Welch - Final Flashcards
What is public opinion?
The collection of individual opinions about issues, candidates, officeholders, and events of general interest. Those that concern a significant number of people
What is political socialization?
The process of learning about by being exposed to information from parents, peers, school, the media, political leaders, and the community (these are agents of socialization)
What are straw polls?
- Unscientific polls
- These were the first attempt to measure popular sentiments on a large scale developed by newspapers
What is crafted talk?
A way of packaging policies that caters to a specific base while appearing to remain mainstream
- Mastered by Bush
What are phony polls?
Thousands of calls into a district or state under the guise of conducting a poll but with the intent of spreading false information about a candidate
What are tracking polls?
A small number of people are polled on successive evenings throughout a campaign to assess changes in levels of voter support
- began in 1988
What are exit polls?
Election day polls of voters leaving the polling places, conducted by the media
What is modern liberalism?
Embodies the worldview that the government can be a positive and constructive force in society and can assist everyone with social and economic problems
What is modern conservatism?
Worldview that individuals and society are better off without government assistance and that economic activity should be free from government assistance
What is the Bible belt?
A broad area of “red” states where most people identify with a religion and evangelical protestants are common
What is the undernews?
Stories that are sometimes true, often false, circulating in blogs and tabloids which flow “under the news” of the mainstream media
What is the practice of objectivity?
News stories try to present the facts rather than their opinions. When facts are in dispute, they try to present both sides equally
What is horse race coverage?
The way in which the media reports on the candidate’s polling status and strategies rather than covering their position on relevant issues
- got its name from the “front runners”, “dark horses”, and “also-rans”
What does partisan mean?
Candidates and officeholders make decisions based on their party affiliation rather than on the country’s needs
What do political parties consist of?
1) Citizens who consider themselves members of that party
2) Officeholders who are elected or appointed in the name of the party
3) Professionals and activists who run the party organization
What is the Jacksonian Democracy?
Democracy in which participation is open to common people
What are political machines?
Powerful organizations that could deliver the votes
What is the patronage system?
A system in which elected officials appoint their supporters to admin jobs; used by political machines to maintain themselves in power
What is the spoils system?
“To the victor belongs the spoils” a candidate rewards supporters with government employment following an electoral win, even if they are not qualified for the positions
What is the merit system?
A reform by the progressive party. Allocated government jobs on the basis of competence rather than political affiliation
What is responsible party government?
A governing system in which political parties have real issue differences, and elected officials are expected to vote with their party leadership or lose their chance to run for office
What is the Progressive movement?
Reform movement designed to wrest control from political machines and the lower class citizens they served
What is a wedge issue?
An issue that can split a party
What is narrowcasting?
The placement of ads to certain demographic areas where viewers are sympathetic to that party
