Exam 2: Chapters 4,5,6,9 (need to add 7 and 10) Flashcards
What are political parties?
An organization that tries to win control of government by electing people to office who carry the party label
What is a party platform?
A party’s statement of its positions on the issues of the day passed at the quadrennial national convention
Has the US had a true two-party system?
Yes, more so than any other nation in the world
What sorts of obstacles do minor parties face?
leaders are tempted to merge with a larger party. A disaffected faction within a party is unlikely to strike out on its own because the probability of gaining political office is very low. Getting on the ballot is difficult.
Know the difference between protest, ideological, single-issue, and splinter parties.
Protest: arise as part of a social movement
Ideological: organized around a coherent set of ideas
Single-issue: advocacy groups that run a candidate for office
Splinter: a faction of the two major parties that splits and runs its own candidate
Understand the difference between realignment and dealignment.
realignment: the transition between party eras
dealignment: a gradual reduction in the dominance of one political party without another party supplanting it (taking its place)
Note the number of different political party eras along with which has been the longest running one (Democrats vs. Republicans) (see figure 9.1).
5, Democratic Party
Know what it means to have a divided government.
control of the executive and legislative branches by different parties
Know how major parties are organized.
loose collections of local and state parties, campaign committees, candidates and office holders, and associated interest groups that get together every 4 years to nominate a presidential candidate
Are political parties becoming more candidate-centered?
Yes
What are the governing bodies of the parties?
the national party conventions
understand the difference between public perceptions of liberals and conservatives.
seeing democrats as more liberal and republicans as more conservative;
Are there ideological differences between the parties?
Yes, they’re becoming so marked that some talk about “europeanization of the american party system”
What is a unified government?
control of the executive and legislative branches by the same political party
political culture
the set of core beliefs in a country that help shape how people behave politically and what they believe the government should do
significance of individualism
- Americans will overwhelmingly endorse “equality of opportunity” and reject “equality of rewards”
- Americans are less likely to support government efforts to equalize matters
- Americans are least likely to want gov to determine life’s economic outcomes
public opinion
the agreggated political attitudes of ordinary people as revealed by surveys (important in democracies)
random sampling
must be representative of entire population; ensures that each member has equal chance of being selected; selection of survey respondents by chance
political socialization
the process by which individuals come to have certain political attitudes and core beliefs
agents of political socialization
those institutions & individuals that shape the core beliefs (esp in childhood), i.e. families, schools, popular culture, college education, jobs, news, marriage, retirement
ideology
a coherent system of interlocking beliefs and attitudes about politics, the economy, and the role of gov
what do presidential approval ratings reveal?
A president’s standing with the public, indicated by the percentage of Americans who tell survey interviewers that they approve a president’s “handling of his job”
difference between conservatives and liberals
liberals: favor more goverment regulation and influence
conservatives: prefer less government involvement in economics and society
role of mass media in a democracy
- “watchdog” over government–> free press is important to dig up facts and warn people
- make clear what electoral choices the puiblic has
- present a diverse, full, enlightening set of ideas about public policy
significance of alternative media
virtually unlimimted info and opportunity to express views
significance of media monopoly
- the less powerful can’t air their views
- diminshes the # of viewpoints shown, alternative voices aren’t heard
- adds business presence to politics
how has the media become uniform and what is the result of this
fewer and fewer sources of info for all of the reporters
significance of associated press (AP)
This centralized news/video supplier supplies most stories for newspapers and local news, so the same news is on different channels
what does national news consist of geographically?
DC and NYC (also some other big cities)
Most political news is ….
based on what public officials say
form of reporting used in watergate
investigative reporting, which is rare today because it is expensive and time consuming
what constitutes newsworthiness?
novelty, drama, human interest, relevance to lives of americans, high stakes, celebrity
objective regulating
news reported with no evaluative language and with opinions quoted or attributed to a specific source
are owners of media entities liberal or conservative?
mostly conservative (although reporters moslty liberal)
significance of nationalism in media
most news about foreign affairs takes a pro-american view, which means that coverage of foreign news generally harmonizes well with official US foreign policy. Thus, media agree with US gov in assuming best about close allies and worst about enemies
agenda setting
influencing people’s opinions about what is important
framing
interpretation of stories
interest groups
private orgs or volutnary associations that seek to influence public policy as a way to protect or advance their interests. they are factions
pluralist argument
interest groups are good tools for democracy. the poli sci position that american democracy is best understood in terms of the interactions, conflict, and bargaining of groups
private and public interests
private: seek to protect or advance the material interests of its members
public: advocacy groups that work to gain protections or benefits for society at large
advocacy groups
orgs working to gain benefits for society (this is one type of public interest group)
lobbyists playing the inside game
direct, personal contact between lobbyists and gov officials
jack abramoff
a super lobbyist, pled guilty to 3 felonies for fraud, tax evasion, and bribing conspiracy
who becomes a successful lobbyist
mainly retired house and senate members, congressional staff, high-up bureaucracy workers
essence of the inside game
- remind key actors of the electoral consequences of opposing group interests
- make personal relationships with people who matter
key to lobbying the executive branch
personal contact and cooperative long-term relations
how would an interest group make use of an amicus curae brief
(friend of the court hearing) try to influence judge
playing the outside game
trying to mobilize local constituencies and shape public opinion to bring pressure on officials
PACs
political action committees. an entity created by an interest group whose purpose is to collect money for contributions to candidates in federal elections
iron triangles
an enduring alliance of common interest among an interest group, a congressional committee, and a bureaucratic agency
lobby disclosure act of 1995
- requires a larger range of political actors to register as lobbyists
- makes them report every 6 months on which policies they are trying to influence and how much they are spending
go through the revolving door
former gov officials become lobbyists for interests with whom they formerly dealt officially
issue networks
broad coalitions fo pbulic and private interest groups, policy experts, and public officials that form around particular policy issues. more visible and inclusive than iron triangles
prospective (responsible party) voting model
parties stake out different positions on issues and voters cast ballots based on these difs (parties are responsible)
cons: victorious party wouldn’t compromise, polarization
electoral competition voting model
a form of election in which parties seeking votes move toward the median voter of the center of the political spectrum. both parties are likely to stand up for same policies. extreme candidates win less frequently
Is the US election happy?
yes. US has over 500,000 elected offices, more than any country
how did suffrage expand
first, property and religion, then (1870) 15th amendment black men vote, then 19th amendment (1920) women vote, then in 1971, 18-20 year olds vote
retrospective voting model
voters look back at the performance of a party in power and cast ballots based on how well it did in office
does the US have low voter turnout
yes, smaller percentage than in 19th centruy, lower than in other democracies
causes of low voter turnout
registration is a bitch, overwhlemed by complexity of choices, failure of political parties to rouse people, long working hours, other distractions like tv
most improtant factor determining if someone will vote
education?
which group has lowest voter turnout rate
hispanic
who runs for presidency
middle aged or old white, rich, extensively educated, politically experienced men
what is a primary election
chooses which candidate a party nominates as their presidential cnadidate
significance of new hampshire primary
always the first by state law
advantages of being an incumbent (seeking reelection)
already known, rarely challenged in primaries
sig of citizens united ruling
x
hard money
solely contributions from individuals, but candidates can spend what they wissh
public funding
gov matches first $250 from each donor, but candidate will have a limit on what they can spend
]Are there limits on how much money can be contributed in 527s?
527s are entities that can use unregulated money to talk about issues, mobilize voters, and support canididates. They have no limits.
electoral college and consequences
magnifies the popular support of winners. may let less popular candidate win. discourages third parties.
