Political party affiliation is influenced by
I. parents.
II. marriage.
III. marital status
IV. politicians’ personalities.
A) I only
B) II and III
D) II and IV
C) I, II, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
National health insurance
A) initially was considered at the same time as Social Security.
B) has never been realistically considered in the United States.
C) was adopted during the Clinton administration.
D) was proposed as part of Johnson’s Great Society program.
E) was adopted and then abandoned in the 1940s.
Choose the answer that correctly places the following components of the policy-making
process in the correct order.
I. Policy evaluation
II. Agenda setting
III. Policy adoption
IV. Budgeting
A) I, II, III, IV
B) II, IV, I, III
C) IV, III, II, I
D) II, III, IV, I
E) II, III, I, IV
In 2000, Congress passed a law
A) granting automatic citizenship to aliens who had been in the United States for ten
years or more.
B) granting citizenship to children adopted by parents who are American citizens.
C) granting citizenship to children adopted by American citizens living in traditional
marriages.
D) taking away the rights of naturalized citizens.
E) denying citizenship to aliens suspected of terrorist activities.
The ________ Amendment was passed in response to a Supreme Court decision to limit
its jurisdiction.
A) Tenth
B) Eleventh
C) Twelfth
D) Seventeenth
E) Nineteenth
The concept of sovereign immunity outlined by the Eleventh Amendment
A) prevents states from seceding from the union.
B) hinders the prosecution of criminals captured across lines.
C) ensures that state and local governments protect the civil liberties of their citizens.
D) is the basis for the right against self-incrimination.
E) was the basis for the Rehnquist Court’s decisions restricting federal government
powers.
Candidates first began to formally declare their candidacy for the November 2008
presidential elections in
A) 2004.
B) 2005.
C) 2006.
D) 2007.
E) 2008.
When did federal involvement in health care policy first begin?
A) 1789
B) 1887
C) 1965
D) 1979
E) 2006
The first penny press paper was called the
A) New York Post.
B) Globe.
C) National Gazette.
D) New York Sun.
E) Buffalo Evening Telegraph.
Among the ________ examined by political scientists trying to explain Supreme Court
decision making are childhood experiences, religious values, and political party.
A) cultural experiences
B) attitudes
C) policy-making characteristics
D) strategic strategies
E) behavioral characteristics
National laws that direct state or local governments to comply with federal rules or
regulations but do not include funds to help defray the costs are called
A) unfunded mandates.
B) block grants.
C) a key item in the Contract with America.
D) executive orders.
E) sovereign immunity laws.
The United States has competitive elections. Elections are competitive if
I. opposing factions (in this case, candidates or parties) each have sufficient
organization.
II. opposing factions have an opportunity to win.
III. the winner has the ability to govern.
IV. there are only two parties facing each other.
A) I and III
C) II and III
B) I, II, and III
D) I, II, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
In Texas, cities with populations of 5,000 or less are governed by state law rather than
by a locally adopted city charter. Such cities are known as
A) home rule cities.
B) general law cities.
C) councils of government.
D) chartered cities.
E) special district governments.
The United States holds _______ elections as most other Western democracies.
A) half as many
B) two-thirds the number of
C) approximately the same number of
D) one-fifth the number of
E) twice as many
The __________ prohibits the Texas Legislature from having a budget deficit.
A) U.S. Constitution
B) Texas Constitution
C) U.S. Congress
D) binding resolution passed by the Texas Legislature in 1980
E) recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
According to the theory of ________, the U.S. was divinely ordained to expand across
North America to the Pacific Ocean.
A) manifest destiny
B) divine expansion
C) American exceptionalism
D) westward contraction
E) American manifesto
The enlargement of a city’s corporate limits by incorporating surrounding territory is
known as
A) reapportionment.
B) redistricting.
C) annexation.
D) home rule incorporation.
E) assessment.
The Contract with America was MOST influential in starting which of the following?
A) New Federalism
B) Unfunded mandates
C) Cooperative federalism
D) Stricter environmental standards
E) The Devolution Revolution
All states EXCEPT ________ have bicameral legislatures.
A) Rhode Island
B) Alaska
C) Hawaii
D) Nebraska
E) Virginia
In 1890, Congress passed the ________, a law designed to prohibit monopolies.
A) Sherman Anti-Trust Act
B) Law on Mergers and Acquisitions
C) Interstate Commerce Act
D) Hatch Act
E) Monopolies Act
More tax dollars each year are spent on ________ than any other government program
in Texas.
A) education
B) law enforcement
C) social welfare programs
D) prisons
E) roads and highways (including the state’s contributions to interstate highways)
One of the most prominent examples of the political success of minorities due to a
court-ordered change in municipal election systems in Texas was the election of a
Hispanic mayor in the 1980s in San Antonio. This individual rose to national
prominence as a cabinet secretary in the Clinton administration. Who was he?
A) Ed Garza
B) Gus Garcia
C) Raymond Caballero
D) Elzie Odom
E) Henry Cisneros
The decrease of federal involvement in environmental policy has led to
A) the Department of Energy effectively disbanding.
B) President Barack Obama asking interest groups to take the lead on policy
implementation.
C) the unraveling of gas efficiency standards.
D) states taking the lead in formulating and implementing policy.
E) greater international cooperation to solve global problems.
Congress exerts control on foreign policy through all of the following EXCEPT
A) approving treaties.
B) appropriating funds.
C) approving all military deployments.
D) confirming appointments.
E) oversight hearings.
If the U.S. Supreme Court decided to share its view on the constitutionality of the
recently passed health care reform law, it would be
A) following the practice of seriatim decision making.
B) fulfilling a constitutional mandate.
C) following a pattern used by the Canadian Supreme Court.
D) applying stare decisis.
E) acting consistently with its appreciation of international norms.
Legislation that contains ambiguous language
A) is easy to implement.
B) typically favors the Democrats.
C) allows for discretion on the part of those implementing the law.
D) prevents implementation of laws in ways that are inconsistent with congressional
intent.
E) is a typical Republican strategy to kill bills in a Democratic-controlled Congress.
The most powerful Speaker of the House was
A) Nancy Pelosi.
B) Joe Cannon.
C) Henry Clay.
D) Newt Gingrich.
E) Dennis Hastert.
The last Supreme Court justice nominated by President Barack Obama was
A) Sonia Sotomayor.
B) David Souter.
C) Elena Kagan.
D) John Paul Stevens.
E) John G. Roberts Jr.
Like most other states, Texas operates on a pay-as-you-go basis that prohibits
A) direct debt over $2 billion.
B) any debt over $100 million.
C) debt over $100,000.
D) deficit financing.
E) issuing general obligation bonds.
Among the more popular arguments against the proposed ERA were
I. it would support legalized abortion.
II. it narrowly passed both houses of Congress.
III. husbands would no longer be legally bound to support their wives.
IV. the public was largely against it.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) II and IV
D) I and IV
E) I and III
Most bureaucrats have some leeway in their ability to make choices regarding the best
way to implement congressional intentions. This is called
A) rule-making.
B) administrative discretion.
C) adjudication.
D) selective implementation.
E) the formal hearing procedure.
When Andrew Jackson opined, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him
enforce it,” he was referring to
A) the inability of the Supreme Court to enforce or implement its decisions.
B) the constitutional requirement that only Congress can implement Court decisions.
C) the president’s constitutional right to refuse to implement decisions of the Supreme
Court.
D) the long-standing feud between himself and Marshall.
E) Marshall’s powerful allies in both the executive and legislative branches.
Which of the following is NOT closely related to party realignment in Texas?
A) Some Democrats switched to the Republican Party.
B) Republican candidates won in more counties.
C) New residents of Texas were more likely to be Republicans.
D) The number of independents in Texas has decreased.
E) Young voters were more likely to identify with the Republican Party.