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Political Science Test #2

Terms in this set (78)

435
How many representatives are there in the US Congress?
100
How many senators are there in the US Congress?
1 sometimes 2
How many committee assignments do representatives generally hold?
4, or 5, more than reps
How many committee assignments do senators generally hold?
all senators, all representatives
What is the "Committee of the Whole"?
main and permanent committee
What is a standing committee?
meeting between senators and representatives to compromise on final version of bill
What is a conference committee?
special rule for each bill -> determines debate, and vote on the floor
What is the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives, and what does it do?
rule of debate for a specific bill
In the House of Representatives, what is a special rule?
editing a bill in committee/subcommittee
What does "markup" mean?
every senator has to agree on rules of debate on senate floor
What is a unanimous consent agreement?
60 signatures of senators to end debate (and force a vote), can continue for another 30 hours
What is a cloture rule, and how many signatures does it require?
talking endlessly to delay/undermine business
What is a filibuster?
relevant. ----- house
In an amendment to a bill being considered by Congress, what does "germane" mean
speaker
What is generally considered the most powerful position in the House of Representatives
majority leader
What is generally considered the most powerful position in the United States Senate
gets people to vote with party- vote counting
What does a whip do?
aggregate increase in seats for a party in House or senate
What is a seat swing?
Tendency for members of Congress to win reelection
What does the term incumbency effect mean
98%; 70%
What are the reelection rates in the House of Representatives and Senate
name recognition. money, gerrymandering, candidate-centered campaign, role of government
What are the main causes of the incumbency effect
Running as an individual instead of as a political party
What is candidate-centered campaigning
nobody wants to run against a strong incumbent, therefore only weak challengers run
In campaign politics, what is the challenger quality argument
weak candidate
In campaign politics, what is a sacrificial lamb
bringing money to the district
What is pork
helping one constituent
What is constituency service
can mail constituents for free
What is franking privilege
drawing district lines for political gain
What does gerrymander mean
packing-putting lots of people from one party into district cracking-divide opposite party
What is "packing" and "cracking"
all district states have to have equal population, which forced them to rewrite district lines each ten years
What was the Supreme Court ruling in Reynolds v. Sims
subcommittee members, interest groups, government agency
What is an "iron triangle"
2 years
How often is an election held for each seat in the House of Representatives
6 years staggered
How often is an election held for each seat in the United States Senate
national and regional governments share power
What does federalism mean
league of states
What is a confederation
national government holds almost all of the power
What is a unitary government
unitary
What is the most common type of government internationally
started as a bunch of states that joined together
Why do some countries choose to be Federalist
federal and state governments have distinct responsibilities-layered cake
What is dual federalism
all levels of government work together to solve problems in reality, fed government rules-marble cake
What is cooperative federalism
shift in power back to the states, what we have today
What is New Federalism
post office, money, foreign policy, military
What were the initial responsibilities of the Federal Government
any power not defined for national government given to the states
What does the 10th Amendment to the Constitution state
federal law is law of land
What is the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution
fed government can do whatever it needs to do its job
What is the Necessary and Proper Clause of the US Constitution
interstate commerce determined by federal gov
What is the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution
everything is interstate commerce
Why does the Commerce Clause significantly increase the power of the Federal Government
states cannot deny anyone equal protection before the law
What does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution state
cannot have rights taken away without due process of law
What does the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment state
end slavery
What was the primary original intent of the 14th Amendment
organized group that lobbies the government- influence from outside!!
What is an interest group
argued that interest groups competing in what promotes democracy, balance each other out
Who were the Pluralists, and what did they argue?How does it relate to Madison's argument in Federalist 10?
public and government
What is an intermediary group
special interest- exclusive benefits ; general interests -> benefits everyone
What is the difference between "special interests" and "general interests"
nobody does the work if it benefits everyone equally
What is the free rider problem
bring more people into a conflict in order to gain an upper hand
What does socialization of conflict mean
reduce the number of people in a conflict
What does privatization of conflict mean
turf of conflict
What is the domain of a conflict
they have less to lose
Why is the weaker party in a conflict the most likely to socialize it
uncertainty
Why does the weaker party in a conflict often not socialize it
organization that runs candidates for election under single label
What is a political party
one of the two major parties before civil war, replaced by republicans
What was the Whig Party
number of effective parties
What is a party system
two party system
What type of party system does the United States have (e.g., predominant, two-party, or multiparty)
overarching rules of how votes are translated into seats
What is an electoral system
number of seats per district
What is district magnitude
how the ballot is designed (do you see party or also candidate names)
What is ballot structure
calculates the seats from the votes
What is the electoral formula
single member district , whoever gets the most votes wins
What is an SMP (single-member plurality) electoral system
it favors the 2 party system
How many parties does the SMP system tend to produce
former colonies of the UK
What countries are most likely to use SMP electoral systems
SMP favors a 2 party system because people don't want to waste their votes on third parties
What is Duverger's Law
Proportion of seats is based on the percent of votes for a party
What is a PR (proportional representation) electoral system
Minimum percent of votes a party needs to get seats in government
What is a minimum vote threshold
No party has majority in a legislature -> therefore multiple parties rule together
What is a coalition government
Single member districts; and voters rank the candidates
What is preferential voting
australia
What country uses preferential voting
Rank voting; instant runoff
What is the term used by proponents of electoral reform for preferential voting
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