Civic Mind Exam 2 Fall 2023
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Feb 20, 2024
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CIVIC MIND: EXAM 2 Fall 2023; Dr. Maith 1.
The Founders expected that the strongest of the three branches of the federal government would be: a.
The executive b.
The legislature c.
The judiciary d.
None; they were to be “coequal” branches
2.
If the Senate and the House of Representatives pass different versions of the same law, what is the result? a.
The Senate’s version wins, and becomes law
b.
The House of Representatives’ version wins, and becomes law
c.
The President decides which version becomes law d.
Neither version becomes law, unless they agree on a compromise version 3.
During the 21
st
century, Congress has passed fewer laws than it did previously. Which of the following are reasons for that? Choose all that apply. a.
Congressional leaders have gained the power to prevent votes on proposals they dislike b.
The House of Representatives has shrunk, so there are fewer people to make proposals c.
Political polarization has discouraged compromise d.
Policy is made in other branches of government, including by the bureaucracy through regulation 4.
The Founders expected the President to: a.
Start wars b.
Exercise emergency powers on a regular basis c.
Execute Congress’ instructions d.
Grow in power 5.
According to Arthur Schlesinger, over the history of the United States the presidency has: a.
Become more powerful b.
Become less powerful c.
Remained at a consistent level of power
6.
The growth of the federal bureaucracy tends to make presidents: a.
More powerful, because the president can change policy by changing how laws are enforced b.
Less powerful, because bureaucracies tend to follow rules rather than adapt to unusual orders c.
Both of the above are reasonable arguments; it is not definitively clear which is correct 7.
W
hat are the assumptions of Downs’ model of elected official behavior? Choose all that apply.
a.
Candidates have strong opinions about policy b.
Politics is a linear spectrum c.
Voters choose the candidate who is closest to their position d.
Wealthy voters have more power than other voters e.
Candidates want as many votes as possible f.
Voters are in a roughly normal distribution g.
Certain policy options are impossible 8.
I
f Downs’ assumptions are correct, winning candidates will align themselves with:
a.
Extremely liberal voters b.
Somewhat liberal voters c.
Median voters d.
Somewhat conservative voters e.
Extremely conservative voters 9.
W
hich of Downs’ assumptions did Wittman think was incorrect?
a.
Candidates have strong opinions about policy b.
Politics is a linear spectrum c.
Voters choose the candidate who is closest to their position d.
Wealthy voters have more power than other voters e.
Candidates want as many votes as possible f.
Voters are in a roughly normal distribution g.
Certain policy options are impossible 10.
A
ccording to Wittman’s model, what do winning candidates do?
a.
Align themselves exactly with the same voters as Downs expected them to b.
Move toward median voters as much as they must, while keeping as close as possible to their own policy preferences c.
Abandon their own policy preferences entirely, and choose policy positions randomly d.
Get more money from the “power elite,” so that they can build name recognition
11.
G. William Domhoff had three key questions about government. For which of them does he claim he has strong evidence that the answer is “the power elite?” Choose all that apply.
a.
Who governs b.
Who benefits c.
Who wins 12.
A
ccording to G. William Domhoff, how do the “power elite” dominate government? Choose all that apply. a.
They use their wealth to hire lobbyists, who argue on behalf of their views b.
They fund think tanks that provide policy ideas to politicians c.
They wear impressive clothes d.
They are happy and healthy e.
They use their connections to get high-level, policy-making government jobs 13.
According to Winters and Page, on what issues do the wealthy win? a.
Social issues like speech regulation b.
Economic issues like international trade policy c.
Military issues like the balance between funding for the Army and Navy d.
All of the above 14.
A
ccording to Winters and Page’s critics, what do the statistics show about the wealthy? Choose all that apply. a.
They have a small but statistically significant advantage in getting their way on economic issues b.
They have a large advantage in getting their way on all issues c.
Political party and ideology are a better predictor of how politicians vote than who donates money to them d.
They agree with non-wealthy voters on a majority of issues 15.
In the federal court system, trials are held in: a.
District court b.
Courts of Appeals c.
The Supreme Court 16.
The federal Supreme Court: a.
Is required to hear all cases brought to it b.
Considers a random selection of cases brought to it, for fairness c.
Only hears cases in which one state sues another state d.
Decides which cases it will consider out of those brought to it
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17.
In a case involving only state law, the court with the last word on that case will be: a.
A state district court b.
The state’s Supreme Court c.
A federal district court d.
The federal Supreme Court 18.
T
he federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) says that anyone who “intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and there by obtains . . . information from a protected computer . . . shall be punished.”
Courts have disagreed about how to handle cases where an angry employee takes information they are allowed to have from a company’s computers, then quits and gives the information to a competitor. This is a quote from one court’s analysis of that situation:
"The critical term —
‘authorization’ —
is not defined in the statute, but we have previously recognized in construing the CFAA that ‘authorization’ is a word ‘of common usage, without any technical or ambiguous meaning.’ The dictionary defines ‘authorization’ as ‘permission or power granted by authority.’ Thus, common usage of ‘authorization’ suggests that one ‘accesses a computer without authorization’ if he accesses a computer without permission to do so at all.”
The reasoning in the quote above is an example of what judicial philosophy? a.
Originalism b.
Textualism) c.
Purposivism d.
All of the above 19.
There has also been controversy about whether the CFAA only applies to cases where the employer’s property was physically damaged. This is how one court responded to that idea:
“To parse the words in any other way would not only impair Congress's intende
d scope of the Act but would also serve to reward sophisticated intruders. As we move into an increasingly electronic world, the instances of physical damage will likely be fewer while the value to the victim of what has been stolen and the victim's costs in shoring up its security features undoubtedly will loom ever larger. If we were to restrict the statute [to cases where a computer was physically damaged], we would flout Congress's intent by effectively permitting the CFAA to languish in the twentieth century, as violators of the Act move into the twenty-first century and beyond.”
The reasoning in the quote above is an example of what judicial philosophy? a.
Originalism b.
Textualism c.
Purposivism d.
All of the above
20.
Of the judicial philosophies listed below, which would give judges the least power? a.
Originalism b.
Textualism c.
Purposivism d.
Pragmatism 21.
F
rom most to least, how concerned are the following people about the “counter
-majoritarian difficulty?”
a.
Chemerinsky > Epstein > Bickel b.
Epstein > Bickel > Chemerinsky c.
Chemerinsky > Bickel > Epstein d.
Bickel > Epstein > Chemerinsky (The following case study applies to questions 22-23.) Suppose there are four candidates in an election: Aiden, Blair, Charlie, and Dakota. Voters have the following preferences: First choice Second choice Third choice Voter 1 Aiden Blair Dakota Voter 2 Aiden Blair Charlie Voter 3 Blair Charlie Aiden Voter 4 Blair Charlie Dakota Voter 5 Charlie Blair Aiden Voter 6 Aiden Charlie Blair Voter 7 Dakota Blair Aiden Voter 8 Charlie Dakota Blair 22.
In a first-past-the-post system (where voters only list their first choice), which candidate would win the election? a.
Aiden b.
Blair c.
Charlie d.
Dakota 23.
In a ranked choice/instant runoff system where voters can list up to three choices, which candidate would win the election? a.
Aiden b.
Blair c.
Charlie d.
Dakota
24.
James Madison would be: a.
Surprised by the appearance of political parties in the United States, because he thought the rise of factions could be avoided b.
Pleased by the appearance of political parties in the United States, because he felt factions were healthy for democracy c.
Not surprised by the appearance of political parties in the United States, because he thought factions could not be avoided d.
This is a trick question; James Madison had no opinion on factions in government 25.
Which of the following is not
a reason to adopt a federalist system? a.
Federalism can protect freedoms b.
Federalism consistently reduces corruption c.
Federalism is a rational response to danger d.
Federalism is a way to overcome collective action problems 26.
According to Myerson, which of these is not
a possible long-term outcome in a federalist system? a.
Democracy works well at both the local and national levels b.
Democracy works well at the national level, but is frustrated at the local level c.
Democracy is frustrated at the national level, but works well at the local level d.
Democracy is frustrated at both the national and local levels 27.
Cass Sunstein argues that when like-minded groups are asked to consider an issue, they will tend to: a.
Arrive at a less extreme position than the members of the group started out preferring b.
Arrive at approximately the position the members of the group started out preferring c.
Arrive at a more extreme position than the average members of the group started out preferring 28.
When people in the U.S. are asked to describe someone of a different political party, they: a.
Often rely on accurate information about what people from different political parties are like b.
Often rely on media portrayals of people from different political parties, which are frequently inaccurate c.
Often rely on what they read in books about the history of different political parties, which may or may not be accurate d.
Have no information from any source about people from different political parties
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29.
In class we described three debates about the role of the bureaucracy in the modern United States government. Choose a position on one of those debates and write 1-2 paragraphs explaining why your position is correct. In your response, be sure to discuss the Constitutional role of the executive branch. Does your position put the bureaucracy within the F
ounders’ intended role for the executive branch, or outside of it? If it moves the bureaucracy outside of the intended role for the executive branch, is that a problem? Why or why not? 30.
We said in class that Congresspeople have a duty of loyalty to those they represent, but no duty of care. Ponet and Leib argued that Congresspeople should have a duty of care, modeled on a businessperson’s fiduciary duty of care.
Please write two paragraphs answering this question: are Ponet and Leib right that Congresspeople should have a duty of care toward the people they represent? In your answer, be sure to include at least two specific responsibilities which Ponet and Leib think are included in a duty of care, and why you think Congresspeople should or should not have those responsibilities. Keep in mind if you think Congresspeople should have a duty of care, those responsibilities
would be legally required duties
.
There would be penalties for Congresspeople who did not meet the responsibilities.