The Republic of Texas had a weak president when it joined the Union.
If the governor’s office is vacant and the lieutenant governor becomes the governor,
what happens to the lieutenant governor’s position?
A)It remains vacant.
B)The new governor also holds the position of lieutenant governor.
C)A new lieutenant governor is selected by the Texas Senate.
D)A new lieutenant governor is nominated by the governor, subject to Senate
confirmation.
E)A new lieutenant governor is selected in a statewide election.
“Bowling Alone” refers to Americans’ love of bowling.
If a senator asks to be informed about the status of a bill or a nominee, he or she is
placing a hold, preventing the bill or nominee from being brought to the floor.
If you view government as an evil which limits the ability of individuals to make
choices and achieve their own destinies, you are likely to be a liberal.
According to disturbance theory, interest groups arise to counteract the efforts of other
groups.
The Chase Court was so named because the chief justice at the time was Salmon Chase.
Senators and representatives have no limits to the number of terms they may serve.
Libertarians would likely advocate for the USA PATRIOT Act.
Party identification in Texas is weak.
A possible explanation of the tendency of the widowed to vote more Democratic than
Republican is that most of the widowed are women.
A national constitutional convention was called at the request of two-thirds of state
legislatures in 1985.
There is little contradiction in citizens’ expectations of government.
Deciding whether to act alone or with others is the only decision the United States has
to make about how it uses its power.
Historically, state and local governments have been part-time governments.
To be a district judge in Texas, you must be a licensed attorney or have served as a
judge for four years, and you must have resided in the judicial district for two years.
The Texas Constitution incorporates few principles of American constitutional theory.
Vacancies in the Texas legislative and executive branches are filled through special
elections.
The Declaration of Independence proclaimed the right of the American colonies to
separate from Great Britain.
Only the federal government may charter a bank.
For a majority of Texans, there is no consensus on the importance of the five ideas of
the Texan Creed.
The department most likely to respond to a plane hijacking is the Department of
Defense.
Groups that mobilize to protect economic interests generally are the most fully and
effectively organized.
A country’s constitution authorizes the national government to allocate some of its
authority to provincial and local governments. As a result, the national government also
has the power to take away authority from state and local governments. This is an
example of a confederate system of government.
The word “federal” did not appear in the U.S. Constitution until the ratification of the
Tenth Amendment.
Conservatives tend to believe that government is best that governs least.
A state passes a controversial law, and a group sues, saying the law is in violation of its
rights. The case goes all the way to the Supreme Court for review. Judging the
constitutionality of this law is a power the Court claimed in Marbury v. Madison.
It is possible for the presidential candidate who loses the popular vote to win the overall
election.
The Texas cattle economy was inherited directly from Spaniards.
Interest groups allow the unrepresented and underrepresented an opportunity to have
their voices heard.
Cloture is the only way to end a filibuster.
Native American tribes have reservation or trust land that is not subject to taxation or
regulation by state and local governments.
If you are the prosecutor or defense attorney preparing for trial, you can use your
peremptory challenges during voir dire to exclude potential jurors based on their race or
gender.
Polling firms
A) have varying objectives, even when conducting similar surveys.
B) manufacture data to achieve political ends.
C) rely on straw poll data.
D) use the Internet as a primary means to distribute surveys.
E) are always partisan.
The Lobbying Disclosure Act requires that
A) lobbyists must register with the House but not the Senate.
B) lobbyists must disclose the percentage of their time spent on lobbying activities.
C) members of Congress must wait five years before lobbying their former colleagues.
D) lobbyists must pay a registration fee to lobby Congress.
E) lobbyists must register with the Senate but not the House.
The ________ is empowered by the Constitution to make all federal laws.
A) federal bureaucracy
B) judicial branch
C) legislative branch
D) executive branch
E) Electoral College
The health care system in America
I. is a problem exacerbated by citizens significantly unhealthier than many people in
other developed nations.
II. has become a purely socialized system.
III. dwarfs other developed nations in terms of costs.
IV. is similar in quality and costs to places such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
A) II only
B) I and II
C) I and III
D) I, III, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
A fundamental weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that it
A) did not settle competing claims over ownership of western lands.
B) did not create an adequate national defense.
C) regulated interstate commerce.
D) established a uniform foreign policy.
E) made the central government too powerful.
If the president wanted to decrease defense spending and increase monetary aid to
victims of natural disaster, which one of the following groups would be MOST likely to
balance the new distribution of spending?
A) The Department of Transportation
B) The Office of Management and Budget
C) The Central Intelligence Agency
D) The Department of the Interior
E) The Cabinet
According to the executive order issued by Rick Perry, under what authority was the
HPV vaccination order issued?
A) “Under the authority vested in the governor by the People of Texas”
B) “Under the authority granted by the Constitution to protect the General Welfare of
the people”
C) “By virtue of the governor’s power as chief legislator and president of the Senate”
D) “By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of
the State of Texas as the Chief Executive Officer”
E) “Pursuant to the individual liberties guaranteed to the people of Texas by the Bill of
Rights”
Which of the following organizations would be most supportive of an expansion of free
trade?
A) The Protectionist Society
B) The AFL-CIO
C) The Textile Workers of America
D) General Motors
E) The National Farmers Union
Which of the following is NOT an argument for adding the initiative process to the
Texas Constitution?
A) Citizens cannot affect public policy in a direct manner under the existing
Constitution.
B) The threat of an initiative would force office holders to be more responsive to the
public.
C) Provisions in the current Texas constitution often reflect narrow interests.
D) Texans pay little attention to the actions of elected officials now.
E) Interest groups play a major role in policy development and implementation.
What is the main reason the Republican Party has historically raised more money than
the Democratic Party?
A) Republicans have more wealthy donors.
B) Republicans are better at grassroots campaigning.
C) There are more Republicans than Democrats in the United States.
D) Democrats are largely inept at fundraising.
E) More third party organizations bundle money for Republicans.
A constitution that incorporates detailed provisions in order to limit the structure and
powers of government is generally known as
A) a liberal constitution.
B) a statutory constitution.
C) a pluralist constitution.
D) an elitist constitution.
E) an efficient constitution.
Which of the following is true regarding how proposed amendments to the Texas
Constitution appear on the ballot?
A) The ballot contains only the number assigned to the proposed constitutional
amendment; it does not contain a description of the amendment.
B) The ballot language is not constrained by a prescribed legal style.
C) Proposed amendments are always written in ways that promote understanding of
what the amendments would accomplish.
D) The ballot language of a proposed amendment is often incomprehensible without
reading the explanations published in advanced.
E) Texas law requires that descriptions of the proposed amendments must be written at
a sixth-grade level.
Critics of the Texas Railroad Commission believe that it protects and represents the
interests of the oil and gas industry rather than regulates it, making it a
A) quasi-judicial entity.
B) public advocacy council.
C) captured agency.
D) legislative rather than executive entity.
E) violation of the separation of powers doctrine.
According to the authors of the textbook, under which of the following circumstances is
a major constitutional reform effort most likely to take place?
A) Voters begin to believe that the current Constitution is no longer working
B) DNA evidence yields incontrovertible proof that someone who has been put to death
was actually innocent of the crime they were convicted of
C) The court system becomes so cumbersome that lawyers no longer want to practice
law in Texas
D) It becomes nearly impossible for the legislature to balance the budget
E) Legislators become frustrated with the difficulty of passing important legislation
Post-Civil War southern state constitutions were
A) unrealistic because they divorced political power from economic power.
B) long-lasting.
C) unacceptable to the national government.
D) progressive and formed strong state governments.
E) progressive and formed strong county governments.
Governor Deval Patrick was unique because he was
A) a Republican who lost re-election.
B) an independent who won a gubernatorial election.
C) a Democrat who won re-election in 2010.
D) the first governor to win a fifth term.
E) a sitting Speaker of the state legislature who lost re-election.
Why did the United States and the Soviet Union become enemies during the Cold War?
A) The United States’ use of nuclear weapons in 1945
B) A disagreement between the commanders of their respective armies
C) The implementation of high tariffs in the Soviet Union
D) The United States’ refusal to join the United Nations
E) A Communist government in the Soviet Union
In 1947, the American government decided to help rebuild the economies of war-torn
Europe by sending large amounts of aid through a program known as the
A) Truman Doctrine.
B) Marshall Plan.
C) Kennan Proposal.
D) Harvard Plan.
E) Virginia Plan.
Why is the welfare state in the United States less developed than many other
industrialized democracies?
A) Democrats continually prevent the expansion of the welfare state.
B) The Constitution severely limits the ability of the welfare state to exist.
C) It sometimes comes into conflict with American ideals such as hard work and
responsibility.
D) President Franklin D. Roosevelt quashed any possibility of a welfare state.
E) Americans value pure capitalism over any sort of government intervention.
Volunteer campaign staff perform many tasks, including
A) phone banking.
B) developing a media strategy.
C) polling.
D) submitting official reports to the Federal Election Commission.
E) acquiring and distributing campaign funds.
In which of the following categories is Texas among the highest in the nation?
A) Automobile production
B) Maple syrup production
C) Mean household income
D) The number of Native Americans
E) The number of richest Americans
There are approximately ________ PACs registered with the Federal Election
Commission.
A) 500
B) 1,000
C) 4,000
D) 7,000
E) 10,000
As a whole, Americans’ knowledge about history and politics is
A) concentrated in the era after the Vietnam War.
B) lower than it used to be.
C) higher than it was fifty years ago due to the advent of the Internet and cable
television.
D) higher in foreign policy than in domestic policy.
E) lower in federal government than in state government.
Supreme Court justices and federal judges serve for
A) four-year terms.
B) eight-year terms.
C) life.
D) life with good behavior.
E) twelve-year terms.
The Constitution stipulates that members of the House of Representatives are elected
directly by the people for ________-year terms.
A) two
B) four
C) six
D) eight
E) twelve
Statutory county courts are also known as
A) constitutional county courts.
B) county courts at law.
C) intermediate trial courts.
D) probate courts.
E) state trial courts.
Although it is unusual for justices to comment about the nomination process,
A) Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas hailed the nominations of Judges John
G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr.
B) Justice Sandra Day O’Connor lamented that she was not replaced with another
woman.
C) Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg threatened to resign if another woman was not
appointed to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
D) Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed disappointment that Justice Elena Kagan was not
Hispanic.
E) Justice Clarence Thomas sent a letter to major newspapers urging that more African
Americans be placed on the Court.
Partisan newspapers gave way to
A) The Federalist Papers.
B) the penny press.
C) radio.
D) television.
E) the “tabloid” press.
Which of the following is the BEST example of religious groups influencing public
policy?
A) America’s continued aid to Israel
B) Obama speech to the United Nations
C) America’s War on Terror
D) The USA PATRIOT Act
E) President Obama attending funeral services in a church
Imagine you are a journalist covering a scandal that may destroy a member of
Congress. You obtain your information from a source at the Department of Justice. In
your story, you make no reference to the source’s name or to the Department of Justice,
referring instead to her as an “unnamed source.” This source is
A) on the record.
B) off the record.
C) on background.
D) on deep background.
E) in secret.
Why does the shift to a more service-oriented Texas economy present a challenge for
state revenues?
A) There are fewer jobs available in the service industry.
B) A service-oriented economy increases enrollments at elementary schools.
C) Many services are exempt from sales taxes.
D) Most service-industry workers are able to collect unemployment benefits if they lose
their jobs.
E) The service-oriented economy hinders the ability of banks to borrow money.
In what form of city government is the mayor essentially a figurehead and has no more
power than any other member of the council?
A) Strong-mayor council
B) Weak-mayor council
C) Council-manager
D) Mayor-manager
E) Municipal commission
Legally sanctioned organizations that allow corporations, labor unions, and other
interest groups to raise money and make contributions to candidates in national
elections are called
A) federal election committees.
B) political interest groups.
C) political action committees.
D) campaign finance committees.
E) political funding groups.
In county government, which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the county
commissioners court?
A) Setting the county budget
B) Setting county tax rates
C) Creating general ordinances for the county
D) Redistricting county commissioners’ precincts following the report of the decennial
U.S. Census
E) Construction and maintenance of roads by the individual commissioners in the
respective precincts
Newer regulatory boards often
I. are more political than boards created earlier.
II. are more concerned with public health and safety.
III. enjoy autonomy from political pressure.
IV. are more dependent upon the courts for authority.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) III and IV
D) I and IV
E) II and IV
The 1990s brought a secular realignment of Republicans toward the Democratic Party.
Most Republican presidential candidates in 2008 came from “red” states.
If new evidence arises after a criminal trial that could lead to the release of the
convicted person, his or her lawyers would likely take the case to the U.S. courts of
appeals.
The Democratic Party’s 2008 pledge to reform health care remained an unfulfilled
promise.
The Society of Professional Journalists publishes a detailed code of ethics for
journalists, which includes principles and standards governing issues in journalism.
Online voting would relatively difficult to sabotage.
Most voter canvassing takes place around three months before the elections to solidify
voter support.
In 2010, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele fully supported the
actions of Tea Party favorite Rand Paul.
Suppose President Barack Obama sees the oil spill as a complete failure of the
Environmental Protection Agency, and he decides to restructure the entire agency.
Because it serves at his will, he can do so without congressional approval.
The Supreme Court has had little difficulty getting the executive branch to implement
the decisions it hands down.
Because of their strong pro-life stance, Catholics consistently support Republican
candidates.
In the early 1800s, Southerners were overwhelmingly partial to the Federalist Party.
States nearly unanimously disallow constitutional amendments.
Suppose a racist organization wants to make solicitation phone calls to members of a
community. The phone company can prevent such calls from occurring by censoring
them.
If you are an incredibly wealthy, politically active person, you can spend more money
on candidates in Germany than you would be able to in the United States.