Many citizen journalists work without pay and for pleasure.
Majorities of Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu individuals have established roots
in the United States.
Anne Hutchinson would have believed that a woman should be fully subservient to her
husband.
Political scientists generally agree on why interest groups arise, their nature, and their
role in democratic government.
If you vote for a candidate thinking that he or she will make the best decisions, even if
you don”t particularly agree with his or her actions, you subscribe to a trustee form of
representation.
African Americans have never been an integral part of the Texas political process.
Due to the efforts of the Department of Insurance, Texas has one of the lowest
homeowners’ insurance rates in the country.
In general, race is not an important factor in political socialization.
A bicameral legislature means that Congress is run primarily by two parties.
The selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate in 2008
sparked controversy because she had strong pro-life views.
The Texas Constitution requires the governor to deliver messages to the legislature,
such as the budget message and the State of the State address.
A journalist’s bias is often a result of life experiences that coincide with his or her
demographic characteristics.
Presidents use polls as a tool to help them win reelection.
Most Texans are in agreement with the fundamental ideas relating to politics and
government expressed in the Texan Creed.
The bureaucratic agency in charge of monitoring campaign activities is the Federal
Electoral Board.
One of the grievances cited by Texans in 1836 was that the Mexican government had
failed to establish a system of public education.
Despite strong ideological cohesion, only about 65 percent of votes in both houses
follow party lines.
The federal government had enormous responsibilities toward its citizens in the first
150 years of our nation’s history.
If a state representative is “carrying water,” he or she is obliged to support a local bill
for another member because that member supported your local bill previously.
In Texas, convicted felons lose their right to vote for the remainders of their lives.
One of the reasons that radio news is making a resurgence is that it appeals to people
with highly ideological points of view.
Journalists use tracking poll data to follow elections as though they are horse races.
The American Civil Liberties Union would be more inclined to support protectionist
policies than free trade.
District clerks keep records for the county commissioners.
A filibuster can be used in either the House or the Senate.
The Pendleton Act was passed in 1883.
The suggestions in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense are similar to those discussed at the
First Continental Congress.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the national voting age to eighteen.
The Texas House of Representatives has the sole responsibility for the introduction of
legislation to raise revenue.
In India, coalition governments bring together regional and national parties to form a
majority and, therefore, a mandate to govern.
In Canada, the government may ask the Supreme Court to dispense an opinion about
the legality of potential laws.
The supplemental nutrition program was originally intended to increase the variety of
international foods Americans were eating.
In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri
Compromise.
Only the federal government has the authority to enact regulations concerning
endangered species.
The educational ideas behind the National Defense Education Act were replaced largely
by the ideas put forth by John Dewey.
Senator John McCain’s willingness to accept public funding for the general election,
while a common practice, was actually to his detriment.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights.
Many organizations that seek to influence state and local governments are
A) well-funded and national in scope.
B) official and hierarchical.
C) permanent and general.
D) ad hoc and issue-specific.
E) socially and politically conservative.
Jeff Johnson is a thirty-two-year-old born and raised mostly in a small town in Texas,
but he lived in Botswana for three years starting when he was eight. A proud
Republican, he has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for his
district and is quite popular in that position. Why can”t Jeff be president?
A) He is too young.
B) He has not been a governor.
C) He lived for more than a year outside the United States.
D) There is a limit on the number of presidents who can come from any one state.
E) He is eligible to run for president.
According to one political scientist, public interest groups are those that
A) help poor people.
B) seek collective goods.
C) work to help Common Cause.
D) arise during disturbances.
E) primarily help their own members.
If a person accused of a crime in Arizona leaves for Missouri, are Missouri authorities
required to return the defendant to Arizona to stand trial?
A) Yes, but only if Arizona will not impose the death penalty.
B) No, because the privileges and immunities clause requires the person to be tried only
in Missouri.
C) Yes, because it is required by the extradition clause of Article IV.
D) Yes, because it is required by the full faith and credit clause of Article IV.
E) Maybe, it depends on what the laws in Missouri are.
If a scientific poll with a 3-percent margin of error reveals that 60 percent of
respondents support a policy, the actual number of people in a population who support
the policy could be anywhere between ____ and ____ percent.
A) 51/ 69
B) 54 / 66
C) 57 / 63
D) 59 / 61
E) 59.7 / 60.3
What did George Gallup mean when he said that public opinion polls ‘speed up the
process of democracy” in the United States?
A) Polls can cue politicians to consider important political issues.
B) Polls can make elections run more smoothly.
C) Laws will always sail through the legislative process if public opinion supports
them.
D) All politics is driven by public opinion.
E) Public opinion polls accurately predict election outcomes so the public actually
knows the winners months in advance.
The first international organization created to keep the peace after World War I was the
A) World Peace Foundation.
B) Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
C) League of Nations.
D) United Nations.
E) Nations of Peace.
In Texas, the governor and the lieutenant governor are generally elected to office
A) on the same ticket with the president and vice-president.
B) independent of one another.
C) in special elections.
D) in party caucuses.
E) in primary elections.
Imagine you are an avid opponent of school vouchers. Which of the following is likely
going to be an argument you would use?
A) How can my child succeed if children are transferring in and out of her class?
B) Why is it fair to deprive failing schools of the money they need to make
improvements?
C) Quality teachers will only work at voucher-friendly schools.
D) School vouchers are a communistic approach to education.
E) Wouldn”t educational Darwinism be a better alternative than school vouchers?
The interest group that organized and sponsored Furman v.Georgia was the
A) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund.
B) American Civil Liberties Union.
C) National Organization of Women.
D) Southern Christian Leadership Council.
E) National Rifle Association.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 regulated large segments of the electronic media.
In 1787, John Jay wrote that
A) immigration helped America become what it is.
B) Americans had far more similarities than differences.
C) immigrants not speaking English should be compelled to do so.
D) it was the responsibility of the new government to incorporate new immigrants’
beliefs into the core of American values.
E) America’s ideals were best preserved by strong state governments.
Potential interest group members
A) often are elderly.
B) dislike collective goods.
C) are often uninterested in politics.
D) often are unlikely to join groups because of the free-rider problem.
E) understand that the smaller the group, the greater the free-rider problem.
Why did the Texas Supreme Court strike down the state’s existing public school
financing system in Edgewood v. Kirby?
A) The Texas Constitution does not explicitly permit the state to be engaged in public
education.
B) It was not fair to tax homeowners to pay for schools without taxing renters as well.
C) Property taxes were so high that thousands of Texans were losing their homes to
foreclosure.
D) The existing inequity in school finance violated the U.S. Constitution.
E) The existing inequity in school finance violated the Texas Constitution.
An election system in which a candidate runs from and represents one district, rather
than the entire geographic area encompassed by the government, is known as an
A) at-large-by-place system.
B) at-large district system.
C) single-member district system.
D) specialized district system.
E) exclusive district system.
The Supreme Court held in Barron v. Baltimore that
A) Congress had broad powers to regulate interstate commerce.
B) the Bill of Rights did not apply to state governments.
C) Congress lacked the ability to ban slavery.
D) the City of Baltimore could not nullify laws passed by Congress.
E) states could not tax the federal bank.
Other than municipal court judges, trial judges in Texas serve ____ terms, and appellate
judges and justices serve ____ terms.
A) four-year /s ix-year
B) four-year / no more than three consecutive four-year
C) no more than three consecutive four-year / no more than three consecutive six-year
D) six year / four year
E) life / life
An election that signals a lasting change in party coalitions is called a
A) significant election.
B) critical election.
C) consequential election.
D) crucial election.
E) tumultuous election.
A budget submitted to the legislature by the ________ is generally ignored in favor of
the budget submitted by the ________.
A) comptroller; state treasurer
B) state treasurer; governor
C) governor; Legislative Budget Board
D) lieutenant governor; governor
E) State Board of Control; General Services Administration
Suppose you are quite wealthy and contributed money to the campaign of one candidate
in a primary election, then gave money to another campaign after that first candidate
dropped out. You also contributed to a battery of political action committees and the
state and national party committees. By the time the general elections come in
November, what is the most that you could have contributed?
A) $30,400.
B) $50,000.
C) $115,500.
D) $500,000.
E) There is no overall limit.
The amendment process for the Constitution is set out in Article V and creates a
A) two-stage process of proposal and ratification.
B) fairly easy procedure for changing the document.
C) single-stage process utilizing conventions or Congress.
D) process by which the states, Congress, the executive branch, and a majority of voters
must agree on changes to the document.
E) process of congressional approval and presidential signing into law.
In Texas, most conflicts within the Republican Party are usually over
A) goals and policies.
B) national defense.
C) cooperation with the national party.
D) personal issues.
E) minority participation.
Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008 was
A) David Axelrod.
B) Valerie Jarrett.
C) Steve Hildebrand.
D) Joe Biden.
E) David Plouffe.
Which of the following statements accurately describes the Texas legislature?
A) The Texas House has 31 members elected for four-year terms while the Texas Senate
has 150 members elected for two-year terms.
B) The Texas House has 150 members elected for two-year terms while the Texas
Senate has 31 members elected for six-year terms.
C) The Texas House has 150 members elected for two-year terms while the Texas
Senate has 31 members elected for four-year terms.
D) The Texas House has 435 members elected for 2-year terms and the Texas Senate
has 100 members elected for 6-year terms.
E) The Texas Legislature is a unicameral legislative body.
The U.S. Constitution’s right to assemble has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to
mean
A) avoiding the formation of factions at all cost.
B) requiring interest groups to turn over membership lists.
C) freely allowing persons to join interest groups.
D) prohibiting groups from filing lawsuits.
E) allowing people to form political groups but only if they register with the
government.
In a study of several states representing different political subcultures, it was
determined that that states with a moralistic political subculture performed better than
states with traditionalistic or individualistic political subcultures in
A) promoting individualism.
B) enhancing self-esteem.
C) adopting and implementing welfare reforms.
D) limiting the size of government.
E) protecting capitalism.
The part of the Texan Creed that holds that government should not infringe upon a
person’s individual rights is the concept of
A) individualism.
B) democracy.
C) liberty.
D) equality.
E) constitutionalism.
President John F. Kennedy’s Commission on the Status of Women was headed by
A) Bella Abzug
B) Alice Paul
C) Eleanor Roosevelt
D) Jacqueline Kennedy
E) Lady Bird Johnson
Which of the following is an example of a special district?
A) Independent school districts
B) County Commissioners Court
C) Justice of the peace courts
D) Free enterprise zones
E) All of the above
Which of the following best describes the political culture of Texas?
A) Government should act as a positive instrument with responsibility to enhance the
well-being of its citizens.
B) Government should act solely to promote individual responsibility.
C) Government should act solely to maintain traditional social values.
D) Government should act both to significantly enhance the well-being of the poor and
to maintain traditional social values.
E) Government should act to promote individual responsibility and to maintain
traditional social values.