final Flashcards
what is public opinion?
an aggregation of individually held opinions. “those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed”
how can a competent surveyor gather an accurate assessment of public opinion?
a poll of 1200-1500 respondents
how accurate will a a poll of 1200-1500 respondents be?
within a margin of 3 percentage points of the true opinion of the population being sampled
what are 3 errors/difficulties with polling?
1) sampling error
2) selection bias
3) measurement error
an error that arises rom the fat that one must use a sample of the population to estimate the opinion of the population.
sampling error
a sample is not actually representative of the population because the sample was not generated by a random process
selection bias
what is response rate?
certain sub-populations are not as likely to agree to participate in a survey
what occurs because answers for surveys are often just of the top of the head responses that are not firmly held opinions
measurement error
what is a typical source or cause of measurement error? what are some examples?
question wording:
- confusing questions
- leading questions
- oversimplified questions
why do president and presidential candidates poll the public so much?
polls are used to gauge the public’s views and the favorability of candidates and used to see if pushing a certain issue can help shape opinion
since when has polling been a very common practice?
since President Jimmy Carter
what 4 things specifically guide public opinion?
1) attitudes
2) ideologies
3) core values
4) partisanship
what is an attitude?
an organized and consistent manner of thinking, feeling, and reacting with regard to people, groups, social issues, or more generally, any even in one’s environment
what is an ideology?
a coherent structure of attitudes that are consistent in the sense that one can accurately predict a person’s stance on a host of issues if the individual is ideologically sophisticated
what is the relationship between ideology and attitude?
ideologies link attitudes together into something greater, as in coalitional politics “he’s a conservative”
specific guiding principles that some individual holds to structure their view of politics
core values
partisanship
a psychological attachment to a political party
how is partisan ship typically measured?
on a 7 point scale
is it true that partisanship is generally handed down from parent to child?
yes
when is partisanship weakest?
during college years
when “the race” is close, what part of partisanship tends to make the most difference?
independents
why are polls not accurate in predicting an issue that has close to 50/50 support?
it is too close to have an accurate reading, given the the margin of error; “the race is too close to call”
what has the biggest impact on the development of public opinion?
political socialization
what is political socialization?
the process of acquiring political attitudes through influences in one’s environment (such as family, community, religion, schools, etc.)
what 4 thing are most prominent in shaping public opinion?
political socialization
personal experience
self- interest
the media
what does it mean to be a “cognitive miser”?
reluctant to pay the cost of acquiring information that has no practical payoff
what is the effect of being a cognitive miser on public opinion
public opinion are often uninformed, not ideological, and inconsistent across time and issue domains
what is framing?
presenting a story or issue in a certain way to express an opinion
who wrote the rational public?
page and shapiro
according to rational public, why is public opinion meaningful?
because the well informed subset of the population drives the results of aggregate public opinion, aggregated public opinion is stable, consistent and rational
public opinion pushes back when politicians/political parties move too far to the left for right. who wrote about this?
James Stimson in the Tides of Consent
who wrote Assessing the President?
Richard Brody
what is Assessing the President about?
it expounds on how the media end elites shape public approval of the president (this explains the honeymoon effect and the rally round the flag effect)
what did John Zaller write?
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
what did The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion say?
elites can foster mainstream effects or polarization effects in public opinion
how can elites foster mainstream effects in public opinion?
when they are in agreement, public opinion of the mass may also be in agreement
how can elites foster polarization effects in public opinion?
when elites disagree, the public opinion tends to polarize with the differing views
what is the long-term trend in the american public’s trust in the government? short-term?
long term- downward trend
short term- upward trend based on the economy and crisis/leadership
what are some fairly recent things that have contributed to the decline in public trust/confidence in government?
watergate scandal and LBJ’s deceptiveness
generally speaking, what is public opinion on economic issues?
favors more spending
generally speaking, what is public opinion on social and moral issues?
most often people need to know the context before they’ll form an opinion even though debate is dominated by extremists on the left and right.
on what social/moral issue is public opinion growing more liberal?
gay rights
what is a cognitive shortcut
making an assumption because you don’t want to go through the work to be informed
expound on “issue publics”
while people are often uninformed on political issues, they develop expertise in the area they work in or in the things they are interested in
when was public opinion on military issues most united?
during the cold war
what even has made the public opinion on military issues more split?
9/11
what are the main factors in someone’s “back ground” that effects their opinion?
- race and ethnicity
- gender
- income and education
- religion
- location/environment (state, rural vs. urban, etc.)
what does the racial/ethnic divide most effect?
partisanship and presidential votes
women tend to be less supportive of _______ and more supportive of _______
aggressive military conflict; spending on social welfare programs
true or false: there is a great gender gap on the issue of abortion: men tend to be more in favor than women
false: no significant gender gap
do educated people tend to be more or less tolerant?
more tolerant
people who have higher incomes tend to favor what?
less taxes
individuals with no education are found to be mostly _________
democratic
during high school years, people are found to favor _______ views
republican
individuals with a college degree tend to have _______ views
democratic
does religion more strongly effect white people or african americans in regard to politics?
whites
how does living in an urban for rural setting effect one’s views?
urban- more diversity; more democratic
rural- conservative and traditional
what do we mean when we say that your age effects your opinion
it matters when you were born- what was happening politically, socially and economically when you were born/ growing up
does the constitution say anything about political parties? did the founding father’s favor parties?
no the constitution does not say anything and the founding fathers did not want political parties
why do we not do away with political parties?
they are too useful and efficient
PIG
Party In the Government (elected with a party label)
PIE
Party in the Electorate (people/voters who identify with a party)
PO
Party Organization (committees, national committees etc.)
which came first, the PIG, PIE, or PO?
PIG
what kind of system does the US have?
2 party system
Why does the US have a 2 party system
we have a FPTP system
what are the incentives for party building?
stabilize legislative and electoral alliances
mobilize voters
develop new electoral techniques
use party labels/ enforce collective responsibility
what does it mean that our party system is decentralized?
political parties look different depending on where you are in the US
what is characteristic of the second party system?
organizational innovation:
national conventions
the spoils system
who was the first to implement national conventions?
andrew jackson
when did PIE fully materialize?
2nd party system
what is characteristic of the 3rd party system?
entrepreneurial politics:
- party machines
- the progressive attack
- the consequences of progressive reforms
when did secret ballots come about?
3rd party system
what is characteristic of the 4th party system?
republican ascendancy
what happened during the 5th party system?
creation of New Deal coalition and the erosion of the New Deal coalition
why was there a “rule change” during the 5th party system?
a riot broke out at the national convention in Chicago, as a result primary elections and caucuses are held to determine nominees
how have conventions evolved since 1968
nominees are no longer decided at conventions, rather they are a show or coronation for the already picked nominee
what happened as a result of fractured alignments during the 5th party system?
voters became more indifferent to the parties
as people moved more toward independent partisanship, what did this mean for incumbents
they had an advantage. There was a higher chance of reelection; the personal vote mattered more because people were more attached to a candidate than a party
when did independent and 3rd party candidates increase their take?
during 5th party system
when did divided partisan control of governments become more common?
5th party system
have people been moving to or away from partisanship since 1968?
to partisanship (increase in party ID)
true or false: the gap between the 2 parties has increased since 1968?
true
pure democracy
the people rule
does the US have a pure democracy?
no- we have a representative democracy
who wrote The Power Elite?
C. Wright Mills
the US government is run by a small number of people
Elite model
what is the goal of the elite model?
maintain power
interest group liberalism
US system of government is best understood as a system run by numerous groups- to understand politics, one must understand the interaction of groups
for which model is this a problem: the system appears open, but elites determine/set the agenda behind closed doors
interest group liberalism
for which model is this a problem: not all groups can mobilize and therefore will not serve as a check on other groups
interest group liberalism
lobbying arises naturally from the nature of representative government. How/Why?
Interests seek influence from elected officials and elected officials seek resources from interests
what would the absence of factions mean?
absence of liberty
what is the solution to factions?
control the harmful effects by fragmenting government vertically and horizontally
what was established in the colonial era of politics?
insider and outsider tactics of lobbyists
who wrote a book about lobbyists?
Alexis de Tocqueville
when did interest groups become common?
1830’s
according to The Logic of Collective Action why is it rational for interest groups not to form?
because most groups that form are seeking collective/public goods- it is sensible to free ride if the good will accrue to everyone
who wrote The Logic of Collective Action
Mancur Olson
how does one overcome the free rider problem?
coercion
moral incentives
selective benefits
partrons and political entrepreneurs
what movement spawned many new interest groups?
civil rights
why are middle class individuals more involved with interest group causes?
they have the money to give
how has technology advanced interest groups?
communication is cheaper and also facilitates organization
how does the tax code contribute to the increase interest groups?
non profit organizations are exempt from most taxes, and tax reductions for contributors
how has the federal government itself contributed to the growth of interest groups
the federal government encourages interest groups because bureaucracy and government programs create organized interests
what is the principal-agent relationship in interest groups?
larger constituency- principal
interest group- agents
what kind of tactics depend on fostering durable relationships with elected officials? why is this?
insider tactics: if there is not a good relationship, the officials will have little reason to trust the information lobbyists provide- with trust come access
what is the goal of outsider tactics?
alter political forces by pressuring elected officials so that they will bow to the groups demands
what are 5 methods of lobbying?
direct lobbying grassroots lobbying persuading the public litigation direct action
what is direct lobbying?
lobbying directly the congress, the president, and the executive branch. face to face and other forms of personal communication
what is grassroots lobbying?
the purpose is to mobilize citizens on behalf of the cause
do politicians trust grassroots lobbying?
often skeptic because grassroot lobbying is sometimes of the “astroturf” variety
what are 2 methods used by lobbyist to “persuade the public”
issue advocacy and direct mail
litigation
going to court
who generally favors litigation methods?
interest groups with deep pockets (cooperations)
direct action
most aggressive: picketing, sit-ins, rallies, boycotts, etc.
PAC
political action committee
what is a PAC?
a specialized organization for raising and contributing campaign funds
when were PAC’s created?
in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
what happened to the FECA in 1974?
it was amended drastically
what makes up a PAC?
50 people raising money
5 candidates they give to
$5,000 per candidate per campaign
Most PACs give instrumentally. what does this mean?
they give money to those candidates they expect to win (often incumbents who are expected to be reelected)
what ruling did away with limited on PAC spending?
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
most PACs give instrumentally, why do some not?
some grips who are religious, environmental, feminist, etc. are ideologically motivated and will support candidates who agree with the PACs agenda
what does the degree of a PACs influence depend on?
the issue, the legislator, the sentiment of constituents, etc.
originally, why were newspapers not profitable?
the costs of printing were so high and news was narrowly focused on politics.
early on, what was the relationship between the press and politics?
Publishers were agents of political parties and received government subsidies for printing partisan propaganda
what happened with technological advances like the steam press?
the cost of printing was reduced- this allowed publishers to extricate themselves form the grip of the political parties. they began to sell to a mass audience
how does “newspaper” reporting differ now from its early days?
noticeable reduction in political coverage and partisan bias
when did radio gain popularity?
1930’s
what is an early example of a president “going public”?
FDR’s fireside chats
what displaced the radio as people’s number one source of information?
television
what is the FCC?
Federal Communications Commission
what is the equal time rule?
if a network allows a political figure to speak, they must allow the opposition to speak for the same amount of time
what is Fairness doctrine?
if a channel/network presented a biased story, they were obligated to present the other side as well
what 3 things did the FCC establish?
equal time rule
fairness doctrine
limitations of cross-ownership in single media markets
what is news content determined by?
profit motive; consumer demand
what does sensationalization mean?
grabbing headlines to attract viewers as well as an emergence of partisan news reporting
what is a dilemma that many reports face?
they want to report faster than anyone but also want to report accurately
what are 2 driving forces of reporting?
verification and independence
what is infortainment?
a mixture of news and entertainment
how has the relationship between consumers and news reporting changed?
trust has gone down over the last 15 years
what is the number one source of news today?
TV in the form of local news and broadcast news
how has political polarization effected media/ political news consumption?
there is a great array of partisan perspectives which allows individuals to pick and choose what the read, reinforcing their biased political viewpoints
what does “going newsless” mean?
many consumers simply avoid consuming news entirely
how can news media be considered a “4th branch of government?
it is an institution which has enormous freedom, influence, and it serves as a safeguard against tyranny
what does the doctrine of prior restraint say?
the government cannot keep/censor something from being printed
true or false: the great majority of political news derives more from what people are saying than what people are doing
true (this is perhaps why political coverage gets less views)
how do politicians use the press?
to improve their public image, shape public opinion, enhance electoral support and influence the behavior of fellow politicians
what does the phrase “trial balloon” mean?
a political figure does not know how the public will react to an issue, so they test the waters out by bringing it up
what are news leaks?
people give the press information. Sometimes this is done to undermine the president, or this could be a way of sending a “trial balloon”
who were Woodward and Berstein?
reporters who reported leaked information about Watergate
the regular feature of the government that reporters are assigned to cover
the beat
what does beat reporting lead to?
routinization, pack journalism, and the manufacturing of news
who receives the most coverage in the political scene
the president
who receives more coverage, senators or house reps?
senators
who sets the political agenda more than any other player?
the media
what is priming?
the media sets you up to think about an issue in a certain way
what do politician want from news coverage?
good publicity
what do reporters want from politicians?
some thing to sell
what is a gaff?
a public figure says something honest/candid and get nailed for it
what was the presidential relationship with the press during FDR-JFK’s presidency
more trust and less competition among reporters fostered cordial relations
when did press-political relationships go south?
LBJ- lied to the press/public regularly
the “credibility gap” was permanently widen by what?
Vietnam (LBJ) and Watergate (nixon)
what do reports focus on in campaign coverage?
the “horse race” the gains and losses of the candidates
what do reports focus on in national convention coverage?
this had declined. No longer are conventions exciting or controversial
what do reports focus on in presidential debate coverage?
who won. not necessarily what they said, but who performed better
what is the logic/main reason for having elections?
elections are a mechanism for holding agents accountable to their principals
expound on this statement: “competitive elections in which virtually all adult citizens are eligible to vote are the defining feature of modern democratic governments”
it is important that the vast majority of the public is eligible to vote, otherwise the system is failing to hold agents accountable and failing to give the voters their stake in politics
who is not eligible to vote?
illegal immigrants, felons, institutionalized mental patients
19th amendment
suffrage for women
15th amendment
suffrage for african americans
what did the 16th amendment do?
changed the voting age from 21 to 18
individual factors affecting turn out:
1) education
2) age
3) race/ethnicity
4) income
5) marital status
6) interest
7) eficacy
institutional factors affecting turnout
1) registration
2) residential mobility
3) group memberships
4) competitiveness
5) mobilization (or demobilization
what were some of the consequences of the progressive reforms during the 3rd party system?
direct primaries, secret ballots, and self registration were implemented. This resulted in an overall decrease in turnout
what do people rely on the most when deciding who to vote for?
party ID
what is retrospective voting?
voting for a different candidate or different party based on the previous incumbent’s performance
what do people focus on when reviewing how a president performed during office?
economic condition and national security
what does it mean if someone is a single issue voter?
their vote is based on one issue that is very important to them (for example, abortion or gun control)
are there short term factors that effect how someone votes?
yes, while people review how the president has performed as a whole, the conditions at the time of the election are very significant in shaping someone’s vote
how does opinion leadership effect how someone votes?
endorsements by groups can appeal to some voters or deter others; people may choose to support a candidate based on the organizations that support the candidate.
when do personal characteristics most effect how well a candidate does
during primaries
what does it mean to be a viable candidate?
you have a change of winning- you are legit
candidate presentations often ________
backfire
why are debates important?
high viewership
true or false: incumbents, because of their experience often out perform unknowns- at least in the first debate
false: the new candidate often performs much better because they have been having debates on the campaign trail and the incumbent is rusty
what is the dominant method for campaigning
negative campaigning, especially in the case of ads.
who is most effected by negative campaigning?
the marginal voter who cares very little about politics (more susceptible)
what are the commonly repeated themes in campaigning ads?
simplicity, repetition, exaggeration, and symbolism
no money =
no chance
is money usually a deciding factor?
nope
what is more important then raising lots of money?
name recognition (incumbents have an advantage)
what was the ruling for buckle v. vale?
unlimited spending for the candidate because it is a form of speech
how does candidate centered elections effect money on the campaign front?
parties are no longer the driving force in promoting their nominees; contemporary fundraising starts with the candidates themselves
what are the 4 primary resources for campaign money?
the candidate
individuals
PACS
party organizations
what kind of spending is limited? unlimited?
if parties coordinate their spending, there are limited to how much; if someone spends independently, they can spend as much as they want
when does money matter more: general elections or the monition race? why?
in the nomination race because the press is already covering the general election (free publicity)
who spends more: challengers or incumbents? why?
challengers- they are unknown
where do candidates spend their money?
in swing states
how do spending limits effect the competitiveness of a campaign race?
it dampens the competitiveness
despite the generally accepted claim that the campaign finance system is flawed…….
changes are unlikely because there is no consensus on what would count as an improvement or how to achieve it
what are the 3 dominant cultures in the united states?
1) moralistic
2) individualistic
3) traditionalistic
which region of the united states is most individualistic?
the west/ lower midwest
which region of the united states is most traditionalistic?
the south
which region of the united states is most moralistic?
new england, upper midwest and northwest
what is the TX culture?
a blend of individualistic and traditionalistic
TX became the __ state in 1845
28th
what were the “6 flags over texas”?
spain france mexico the republic of tx the confederate states of america the united states of america
how many constitutions has texas had?
7
describe the feel of the different constitutions of texas
they directly address the issues of the time in which they were written, rather than expressing timeless ideals/aspirations.
describe the constitution of 1876:
written as an extreme reaction to the deficiencies of the constitution of 1868 as well as the perceived/real abuses of a radical republican rule
how many amendments are there to the tx constitution?
474
what is the most “powerful” branch of tx government?
texas legislature
when does the tx legislature meet?
every other year (the odd year after an even numbered election year- during midterms)
how long does the tx legislature meet
for 140 days starting in february
what is a special session?
a session called by the governor of tx- limited to 30 days (governor can call an infinite number of special sessions)
what is the composition of the tx legislature?
state house of representatives with 150 members and a state senate with 31 members
what are the qualification of a member of the state house?
21 yrs old
registered voter
legal resident oft eh state for at least 2 years
residents of the districts fro which they are elected for at least 1 year
what are the qualification of a member of the state senate?
26 yrs old
registered voter for 5 years
residents of their district for at least one year
why is the requirement of district residency difficult for house reps?
redistricting
when does redistricting take place in tx?
after the decennial census
true or false: districts must be equal in population
false: must be roughly equal in population
who draws the district lines
the legislature
if the legislature fails to redistrict the tx house and senate, then the task falls to _______
the legislative redistricting board
LRB
legislative redistricting board
who makes up the LRB?
lieutenant governor speaker of the house attorney general controller of public accounts commissioner of general land office
true or false: texas has one of the “weakest chief executives in the US”
true
why is the governor of TX weak?
the executive cabinet is plural because the governor shares power with other statewide officials
what are the qualifications of serving as governor?
30 yrs old
a US citizen
a resident of tx for 5 years
how long a governor’s term?
4 years
true or false: the tx governor is limited to 2 terms
false: not term limits
what is the annual salary for the tx governor?
150000
what is the annual salary for a tx legislature?
7200
the plural executive
the plural executive in tx limits the power of the governor by distributing power usually associated with the chief executive among many elected political leaders
what are the 6 statewide elected offices?
1) lieutenant governor
2) attorney general
3) computer of public accounts
4) commissioner of the general land office
5) commissioner of agriculture
6) railroad commissioner
why were tx gov. elections held on odd years?
on even years (general election years) republicans had an advantage
what is at the “base” of a pyramid of courts in tx?
local courts: municipal courts and justice of the peace courts
what is one level above the local courts?
county courts: constitutional county courts and statutory county courts
what is above county courts?
district courts
courts of appeal
court of criminal appeals and supreme court
what is the most controversial thing about the tx court system?
judges/justices are elected through partisan elections
the GOP has been in the dominant position in government since ______
1960’s
John Tower
who was the first republican governor since reconstruction
who replaced john tower?
bram
who replaced bram?
john cornon
Loyd Benson
last democrat governor
