Exam 1: Concepts from lecture Flashcards
Political Ideology
Defn: Coherent system of beliefs and values that explains what structure of government and what activities of government are legitimate
Sig: the prevailing ideas of the West have developed over the past 1000 years because of a clash of political ideologies
Classical Conservatism
Defn: political ideology that intertwined government and religion and contends that change and competition are bad
Sig: Not important in US histor
Classical Liberalism
Defn: political ideology whose inherents believe that people should earn their wealth or power, meaning competition is good
Sig: Most important political ideology in US history
Illustrates the foundational political ideology of the american government.
Classical Socialism
Defn: political ideology whose inherents value human equality and cooperation
Sig: Somewhat important in US democratic policy since 1932
Modern Conservatism
Defn: political ideology whose inherents believe that government should regulate personal life but not economic life
Sig: Illustrates a system of beliefs and values somewhat corresponding to the republican party of the US.
Modern Liberalism
Defn: political ideology whose inherents believe that government should regulate economic life but not personal life
Sig:
Ideological Opinions
Defn: Opinions about government on the general level
sig: shows a discrepancy in public opinion: 2/3 country is ideologically against government in general, but 2/3 supports gov expansion on specific policies
Operational Opinions
Defn: Opinions about specific policies
sig: shows a discrepancy in public opinion: 2/3 country is ideologically against government in general, but 2/3 supports gov expansion on specific policies
Government Shutdown
Defn: A budget war between President Obama and Congress in 2013 causes a shutdown of government funded programs such as social security
Sig: People who previously were ideologically against the government realize they need it for their daily lives
Beliefs
Defn: notions people hold about the facts of the world
sig:
Values
Defn: notions people hold about morality
sig:
Legitimacy
Defn: notions that people hold that the government is morally grounded
sig: therefore we have an obligation to follow the law
Democracy
defn: a government whose moral legitimacy is based on people’s participation in government
sig:
single-member district system
defn: Country is divided into districts (states) and each district sends one representative to congress
sig: Creates a two-party system by grouping parties together to try to get a higher percentage of the vote (coalition of interests)
proportional representation
defn: The percentage of the seats in the legislature is approximately the percentage of the popular vote
sig: Parties have no incentives to make deals with other parties and combine
party voting cohesion
defn: The tendency of members of the same party in a legislature to vote together
sig: US’s cohesion was so low compared to other democracies that we don’t have parties at all
had to invent a new weaker measure of party cohesion: party vote (majority of democrats votes against majority of republicans) now US party cohesion is going up
class bias in voter turnout
defn: In every election, people with more education and income vote at higher rates than those with less
sig:
direct primary
defn: An election held within a party to nominate candidates for the general election OR to choose delegates to a presidential nominating convention.
sig: In most countries, the party leaders decide who their party’s candidate is, but in the US, the people decide. This means the parties do not function as teams.
Linda McMahon and Meg Whitman (2010)
defn: Most expensive senate race in Connecticut (41 million vs 6 million) and governors’ race in California (160 million vs 32 million)
sig: Shows that you don’t necessarily win if you spend the most money
Republican Governors Public Policy Committee (2008-2014)
defn:
sig:
majority rule
defn: The idea that decisions should be made by the majority
sig: Must be paired with the minority rights and is essential for establishing legitimate democracy
legal equality
defn: everybody gets exactly one vote
sig: laws apply equally to everyone
choice among alternatives
defn: a democracy can’t suppress certain choices
sig:
freedom of speech/expression
defn: authorities must allow expression of every possible idea
sig:
public processes
defn: authorities must make policy in a manner that allows the public to see it
sig:
Obama Care - ACA
defn: required everyone to buy health insurance
Sig: the debate showed the different definitions of liberty between conservatives and liberals
selling out on principles
defn: compromising with other factions to get the best result, often by bending a party’s, or the individual’s fundamental principles (considered by more than half of americans to be a bad thing)
sig: This is a problem because Democracy relies on compromise when addressing difficult, ambiguous issues.
22nd amendment
defn: (1951) president can only serve two terms
sig: explicitly violates democratic theory because we can’t elect the people we want to elect (the majority of one era tells the majority of another era who they can vote for)
consent
defn: 18th century word for participation derived from a puritan idea of consent to join a religious community
sig: a central aspect of democracy rests on religious ideas
virtue
defn: the belief that a government should appeal to the public good and pursue public interest
sig: major component of republicanism
articles of confederation
defn:
sig:
Republicanism
defn: belief that a government should appeal to the public good and that humans will always abuse power
sig: leads to the extremely limited government outlined in the articles of confederation
reconciling the irreconcilable
defn: The Constitution tried to reconcile to contradictions,
We like democracy but we dont trust the people.
We fear power but we need a government that can govern.
sig: How ingrained was the Republican and Puritan (see consent) ideologies in the drafters political view.
ambition to counteract ambition
defn: A phrase from Federalist 51
(essay written by Madison in 1787 to convince people to ratify the constitution, in which he recommends competition to achieve the public interest)
Visualized government like a marketplace, where competition is good. If there is competition in government, politicians are required to be “honest” so they can be re-elected. (Only the best products survive)
sig: Rooted from the Republican Ideology that said that the government is made to serve the people and private interests
10th amendment
defn: 10th amendment to the constitution says that the federal government has no implied powers.
sig: Government cannot make any arbitrary laws, meaning that the government would remain legitimate to the people. contradicts the necessary and proper clause
annexation of texas
defn: 1845 An event in which Congress admitted Texas into the union using a joint resolution instead of the 2/3 majority required by the constitution
sig: Illustrative example that the constitution is so obstructive that sometimes we just ignore it
The contract clause
defn: clause in article 1 of the constitution that was written in specifically to protect property “no state shall pass any law impairing the obligations of contracts
sig: protecting property from democratic majority
tyranny of the majority
defn: the majority of the public will often want to deny minorities expression of opinion
sig: “The people” threaten democracy-Need to protect minority’s rights to express opinions
schenck vs US
defn: The court rules that no one has the right to make an expression that is a clear and present danger
sig:
marketplace of ideas
defn: Holmes says that we should encourage all ideas and let the marketplace take care of bad ones
sig:
NY Times vs Sullivan
defn: 1964 supreme court case in which the court ruled that anything true or untrue may be stated about a public official
sig: endorses the marketplace of ideas
Skokie vs National Socialist Party
defn: Supreme court orders Skokie to allow the Nazis to parade, even though Skokie is heavily jewish
sig: “Hate Speech Decision” US has free-est expression of any country ever
Westboro Baptist Church
defn: anti-homosexual church that demonstrated at veterans funerals, federal court rules this constitutional
sig: Shows that freedom of expression is very protected in the US
Freedom House
defn: an international organization that rates countries according to their levels of freedom
sig: US is very free
participation
defn: the act of contributing to or having an influence on the political process
sig:
rules of citizen participation
defn: if formal organizations are strong, participation is NOT class biased. If they are weak, it is. sig:
weak parties
defn: have psychological, not formal membership
sig: class bias participation
American vs foreign party organization
defn:
sig:
party identification
defn: psychological membership in a party
sig: The United States has party identification, as opposed to other democracies which have formal membership (one aspect of the weak parties in the united states)
national comparative turnout
defn:
sig:
voter turnout
defn: percentage of the adult eligible population that actually votes on election day
sig: US has the lowest in the world because of class bias
rules of formation (of interest groups)
defn:
1. people who feel strongly are more likely to participate
2. the larger the proportion of a group that one person constitutes, the more likely that person is to join
3. groups that offer individual goods mobilize more potential members to join than groups that only offer collective goods
sig: some groups are more organized than others and they have more political power
individual goods
defn: a good which someone can own to the exclusion of other people
sig: Will motivate people to join interest groups when offered
collective goods
defn: goods that cannot be owned by one person but must be used by people as a group
sig: won’t mobilize people to join an interest group as much as an individual good will
access
defn: Having a personal “in” to policy makers
sig: the best way to gain access is to make monetary contributions to a campaign, and the best way to ensure access is to hire an ex-congress member
PhRMA
defn: The pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america
sig: illustrates private influence over public policy
Graduate School of Political Management
defn: School in DC that trains professional lobbyists
sig:
iron triangles
defn: Interest groups contribute money to campaigns and lobby congress→ congressional groups accept this and make laws that reflect their supporting interest groups→ the investments made by the interest groups show great return with the taxpayers dollar.
sig: Illustrates a theory behind private influence over public policy.
citigroup
defn:
sig: illustrates private influence over public policy
MADD
defn: Mothers against drunk driving: an organization responsible for 2300 laws intended to lower the annual deaths caused by drunk driving
sig: Shows how ordinary citizens who are motivated enough can improve life through interest groups
dialogue of democracy
defn: Rules that must be present in an election for the election to be considered legitimate (basically national debate of the issues)
sig: 2012 was not a good democratic election because Mitt Romney was so deceptive and ambiguous
electoral college
defn: the institution used under the constitution to elect the president
sig: This violates democratic theory because every person does not have an equal vote due to each state’s representation in congress
reagan coalition
defn: the combination of groups that normally vote for the republican party (economic conservatives + social conservatives)
sig: Illustrates a historical shift in the base of the republican party. Also the system that Raegan and George Buh won on.
democratic coalition
defn: the combination of groups that normally vote for the democratic party (economic liberals and social liberals)
sig: Illustrates the belief and value system that Clinton and Obama won on.
retrospective voting
defn: voting based on whether economic times are good or bad
sig: makes voting easier because people don’t have to research candidates
politifact
defn: A non-partisan fact checking organization designed to evaluate politicians’ statements to determine who is telling the truth
sig:
hispanic vote
defn: The percentage of hispanics who vote for democrats is increasing, as is the hispanic percentage of the population
sig: Becoming an important chunk of voting citizens; Growing problem for republicans
gerrymandering
defn: drawing the district lines to the disadvantage of some party/candidate and to the advantage of another
sig: This violates minority rights
good democratic election
defn: allows us to approach the dialogue of democracy
sig:
The Keating 5
defn: 5 Senators in 1987 who bullied the government to not come down on “Lincoln Savings” which ended up costing the taxpayers an extra $1 billion down the road.
sig: demonstrates the hold private influence has over public policy, a recurring problem in US politics
personal liberty
defn: the freedom of the citizens to make choices between candidates and parties and in their personal lives
sig: according to democratic theory, people must be free to make choices if there is to be democratic legitimacy
necessary and proper clause
defn:
sig: contradicts the 10th amendment, meaning supreme court justices need to make the decisions
ambition to counteract ambition
defn: phrase from federalist 51 (1787) that madison wrote to construct a government in which people in institutions compete, which leads to compromise
sig:
