Poli Science Test 2

Front 1

Public Opinion

Back 1

the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population

Front 2

Consensus

Back 2

general agreement among the citizenry on an issue

Front 3

Dividied opinion

Back 3

public opinion that is polarized between two quite different positions like abortion and gay rights

Front 4

political socialization

Back 4

the process by which people acquire political beliefs and values

Front 5

Peer Group

Back 5

A group consisting of members sharing common social characterisitcs. Such groups play an important part in the socialiazation process, helping to shape attitudes and beliefs

Front 6

Opinion Leader

Back 6

One who is able to influence the opinions of others because of position expertise or personality

Front 7

media

Back 7

the channels of mass communication

Front 8

agenda setting

Back 8

determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered

Front 9

generational effect

Back 9

a long lasting effect of the events of a particular time on the political opinions of those who came of political age at that time

Front 10

Watergate Break-in

Back 10

the 1972 illegal entry in the democratic national committee offices by participants in president Richard Nixons reelection campaign.

Front 11

gender gap

Back 11

the difference between the percetange of women who vote for a particualr candidate and the percentage of men who vote or the candidate

Front 12

opinion poll

Back 12

a method of systematically questioning a small selected sample of respondents who are deemed representative. of the total population

Front 13

sampling error

Back 13

the difference between a sample result and the true result if the entire population had been interviewed

Front 14

political trust

Back 14

the degree to which individuals express trust in the government and political institutions, usually measured through a specififc series of survey questions

Front 15

public agenda

Back 15

issues that are perceived by the political community as meriting public attention and governmental action

Front 16

sound bite

Back 16

a brief memorable comment that can easily be fit into news broadcasts

Front 17

spin

Back 17

an interpretation of campaign events or election results that is favorable to the candidates campaign strategy

Front 18

spin doctor

Back 18

a political campaign adviser who tries to convince journalists of the truth of a particular interpretation of events

Front 19

media access

Back 19

the publics right of access to the media. the federal communications commission and the courts gradually have taken the stance that citizens do have a right to this access.

Front 20

interest group

Back 20

an organized group of indidvuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence policy makers

Front 21

political party

Back 21

a group of political activists who organize to win elections, operate the government and determine public policy

Front 22

lobbyist

Back 22

an organization or indidvual that attempts to influence the passage defeat or content of legislation and the governments administrative decisions

Front 23

Social Movement

Back 23

a movement that represents the demands of a large segment of the public for political economic or social change

Front 24

labor movement

Back 24

generally the economic and political expression of working class interests; politcally the organization of working-class interests

Front 25

service sector

Back 25

the sector of the economy that provides services - such as health care banking and education - in contrast to the sector that produces goods

Front 26

public interest

Back 26

the best interests of the overall community; the national good, rather than the narrow interests of a particular group

Front 27

direct technique

Back 27

an interst group technique that uses direct interaction with government officals to further group's goals

Front 28

indirect technique

Back 28

an interest group technique that uses third parties to influence government officials

Front 29

independent

Back 29

a voter or candidate who does not identify with a political party

Front 30

faction

Back 30

a group of bloc in a legislature or poltical part acting in pursuit of some special interest or position

Front 31

two-party system

Back 31

a political system in which only tow parties have a reasonable chance of winning

Front 32

era of good feelings

Back 32

the years from 1817 to 1825, when James monroe was president and there was in effect no political opposition

Front 33

democratic party

Back 33

one of the two major american political parties evolving out of the republican party of thomas jefferson

Front 34

whig party

Back 34

a major party in the united states during the first half of the 19th century formally established in 1836. this party was anti-jackson and represented a variety of regional interests

Front 35

republican party

Back 35

one of the two major american poltical parties. it emerged in the 1850's as an antisalvery party and consisted of former northern whigs and antislavery democrats

Front 36

party organization

Back 36

the formal structure and leadership of a political party, including election committes; local, state and national executives; and paid professional staff

Front 37

national convention

Back 37

the meeting held every four years by each major party to select presidential and vice presidential candidates, write platforms choose a national commitee and conduct party buisness

Front 38

party platform

Back 38

a document drawn up at each national convention outlining the policies positions and principles of the party

Front 39

national committee

Back 39

a standing committee of a national policial party established to direct and coordinate party activities between national party conventions

Front 40

state central committee

Back 40

the principal organized structure of each politial party within each state. This commitee is responsible for carrying out policy decisons of the partys state convention

Front 41

patronage

Back 41

the practice of rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts

Front 42

divided government

Back 42

a situation in which one major political party controls the presidency and the other controls congress or in which one party contorls a state governorship and the other controls the state legislature

Front 43

ticket splitting

Back 43

voting for candidates of tow or more parties for different offices.

Front 44

plurality

Back 44

a number of votes cast for a candidate that is greater than the number of votes for any other candidate but not necesasrily a majority

Front 45

electoral college

Back 45

a group of persons called electors who are slected by the voters in each state. this group officaly elects the president and the vice president of the u.s

Front 46

unit rule

Back 46

a rule by which all of a states electoral votes are cast for the presidential candidate who receives a plurality of the votes in that state

Front 47

third party

Back 47

a political party other than the two major political parties

Front 48

splinter party

Back 48

a new party formed by a dissident faction within a major political party. often, this party has emerged when a particular personality was at odds with the major party

Front 49

party indentification

Back 49

linking oneself to a particualr political party

Front 50

straight-ticket voting

Back 50

voting exclusively for the candidates of one party

Front 51

presidential primary

Back 51

a statewide primary election of delegates to a political parties national convention held to determine a parties presidential nominee

Front 52

political consultant

Back 52

a paid professional hired to devise a campaign strategy and manage a campaign

Front 53

tracking poll

Back 53

a poll taken for the candidate on a nearly daily basis as election day approaches

Front 54

focus group

Back 54

a small group of individuals who are led in dicussion by a professional consultant to gather opinions on, and responses to candidates and issues

Front 55

corrupt practices acts

Back 55

a series of acts passed by congress in an attempt to limit and regulate the size and sources of contributions and expenditures in political campaigns

Front 56

hatch act

Back 56

an act passed in 1939 that resticted the political activities of government employess. it also prohibited a politcal group form spending more than 3 million in any campaign and limited individual contributions to a campaign committee to 5k

Front 57

political action committee

Back 57

a committee set up by and representing a corporation labor union or special interest groups. PACS raise campaign donations

Front 58

soft money

Back 58

campaing contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party actives.

Front 59

independent expenditures

Back 59

unregulated political expenditures by PACS organizations and individuals that are not coordinated with candidate campaigns or political parties

Front 60

issue advocacy advertising

Back 60

advertising paid for by interest groups that support or oppose a candidate or a candidates position on an issue without mentioning voting or elections

Front 61

beauty contest

Back 61

a presidential primary in which contending candidates compete for popular votes but the results do not control the selection of delegates to the national conventions

Front 62

caucus

Back 62

a meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies

Front 63

superdelegates

Back 63

a party leader or elected official who is given the right to vote at the party's national convention. They are not elected at the state level.

Front 64

closed primary

Back 64

a type of primary in which the voter is limited to choosing candidates of the party of which he or she is a member

Front 65

open primary

Back 65

a primary in which any registered voter can vote

Front 66

front runner

Back 66

the presidential candidate who appears to be ahead at a given time in the primary season

Front 67

front loading

Back 67

the practice of moving presidential primary elections to the early part of the campaign to maximize the impact of these primaries on the nomination

Front 68

credential committee

Back 68

a committee used by political parties at their national conventions to determine which delegates may participate. the committee inspects the claim of each prospective delegate to be seated as a legitmate representative of his or her state.

Front 69

elector

Back 69

a memeber of the electoral college which selects the president and vice president.

Front 70

Australlian Ballot

Back 70

a secret ballot prepared distirbuted and tabulated by government officials at public expense. Since 1888

Front 71

office block or massachusetts ballot

Back 71

a form of general election ballot in which candidates for elective office are grouped together under the title of each office. emphasizes voting for the office and the indididual rather than the party

Front 72

party column, or indiana ballot

Back 72

a form of gerneal election ballot in which all of a partys candidates for elective office are arranged in one column under the partys label. emphasizes voting for the party

Front 73

coattail effect

Back 73

the influence of a popular candidate on the electoral success of other candidates on the same party ticket. the effect is increased by the party-column ballot, which encourages straight ticket voting

Front 74

voter turnout

Back 74

the % of citizens taking part in the election process.

Front 75

franchise

Back 75

the right to vote

Front 76

registration

Back 76

the entry of a persons name onto the list of registered voters for election. must meet certain requirements

Front 77

socioeconomic status

Back 77

the value assigned to a person due to occupation or income. middle class lower class ect

Front 78

constituent

Back 78

one of the persons represented by a legislator or other official

Front 79

bicameralism

Back 79

the divison of the legislature into two seperate branches. like the us

Front 80

lawmaking

Back 80

the process of establishing the legal rules that govern society.

Front 81

logrolling

Back 81

an arrangement in which two or more members of congress agree in advance to support each others bill

Front 82

representation

Back 82

the function of members of Congress as elected officials representing the views of the people they represent.

Front 83

trustee

Back 83

a legislator who acts acording to her or his conscience and the broad intersts of the entire society

Front 84

instructed delegate

Back 84

a legislature who is an agent of the voters who elected him or her and who votes according to the views of constitutents regardless of personal beliefs

Front 85

casework

Back 85

personal work for constitutents by members of congress

Front 86

ombudsperson

Back 86

a person who hears and investigates complaints by private indidvuals against public officals and agencies

Front 87

oversight

Back 87

the process by which Congress follows up on laws it ahs enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the way of Congress intended

Front 88

Agenda settings

Back 88

determining which public policy questions will be debated or considered

Front 89

enumerated power

Back 89

a power specifically granted to the national government by the constitution. the first 17 clauses of article 1 section 8 specify most of these types of powers of congress

Front 90

rules of committee

Back 90

a standing committee of the house of reps that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated amended and considered by the house

Front 91

fillibuster

Back 91

the use of the senates tradition of unlimted debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill

Front 92

direct primary

Back 92

an intraparty election in which the voters select the candidates who will run on a partys ticket in the subsequent general election

Front 93

party identifier

Back 93

a person who identifies with a political party

Front 94

reapportionment

Back 94

the allocation of seats in the house of reps to each state after each census

Front 95

redistricting

Back 95

the redrawing of the boundries of the congressional distiricts within each state

Front 96

justiciable question

Back 96

a question that may be reraised and reviewed in court

Front 97

gerrmandering

Back 97

the drawing of legislative distirict boundry lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage.

Front 98

franking

Back 98

a policy that enables members of congress to send material through the mail by substituting their facsimile signature

Front 99

discharge petition

Back 99

a procedure by which a house of reps may be forced out of a committee that has refused to report it for consideration by the house. the petition must be signed by an absolute majority of reps and is used on rare occasions

Front 100

standing committee

Back 100

a permanent committee in house or senate that considres bills within a certain subject area

Front 101

select committee

Back 101

a temporary legislative commitee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose

Front 102

joint commitee

Back 102

a legislatve commitee composed of memebers from both chambers of Congress

Front 103

conference Committee

Back 103

a special joint commitee appointed to reconcile differences when bills pass the two chambers of Congress in different forms

Front 104

seniority system

Back 104

a custom followed in both chambers of Congress specifying that the memeber of the majority party with the longest term of continious service will be given preference when a commitee chariperson is selected

Front 105

safe seat

Back 105

a district that returns a legislator with 55 perent of the vote or more

Front 106

speaker of the house

Back 106

the presiding office in the house of reps. the speaker is always a memeber of the majority party and is the msot powerful and influential memeber of the house

Front 107

majority leader of the house

Back 107

a legislative position held by an important memeber of the majority party in the house of reps. selected by party in caucus conference

Front 108

minority leader of the house

Back 108

the party leader elected by miniority party in house

Front 109

whip

Back 109

a memeber of congress who aids the majority or minoirty leader of hte house or senate

Front 110

president pro tempore

Back 110

the senator who presides over the senate in the absence of the vice pres

Front 111

Clear and Present danger, libel and slander

Back 111

• Restrictions permissible if clear and present danger to the public order
• Libel - a written defamation of a persons character reputation and business
• Slander is spoken while libel is written
• Protection against libel weakens when the defamation is on public figures
• Important. Rights of the accused – limits on the conduct of police before trial
o Rights of the accused = no unreasonable searches and no entrapment. Prompt arraignment and legal counsel
o Trail before a jury and no cruel and unusual punishment no double jeopardy.

Front 112

interest groups

Back 112

• An organized group of individuals with common objectives that actively attempt to influence policy makers
• Social movements – represent the demands of a large part of the public for economic political or social changes
• Ex tea party, pro life orgs, and feminist orgs

Front 113

lobbyists

Back 113

• Lobbyists – orgs or people attempting to influence policymaking processes
• Interest groups are inevitable and necessary – important point
• A significant role in American government to all levels campaign contributions desirable policy outcomes and social relations
• Various interest groups compete against one another or cooperate with one another to gain benefits for their new members
• Extreme idea sin the us seldom gain much acceptance because very few people accept extreme ideas. – Another important point

Front 114

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Back 114

CIVIL LIBERTIES STUFF

Front 115

Bill of Rights

Back 115

• protection of individuals rights and properties against government action
• Freedom of religion freedom of the press

Front 116

establishment clause

Back 116

prohibits establishing a church that is officially supported by the national gov

Front 117

free exercise clause

Back 117

individuals free exercise of their religion

Front 118

prior restraint

Back 118

restraining an activity before it occurs

Front 119

symbolic speech

Back 119

• Expressions made through articles of clothing, gestures, movements and other form of nonverbal conduct
• Substantial support by the courts
• Like burning American flags, wearing armbands in protests against war burning crosses and marching in a parade
• Commercial speech – advertisements, gaining more protection since 1970s
• Unprotected – obscenity and slander

Front 120

federalism

Back 120

• Unitary system; centralized government, ultimate gov authority rests in national gov
• Federal system – authority is divided by a written constitution
• Enumerated powers – powers granted to federal gov by constitution
o Like regulating commerce

Front 121

necessary improper clause

Back 121

the elastic clause. Article one section. Congress is granted the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its specifically delegated powers

And gov powers not enumerated in the constitution belong to the state gov.
States have police power – protection of the health morals safety and welfare of people
Most police power is reserved to the states

Front 122

(important) concurrent powers

Back 122

powers jointly held by the federal and state govs
• Ex. Power to tax, power to establish courts
• Dillions rule (important) – the local governments are creatures of states meaning that the local level govs have only the powers that states have given them
• Narrow grants of power to local governments
• If there is any reasonable doubt whether a power has been conferred on a local government to… fucking slut changes slides too fast

Front 123

commerce clause

Back 123

congress is given the power to regulate interstate and international trade

Front 124

federal mandate

Back 124

– a requirement in federal legislation that forces states and municipalities to comply with certain rules – like voter registration

Front 125

unfunded mandate

Back 125

mandates from the federal government to require states to take some actions that need funding to get implemented bu the federal government does not provide funding for it.

Front 126

why do people vote

Back 126

• (important) party – the partisanship factor – the candidate may be the representative person in that party
• (important) Candidate image – many characteristics of the candidate that attract you, such as honesty leadership skills and intelligence trustworthiness, experience and good listener
• (important) issues – least important things

(important) single issue voting – some voters base their choices on one single dominant issues, and the attitude of a certain candidate on this issue will determine whether or not they will vote for this candidate
• war in iraq, abortion
• most voters do not use issues at all, they vote for candidate and party

Front 127

(important) importance of base and swing vote

Back 127

• in order to win an election the first important step is to get your base vote – to win the most votes from the members of your own party
• the next important step is to convert the swing voters – to convice those independent voters to vote for you in the elections “getting out the base”
• the more swing voters you convert, the more likely you will win the election

Front 128

(important) 3 hurdles of political campaign

Back 128

• 1. Name recognition – how to get recognized by as many ordinary voters as possible; make yourself well-known
• 2.image – how to create a favorable image for yourself; looks personality and charmisma
• 3. Vote pluralality – need enough votes to win.

Front 129

(important) rising importance of internet in campaigns

Back 129

• for campaign advertising and news coverage
• getting campaign contributions
• Obama as the champion of web fueled fund raising
• Internet campaign strategist and bloggers
• All major interest groups use websites to promote their ideas

Front 130

biased media

Back 130

• (important) mainstream media – liberal bias such as tv networks like cnn and abc and newspapers like ny times, less powerful every year
• alternative media – conservative bias like fox news. Getting more powerful every year

Front 131

political parties (important). 5 major functions

Back 131

• 1. Recruiting candidates to run for elections
• 2. Organizing the running for political campaigns
• 3. Presenting alternative policies to voters
• 4. accepting responsibility for operating the government
5. acting as the organized opposition to the party in power

Front 132

(important) is the tea party a political party

Back 132

• the tea party is a political movement that emerged in 2009, through a series of locally and nationally coordinated protests
• the tea paorty is composed of many small gorups called populist and conservative by media
• tea party is party of the republican party

Front 133

(important) strengths of a two-party system

Back 133

• 1. Its more stable than a multi party system
• 2. it always ahs a majority party
• 3. its always clear who the opposition is
• in a multi party system you have none of these unless one pary is very dominant.

Two party systems
• It is a political system in which only two parties have a reasonable chance of winning elections
• The us has been adopting a two party system ever since the 1800’s
• Unlike some multi party systems, operating on widely differing views. It is a stable political system and public policies do not change much

Front 134

(importnat) swing voter

Back 134

• about 1/3 independet often vote fore democrats another 1/3 vote republican usually while the remaining are swing voters
• voters who frequently swing back and forth between the parties
• they are the main targets of advertising campaigns by candidates or both parties

Front 135

(important) the future of social economic class politics in the us

Back 135

• political attiudes and behaviors are closely related to peoples socio economic classes
• middle class vote for R, while wealthier and less well off vote for D
• people with associate or college degrees vote R while lower/higher educated vote for D

Front 136

1.the us is hated and respected and targeted and copied why?

Back 136

respected because of our dominance millitariliy, scientifically, economically, and diplomatically. hated because jealous of our power.

most copied form of governmnet in the world - most copied constitution

Front 137

2. in what ways does the us dominate the world

Back 137

scientifically, millitarily, largest and most influencial economy, and diplomatically

Front 138

3. what countries are likely to contest with he us for world dominance over the next 25 and 50 years.

Back 138

china in 25 years, india in 50

Front 139

4. why does government exist

Back 139

it exist to prevent chaos. The governments number one goal is to provide security for people and their property.

Front 140

5. why do people tolerate it

Back 140

people tolerate it and follow its rules beacuse without them, it would be total anarchy and chaos

Front 141

6. what is power? At the individual level… at the national level?

Back 141

power is the ability to make someone do something withouth them wanting to. National level is making citizens pay taxes and obey laws. indidvual level is like alfred making us do homework and other shit.

Front 142

7. the divine right to rule….

Back 142

in a monarchy. what kings and their bitching queens thought they had.

Front 143

9. importance of American revolution to world democracy and rights

Back 143

kicked off democratic ideas. first modern democracy

Front 144

10. madisonian model

Back 144

A structure of government proposed by James Madison
• Powers of the government are separated in 3 branches – legislative executive and judicial

Front 145

consent of the governed

Back 145

all people possess certain natural rights like life liberty and property. The primary goal of the government is to protect these rights.

Government is established by the people thru a social contract — an agreement among the people to form a government and abide by its rules.

American government was established based on the consent of the governed.

Front 146

the great compromise”

Back 146

• A bicameral legislature – the house seats are divided according to each state’s population and each state has 2 senators.

Therefore this compromise resolved the fear of possible tyranny by the majority

Also, founding fathers did not trust direct election of the president by the people
• They developed the electoral college – 435 house members + 100 senators.

Front 147

slavery compromise

Back 147

At that time slavery was still legal in the north but it was concentrated in the south. The south wants slaves to be counted as free persons while the north objected
• COMPROMISE – a slave = 3/5 free person. This is a compromise by the northerners who did not want the slaves counted at all and southerners who wanted slaves to be counted the same as free persons.

Front 148

exit poll

Back 148

when people are asked who they voted for immedietly after they leave the polling booth. good way to see and predict winners of elections

Front 149

amending the constitution

Back 149

omplicated two step process
1.) 2/3 of the representatives of both house and senate vote to put a constitutional amendment before the states. In order for that to become part of constitution ¾ of the states must agree (38 states must agree). Been used 17 times.
2.) 2/3 of the states call a constitutional convention and proposes amendments. Only those amendments approved by ¾ of the states get into the constitution. Never been used.