Pol 407 Final Exam

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Strategic Politician

Back 1

Office-seekers who base the decision to run on a rational calculation that they will be successful

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Hopeless Amateur

Back 2

Office-seekers who do not base their decision off rational calculation

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Progressive Ambition

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When politicians who get elected to office use that office to move to a higher one

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Probability of Victor

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How likely one is to win the office

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Explanation of voter turn out

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Voter turnout measures the percentage of voters to have actually taken part in an election. Low turnout is most pronounced in primary elections, off-year Elections for state legislators, voter identification laws, early voting, and polling place accessibility can also affect voter turn out.

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Compulsory voting

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Practice that requires citizens to vote in elections or face punitive measures such as community service, fines, or imprisonment.

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Socio economic status

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Status and society based on level of education, income, and occupational prestige

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Resource model

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Views attention as a limited resource that can become spread thin

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Rational choice model

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A model of voter choice that suggests that an individual will vote if the benefits of doing so outweighs the cost and will cast his or her ballot for candidates who are closest to sharing the individuals views on the issues.

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Mobilization

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An act of assembling and putting into readiness for war or other emergency; “mobilization of the troops

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Costs and benefits of voting

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By cost and benefits, we mean the sacrifices compared to the advantages. A cost benefit analysis works like this: when costs outweigh the benefits, people have a little incentive to participate. When benefits outweigh the costs people can be easily persuaded to participate.

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Incumbency advantage

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The electro edge afford it to those already in office

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The case of the vanishing marginals

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The number of competitive house seats has been steadily decreasing for decades. Political scientist David Mayhew in Morris Fahrenheit wrote about this in the 1970s calling it the case of vanishing marginals because the margin of victory for incubus have been getting larger and larger.

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Electoral starting

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Starting districts for the members of the house

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The big sort

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A term coined to describe how Americans tend to live among others of similar economic statuses and cultural beliefs. The big sort isn’t primarily a political phenomenon. It is the way Americans have chosen to live, and unconscious decision to cluster in communities of like mindedness

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Southern democrats

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A congressional group of senators that attempted to block civil rights reforms in the 1950s and early 1960s

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Franking privilege

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Benefit along members of Congress to mail letters another Matera postage free

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Porkbarrel politics

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Legislation that gives tangible benefits (highways, dams, post office) to constituents In several district or states in the hope of winning the votes in return.

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Casework

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Activities of members of Congress to help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get

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Money in congressional elections

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Can be a soft money or hard money; comes from individuals, businesses, PACs, industries, unions…

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Campaign finance

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Money that political candidates used for funding they’re expensive campaigns

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Independent expenditures

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Spending by political action committees, corporations, or labor unions to help the party or candidate but done independently of them

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Super PACs

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Political action committees established to make independent expenditures

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Positive ads

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Advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidates qualifications, family and issue positions, with no direct reference to the opponent

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Negative ads

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Political campaign advertising, usually on television, in which candidates criticizes the opponents rather than emphasizing their own platforms

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Dirty trick ads

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Political campaign advertising, usually on television in which candidates criticize the opponent through taped proof of the adversary’s hick ups in order to emphasize their adversary’s flaws to the public

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Going native

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Administrators identifying themselves with the interest of their own departments and promoting such interest contrary to the Policy preferences of the president

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Hill style

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The actions and behaviors of a member of congress in Washington DC, intended to promote policies and the member’s own career aspirations

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Primary constituency

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A member of congress’s strongest, mostly partisan supporters

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Personal constituency

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A small number of intimate friends, advisors, and confidants who support a member of Congress

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Geographical constituency

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Everyone and everything within the geographical boundaries of a congressional member’s House district

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Electoral constituency

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An area in which an MP can be elected to represent a group of citizens

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Formal participation

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….

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Show horse

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A member of Congress who actively seeks press attention

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Work horse

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A member of Congress who works behind the scenes to Carry out the business of the institution and get legislation passed.

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Speaker of the House

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An office mandated by the constitution. The speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, they have both formal and informal pow