The Bureaucracy
Hiring someone based on party support or party loyalty instead of their qualifications is called ___.
Patronage
Which branch of government has the "power of the purse"?
Legislative Branch
The process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values.
Political Socialization
Term referring to a person currently holding office
Incumbent
First Constitution of the United States
Articles of Confederation
The stable relationship between a congressional committee, an agency, and an interest group is called ______.
An iron triangle
For a bonus $200 give an example of an iron triangle.
Term used to describe the power of the federal courts to declare a law unconstitutional.
Judicial Review
The feeling that your vote is important and matters.
Political Efficacy
An election that takes place in the middle of a presidential term.
Midterm Election
Those who supported ratification of the Constitution
Federalists
What is one method Congress can use to control the federal bureaucracy?
Which branch has the power to negotiate treaties with foreign governments?
Executive Branch
A method of poll selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected.
Random Sampling
A voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected.
Prospective voting
Article of the Constitution that deals with the Judicial Branch.
Article III
Law passed by Congress to reduce the use of patronage.
Pendleton Act or Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.
Bonus 100: Name the President whose assassination led to the passage of the Pendleton Act.
Which branch does the US Constitution give the power to determine the rules and policies for immigration?
Legislative
Name four factors that most influence a person's political beliefs and values.
Gender, race and ethnicity, age, religion, family, education, peers, media
Type of political action committee established to make independent expenditures (spending for campaign activity that is not coordinated with a candidates campaign).
Super PAC
Three types of democracy
Participatory, Elite, and Pluralist
Term referring to the power of bureaucratic agencies to make policy decisions, interpret vague laws, and decide how to apply them.
Discretionary authority
1. Congress passes a law (often broad or unclear)
2. Agency uses discretionary authority to interpret what the law means
3. Agency uses "rule-making" to turn that into enforceable regulations
EX: Clean Air Act passed --> EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) determines what counts as pollution and creates limitations for companies --> EPA then enforces those limitations and penalizes companies that break them.
Identify two enumerated powers of the Executive Branch and two informal powers of the Executive Branch
Enumerated: Command troops, negotiate treaties, pardoning, nominating judges, ambassadors, Cabinet members
Informal/Implied: Executive Orders, Executive Agreements, Bully Pulpit, Executive Privilege
A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll written in statistical parameters.
Margin of error. EX: +/-3
A 52% approval rating for a President in a poll that reports a margin of error of +/-3 means the range of approval could be anywhere between 49%-55%.
Refers to political contributions that are made to political parties for purposes other than supporting a specific candidate, often used for party-building activities and not subject to same regulations as other types of contributions.
Soft-money
A law punishing somebody for an action that was declared illegal AFTER the person had committed the action
Ex Post Facto