Unit 5B Review

How do Political Action Committees (PACs) influence the government?

• advising the President

• staffing Congressional offices

• financially supporting causes and campaigns

• sending written summaries of cases to the Supreme Court

Why are the same events sometimes reported differently by different news networks?

• Newspapers and networks hold certain political beliefs (biases) that are shown in their reporting.

• Newspapers and networks don't get enough information to report events accurately.

• Some newspapers and networks just want to trick the public into believing things that aren't true.

• Political parties pay newspapers and news networks to make them look good, leading to false reporting.

Objective news is

• Factual accounts of events and people

• Opinions of experts or people with political goals

• News with an goal in mind

Commentary is

• Factual accounts of events and people

• Opinions of experts or people with political goals

• Not on news networks

What would be the most accurate source to find information about candidates' views during an election?

• a private interest group's website

• a record of the candidates' voting history on issues-related legislation

• a TV commercial sponsored by a political party

• a newspaper editorial

The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC profoundly impacted recent elections by

• Enfranchising all ex-felons in the US

• Disbanding the Federal Election Commission

• Giving DC residents the right to vote

• Ruling that the 1st Amendment limits the government’s ability to regulate PAC spending

The decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) led to the creation of super PACs that can legally raise unlimited amounts of money and engage in electioneering with few limits. Madison argued in The Federalist 10 that factions, like super PACs, would not be detrimental to society because the Constitution

• left most of the powers to local governments where factions are unlikely to form

• placed financial limits on factions to prevent them from creating problems

• created an independent judiciary that would prosecute those forming factions

• created a large republic with many factions that would cancel each other out

During political campaigns before an election, the news media is said to cover the campaigns like a horse race. Which of the following statements best explains the reason for this analogy?

• The results of an election, like the results of a horse race, can’t be known until it’s over.

• The candidates are groomed and trained for the campaign just as racehorses are groomed and trained for a race.

• The press constantly compares candidates’ poll numbers like the positions of horses in a race.

• As gatekeepers, members of the press officially being the horse race

What is a Political Action Committee (PAC)?

• A committee within a political party that decides party policy

• A group that collects money to fund media campaigns

• An organization that raises and spends money to elect or defeat candidates

• A government agency that regulates election spending

What is one way that media can display bias?

• By providing factual information

• By choosing which stories to report

• By allowing equal time for all viewpoints

• By reporting without commentary