Counties in Texas have broad powers beyond what may be stipulated in the
Constitution and statutes.
The key functions of American government are found in both the Declaration of
Independence and the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
The Missouri Plan makes judges accountable for their judicial decisions.
Medicare is the largest government health insurance program in the United States.
One theory of public policy posits that interest groups, not elites or bureaucrats, truly
control the governmental process.
Europe has high taxes on fuel to encourage conservation as well as to promote public
transportation.
Political parties developed slowly in Texas.
A politico is a balance between a delegate and a trustee.
The Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment did not
apply to the states in Barron v. Baltimore.
President Obama’s lack of support for tax cuts is similar to President Lyndon B.
Johnson’s philosophy of economic policy reflected in the Revenue Act of 1964.
It is difficult for the legislature to override most gubernatorial vetoes because most
vetoes happen late in the session or after the legislature has adjourned.
The news media has little influence on local politics.
A certain educational policy ends up having a discriminatory effect on women.
Therefore, its review by the Supreme Court is subject to strict scrutiny.
If you join a club for the free bumper sticker, you are seeking purposive benefits.
The National Organization for Women was modeled closely on LULAC.
If you are a member of Congress who has questions about the economic implications of
the president’s budget proposal, you will likely ask the Government Accountability
Office.
If you are attending your party’s precinct convention, your principal task at the
convention is to cast votes for the state party’s executive committee chairperson.
In 2010, there were about 30 cities with competing newspapers.
A visit by a U.S. president to East Germany during the Cold War would be an example
of dtente.
Despite a nationwide municipal home-rule movement, Texas failed to adopt a
constitutional amendment that would have allowed some cities to decide their own
structure.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 gives form and substance to the federal courts.
Taxes on cigarettes are a form of severance tax.
Strong governorships historically were found in rural, southern states with a weak party
competition.
If you are a voter in Texas, it is likely that you know little, if anything, about the judges
and judicial candidates on the ballot, particularly if you live in an urban area with a long
ballot.
Over 90 percent of funding for local schools comes from local property taxes.
Legislative party caucuses have been popular and influential in Texas since the early
1900s
The First Continental Congress had representatives from all thirteen colonies.
The circumstances under which states may be admitted to the union can be found in
Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.
A petition for review is a request for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review the
case.
Congress has the authority to abolish the lower federal courts.
Congress has a strict deadline of passing all appropriations bill by October 1, the start
of the fiscal year.
Political labels are highly correlated with party identification.
In terms of leadership, interest groups function much like businesses.
During the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, the major television and cable networks as well as the
Associated Press banded together to collect information in an association known as the
A) American Election Studies.
B) National Election Pool.
C) Press Guild.
D) United Press Pool.
E) General Social Survey.
The polling industry suffered a setback in 1948 when it predicted that ________ would
win the presidential election.
A) Harry S Truman
B) Strom Thurmond
C) Henry Wallace
D) Thomas Dewey
E) Franklin D. Roosevelt
The face of interest group policies is changing because of all of the following EXCEPT
I. laws.
II. political consultants.
III. technology.
IV. general public opposition to groups.
A) II only
B) IV only
C) I and II
D) II and III
E) I, II and IV
The Jamestown settlement was funded by
A) The Royal Company.
B) The Virginia Charter Company.
C) The London Company.
D) The Blackwall Company.
E) The Smith Company.
________ is the Reed v. Reed of the gay rights movement.
A) Bowers v. Hardwick
B) Craig v. Boren
C) Los Angeles Times v. MALDEF
D) Lawrence v. Texas
E) Hoyt v. Florida
Assume you have been convicted of felony auto theft in state district court in Houston.
You have appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeals in Houston and lost in that court
also. You now plan to appeal to one of Texas’ highest appellate courts. Where are you
going to file your appeal?
A) Texas Supreme Court
B) Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
C) Either the Texas Supreme Court or Court of Criminal Appeals, whichever has room
on its docket
D) You can appeal your case no further since you lost in the intermediate appellate
court level
E) The nearest federal district court
The Supreme Court first ruled that the First Amendment protected symbolic speech in
A) Stromberg v.California.
B) Schenck v.U.S.
C) Tinker v.Des Moines Independent Community School.
D) Texas v. Johnson.
E) Nebraska Press Association v.Stuart.
What is the MOST likely reason that the party platforms received little attention during
the 2008 presidential nominating conventions?
A) The platforms were rather similar.
B) The platforms had not yet developed.
C) The candidates’ personalities overshadowed the platforms.
D) The platforms are generally not released to the media until after the conventions.
E) The platforms are available online.
The first permanent resident Asian Americans in Texas were likely Chinese who
immigrated to the state as laborers for
A) railroad construction.
B) agriculture.
C) cattle ranching.
D) the tanning industry.
E) road construction.
The formation, viability, and continued success of interest groups all depend on
A) leaders.
B) clients.
C) a small membership base.
D) government support.
E) candidate endorsement.
Which of the following is NOT a criticism leveled against the Texas Constitution of
1876?
A) Its many amendments, some of which are poorly written and confusing, make for a
disorganized government.
B) The numbering of sections in heavily amendment articles is difficult if not
impossible to follow due to missing letters and duplication.
C) It reinforces a form of plural executive that limits the power of the governor to
implement public policy.
D) Though the constitution declares the governor as the chief executive, it also denies
him or her the powers necessary to perform that role.
E) It places virtually no restrictions on local government.
Americans have the highest levels of trust in
A) medicine.
B) Congress.
C) the executive branch.
D) business and industry.
E) the press.
The elected official in Texas who is the chief administrative officer of the county
government, serves on the commissioners court, and may also have some judicial
functions, is known as the
A) county commissioner.
B) county judge.
C) district judge.
D) county prefect.
E) justice of the peace.
The full faith and credit clause
A) allows Indians to establish casinos on reservation lands.
B) allows immigrants to commit crimes if that behavior is legal in their country of
origin.
C) prohibits state action to ban abortion.
D) legitimizes organized religion in the United States.
E) has become a controversial issue in light of the recent legalization of gay marriage in
some states.
The American Federation of Labor
I. was the first major national union.
II. consisted only of unskilled workers.
III. was created to use strikes more effectively.
IV. was founded by Samuel Gompers.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I, III, and IV
D) II, III, and IV
E) I, II, II, and IV
Abolitionists’ support of the Fifteenth Amendment led
A) to ratification ten years later.
B) women’s rights activists also to support the amendment.
C) Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to form a women’s rights group.
D) to greater racial equality.
E) only Southern blacks to get the right to vote.
In the Texas House of Representatives, how are members of committees and committee
chairs assigned?
A) Entirely at the discretion of the Speaker.
B) Strictly according to seniority.
C) Through a process that includes seniority and appointment by the Speaker
D) Nominations are made by the Speaker and the full house votes among those
nominated
E) By the majority leader of the House.
Control of the budgetary process
A) has been under the authority of Congress since the Articles of Confederation.
B) has been under the authority of Congress since ratification of the Constitution.
C) is solely in the hands of the House.
D) is solely in the hands of the Senate.
E) is slowly devolving back to the states.
Which of the following expressions MOST follows the idea of Dillon’s Rule?
A) “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
B) “No taxation without representation.”
C) “I”ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”
D) “Government for the people, of the people, and by the people”
E) “The grass is always greener on the other side.”
According to the George W. Bush Administration
A) Muslim detainees must be treated in accordance with their religious beliefs.
B) the FBI must show probable cause to investigate citizens exercising freedom of
speech.
C) some Bill of Rights guarantees can be suspended in a time of war.
D) civil liberties can never be abridged.
E) public telephones cannot be tapped without a court order.
Which of the following are advantages of incumbency?
I. Ease in fundraising
II. Casework
III. Franking privilege
IV. Credit claiming
A) I only
B) II and III
C) II, III, and IV
D) I, II, and III
E) I, II, III, and IV
The Texas legislature is
A) bicameral.
B) unicameral.
C) non-partisan.
D) parliamentary.
E) full-time and meets annually.
The Bush Administration began the Merida Initiative to
A) fund Mexican and Central American countries’ fights against drug cartels.
B) build stronger borders in Arizona.
C) fund NASA defense projects.
D) build defenses against nuclear weapons.
E) create a stronger alliance between the European Union and the United States.
Radical protest activism
A) is a relatively recent phenomenon.
B) has a strong history in the United States.
C) is always illegal.
D) is a very common form of action used by interest groups.
E) is always ineffective.
Women comprise
A) a majority of federal workers.
B) a majority of federal employees at the lowest GS levels.
C) nearly half of federal employees at the highest GS 13-15 levels.
D) a minority of all federal workers at all GS levels.
E) a majority federal employees at the GS 9-12 levels.
The most often used lobbying technique at both the state and national level is
A) testifying at legislative hearings.
B) engaging in protests.
C) endorsing candidates.
D) filing lawsuits or otherwise engaging in litigation.
E) doing favors for officials who need assistance.
Political spin is ineffective if it is not convincing enough to be reported by the
mainstream media.
Women finally received the right to vote in 1920 through the ________ Amendment.
A) Nineteenth
B) Twenty-First
C) Twenty-Second
D) Twenty-Third
E) Twenty-Fifth
Why did the state start to look to gambling as a revenue source in the 1980s?
A) In response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gambling
B) Religious groups endorsed gambling as a healthy vice.
C) To compensate for declining oil revenues
D) Too many Americans were going to Mexico to gamble instead of spending their
money in Texas.
E) Gambling was so prolific that it was easy to raise a lot of money with a very small
tax.
According to the definition in the text, political ideologies are sets of beliefs that
I. shape the thinking of individuals and how they view the world.
II. are affected only by historical forces.
III. affect how people deal with relations between men and women.
IV. have little to do with feelings of nationalism.
A) I only
B) II and III
C) II and IV
D) I and III
E) I, II, and IV
Which of the following Texas government employees is LEAST likely to be well paid?
A)College football coaches
B)Physicians at state hospitals
C)University presidents
D)University librarians
E)Investment officers for state pension funds
Random-digit dialing is when polling firms ask phone bank operators to push seven
random numbers on a telephone in order to contact a scientifically random sample.
Nearly $4 billion was raised by the two major parties in 2008.
Hispanics have a slightly higher rate of voter turnout than African Americans.
Article 3 of the Texas Constitution does NOT provide which of the following for the
legislature?
A)Short terms
B)Short sessions
C)Biennial meetings
D)Small membership
E)Limited powers
Most Americans rate the media highly on a number of indicators.
Candidates rarely make appearances on comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live and
the Daily Show because the public does not take these outlets seriously.