Civics quiz

Originally posted by zeeblebot
i can't see them getting many politicians to sit down and take this quiz, with answers on the record. maybe they made that part up.

Well, if they are a conservative "think-tank", (and the quotes are intentional) I suspect the whole thing is made-up.

Originally posted by TerrierJack
I can't fault a "furiner" for missing number 4 since that is also what most Presidents do think. A citizen should know better. (Wish congress did.)

Sorry - my phrasing was misleading - it was actually No 22 which was the one about the President or congress declaring war, and in this case I'd have got it wrong no matter how long I thought about it. No 4 was about the Lincoln / Douglas debates and in this case I should have thought about the chronology a bit longer.

Originally posted by Teinosuke
Two wrong, question 4 and 22. Question 4 I think I would have got if I'd thought about it a little longer, but I was honestly under the impression that it was the President's prerogative to declare war.

However, 94% ain't bad for an Englishman, I'd say.

I would agree -- the question about declaring war is kind of a trick question. According to the Constitution, the power to Declare War indeed rests with Congress

But according to reality, it seems that the president can make war with whomever he wants whenever he wants and if Congress wants to make it official by declaring war, that's great, but until then, we can just pretend that its something else.

Congress' main power would be to refuse to appropriate the money for the president's "war-like thingy" - but that would mean risking lots of backlash for "not supporting Our Troops" - so the president pretty much gets to do whatever he wants.

??? every time we go to war it's in the news about how Congress should be the one declaring but they're too wishwashy (or fearful of taking responsibility) to do so.

Originally posted by Melanerpes
I would agree -- the question about declaring war is kind of a trick question. According to the Constitution, the power to Declare War indeed rests with Congress

But according to reality, it seems that the president can make war with whomever he wants whenever he wants and if Congress wants to make it official by declaring war, that's great, but until ...[text shortened]... "not supporting Our Troops" - so the president pretty much gets to do whatever he wants.

Actually only Congress does have the power to make war. The ready solution for the military-industrial complex was just to stop calling it war. Is it any accident that we have poured tons of money down that hole since 1945 and we are world's primary war maker?