Exam Two Flashcards
demographics of the American people & why this is important
The demographics of American, as of 2012, is that non-Hispanic white Americans are 63%, hispanics are 17%, African Americans are 13%, Asians are 6%, and Native Americans are 1%. This is important because it shows that minorities are growing at a much faster rate than the non-Hispanic white Americans.With more minorities there will be an increase in representation in politics. For Hispanics their mostly gaining political power in cities like San Antonio and Los Angeles that have elected mayors. Demographic changes are associated with political changes. States gain or lose congressional representation as their population changes, and thus power shifts as well.
political socialization, including how it happens and where/when it takes place
“the process through which an individual acquires his or her particular political orientations–his or her knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding his or her political world”. As people become more socialized with age, their political orientations grow firmer. Thus, governments aim their socialization efforts largely at the young. Formal socialization is like what the schools will teach, informal socialization is more important because it is picked up and absorbed. Family plays a role in socialization with time and emotional commitment. Most students take after their parents, genetics plays a factor. The mass media, plays a role because youth spends a lot of time on television, however they are less likely to follow politics. Schools are used to promote national loyalty and support of basic values.
how public opinion is measured, including what polls reveal about Americans’ political information
Polls are used to measure public opinion. Polls rely on a sample of the population, a random sample of about 1,000-5,000 people can accurately represent the “universe” of potential voters. Random sampling is the technique used so everyone has an opportunity to be selected. It helps policymakers keep in touch with changing opinions on issues. If the poll results shift, then government officials can make corresponding midcourse corrections. Polls have regularly found that less than half the public can name their representative in the House. In fact, surveys show that many Americans lack a basic awareness of the world around them. Citizens with above-average levels of political knowledge are more likely to vote and to have stable and consistent opinions on policy issues.
public opinion as it relates to trust in government
Public opinion shows a drop of trust in Government. First Vietnam and then Watergate shook people’s confidence in the federal government. The economic troubles of the Carter years and the Iran hostage crisis helped continue the slide. A drop in trust shows that the public opinion is that the government is not serving them well. The greatest impact of declining trust in government since the 60s has been to drain public support for polices that address the problems of poverty and racial inequality. Many Americans believe that big government solutions to social problems are wasteful and impractical, thereby draining public support from them.
basic major ideologies, explain when/ if Americans do or don’t think ideologically
Basic major ideologies are liberals, conservatives, and moderates. Studies (1950s) show that only 12% of people showed evidence of thinking in ideological terms, they could connect their opinions and beliefs with broad policy positions taken by parties or candidates. 42% are group benefits voters, people who think of politics mainly in terms of the groups they liked or disliked. 24% were nature of the times, where the handle on politics was limited to whether the times seemed good or bad to them.22% expressed no ideological or issue content making their political evaluations. In 2000 20% were were classified as an ideologue. These low percentages mean the the terms liberal and conservative are just not as important as they are for members of the political elite. Few people have ideologies that organize their political beliefs clearly. Small groups of liberal and conservative activist who act as if they are at war with one another have left most Americans in a position where they don’t want to be in the crossfire. **Many individuals are not ideologically consistent in their political attitudes. Often they are conservative in principle but liberal in practice; that is, they are against big government but favor more spending on a wide variety of programs
the ways in which Americans can and do participate in politics
Americans can participate in conventional participation which includes many widely accepted modes of influencing government–voting, trying to persuade others, ringing doorbells for a petition, running for office, and so on. There is also unconventional participation which includes activities that are often dramatic, such as protesting, civil disobedience, and even violence. Studies have found that citizens of higher social economic status participate more in American politics.
current nature of the mass media in the US & development over time
The key to gaining control over the political agenda is getting at the top of the daily news Politicians will carefully stage events for the media to report on. Media events and TV commercials are largely about image making. There is a diminishing audience for presidential messages, as well as for national news, means that the president now faces a harder time getting messages through to the entire public. President Reagan received a larger audience than Obama, because of narrowcasting, in which a plethora of channels appeal to specialized audiences, large audiences are increasingly rare. *Democracy depends on an informed citizenry, and the citizenry depends on the mass media for its information.
narrowcasting, the internet, and other recent trends
The press used to be seen as an extension of the government. The government would use them as a tool to get certain messages across. But with events like the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, unquestioning acceptance soon disintegrated. People would get their news from newspapers then came radios (FCC), followed by television, then the internet. Even though newspapers give people more information, they are declining. Television only show certain things, it has become more ideologically charged in recent years.
realities and consequences of private ownership, government regulation, and other dynamics of mass media
Privately owned media means that they are want the biggest possible audience. THis focus on audience is exacerbated by the fact that media in America today tend to be part of large conglomerates. Consider, for example, the major television networks. The Disney Corporation bought ABC, General Electric acquired NBC, Viacom (who owns many entertainment companies, like Blockbuster, Paramount Pictures, MTV) took over CBS and CNN became part of Time Warner. In the the newspaper business, chains, such as Gannet, Knight-Ridder, and Newhouse, control newspapers that together represent over 80% of the nation’s daily circulation. The FCC regulates communications via radio, television, telephone, cable, and satellite. It prevents monopolies, conducts periodic examinations of the goals and performance of stations, fair treatment rules and the right-of-reply rules. But with the development of so many TV channels via cable, this rule was seen unnecessary and was abolished. This change opened up the way for today’s highly partisan news shows, like O’Reilly Factor and the Rachel Maddow Show.
policy entrepreneurs and agenda-setting
policy agenda is the list of subjects or problems to which government officials, and people outside of government closely associated with those officials, are paying some serious attention at any given time. Political activists are often called policy entrepreneurs and they’re people who invest their political “capital” in an issue. Policy entrepreneurs’ arsenal of weapons includes press releases, press conferences, and letter writing. The civil rights groups in the 60s relied heavily on the media to tell their stories of unjust treatment. Protest groups have learned that if they can stage an interesting event that attracts the media’s attention, at least their pov will be heard. Conveying a long-term, positive image through the media is more important than gaining media coverage of a few dramatic event. Policy entrepreneurs depend on goodwill and good images Thus they turn to PR firms to improve their image and their ability to peddle their issue positions.
functions/tasks of political parties
The core function of political parties is to win elections. They are a team seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election. There are “three-headed political giants” in political parties. There is the party in the electorate, the party as an organization, and the party in government. Party in the electorate- is the largest component of an American political party. Anyone can be be member and it’s not legally binding. The party as an organization has a national office, full-time staff, rules and bylaws, and budgets. Each party maintains state and local headquarters. There are leaders and these people keep the party running between elections and makes its rules. The party in government consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party.
The tasks of political parties used to play a much larger role in selecting candidates, organizing campaigns and so on. A century ago, they ran the show. Now, they are still an important factor, but only one of many that have an impact on these tasks. They pick candidates (party’s official endorsement is called a nomination), parties run campaigns, give cues to voters, articulate policies, coordinate policymaking.
relationship between parties and voters
Parties compete for voters’ support and produces candidates and policies for the voters. Anthony Downs created the rational-choice theory that argues that voters want to maximize the chance that policies they favor will be adopted by government and that parties want to win office. So in order to win office, parties should select policies that are widely favored. He also theorizes that parties stay fairly near the center in order to broaden their appeal because few voters are extremely liberal and few are extremely conservative. Parties also need to differentiate themselves in order to win overly loyal adherents.
“party in the electorate”
If you believe you are a Democrat or a Republican, then you are a Democrat or a Republican. So the party in the electorate consists largely of symbolic images and ideas. Most voters have a party image of each party. Like Democrats being pro-choice. Party images help shape people’s party identification, because many people routinely vote for the party they identify with. A recent trend has been that the younger one is, the more likely he or she is to be a political independent.The numbers of political independent has grown in the recent years, probably because there has been a decrease in democrats and more people may still lean towards one side but they may also just like parts of both sides.
party organization from local to national
Urban political parties used to be the main political organization in America. From the late 19th century through the New Deal of the 30s, many cities were dominated by party machines, which rewards its members. Party machines used to sell patronage jobs to the highest bidder, selling government positions to raise money for the party and to buy votes (CORRUPTION). Party machines have sharply declined in power and influence overall, and often do not exist at all in some areas. To fill the void of the decline there has been a revitalization of party organizaton at the county level. County organizations help state and local candidates. Local organization rely on personal knowledge of individuals in the neighborhood who could be persuaded to support the party. American national parties are a loose aggregation of state parties, which are themselves a fluid association of individuals, groups, and local organization. There are 50 state party systems, and no two are exactly alike. The supreme power within each of the parties is its national convention. The convention meets every four years, and its task is to write party’s platform and then nominate its candidates for President and VP. Keeping the party operating between conventions is the job of the national committee, composed of representatives from states and territories. Day-to-day activities of the national party are the responsibility of the party’s national chairperson.
the “party in government”
It’s important to note that while the influence of political parties has declined over the decades with regard to selecting candidates and running campaigns for office, their influence is significantly greater once those candidates are elected and in positions of power. For example, while a party might not be able to control which candidates are nominated under their party label to run for Congress, and while they may not be the most important force in determining who will the election, one in office that congressman/congresswoman will need to work closely within the political party structure if they are to succeed.
party realignment
A majority of voters identify with the party in power; thus, this party tends to win a majority of the elections. Punctuating each party era is a critical election, which is an electoral earthquake where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Critical election periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era. This process is called party realignment which is a rare event that is akin to a political revolution. They are typically associated with a major trauma in the nation’s history. When the Republican Party emerged, was connected to the Civil War another was when they were replaced by the Democrats during the Great Depression. One trend and pattern that has been going on is party dealignment where people are gradually moving away from both parties because of the increase in independent voters.
two-party system and the impact of third parties
Third parties in the US come in 3 basic varieties:
Parties promote certain causes-like a controversial single issue such as prohibition of alcoholic beverages
Splinter parties, or offshoots of a major party
Parties that are merely an extension of a popular individual with presidential aspiration.
Although 3rd parties never win office they are important because they bring new groups into the electorate and have served as “safety valves” for popular discontent. Like Ralph Nader who forced more attention on environmental issues and cost Gore the presidency. But the two-party system is firmly entrenched in American politics because of the structure of American elections, ballot access laws that make it difficult for third party candidates to be listed, much less media attention, the nature of some third party platforms, and an American public that has been socialized to believe that choosing third party is the equivalent of “throwing your vote away” because they can’t win.
responsible party government
In a democracy candidates should say what they mean to do if elected and, once they are elected, do what they promised. But this is not the case and advocates of the responsible party model believe the parties should meet the following conditions:
-Parties must present distinct, comprehensive programs for governing the nation
-Each party’s candidates must be committed to its program and have the internal cohesion and discipline to carry out its program
-The majority party must implement its programs, and the minority party must state what it would do if it were in power
-The majority party must accept responsibility for the performance of the government.
American political parties often fall short of these conditions. They are too decentralized to take single national position and then enforce. Most candidates are self-selected, gaining thier nomination by their own efforts rather than the party’s.
roles and functions of interest groups
an organization of people with similar policy goals who enter the political process to try to achieve those goals. One of their roles or functions is to support a candidate. Interest groups pursue their goals in many arena from local to federal and every branch of government.
theories of interest group politics-Pluarism
rests its case on the many centers of power in the American political system. They believe groups provide a key link between people and government, groups compete, no one group is likely to become too dominant, groups usually play by the rules of the game, and groups weak in one resource can use another.
theories of interest group politics- elitism
believe that real power is held by few people, key groups, and institution. They believe the government is run by a few big interests looking out for themselves. The elitist view of the interest group system with the following assertion: the fact that there are numerous groups proves nothing b/c groups are extremely unequal in power, awesome power is held by the largest corporations, the power of a few is fortified by an extensive system of interlocking directorates, and other groups may win many minor policy battles but corporate elites prevail when it comes to the big decisions.
theories of interest group politics- hyperpluarism
the problem is interest group liberalism, where the government is excessively deferential to groups, with virtually all pressure group demands seen as legitimate and the job of government to advance them all. In short, the hyperpluralist position on group politics is: groups have become too powerful in the political process as government tries to appease every conceivable interest, interest group liberalism is aggravated by numerous iron triangles–comfortable relationships among a government agency, and trying to please every group results in contradictory and confusing policy.
factors affecting success of interest groups-size
Smaller groups are more likely to achieve their goals than larger groups.A potential group is composed of all people who might be group members bc they share a common interest. An actual group is composed of those in the potential group who choose to join. All groups provide collective goods where potential groups share in benefits of the actual group work to secure. This causes a free-rider problem, the bigger the potential group, the more serious the free-rider problem. Selective benefits are goods that a group can restrict to those who their yearly dues, which is an incentive for people to join thus reduces large potential groups and overcoming the free-rider problem
factors affecting success of interest groups- intensity
When a group shows that it cares deeply about an issue, politicians are more likely to listen; many votes may be won or lost on a single issue. The intensity of lobbying against a proposal is a powerful predictor of whether the proposal is adopted in Congress or by a federal agency. The rise of single-issue groups has been one of the most dramatic political developments in recent years. Groups for gun control and abortion evoke strong emotions.
factors affecting success of interest groups- financial resources
One of the major indictments of the American interest group system is that it is biased toward the wealthy. Those who have money are heard. Studies have shown that big money and lobbying success is weak because lobbying is a very competitive enterprise, there are numerous instances one big interest faced off another, and because there is a high degree of diversity within sides active in the lobbying game where groups with substantial financial resources allied themselves with poor groups whom they shared a common goal.
How interest groups try to shape policy- lobbying
political persuaders who represent organized groups. Two types of lobbyists: regular, paid employee of a corporation, union, or association and the second is a temporary one. Lobbyists can help members of Congress by providing important information, help politicians with political strategy for getting legislation through, help formulate campaign strategy and get the group’s members behind a politician’s reelection campaign, and they are a great source of ideas and innovations.
how interest groups try to shape policy- electioneering
aiding candidates financially and getting group members out to support them. A means for them is PACs. PACs give money to certain candidates because they were either on committees that are important to their interests, very supportive of issues important to them, from a district where they had facilities, helping them with executive and regulatory agencies and in leadership positions that enabled them to influence issues that affect the PAC.
how interest groups try to shape policy- litigation
If interest groups fail in Congress or get only a vague piece of legislation, the next step is to go to court in the hope of getting specific rulings. Lawyers file amicus curiae briefs (“friend of the court” briefs) written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case. Interest groups could also file class action lawsuits, which enable a group of people in a similar situation to combine their common grievances into a single suit.
how interest groups try to shape policy- appealing to the public
Because public opinion ultimately makes its way to policymaker, interest groups carefully cultivate their public image and use public opinion to their advantage when they can. Interest groups market not only their stand on issues but also their reputation. Lately more organizations have undertaken expensive public relations efforts, whether to defend their reputations or to promote their stand on issues.
types of interest groups
Economic interests- involve business and labor, with business focusing on governmental regulation and subsidies, and labor focusing on policies to ensure good working conditions and wages
Environmental Interests- advocate policies to deal with problems such as global warming and pollution; they are also heavily involved in efforts to protect the wilderness and endangered species
Equality issues-promote the fair treatment of groups that have been discriminated against in the past, such as African American and women.
Interests of consumers and the public generally-pursue policy objectives that they believe will benefit all citizens, such as consumer protection laws.
impact of campaigns
they have three effects on voters: reinforcement, activation, and conversion. Campaigns can reinforce voters’ preferences for candidates; they can activate voters, getting them to contribute money or ring doorbells as opposed to merely voting; and they can convert, changing voters’ minds. Research has shown that they merely reinforce and activate. They don’t convert because many people have selective perception, which means that they pay attention to things they agree with. Another effect is that it strengthens people’s natural partisan predispositions.
factors affecting whether citizens vote, incl. discussion of turnout issues
Low voter turnout rates are caused by voter registration laws, how often Americans have to vote, choices for candidates are practically the same, and in the U.S. we vote midweek discouraging people who work or go to school to vote. Education, age, race, gender, marital status, and government employment are also factors that affect who are more likely to vote.
factors affecting who citizens vote for
One factor is the polices views they prefer. Many claim politicians have a mandate from the people to carry out the promised policies called mandate theory of elections. There is trend among Presidents to use the theory to justify what they want to do by claiming public support for their policies.Some political scientists focus on three major elements of voters’ decisions:
-Voters’ party identification: provides reliable cue as to who is on their side. However party identification has decreased during the 60s and 70s and then stabilized to a lower level. Now, more voters are independent because of technology
-Voters’ evaluation of the candidates: Image, integrity, reliability, and competence are three important dimensions of candidate’s image
”policy voting”- when people base their choices in an election on their own issue preferences. Voters must have a clear sense of their own policy positions, know where the candidates stand, see differences between the candidates on these issues, and they must actually cast a vote for the candidate.
Electoral college
determines who becomes president of the U.S. They are a body of electors who are charged solely with the task of voting for the president and vice president. This is how the Electoral College system works today:
-Each state has as many electoral votes as it has senators and representatives. The state parties select slates of electors, positions they use as a reward for faithful service to the party
-48/50 states employ a winner-take-all system in which all their electors are awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes statewide.
-In Maine and Nebraska, an elector is allocated for every congressional district won, and whoever wins the state as whole wins the two electors allotted to the state for its senators.
-Electors meet in their states in December, following the November election, and then mail their votes to the vice president. The vote is counted when the new congressional session opens in January and is reported by the vice president.
-If no candidate receives an EC majority,then the election is thrown to the House of Representatives, which must choose from among the top three electoral vote winners. Each state delegation has one vote.This has not occurred since 1824.
EC is important because it introduces a bias into the campaign and electoral process. A second reason is the importance of the EC is that the winner-take-all-norm means candidates will necessarily focus on winning a relatively small number of battleground states where the polls show that the contest is likely to be closest.
role of money in campaigns, including regulations/laws and problems
There are two ways to contribute money to political campaigns in America: (1) campaign contributions, (2) donations to groups that make independent expenditures to express political views which may aid a candidate’s campaign, but can’t coordinate with the campaign. Candidates need money to build a campaign organization and to get their message out. With the Watergate scandal exposed many interest lobbies led the drive for campaign finance reform and in 1974 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act. It required that all candidates for federal office must disclose: (1) who has contributed money to their campaign; and (2) how the campaign funds have been spent. They also limited individual contributions to $1,000 per election (the McCain-Feingold Act increased this to $2,000). They also limited PACs which can contribute $5,000 per election.
conventions and their signigicance
Conventions whittles a large number of players down to two. The goal of the nomination game is to win the support of the majority of delegates at the national party convention. At each political party’s national convention, state delegations meet to cast their votes. Conventions take nominations out of hands of the party bosses.
PAC, super PACs, 501(c) groups, and related organizations
501(c) groups emerged as vehicles for unlimited political donations that could remain anonymous (regulated by IRS). So corporation and unions can now give big sums to them w/o having public disclosure of these donations. Super PACs are independent expenditure-only PACs. They may accept donations of any size and can endorse candidates. Their contributions and expenditures must be reported to the FEC. Wealthy people could only donate $2,500 to the candidate but they could send millions to a Super PAC that would run ads on behalf of his candidate.
primaries & caucuses, incl. pro’s and con’s
- Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and primaries
- Prominent politicians find it difficult to take time out from their duties to run
- Money plays too big a role in the caucuses and primaries
- Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and unrepresentative
- The system gives too much power to the media
