Midterm Spring 2015

Question 1

Political Actors?

Answer 1

individuals or organizations that have powerful economic, political, or social power and are able to influence at a national and sometimes international level

Question 2

Define “Politics” and “Political Science” and “Behavioralism”.

Answer 2

Politics - the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among parties hoping to achieve power.

Political Science - branch of knowledge that deals with systems of government; the analysis of political activity and behavior.

Behavioralism - emphasizes the approach to explain and predict political behavior.

Question 3

Define Democracy?

Answer 3

A system of government typically ran through elected representatives.

Question 4

Define Direct Democracy?

Answer 4

The people decide on policy initiatives directly.

Question 5

Define Representative Democracy?

Answer 5

Elected officials representing a group of people

Question 6

Define Federalists and include their views of the Constitution, National Government, and their contributions to our system of governance.

Answer 6

Federalists favored the creation of a strong federal government. They helped create the Articles of Confederation. They viewed society as many different and competing interests and groups, none of which would be completely dominant in a federalist system of government.

Question 7

Define Anti-Federalists and include their views of the Constitution, National Government, and their contributions to our system of governance

Answer 7

Anti-Federalists believed that each state should have an independent government. They feared that the Constitution gave the president too much power and that the proposed Congress would be too aristocratic in nature, with too few representatives for too many people. Also helped establish the Bill of Rights.

Question 8

Define Majority Rule?

Answer 8

More than 50% of the voters voted for the person or issue in question.

Question 9

Define Plurality Rule?

Answer 9

Less than 50% voted for the person or issue, but that vote got more than any other vote.

Question 10

Define Simple Majority?

Answer 10

Highest number of votes cast for any one candidate, issue, or item that exceeds the second-highest number of votes.

Question 11

Define Absolute Majority?

Answer 11

Majority over all rivals combined; more than half.

Question 12

How a Pluralist Government works?

Answer 12

The view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence.

Question 13

How a Marxist Government works?

Answer 13

Political and social structures are determined by the economic conditions of people.

Question 14

How a Bureaucratic Government works?

Answer 14

A body of non-elective government officials and/or an administrative policy-making group.

Question 15

How a Power Elite Government works?

Answer 15

The President and a handful of key cabinet members and close advisers, major corporate owners and directors, high-ranking military officers.

Question 16

Shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 16

Didn’t have the power to tax, enforce laws, Congress lacked strong and steady leadership, no national army or navy, no national courts, each state issued its own money, each state could tariff trade between other states.

Question 17

Define Checks and Balances

Answer 17

Used to keep the government from getting too powerful in one branch.

For example, the Executive Branch can veto bills from the Legislative Branch, but the Legislative Branch can override the veto.

Question 18

Define Judicial Review?

Answer 18

Origins - 1803 Marbury v. Madison

Review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.

Question 19

Process for Amending the Constitution

Answer 19

By the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures.

Question 20

Define Article 1?

Answer 20

Legislative branch (Congress - House of Representatives and the Senate).

Question 21

Define Article 2?

Answer 21

Executive Branch (President, VP, Executive officers appointed by the President, including the Cabinet).

Question 22

Define Article 3?

Answer 22

Judicial Branch (Supreme Court and lower courts).

Question 23

Inherent Powers vs Implied Powers of the Constitution

Answer 23

Inherent Powers - Congress and the president need in order to get the job done right.

Implied Powers - authorized by the Constitution that, while not stated, seem to be implied by powers expressly stated.

Question 24

Define Federalism?

Answer 24

A constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments.

Question 25

Define the Standing Congressional Committee?

Answer 25

Permanent legislative panels established by the House of Representatives and Senate rules.

Question 26

Define the Select Congressional Committee?

Answer 26

A committee of the Congress appointed by the House of Representatives and Senate to resolve disagreements on a particular bill.

Question 27

Define the Joint Congressional Committee?

Answer 27

Members of both houses and having jurisdiction over matters of joint interest.

Question 28

Duration of a HOR and Senate Term and # of members in each.

Answer 28

HOR - 2 years or 4 years. 435 Members.

Senate - 6 years each. 100 Members.

Question 29

Path of a Bill through Congress

Answer 29

1. Bill is introduced by a Representative or Senator
2. Bill is referred to committees
3. The committee reports the bill
4. The bill goes to the floor of the House or Senate for debate
5. If the Senate and the House pass different versions of a bill, both bills are sent to a conference committee
6. When the conference committee reconciles the differences and agrees on one bill, the bill goes back to the Senate and to the House for a vote on final passage
7. If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law.
   If the president vetoes it, it is sent back to the House and Senate, and it takes a two-thirds vote of both houses to pass a bill over the president’s veto.

Question 30

Define Interest Groups?

Answer 30

A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. “Lobbying” or “Lobbyists”

Question 31

Define PAC’s?

Answer 31

The political arm of an interest group that is legally entitled to raise funds on a voluntary basis from members, stockholders, employees to contribute funds to candidates or political parties.

Question 32

Define the “Iron Triangle”?

Answer 32

The relationship between Interest Groups, Congress, and Bureaucracy.

IG gets electoral support for Congress, who then funds and gives political support to the Bureaucracy, who then does special favors for IG.

IG gets congressional support for Bureaucracy, who then gives policy choices and execution to Congress, who then provides oversight for IG.

Question 33

Core beliefs of the Democratic Party?

Answer 33

Democrats believe it is the responsibility of government to care for all individuals, even if it means giving up some individual rights.

Question 34

Core beliefs of the Republican Party?

Answer 34

Republicans believe that each person is responsible for his or her own place in society. Government should enable each person the ability to secure the benefits of society for themselves, their families and
for those who are unable to care for themselves. The Republican philosophy is based on limiting the intervention of government as a catalyst of individual
prosperity.

Question 35

Define the Electoral College?

Answer 35

A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Question 36

Define the Coattail Effect?

Answer 36

The tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election.

Question 37

Advantages of incumbents over challengers?

Answer 37

Incumbents have structural advantages over challengers during elections. The percentage of incumbents who win reelection after seeking it in the U.S. House of Representatives has been over 80% for more than 50 years, and is often over 90%.