenon known as a gender gap refers to the fact that what?
Definition
More women vote for Democrats than men.
Term
Approximately what percent of senators and representatives in Congress are women?
Definition
15 percent.
Term
Has religion played an important role in political participation?
Definition
Yes. (duh)
Term
Have Churches and religious groups influenced health care reforms?
Definition
No.
Term
Which Supreme Court case determined that prayer is unconstitutional in public schools?
Definition
Engel vs. Vitale.
Term
The power of the Christian Coalition in the 1990's was due to what?
Definition
It's success in mobilizing a large grassroots base.
Term
Has the proportion of young people voting decreased since 1971?
Definition
Yes.
Term
What percentage of political advertising is aimed at people between 18-24?
Definition
15 percent.
Term
What is the most common form of participation taken by young people in the U.S.?
Definition
Community service volunteerism.
Term
A decline in organizational membership has led to a decline in what?
Definition
Social trust.
Term
What are the white primaries?
Definition
Primaries that were held in the South that excluded African American members.
Term
What was the original purpose of voter registration?
Definition
To reduce corruption by making it more difficult to vote.
Term
Is it legal in some states to refuse the right to vote based on felonies?
Definition
Yes.
Term
What have political parties been doing in recent years to promote elections?
Definition
Mobilizing voters.
Term
One of the most important reasons for a decline in civil participation is what?
Definition
The rising use of television and other electronic media.
Term
Are campaign contributions a form of free speech?
Definition
Yes.
Term
One problem with wealthy Americans no longer participating in public institutions, such as schools, is that what?
Definition
Important groups of Americans no longer have stake in the public sector.
Term
What is required, if your eighteen or older, to vote in the U.S.?
Definition
You must register with the government.
Term
When are national elections held in the U.S.?
Definition
The first Tuesday of November every four years?
Term
During midterm elections, voters are electing what?
Definition
Members of Congress. (haha)
Term
Which party introduced primary elections to weaken the power of part leaders?
Definition
Progressives.
Term
Which political officer has the ability to recall an election?
Definition
None.
Term
Which politician was recalled from office in 2003?
Definition
California Governor Gray Davis.
Term
Before the 1890's who was responsible for printing election ballots?
Definition
Political Parties.
Term
What unusual act did the Texas legislature do in 2002?
Definition
It redistricted without waiting for a new census.
Term
The result that is produced when voters cast a ballot for the president and then automatically vote for the remainder of that party's candidates is called the what?
Definition
Coattail Effect.
Term
What is the last example of indirect voting in national elections?
Definition
The electoral college.
Term
If Bush won the plurality of votes in Texas during the 2000 election, and Texas had thirty representatives to Congress, how many electoral votes from Texas did Bush win?
Definition
30?
Term
The effort by political candidates and their staff to win backing and support by voters in the quest for political office is known as a what?
Definition
Campaign.
Term
Which president succeeded in winning the plurality of the popular vote in 1952?
Definition
Dwight Eisenhower.
Term
Private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns are called what?
Definition
Political action committees.
Term
If a citizen votes on a candidate because he or she approves of the candidate's past record, it is called what?
Definition
Retrospective voting.
Term
The right for candidates to spend their own money on campaigns in supported by what?
Definition
The First Amendment.
Term
What are some common ways for interest groups, corporations, political parties to aid a candidate while avoiding campaign finance laws?
Definition
Fund money through unregulated PAC's. Engage in issue advocacy. Use spot advertisement.
Term
What was not a major contribution to Bush's 2000 presidential campaign?
Definition
Trial lawyers.
Term
Before the Civil Service Act of 1883, how were government appointments handled?
Definition
Spoils system.
Term
What is the merit system?
Definition
A system that establishes competitive exams for jobs and gives bureaucrats job protection.
Term
The largest sub-unites of the federal executive branch are called what?
Definition
Departments.
Term
Is the FBI an independent agency?
Definition
No.
Term
Is state and local oversight a type of federal agency?
Definition
No.
Term
The National Park Service is located in what department?
Definition
The Department of the Interior.
Term
Is the FDA a independent regulatory agency?
Definition
No.
Term
Ronald Reagan's ability to dismantle the Department of Education reflects the power of what?
Definition
Iron triangles.
Term
Is the FBI part of the Department of Homeland Security?
Definition
No.
Term
The greatest number of federal professionals working abroad are under the authority of the Department of what?
Definition
Defense.
Term
The complications of the PATRIOT Act reveals the complications of balancing what?
Definition
National security with the civil liberties of the individuals.
Term
The Freedom of Information Act is designed to what?
Definition
Make more national security documents available to the public.
Term
Who has the authority to set interest rates and lending activities for the nation's banks?
Definition
The Federal Reserve System.
Term
What was the mission of the National Performance Review?
Definition
To reorganize the federal bureaucracy to make it more efficient and accountable , and less wasteful.
Term
During the administrations of Reagan and Bush how many federal agencies were terminated?
Definition
0.
Term
What happened as a result of Gingrich's downsizing?
Definition
Two small agencies were eliminated.
Term
What is deregulation?
Definition
Reducing the number of regulatory agencies in the federal bureaucracy, giving regulatory tasks to state and local governments, and shrinking the number of government restraints on the conduct of private persons and corporations.
Term
What is the best means of downsizing a federal agency?
Definition
Termination of the agency.
Term
Devolution is the process by which what?
Definition
The federal government is downsized by delegating the implementation of programs to state and local governments.
Term
What is privatization?
Definition
A way to shrink the federal budget by selling government services or property in the private sector, reducing government costs by relocating government programs to private groups or corporations, and reduce big government by doing without some of the programs it once provided.
Term
Which president was most concerned with managing and reorganizing the executive bureaucracy?
Definition
Jimmy Carter.
Term
Individual members of Congress can discover questions of public responsibility when engaged in what?
Definition
Filibuster.
Term
What is the Rule of Law?
Definition
Every state must judge government officials by the same laws as its citizens are judged.
Term
Do the federal courts have many crises?
Definition
No.
Term
If a private individual brought a suite against a corporation for breaking a contract, what kind of law would this lawsuit involve?
Definition
Civil.
Term
The area of authority possessed by a court, in terms of either subject area or geography, is called its what?
Definition
Jurisdiction.
Term
What does the official jurisdiction of the federal courts involve?
Definition
Treaties with other nations, and cases involving the U.S. Constitution.
Term
How many U.S. district courts are there?
Definition
94.
Term
Is the Court of Federal Territories a legislative court created by Congress?
Definition
No.
Term
Does the U.S. Court of Apeals deal with federal or constitutional law?
Definition
Both.
Term
When the president places a judicial candidate on the bench while Congress is not in session it is called a what?
Definition
Recess Appointment.
Term
What was the Supreme Court's decision regarding the line-item veto?
Definition
It was struck down as an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.
Term
The power of the Supreme Court to review state actions and legislation comes from what case?
Definition
Marbury vs. Madison.
Term
What is a common law?
Definition
A Law made by judges through their decisions, not through specific statutes.
Term
What is a pattern of cases?
Definition
When interest groups bring the same type of suit into multiple circuits, hoping that a contradiction in rulings will brings about a Supreme Court review.
Term
How long does a lawyer have to present his/her case before the Supreme Court?
Definition
A half hour.
Term
What are the traditional limitations on the power of the federal courts?
Definition
Strict rules of standing, the inability of the court to offer relief to whole classes of people, and the inability of the courts to enforce their own decisions.
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