exam 2 during shit hole week Flashcards
original idea of democracy
everyone would gather together and discuss what should happen, who would get what when and how. made decisions without the need of a ruler
what percent of people know the house of representatives is controlled by the democrats?
70%
what percent of people know the senate is controlled by the republicans?
68%
% of Americans who know what the budget is spent on
education: 3%
defense: 0%
foreign aid: 1%
did the deficit get bigger or smaller during the Obama administration?
smaller
did the Obama administration deport more or less undocumented immigrants than in past decades?
more
What percentage of the budget is spent on foreign aid?
less than 1%
are we a republic or a democracy?
a republic
how many years between representative elections?
2 years
rational ignorance
argument that people who don’t know that much about politics are actually smarter. AKA the rational citizen might believe the costs outweigh the benefits and choose to remain uninformed and uninvolved.
Rational electorate
as individuals you may have most people get an answer wrong but it averages together to get the right answer
Politicians and short cuts
people infer information from things they do know, politicians try to get you to use short cuts. only works if the shortcut is accurate
opinion leaders
you might rely on other people who may be well informed, however they tend to be more extreme
two step process for primary and general election
- states elect delegates for the republic and democratic convention
- delegates choose party nominee at convention
(bigger states have more delegates)
what is a super delegate
for democrats, if you held office
what is a caucus?
you are sent to a high school gym @ a select time. Everyone can make a speech, after you stand in different corners to show your vote
primary definition
you vote on a ballot for republican or democrat
closed delegate voting
only registered republicans can vote for republican candidate and vice versa
open delegate voting
anyone who wants to show up can vote
winner takes all
most votes = all delegates, best if you think you are going to win
% of votes
% of delegates, best if you think you may lose
General election
we don’t have a national election, we have state elections (electoral college)
where do campaigns focus their time?
on swing states
what percentage of campaigning was done in swing states?
60%
idea of an ideal democratic citizen
someone who is knowledgeable about, and interested in, politics
“rational ignorance” pt 2
the idea that the costs of being politically informed outweigh the benefits
political socialization
process by which we learn shared values and orientations
race and ethnicity
% of those who were in favor of preferential hiring and promotion for African Americans and the gov. reducing income differences between richest and poorest were higher in African Americans and latinos
Gender
women are somewhat more liberal than men, men and women agree equally on reducing rich and poor income
but no huge divides
who votes and why?
people with resources, are engaged, and those who are asked to. young people have fewer resources, less engaged, and are asked less.
if only women voted who would have won the 2016 election?
clinton
if only men voted in the 2016 election who would have won?
trump
when do most people register to vote?
the day of the election
motor voter act 1993
every state must allow citizens to register to vote when they apply for/renew their drivers license.
Voter ID rules
show photo ID to vote, many don’t believe in this, 6% of non white voters were told they didn’t have the correct ID
Prospective voter
would rely on the candidates promises about future policy actions to choose candidate
retrospective voter
would rely on the candidates past performance on valence issues to choose a candidate
regulating the electorate
the idea that government rules about how easy or hard it is to vote. can influence who participates in politics
where do most people get their news from?
tv is #1 and news sites is #2
lowest is from newspapers
younger people mostly from news sites and social media
older people mostly from tv and newspaper
Issues with the news
it is easier to opt out of getting news and also to select the news you agree with.
easier to create information bubbles like only watching news shows that show your preferred future president in a positive light
Modern media: privately owned corporations
profits come from advertising
drive for ratings
concentrated ownership
less choice
conglomerate ownership
conflicts of interest
opinions on bias - republican and democrat
more republicans believe the media is biased and tend to favor one side than democrats
opinions on bias - moderate and journalists
moderate people and journalists believe the media is biased more than liberals or conservatives
newspaper endorsements in 2016 VS previous years
97% of newspapers endorsed democrats while only 3% endorsed republicans where in previous years it was 48%-52% in favor of republicans
who are most news media in the US owned by?
private for-profit corporations
where are most media profits from?
charging for advertising
media and ads
the media can charge more for ads on popular shows and so focus on getting more viewers
commercial bias
- downplay politics by posting about worlds fattest cat.
- politics as optics; talking about a baby bump at the UN instead of what happened politically
- politics as conflict; the horse race was talked about the most
Gatekeepers
decide which stories get covered and how
agenda-setting
influence what voters think are the most important issues, Clintons scandal got covered the most towards the end of the election race
framing
influence how voters see an issue by emphasizing one aspect of it; “call it what it is; baby killing”. gives no context but shoves one short idea into peoples faces
average trustworthiness rating of story
no source: more reliable
NYT: more likely to tell the truth about democrats
FOX: more likely to tell the truth about republicans
