Final Exam

Question 1

What are the major strategic decisions faced by candidates?

Answer 1

1. Goals of Campaign
2. Target Key Potential Supporters
3. Target Core Voters and Persuadables
4. Tone and Media Strategy (predominantly tv campaign ads)
5. Issues: How specific?
6. How to finance?
   • Sources and what is good money?

Question 2

what factors explain voter behavior in presidential and congressional elections?

Answer 2

most are guided in vote by PARTY IDENTIFICATION

Question 3

what advantages do incumbents have in re-election campaigns?

Answer 3

incumbents are well known and have large sums of money

Question 4

what are critical realignments and why are they significant?

Answer 4

A dramatic change in the political system – these are important because this most likely means the dominant party has shifted, meaning a shift in the direction the government is headed.

Question 5

do election results provide us with a clear understanding of what the public desires in public policy?

Answer 5

No because few choices offered, large “party of nonvoters”, and how issue specific was campaign?

Question 6

what is relationship between elections and public policy?

Answer 6

• how parties and their platforms have public policy

- Public opinion produces change in the election, which produces a change in policy.

Question 7

what groups are more likely to vote? less likely?

Answer 7

• Majority are between 65-74 years old; elders are much more likely to vote
• individuals with the ability to process information and explain politics and party, the more likely they are to vote

Question 8

arguments for and against ‘red state/blue state’ or ‘culture war’ idea

Answer 8

Arguments for blue vs. red states: increased polarization in public opinion (i.e. abortion)
o Criticisms: vast majority have middle ground position in polarized issues; people with more extreme opinion are make more likely to be heard

Question 9

overriding functions of political parties

Answer 9

1. Bridging constitutional gaps (can help bridge gap)
2. Very important to elections
3. Allow public to represent interests better
4. Can validate system by educating public and getting them to polls and making elections easier

Question 10

how do parties improve power of public and working gov’t?

Answer 10

Parties offer means to public to get together and solve issue; get candidates to run and win with similar interests

Question 11

structural obstacles facing third parties

Answer 11

• Structure of American elections (single member districts, first past-the-post, winner take all
• Ballot access
• Anti-fusion laws
• Fusion candidacies: can be listed on ballot more than once under different party labels
• Finances
• Political structure: is political structure an actual issue?
• Alternative means of issue influence: lobbying, litigation, etc.
• Alternative voting rules that might help minority parties
  o Proportional representation system, preference voting, approval voting, cumulative voting

Question 12

Behavioral obstacles facing third parties

Answer 12

• Voters: sit out this dance/wasting votes; very difficult for third party candidates
• Candidates: ambitious (not many say will run for 3rd party b/c know will win) OR option to run as major party candidate
• Opponents: stealing thunder: stole talking points from 3rd party/opponent even though wasn’t originally part of own campaign
• Media: not enough media coverage; most of attention they do get is about how going to lose

Question 13

plurality system

Answer 13

winner take all elections

Question 14

proportional representation system

Answer 14

getting rid of single member districts; an election system in which candidates are elected from multimember districts, with a party’s share of seats from a district being roughly proportional to their share of the popular vote

Question 15

what factors make a significant third party performance more likely?

Answer 15

1. Major party weakness
2. Attractive 3rd party candidates: known entities, some national reputation, recognized through other work
3. Weakening of usual constraints: alternative voting systems, ballot access laws have changed, lots of media attention
4. Some third party ‘loyalists’—have pool of folks that have voted for 3rd party and survived to try it again

Question 16

divided government

Answer 16

three branches of gov’t are all associated with different parties

Question 17

external critiques of pluralism

Answer 17

1. Some groups are not likely or able to organize
2. Better off are better organized than others
3. Rather than ‘fluid’, pluralism settles into cozy relationships btwn interests and gov’t

Question 18

internal critiques of pluralism

Answer 18

pluralists did not look carefully enough at how interest groups are run internally/operated

• Often little accountability of leaders to followers; not run very democratically
• Power in these groups is often concentrated—highly controlled by leaders/elites

Question 19

soft money

Answer 19

can be donated to a political party in general; much greater latitude to how political party can spend this; magic words test – if don’t outright say certain things, can get away with certain things and how money is spent

Question 20

independent expenditures

Answer 20

not contributed to candidates, unlimited in amount; two ways: advertising about issues and electioneering

Question 21

individual contributions

Answer 21

can directly give to federal candidates, national parties, state/local parties, PACs

Question 22

what is bureaucracy?

both definitions

Answer 22

As a PROCESS: a form of organization, which is hierarchical to some extent, based on a division of labor, and typically governed by specific rules and procedures
As a THING: gov’t agencies and offices

Question 23

negative features of bureaucracy

Answer 23

• Idea of principle-agent problem: the principle asks agent (Congress and President) to do something, but the agent (bureaucrats) has an incentive to not carry out the process in the most efficient way for the principle; related issue to slack: bureaucrats don’t work as hard as they could/don’t worry too much if they aren’t doing job because very hard to fire; drift or policy drift: when bureaucratic agency doesn’t carry out principle policy as wanted to
• Can be inefficient and more expensive than private business: red tape
• Difficult to measure how efficient bureaucracy is

Question 24

positive features of bureaucracy

Answer 24

1. implement regularity and fairness in dealing with public; minimizes street level bureaucrats
2. make policy especially if law is vague
3. know a lot about specific areas of policy – lots of expertise and knowledge
4. resolve disputes through formalized bodies
5. provide services the public seems to want: running social security; providing protection through police force; driving services; death services

Question 25

how can some of the things that people often criticize about bureaucracy be perceived as good?

Answer 25

red tape (inefficiency) yet promotes fairness and equality

Question 26

tragedy/exploitation of the commons

Answer 26

• Tragedy/exploitation of the commons: any common pool resource that anyone can take from but one person taking from it means taking all; i.e. fishing

Question 27

major policy tools available to gov’t

Answer 27

1. promotion: tax breaks, subsidies, specific incentives to get people to do something the gov’t wants
2. set macroeconomic context: tax rates, interest rates, creating trade lass
3. redistribution: social program (Medicaid)
4. provision of services, products, and symbolism
5. regulation: encourage or discourage specific behavior through punishment

Question 28

Citizens United v. FEC, 2010

Answer 28

• Citizens United wanted to advertise Hillary Clinton movie
• allowed incorporated groups (alongside individuals) to engage in electioneering (campaign spending) using their treasuries (money)
• *individuals AND incorporated entities can engage in unlimited independent expenditures

Question 29

SpeechNow.org v. FEC, 2010 (federal court)

Answer 29

• Extends logic of Citizens United: individuals and corporate entities can make unlimited contributions to non-candidate/non-party political committees that then engage in independent expenditures
• created super PACs

Question 30

American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock (2012)

Answer 30

States’ campaign finance laws must abide by the Citizens United ruling
(allowed incorporated groups to engage in electioneering (campaign spending) using their treasuries (money))

Question 31

MuCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014)

Answer 31

Aggregate limit on individual contributions is unconstitutional

Question 32

key issues in education reform

Answer 32

Facts: how do we measure educational performance?
Values: what is the point in education?
Interpretation: how to address comparatives gaps in achievement? Socioeconomic gaps?

Question 33

key issues in social security reform

Answer 33

Facts: What problems are approaching?
Values: What are we “protecting” in SS?
Interpretations: How to solve the expenses-revenue puzzle?

Question 34

moral hazard

Answer 34

a situation where a party will have a tendency to take risks because the costs that could result will not be felt by the party taking the risk

Question 35

switching costs

Answer 35

any impediment to a customer’s changing of suppliers. In many markets, consumers are forced to incur costs when switching from one supplier to another

Question 36

interest groups

Answer 36

an organization that promotes interests in pursuit of public policy

• An “organized interest”: preferences in now an organized fashion
• i.e. University of Wisconsin, church, business – engaged in trying to promote interests

Question 37

incentives to join interest groups

Answer 37

• i.e. something you can get only if you are part of the group (magazine, access to website)
• Not all benefits have to be materials—psychological benefits (sense of feeling of successful organization)

Question 38

pluralism

Answer 38

theory that all groups are well represented and no single interest controls gov’t decisions