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| a proposed law, drafted in precise legal language. Anyone can draft a bill but only a member of the HoR or Senate can formally submit a bill |
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| Congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms |
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| Congressional Budged Office |
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| Counterweight to president's Office of Management and Budget. The CBO advises Congress on the probable consequences of budget decisions and forecasts revenues |
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| institution unique to HoR that reviews all bills coming from a House committee before they go to the full House |
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| Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses |
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| Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy |
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| Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose (Watergate investigation) |
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| simple rule for picking committee chairs until 1970. member who serves on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became chair (no matter what!) |
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| Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas |
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| What were the three waves of immigration in US history? |
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Definition
| Before Civil War- Northwestern Europeans. After Civil War- Southern and Eastern Europeans. After WWII- Hispanics and Asians |
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| What is a growing concern for Hispanic Americans? |
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| Issues concerning illegal immigrants |
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| What is "gray power" and what are the consequences? |
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| Seniority wielding political power. More new political interests are mobilized |
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| What are four major criticisms of polling? |
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Definition
| Pollsters can achieve wanted results by altering the wording of questions. Makes politicians more concerned with following than leading and thus hampers bold leadership. Permits government to think it has taken public opinion into account when only passive opinions have been counted. Exit polls enable television networks to "predict" a winner before voting is over |
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| Explain the statement that Americans are ideological conservatives but operational liberals. |
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| Americans tend to think themselves as conservative due to their natural dislike of expanded government. However, the fact that most Americans practice actions that encourage the growth of the government shows that they are fundamentally operational liberals |
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| Comment on how Americans' lack of political knowledge and low participation rate affects democracy. |
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| People are unable as a whole to make rational choices. Instead they look at performance rather than policies and vote accordingly. Their votes show that they hold public officials accountable for their actions |
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| Party organization that uses bribes for political reasons rather than merit or competence |
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| What has been the most prominent trend in party identification in recent years? |
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| Decline of both major parties and increasing percentage of Independents |
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| US has experienced five party eras. Explain each. |
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| 1796-1824--> First Party System. Federalists decline to poor organization and Democratic-Republicans tore apart from factionalism. 1828-1856--> Jackson and Democrats vs Whigs. Democratic-Republicans became the Democrats. 1860-1928--> The Republican Era. Rose and forged coalition with minor parties, electing Abraham Lincoln as president. 1932-1964--> New Deal Coalition. Blacks change their allegiance to the Democratic Party. [The era of divided government]--> Weakening and party delignment has been a result of diverse views on social programs. Divided party government appears as a regular phenomenon |
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| What's the most important consequence of two-party governance in the US? |
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Definition
| Moderation of political conflict |
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| What is the "responsible party model"? |
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| Calls for each party to present distinct comprehensible programs in which they would implement if its in power |
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| What freedoms are the basis for the existence of interest groups? |
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Definition
| Right to organize groups and peacefully assemble as well as the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. Freedom of speech and press are equally as important |
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| What factors affect the success of an interest group? |
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Definition
| Size of group, intensity, and financial resources |
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| Explain Olson's law of large groups. |
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Definition
| "the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good" |
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Term
| Identify four ways lobbyists can help members of the legislative branch. |
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Definition
| Important source of information. Help politicians with political strategy for getting legislation through. Can help formulate campaign strategy and get the group's members behind a politician's reelection campaign. Source of ideas and innovations |
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| How might growth in number of interest groups affect the size and scope of the federal government? |
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Definition
| Government size increases as interest groups keep demanding actions and policies from the government |
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| How might the size of the federal government have affected the growth in the number of interest groups? |
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Definition
| Increasing number of interest groups for an increasing government size due to the fact that more policies meant that more interest groups develop to influence the policies that crop up |
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