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24 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Why do political parties exist? |
The founding fathers were opposed to political parties; however, political parties as they are known today developed along with the expansion of suffrage. Plus, strong presidents with broad popular support depend on party ties to get their legislation enacted into congress |
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Why does America have a two-party system? |
The two party system emerged early in the history of the new republic. One reason America has a two party system is due to historical circumstances. Parties are not mentioned in the constituition, and they were seen as sinister by the framers. Yet, they arose out of an ideological debate about the nature of the government. The second reason is the stability of the two-party system. We know what the coliation is before we vote. |
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What are the two major parties and what do they stand for? |
The major parties today are Democrat and Republican. The Democrats stand for protecting American values, and the Republicans are more "we the people" and base things strictly off the constitution. As an illustration, Democrat stand for gun control and Republican do not want to regulate gun control, they stand by the second amendment "the right to bear arms". |
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Why have we seen an increase in self-identified? |
There has been an increase in self-identified independents for a number of reasons. One being most people do not like being labeled, and second being party might not fully represent what a person believes in or stands for. Lastly voters are just becoming sick of political parties. |
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Are political parties getting stronger or weaker? |
There are two main political parties in the United States. If a person is not a member of one of those political parties, it is very hard to get elected to state or national office. This suggests that political parties are stronger. It also depends on their members. There as well may be forces that can weaken the influence of political parties. |
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How does media affect politics? |
The media plays a central role in American politics, not only in setting the agenda of topics Americans think about and discuss, but also swaying opinions on political issues, politicians and candidates. Political candidates who receive positive news coverage gain momentum, pick up political endorsements, attract campaign contributions, and win support from voters. The influence of media on political candidates is just one example of media's vitally important role in American democracy. |
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What are the ways in which media might have bias? |
Agenda Setting, Selection bias, framing, priming are the many of ways media has the ability to shape Americans opinions. News media may go left or right, meaning liberal or conservative. The national media is sometimes more impressed with reports by liberal interest groups than government reports. Also, because the media seek to attract the largest possible audience, they naturally tend to cover stories with dramatic or entertainment value. |
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Why is media important in our democracy? |
It is impossible to imagine democratic politics without vigorous media. the public, therefore pubic opinion, depends on the news media to publicize and assess the claims of political candidates, to examine government policies and programs, and to reveal wrongdoing by government agencies and public officials. |
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Should the news media be run as a public business or a private business? |
Running a news media as a public or private business has its pros and cons. Pros of public media is that Americans get the facts and the pros of Private media is free press. The cons of private media is that they can critiize whatever they want. I think it is more important to get the facts to be able to form an educated opinion on an issue. |
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What is the difference between civil liberties and civil rights? |
Civil liberties are constitutional safe guards against an overly powerful government and Civil rights are protects of citizens equality provided by the government. |
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What are our most important civil liberties? |
Our most important civil liberties are included in the Bill of Rights. For example, Amendment I gives us the protection of religious freedom. and Amendment 4 gives us protections against unlawful searches and seizures. |
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What constitutional provisions have allowed for most progress in the area of civil rights? |
With the adoption of the 14th amendment in 1868, civil rights became part of the constitution, guaranteed to each citizen through "equal protections of the law". Congress used its legislative power to help make equal protection of the laws a reality by passing the civil rights act of 1964, prohibiting major forms of discrimination. |
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How do social movements work in the American political system? |
We need social movements to come along to make happen and convince the majority. |
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Why is Democratic leadership such a challenging idea? |
Democratic leadership can be a challenging idea because sometimes government policy is must less responsive to public opinion on the issues that really count, and that when they interests of the elites are at stake, government officials are much more likely to represent the opinions of the afflent than the poor. |
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How should political leaders understand and account of public opinion. |
Political leaders can think about public opinion in two ways. Public opinion is not that important or Public opinion is very important. Walter lippman thought public opinions were superficial and easily manipulated. He thought Americans should only care about public opinion during elections. George gallup said "we need to know the will of the people at all times, and he makes a valid point. If political leaders do not take head to public opinion they could probably risk being defeated in elections. |
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Is public opinion essential? |
YES! |
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What does it take to be a good leader in the American political system? |
To be a good leader in the American political system some key characteristics could be: good leadership skills, good governance, transparency on issues, and is focused on specfic, measurable and achievable goals and demand outcomes. |
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How do the founders envision the Executive and how will this executive have any power. |
In Article II of the constitution it states: all the power to be "vested" in the president. It was mean for the president to be a check on popular power. The specifically defined powers granted to the president in the constitution are called expressed powers of the office and cannot be revoked by congress or any other agency. |
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Pick two presidents and explain how the are good examples of their presidential era. |
FDR and Barack Obama are great examples of their presidential era. FDR as well a Barack obama used public appeal effectively. FDR was firmly persuaded of the need to form a direct link between the executive office and the public. FDR and obama developed a number of tactics aimed at forging such a link. As an illustration. FDR made important use of the new electronic medium such as the radio to reach millions of Americans. In his famous "Fireside chats" the president or at least his voice, came into every living room in the country to discuss programs and policies and generally to assure Americans that he was aware of their difficulties and was working diligently toward solutions. Also Obama has also been the first ot make full use of new communication mediums. Appealing directly to the public is one place a president can look for power, and FDR and Obama executed this in their presidency. |
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Describe some strengths and weaknesses of the modern presidency. |
One of the biggest weaknesses about the modern presidency is that it is all about being popular. The strengths about the modern presidency includes the magnitude of increased power. Between foreign policy and economic development the rule has gotten more powerful. Before this time the legislative branch seemed to have more power over the president, and now that control is being pushed back toward the president. |
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What is federal bureaucracy? |
Federal bureacracy is a complex set of offices, rules, tasks, and principles of organizations that are employed. This would include agencies like the FBI, EPA, DOD just to name a few. |
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How are people chosen to fill positions within the bureaucracy |
Laws require that appointees to public office be qualified as measured by competitive examinations, for the job to which they were appointed. |
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Does it have too much power? |
Yes, there may be a problem with this power that lies in the bureaucracy. There is a major bureucracy crisis. The president cannot properly adminstrate effectively. Since there is no way for the president to know what goes on in each department at all times it leaves alot of power within the bureaucracy to do what they want. It does not leave room for good connections to people. |
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What are some justifications for the legitimacy of the bureaucracy? |
One justification for the legitimacy of the bureaucracy is "Governance by the common man" This says that we should trust in good hard working people because they know what it is like for everyday people. It paves the way for new ideas if more common people get involved in the government. |
