Exam 3 Flashcards
Agents of political socialization
The means by which people are politically socialized or politically raised; media, family, school, peers and community, general life experiences
Political socialization
Process through which individuals become aware of politics and form political values
Demographics on public opinion
Education, income, region you live in (states history, geography, economy, and sociodemographics)
Ethnicity on public opinion
Old: English, Irish, Russian, etc.; now: white, African American, Asian, etc.
Religion on public opinion
Old: catholic, Protestant, Jewish; new: (all of the old) atheist, Buddhism, Mormon, Scientology, voodoo, etc.
What does the constitution mention about media?
It mentions freedom of the press but originally meant the party press, now it includes modern day media.
Restrictions on media:
No absolute freedom to anything; order vs liberty; can’t intentionally spread lies; porn isn’t protected by free speech
The power of the media
Free market media gives it freedom because they aren’t being funded by the government
Roles of the media
Entertainment; reporting the news- can be informative but also influential; identifying problems-setting the agenda: elected officials can’t ignore them; political socialization: who we should be, what we should be interested in, people in govt have to use media if they want to succeed, can give us other views on things; providing political forum; making profit: they must make a profit from selling advertisement and they must make advertisers and stock holders happy
Why is there bias in the media? (Short answer)
Everyone has been socialized; diversity in the media; money is important, so they feed us what we want to hear
Media stupidity?
Reporters major in journalism, not history or politics, science, etc. (remember the space shuttle comment); lack of knowledge or experience; can be manipulative (baby milk factory)
Straight jacket of the narrative?
Short endlessly repeated interpretation that comes to be accepted because everyone is saying it; Sarah Palin “I can see Russia from my front yard”
Are the biases in entertainment our fault?
We look for entertainment; we look for/watch media that confirm our views
The art of spin
The way that government or campaign staff tell the press what “really” happened and what it means; journalists don’t understand politics, politicians don’t understand journalism
Traditional antagonism of govt and media
Media is meant to check the government (constitution) but they do work together: photo opportunity, leak; media are the gate keepers so government must be on their good side
Who can run for the house?
25 years old, US citizen for 7 years, must be a resident of the state they’re representing
Who can run for the senate?
30 years, US citizen for 9 years, must be a resident of the state they’re representing
Who can run from President and VP?
35 years, naturally born US citizen, VP and President cannot be from the same state
Closed primary
Declare your political party and you have to vote on your party
Open primary
You don’t declare your party and can choose whichever ballot you want
Blanket primary
Has all the candidates from every political party listed on one ballot
Pros of open primary
Gives independents a chance to vote, gives 3rd party candidates a more active role, more competition for seats, force politicians to pay attention to the district and not just their party
Arguments against open primary
You don’t have to actually be a republican to vote on the republican ballot so people can go in on the opposite parties ballot and pick the extremist
Primaries vs caucus
Primary is when you pick who you want to run from a ballot; caucus is you vote with your feet (very old fashioned and takes most of the day)
Pledged delegates
They have to vote on behalf of what the states want
Super Delegates
Are not pledged and don’t have to vote on behalf of the people; created by the Democratic Party but used by both; in the 2008 election they asked to be paid for their vote
Purpose of the electoral college (framers)
Afraid of rich and populous states running the shots
How the electoral college works
Each state votes on people to go into the electoral college and base their vote in what the population wants
Pros and cons of electoral college
Irrelevant to the national vote, focus on large swing states, discourage turnout and participation, allows states to disenfranchise citizens, favors less populous states (representative freeze in HR), prevents urban - centric victories, maintains federal character, encourages stability through 2 party system, death or legally defined disability of a candidate, isolation of election problems, state election systems, neutralizes turnout disparities between states, maintains separation of power
Political party
A group of political activists or an ongoing coalition of interests who sponsor candidates for political office under the organizations name (Label), work to win elections for their party (Organization), and seek to exert control of the government according to their point of view (Leaders)
Functions of political parties
Recruit candidates for office, nominating candidates, organizing and running elections, proposing alternative policies - organized opposition to party in power, coordinating actions of government
Reasons for party decline
Got rid of party patronage, lots of political scandals, TV is making it more about the candidates than the party, candidates are winning the primaries without the parties
