Unit 2 Political Culture Flashcards
Attentive public
-those with an active interest in government and politics
Mass
-those with little interest in government and politics
Latent opinion
-dormant, but may be aroused
Salient opinion
-have some personal importance
Weakness of elections when it comes to determining public opinion
-don’t tell why people voted as they did
Straw polls
-inaccurate because unscientific
Scientific polls
- purpose is to measure public opinion with significant accuracy without measuring every person in the universe
- each person in universe has an equal chance of being selected.
Universe
Population to be measured
Abuses of polls
- “horse race” mentality emphasized during campaigns at expense of the issues.
- pandering to the whims of public by candidates and office-holders.
- early projections from exit polls may discourage voter turnout especially in the west.
Historical qualifications for suffrage
-religion (eliminated by state legislators)
-property (eliminated by state legislators)
-race (eliminated by the 15th amendment)
-sex (eliminated by the 19th amendment)
-income (eliminated by the 24th amendment – banning poll tax)
-literacy (illuminated by voting rights act of 1965)
Minimum age of 21 (eliminated by 26th amendment)
Current voting qualifications
- citizenship
- residency
- age (18)
- registration (except ND)
Reasons for low voter turnout
- registration
- long ballot
- type of election
- difficulties in obtaining absentee ballots
- too many elections
- 19th century voting was filled with fraud
- voter id laws, limiting polling places, limited time to vote (recent obstacles)
- lack of political efficacy
- disgust with politics
Elites
- those with disproportionate amount of political resources
- raises issues and help set national agenda
- influence the resolution of issues
Factors affecting voter behavior
- geography
- presence of an especially strong presidential candidate
- political alignment
- sex
- race
- social classes
- religion
- issues (especially economy)
Maintaining elections
-political alignment remains the same
Deviating elections
-temporary change in political alignment
Realigning critical elections
-Long time change and political alignment. Electoral realignment occurs when a new issue of utmost importance to the voters cuts across existing party divisions and replaces an old issue that was formally the basis of party identification
Straight ticket voting
- vote for all of one’s party’s candidates.
- declined recently
- facilitated by party column ballot
Split ticket voting
- vote for some of one party’s candidates and some of another party’s candidates
- increase in recent years
- facilitated by office-column ballot
Political Culture
They widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government
Tocqueville
- wrote analysis of our political culture
- no feudal aristocracy=social mobility
- minimal taxes=limited government involvement
- few legal restraints=liberty
- westward movement as a result of vast territories=providing opportunities
Civic duty
-the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
Communitarian
A philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community
Political efficacy
- internal=ability to understand political affairs
- external=belief that one can have an impact upon government
Wilson’s Two Camps
- orthodox=morality more important than self-expression with fixed rules from God
- progressive=personal freedom more important than tradition with changing rules based on circumstances of modern life
Ideology
-integrated set of beliefs and values that shape a person’s views
Liberalism
REACTIONARY political philosophy w liberty and equality
Conservatism
Political philosophy favoring TRADITION and the STATUS QUO
Populism
Government involved both socially and economically
Characteristics of those likely to vote
1 LEVEL OF EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
2income
3age
Maintaining Elections with example
- political alignment remains the same
- Kennedy to Johnson
Deviating election
- temporary change in political alignment
- ex Truman the Eisenhower then Kennedy and Johnson
Realigning election
Long term change in political alignment
Ex FDR
PAC system
- political action committee
- created by FECA
- each corporations, union, or association may establish one
- a pac must register six months in advance, have at least fifty contributors, and give to at least 5 candidates
- PAC contributions to a candidate may not exceed $5,000, or to a national party $15,000
Differences between Federal election campaign act (FECA) and Bipartisan campaign reform act (BCRA)
- FECA=1971 BCRA=2002
- individual hard money to candidates limited to $1,000 (FECA) limited to $2,000 per year with $37,500 to all federal candidates every 2 years (BCRA)
- hard money to political parties and PACs 20k/year to a political party 5k to a PAC (FECA) 95k fed political gifts/2 years (BCRA)
- BCRA limits bundling to 95k/2 years
- BRCA bans soft money
- BRCA 60/30 rule for corporations, unions, and associations (527s exempt)
Buckley v. Valeo
1971
Questions: Did the limits placed on electoral expenditure by FECA violate the first amendment’s freedom of speech and association clauses
Decision:
-overturned restrictions on independent expenditures
-upheld restrictions on individual contributions
-hard money constitutional
McConnel v. FEC 2003
2003
- question: does the “soft money” ban (BCRA) exceed Congress’ authority to regulate elections and/or violate 1st amendment
- upheld the ban on soft money; restriction of free speech was minimal
Citizens United v. FEC
Question: do the BRCA’s disclosure requirements impose an unconstitutional burden when applied to electioneering requirements because they are protected “political speech”?
Decision: 1st amendment corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited
The majority maintained that political speech is indispensable to a democracy, which is no less true bc the speech comes from a corporation
INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES 60/30 rule overturned
