Chapter 6-10 Flashcards
Core constituencies of the republican
Mid education More wealthy Evangelical/Mormon White Make South east, northwest Older Rural
Core constituencies of the democratic
Least and most educated people Less wealthy Non religious, Jews, other religion Black, Hispanic, Latino Women North east, pacific coast Younger Urban
Contrast political platforms of democrats and republicans
Democrats are liberal
Republican are conservative
Compare and contrast modern American conservative and liberal ideologies in economic and social policy
Liberals- government should have more intervention, equality for all, government alleviate social problems and protect civil liberties
Conservative- personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberties and freedom to Pursue own goals
How do interest groups differ from political parties and how they are same
S- both want to change government policy and influence it
D- they don’t run for office (govt do) interest groups have narrow views (govt party take stands on all problems)
Intrest groups indorse the political party
What are political action committees
They are an organization that raises money privately to influence elections or legislation, especially on the federal level
What is an 527 organization
It is a type of U.S. tax exempt organization organized under section 527 of the U.S. Internal revenue code
They were created primarily to influence the selection and nomination or defeat of the candidates of office
Direct strategies of interest groups
Setting up private meeting with lawmakers Providing information to decision makers Assisting law makers Litigation Protesting and demonstrations Talking to media
Indirect strategies of lobbyist
Constituent lobbying (calling, writing, email legislators)
Going through third party people to influence
Media ads
Incumbents enjoy advantages over their challengers in elections because
They are well known
They have experience
They have Credentials
Voter turnout in presidential election
High because people tend to think it is more important and media cover it a lot
Voter turnout in mid term elections and local elections
People tend to think it is less important and the media doesn’t cover it as much
Why has voter turnout declined since 1950s
Decrease in trust in government
Gridlock (just bickering)
Perception of wasted money in campaigning
Apathy
Don’t know who to trust (due to conflicting ads)
What is a single party system
Single political party has the right to form the government usually based on existing constitution
What is a two party system
System where two parties typically holds a majority in legislature and is usually referred as the majority party while others are refers to minor party
(Two parties have a legitimate shot)
What is a multi party system
System in which multiple political parties have capacity to gain control of government office, separately or in coalition
Why the U.S. Has had an enduring two party system
Traditional and nobody like change
Minor parties don’t stand a chance
Plurality
Two parties have legitimate shot at winning
Distinguish between various types of third parties and or minor parties: names some
Ideological third parties (socialist party in 1901-1972)
Libertarian party
Green Party
Splinter party
Explain function of third parties in a two party system
Third parties can influence one of the major parties to take up one or more issues
Can determine outcome of particular election by pulling votes from on major party (“spoiler effect”)
Describe obstacles minor parties face in American system
Electoral collage (plurality)
Gain certain amount of federal funds
Ballot access (go to every state)
Don’t get to participate in presidential debate
What is the purpose of national party conventions
Select president and Vice President candidates, write party platform, chops national committee and conduct party business
Function of political parties
Recruit candidates for office
Organize and run elections
Presenting alternative policies to electorate
Accepting responsibilities for operating the government
Acting as opposition to party in power
What is the relationship with political position whether a person votes
Older, white, richer, smarter
News stories do media tend to focus on during election campaign
Updates on candidates
Opinion polls
Debates
Horse races
What is a open primary
Type in which any register voter can vote for either ballot but only vote for one
Closed primary
You can only vote for candidates of the party of which you is member of
Blanket primaries
Where you can vote for either party you want
Caucus
A meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies
What is Realignment
Process in which a substantial group of voter switches party allegiance, providing a long term change in political landscape
What is Dealignment
Decline in party loyalties that reduce long term party commitment
Describe the role of money in elections campaigns and the attempts to regulate or to limit
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
Placed no limits on spending, but restricted the amount that can spend on the media ads, limited amount candidates could contribute to own campaign, limited role of labor unions
Buckley v valeo (1st amendment act)
Methods use to deprive voting rights people until 1965 (voting rights act 1965 allowed every body to vote)
You have to own property to vote (1856) Literacy test (Voting rights act 1965) Poll taxes (24th amendment 1964) Grandfather clause (Guinn v us 1915) White primary (smith v allwright 1944)
Explain the factors that influence the voting decision of Americans
Family and media (political socialization)
What are the greatest influences on person political socialization
Family and media
How is public opinion measured
Public opinion polls measure public opinion
Random sampling
Exit polls
Explain the rolls and influence of the media in the us
Entertainment, reporting news, identify public problems, socializing new generation, providing a political forum, making profit
Contrast proportional election systems and plurality
Proportional is where seats are held proportionally by votes and winner take all is where first place party gets all electoral votes
What kind is system results in a two party system, and why
Plurality, because third parties don’t have a chance and because it is traditional
What kind of election system results in a multi party system and why
Proportional because it allows third parties to get seats depending on the amount of votes
What is horse race journalism
journalist and reporters use in regards to government and campaign coverage with Ephesus in who is winning and loosing, not about what’s being done about the issue
What is a tracking poll
A tracking poll is an opinion poll in which the same sample, such as small number of voters, is questioned periodically to measure shifts in opinion
How does the electoral collage work
It is made up of 538 electors who cast vote to decide the president and Vice President of the United States. (When people go to vote on Tuesday they will be choosing which candidate gets the electoral votes)
How many electors do the states get
Each states electors are based on the states representation in congress
Winner take all system of the electoral collage
Party in first place in the state will receive all of the states electoral collage votes
How many electoral votes does it take to win presidency
270 electoral votes is needed to win
What happens if no candidate receives the required number of electoral votes
The house of representatives elects the president from 3 presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. (each state delegation has on vote)
How does the electoral collage effect on how the presidents campaign
President only goes to swing states
Why hasn’t the electoral collage not been abolished
It is traditional (no one likes change and what do you replace it with once it’s gone)
It would require constitutional amendment (hard to do)
Describe major events in the timeline of a typical election year
Primaries (Jan1-Jun1) National conventions (Jul1-Aug1) General campaign phase(Aug1-Nov1) Election Day (Nov6) Meeting of the electoral collage (Dec1)
What happens @ national conventions
Each party elects candidate to run for presidency
What happens in the general campaign phase
Candidate campaign continuously until Election Day, they focus on persuading voter to vote for them
What happens on election date
Occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, vote for next president
In what ways do lawmakers depend on lobbyist
They explain to legislators what their organizations want and explain to their clients what obstacles elected official face
What are iron triangles
In United States politics, it comprises the policy making relationships among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups
What is meant by interest group capture
It is a form of political corruption that occurs when regulatory agency, created to act in the public interest, advances commercial or special concerns of interest groups that dominant the industry or sector it is charge with regulating
What is a primary election
It is a nominating election
(Winning party’s nomination is the first step in the election process)
Narrows the field in political party to one individual for a specific office
What is a general election
It is an election in which all voters make the final choice from the party nominees and the independent candidate for specific office
How has the adoption of direct primaries since the 1950 affected presidential nominating process
It made it easier to vote because it gave limited choice
What is a straight ticket
It is when you vote for only one party for office
What is a split ticket
Ticket splitting is when you vote for candidates of two or more parties from different office
Voting change of women and male in 1960s
Used to have no difference prior to 1960s but now vote as much democratic as males vote for republican
(There’s is a gender gap)
Voting changes in Catholics since 1960s
Used to vote exclusively for democratic prior to the 1969s but now are split in votes between democratic and republican
Who has the responsibility of redrawing congressional district boundaries in most states
State legislator
Why are state boundaries redrawn every 10 years
A census happens every ten years so the lines have to be redrawn in according to population
What is Gerrymandering
It is drawing district boarder lines to benefit your candidates election chances
What is Gerrymandering’s effect on electoral competition
It would give handicaps to other candidates because they are not benefitting from the redistricting
Gerrymandering’s effect on party polarization
Vote in which a majority of democratic legislators oppose a majority republican legislators
Give parties unfair advantage
Gerrymandering effects on voter turnout
Apathy (I don’t care cause my vote doesn’t count)
What is divided government
A government in which the presidency is controlled by one party and at least one of the two houses of congress is controlled by another party
What is front loading
It is when states pushes forward the date of the primary elections
Voting turnout for old and young people
Old- more dictated and more affected
Young- rising apathy and not as educated
What makes interest groups politically influential
Leadership, motivation, resources, number of members, litigation, camping contribution, grassroots
Exploitation for decline in political trust since 1950s
Divided government (gridlock and heightened partisanship) Increased election campaign cost
Conventional political participation
Petitioning, joining interest group, joining political party, campaign contribution
Unconventional political participation
Assassination and protesting an not voting
Requirement to register to vote
Citizenship
18 years or older
Residency in state (which varies)
What is the Motor votor bill
Requires people to register to vote when getting a driver license, voting registration by mail and variety of public places and agencies
