Exam 4 SG Flashcards
James Q Wilson’s 3 interest group categories
- soilidary - social
- material - economic
- purposive - ideological
Political Socialization
The process whereby people acquire their basic political values, attitudes, beliefs, and patterns of citizenship
Agents of socialization
- family
- education
- religion
- peers
- race / ethnicity
- sex (and gender gap)
- social class
- generational cohorts/key events
Family
The most important agent of political socialization
Types of media used to transmit political messages
- agenda setting
- priming
- framing
- sound bites
- spin/spin doctor
or
TV, radio, movies, music, print, media, Internet, etc.
Generational/age cohorts
A long lasting effect of the events of a particular time on the political opinions of those who came of political age at that time
Age and political interest
Older Americans tend to be somewhat more conservative than younger Americans
Women and American politics (holding office, voting)
Women holding office has continued to increase but many positions are still considered men’s club
Well educated suburban women form a growing part of the democratic coalition
Rural working class women are increasingly drawn to republicans
Gender gap
The difference between the percentage of women who vote for a particular candidate and the percentage of men who vote for the candidate
Race (genetics) vs ethnicity (nationality/culture)
Race is usually associated with genetics or physical characteristics (black white indigenous)
Ethnicity is usually associated with cultural factors (Hispanic)
Majority-minority state in California
Contemporary Demographics (~40 million ppl)
* 37% white (non-Hispanic)
* 39% Hispanic/Latino
* 15% Asian
* 6% black/African American
* 3% mixed/multi-racial
* 1% Native American/Pacific Islander
PAC
Political Action Committees
- financial wing of interest groups
Book Def: Committees set up by and representing a corporation, labor, union, or interest group. PACs raise campaign donations
Lobbying and Lobbyists
Lobbyists - agents of interest groups (try to convince lawmakers/government officials to make decision decisions that help the group they represent)
Lobbying - doing the act
- they are part of both iron triangles and issue networks
California state Senate
4yr terms (limited to two terms or 14 years total)
40 members
California State Assembly
2 yr terms (limit to three terms)
80 members
California state legislature
*bicameral- made up of two chambers (the state Senate and the state assembly)
* Senate is the upper house, assembly is the lower house
Plural executive and state government/constitutional officers
(4 year terms; limit to two terms)
* Governor - chief executive (veto vs line-item veto
* lieutenant governor - not elected on the same ticket as governor
* Attorney General - heir apparent to governor
* Secretary of State - elections, commissioner, chief administrator
* treasurer - chief investor for State; bond ratings
* controller - manages expenditure, sign pay stubs
* superintendent of education
* insurance commissioner
* state bureaucracy (highly decentralized)
CA State Supreme Court
- 12 yr appointment
- 7 justices
- retention vote based - a yes or no vote on whether a judge should be kept in office
Independent voting
Refers to voting by individuals who are not affiliated with any political party
* independent means non-partisan
* these type of voters usually make their choices based on candidates positions, policies, or other factors, rather than following a specific party
Straight-ticket voting
- voting exclusively for the candidates of one party
Partisan realignment vs. wave elections
Partisan realignment - (long-term shifts) when a large group of voters permanently switched their loyalty from one political party, usually over a long period of time
Wave elections - (large short term shifts) when one political party suddenly wins a lot of seats in one election, usually because voters are unhappy with the current government (it’s more like a temporary surge happening quickly in one election)
California Indian Nations
There are currently over 135+ (nations) federally recognized tribes in California
Yurok, Cherokee, Chumash, Pomo, Pequot, Miwok, Kumeyaay,
Spanish Missions, presidios, pueblos
These were all a result of the Spanish Invasion
* Missions - churches
* Presidios - military forts
* Pueblos - colonial towns
Secularization Act (during Mex Revolution)
*** government confiscated religious wealth
* also outlawed slavery