Why should voters be skeptical of interpreting a member’s voting record as an unambiguous indicator of his views and priorities?
What will be an ideal response?
Students can address various problems with treating all roll calls as sincere policy preferences. This includes voting against a bill they prefer to the status quo in hopes that a better bill will be introduced/voted on later, refusing to accept a compromise to highlight party differences, accepting an unfavorable compromise because preferable reform is seen as impossible/improbable, and so on. Students should outline a variety of reasons and use examples to illustrate.
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______ is an educational policy that distributes public funds to parents and guardians, allowing them to send their students to private and alternative schools.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Which of the following was a problem under the Articles of Confederation? a. The national government was too strong compared to the states. b. Amendments were too easy to ratify. c. Congress imposed excessive taxes
d. Congress lacked the authority to regulate commerce.
National surveys indicate the majority of Americans tend to see Democrats handling which issue better than Republicans?
a. national defense, b. foreign trade c. crime d. healthcare e. none of the above
How many cabinet-level departments exist today?
a. 10 b. 15 c. 20 d. 25