US Congress - Exam 1 - Uiowa

Similar to amateur state legislatures, the _____________ Congress generally had high turnover, low workload, and little committee/party structure.

pre-modern

Senator Ted Cruz seems to be exhibiting ______________ something which fully emerged in the 1970s.

Individualism

A Senator from Iowa and a Senator from Maine walk into the Senate cafeteria. As they are walking, the Iowa Senator says,"I will vote for your lobster bill, if you vote for my corn bill." According to the lecture, if the Maine Senator agrees, he/she is exhibiting the norm of ________________________.

reciprocity

When Prof. Dietrich is talking for a really long period of time you sometimes think to yourself, "Are we in the Senate? Because it seems like Prof. Dietrich is attempting to _____________________ the class. If we only were able to invoke _______________________ we could get him to stop talking."

Filibuster, Cloture

Which of the following BEST describes the modern use of the filibuster?

Today, the mere threat of a filibuster is often enough to stop a vote.

Prior to Reed's Rules, ___________________________________________.

members of Congress were not counted as present unless they answered the quorum call

Which of the following BEST describes the "nuclear option"?

Allowing Senators to end a filibuster with a simple majority vote.

True or False: Filibusters and clotures have been used more over time.

True

Which of the following BEST describes the Reapportionment Act of 1929?

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the number of representatives in the US House of Representatives at 435

True or False: Members of the U.S. House and Senate have always been elected by popular vote.

False

A senator from California represents more than 66 times as many people as a senator from Wyoming. This is an example of _____________________.

Malapportionment

True or False: Redistricting cannot occur between censuses.

False

According to Jacobson, seats in which the winning candidate receives less than 60 percent of the two-party vote and therefore are thought to be at heightened risk for future losses are said to be __________________.

marginal

Jacobson spoke about work by Gary Cox and Johnathan Katz who divided the incumbency advantage into direct, scare-off, and quality effects. Direct effects are those derived from the expansion of resources and district activities. Scare-off effects occur when an incumbent discourages a high-quality challenger from running. Quality effects measure the difference that candidate experience make. According to Cox and Katz, which of the following statements is TRUE.

Quality effects are the most important.

True or False: The higher the incumbent's expected vote, the less money flows into the campaign.

True

True or False: Primary electorates are much more partisan and prone to ideological extremity.

True

Prof. Dietrich runs for the U.S. House in 2020. Despite having never ran before, he wins a plurality of the vote in his district with 45%. After serving in the U.S. House for two years, Representative Dietrich runs for re-election in 2024. This time Representative Dietrich wins 60% of the vote in his district. Jacobson calls this 15% improvement (60%-45% = 15%) the ____________________.

sophomore surge

True or False: Republicans have an inherent advantage in U.S. House elections because their voters are more efficiently distributed across districts as compared to Democrats.

True

Jacobson lists several ways congressional districts vary. Which one of the following is NOT included in Jacobson's list?

Gender

True or False: Senate incumbents are more likely to win reelection as compared to House incumbents.

False

In 2013, the Democratic Campaign Committee recommended new members of Congress spend the majority of their day doing which of the following?

Call time

TRUE or FALSE: In the first midterm election following a presidential election, the president's party tends to gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

False

True or False: People who are exposed to campaign ads tend to be persuaded by them. This is because campaign ads highlight real differences between candidates.

False

What is a running tally?

A frequently updated mental record that a person uses to incorporate new information, like the information that leads a citizen to identify with a particular political party.

Campaigns attempt to contact voters using a variety of methods. Which of the following is the MOST effective?

Personal contact

True or False: We allow everyone over the age of 18 to vote in the United States. This makes it difficult to tailor campaigns to specific groups and causes low turnout.

False

Congressional candidates generally raise funds from (1) individual contributors, (2) political action committees, (3) party committees, and (4) family/friends. More than half the money raised by House and Senate candidates comes from which of these sources?

individual contributors

TRUE or FALSE: Jacobson says split-ticket voting is on the decline which he suggests is indicative of polarization in the electorate.

True

TRUE or FALSE: Due to concerns surrounding the 2008 financial crisis, more bills were passed in the 112th Congress as compared to 106th Congress when the economy was doing quite well.

False

Jordan et al. argued that we should expect to see more polarized votes on some issues as opposed to others. In particular, we should see more polarization on issues that trigger "responsible-party representation." Which of the following issues did they use to measure "responsible-party representation"?

Abortion

Responsible-party

On low complexity + partisan issues, MCs will side with their base.

Instructed delegate

On low complexity + bipartisan issues, MCs will side with their district because they feel compelled to do so.

Belief sharing

On low complexity + bipartisan issues, MCs will side with their district because they agree with them.

Trustee

On high complexity + bipartisan issues, MCs can use their own judgement.

Party-Elite Led

On high complexity + partisan issues, MCs will side with their party.

If a member of Congress' policy positions tend to reflect the policy positions of his/her constituency, then they have high _________________________.

policy congruence

According to Jordan et al., which of the following BEST describes "issue complexity"?

the extent to which voters demonstrate policy preferences

Below you will find a list of statements. Which of these statements would Jordan et al. agree with the MOST?

the type of representation a member of Congress employs varies by issue

According to Jordan et al., Americans who strongly identify with either the Democratic or Republican party would mostly prefer the _________________________ model of representation.

Responsible-party

What is the MAIN difference between hard and soft money?

Hard money are donations that are used to help elect or defeat a specific candidate, whereas soft money are contributions that can be used for anything just as long as it is not tied to support or opposing a particular candidate.

Under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), "electioneering communications" involved all of the following EXCEPT...

Distributed on radio, television or the internet

Which of the following BEST describes a "personal vote"?

A "personal vote" occurs when someone votes for a candidate because his or her personal qualities, qualifications, activities, and record.

A member of Congress voting on a bill that is important to his/her district->

position taking

A member of Congress sending an email ex-plaining what he/she did the previous year->

credit claiming

A member of Congress riding in a parade->

advertising

A member of Congress appearing on Jimmy Fallon->

advertising

A member of Congress posting his/her voting record on his/her website->

credit claiming

A member of Congress delivering a floor speech on an issue that is important to his/her district->

position taking

For the average member of Congress, it is irrational to pursue large issues. Which of the following BEST describes why this is the case?

On a large issue, more than one member of Congress can reasonably claim credit. Similarly, for voters, there is no easy way to determine whether a member of Congress is making a valid claim.