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49 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Political Ideology
set of fundamental beliefs or principles about politics
Valence Issue
Nearly everyone agrees it is bad
Position Issue
Some think it is good and some think it is bad
Issue Constraint
Analysis of ideological perspectives and consistency in those positions
Permissive Opinion
Wide range of possible government activities are acceptable to the public
Directive Opinion
Specific alternatives are definitely demanded or opposed
Compartmentalization
Not making the connections between dissonant attitudes
Gatekeeping
Controlling what news gets covered
Political Party
An organization influenced by political ideology whose primary interest is to gain control of government by winning elections
Stratarchy
A political system where power is diffused among and within levels of party organizations
Temporary Party Organization
Primaries and conventions that exist only to select candidates, etc to party conventions at higher levels
Platform
A document that sets forth a political party's position on issues
Caucus
A once used nominating process involving selection of candidates by an informal committee of party leaders
Superdelegate
An unpledged party official or elected official who serves as a delegate to a party's national convention
Neo-conservatism
Fiscally conservative but does allow for a limited government role in solving social problems
Republican / Conservative / Right Wing
Traditional Family Values / No Gay Marriage / Fiscally Conservative / Small Government / Pro Life / Pro Death Penalty
Democratic / Liberal / Left Wing
Pro Choice / Healthcare / Anti Death Penalty / Equal Rights for Gays / Big Government
Neo-Liberal
Less government regulation of business and economy while adopting a more liberal view of greater government involvement in social programs
Dealignment
Citizens abandon allegiance to a political party and become independent voters
Realignment
Occurs when members of one party shift their affiliation to another party
Straight Ticket Voting
Voting for all the candidates of one party
Political Action Committee (PAC)
An organizational device used by corporations, labor unions, and other organizations to campaign distributions
Texas Ethics Commission
Enforces state standards for lobbyists and public officials, including registration of lobbyists and reporting of political campaign contributions
Soft Money
Campaign money donated to a national political party rather than to candidates
Hard Money
Campaign money contributed directly by individuals
Interest Group
A group of people who have the same interests and they lobby the government for it and they want to influence the distribution of public goods.
Lobbying
Communicating with legislators or other government officials on behalf of an interest group or a corporation for the purpose of influencing the decision making process
Political Mind
Attitudes and beliefs about our leaders developed through “socialization” where we tend to associate with people who have the same beliefs as us and the beliefs in the environment we grew up – long term beliefs
Political Environment
Short-term specific attitude about specific leader or person
Public Opinion
Political Mind + Political Environment
Daniel Bem
Studied how public mind and public environment relate through higher and lower order beliefs, and vertical and horizontal linkages
Higher Order Beliefs
Public Mind beliefs that are highly organized and long term (I am a Republican)
Lower Order Beliefs
Public Environment beliefs that are more topical, current and fleeting (I want to vote on someone who cares about healthcare)
Vertical Linkages
• When general beliefs help to shape specific ones
• Ex: I am Republican (Higher Order Belief), therefore I like McCain (Lower Order Belief)
Horizontal Linkages
• When some specific beliefs influence other specific beliefs
• Ex: I like McCain, McCain likes Palin, therefore, I like Palin
Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann wrote Public Opinion in the 1920’s and said that public opinion relates to distance – the closer we are to something the more influence it has on us

Because:
• We know more about these things
• We care more about the things that affect us personally
• Ex: School shootings in Colorado are more important than school shootings in Russia
Murray Edelman
Murray Edelman wrote The Symbolic Uses of Politics in the 1960’s and discussed how all politics is symbolic

Because:
• We always have limited knowledge
• We always look for shortcuts and stereotypes
• Reality is always less important than the perception of reality
Political Party
An organization with the same political ideology. They want to control government by winning elections.
Responsible Party
a. They only promise things they can actually deliver
b. Once elected they actually do what they promised
Rational Party
a. Try to locate where they can win the majority of voters (Convergence)
Convergence
candidates move towards the median voter
Ambiguity
a political party strategy in which the candidates don’t clearly state what they believe in, in attempt to confuse people
Hotelling
We are all rational consumers; therefore we want the best deal. In politics a political party needs to be close to the other political party and at the same time closer to the people. We look for the candidate closest to us.
Anthony Downs
In his book Economic Theory of Democracy, Downs states that political parties (?) want to maximize utility; that is they want the maximize the collective measure of satisfaction in order to capture the median voters
Risk Acceptant
They accept the risk and are willing to take a chance on what the candidate says
Risk Adverse
They don’t want to take the risk on political parties so they don’t vote
Pluralism
The competition between interest groups (David Truman). It is actually closer to the perception of pluralism.
Iron Triangle
Congress can also be referred to as the legislature
Interest Groups and the bureaucracy work together to create jobs
Bureaucracy (petty government officials) can provide testimonies for the legislature

THE IRON TRIANGLE IS A CLOSED POLICY MAKING ENVIRONMENT!
Issue Networks
ISSUE NETWORKS ARE OPEN POLICY MAKING ENVIRONMENTS! (As described by founder, Hugh Heclo)

Anyone who wants in issue network can get in one

There is trend from less iron triangles to more issue networks because in the 1970s Congress had reforms for port of entry for every interest group into Congress