U.s. Politics

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political participation that attempts to influence the political process through well-accepted, often moderate forms of persuasion

writing letters, making political contributions, voting

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conventional political participation

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political participation that attempts to influence the political process through unusual or extreme measures

protests, boycotts, picketing

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unconventional political participation

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the proportion of the voting-age public that votes

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turnout

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Twenty-Sixth Amendment

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lowers the voting age to 18

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Twenty-Fourth Amendment

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prohibits any government from imposing a poll tax or other tax that would deny a citizen the right to vote in a primary or other election for federal office

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Voting Rights Act of 1965

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outlaws literacy and other discriminatory tests and devices used to deny citizens the right to vote and strengthens federal enforcement of all voting rights laws

most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever passed

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National Voter Registration Act (1993)

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requires states to offer voter registration services at drivers' license registration centers and social service, military recruitment, and other public offices

also known as Motor Voter Act

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Supreme Court rules that states cannot design redistricting plans that use race as the overriding and predominant factor

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Miller v. Johnson

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voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election

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ticket-splitting

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a voter's evaluation of the performance of the party in power

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retrospective judgement

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a voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected

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prospective judgement

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a system of government that bases its rule on force rather than consent of the governed

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authoritarian system

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the citizens eligible to vote

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electorate

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a command, indicated by an electorate's votes, for the elected officials to carry out their platforms

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mandate

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election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election

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primary election

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a primary election in which only a party's registered voters are eligible to vote

considered healthier for the party system because they prevent members of one party from influencing the primaries of the opposition party

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closed primary

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a primary in which party members, independents, and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to vote

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open primary

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participation in the primary of a party with which the voter is not affiliated

occurs frequently in open primaries

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crossover voting

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an organized attempt by voters of one party to influence the primary results of the other party

research shows that it is uncommon

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raiding

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election between opposing political parties in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices

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general election

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an election option such as the initiative or referendum that enables voters to enact public policy

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ballot measure

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an election that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the state electorate for popular vote

used in 24 states and D.C.

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initiative

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an election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation to the state's voters for approval

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referendum

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an election in which voters can remove an incumbent from office by popular vote

very rare and sometimes thwarted by the official's resignation or impeachment prior to the vote

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recall

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the tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar

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front-loading

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a traditional party practice under which the majority of a state delegation can force the minority to vote for its candidate

recently abolished as one of the recent reforms that weakened any remaining control by local party leaders over delegates

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unit rule

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delegate slot to the Democratic Party's national convention that is reserved for an elected party official

an attempt to maintain some level of party control over the selection process, while still allowing most delegates to be selected through the electoral process

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superdelegate

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that part of a political campaign aimed at winning a primary election

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nomination campaign

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the part of a political campaign aimed at winning a general election

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general election campaign

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the process by which a campaign reaches individual voters, either by door-to-door solicitation or by telephone

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voter canvass

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a push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls

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get out the vote (GOTV)

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the individual who travels with the candidate and coordinates the many different aspects of the campaign

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campaign manager

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a professional who coordinates the fund-raising efforts for the campaign

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finance chair

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a professional who takes public opinion surveys that guide political campaigns

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pollster

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a professional who supervises a political campaign's direct mail fund-raising strategies

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direct mailer

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the person who develops the overall media strategy for the candidate, blending free press coverage with paid TV, radio, and mail media

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communications director

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the individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily basis

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press secretary

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the campaign staff that makes use of web-based resources to communicate with voters, raise funds, organize volunteers, and plan campaign events

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internet team

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a private-sector professional who sells to a candidate the technologies, services, and strategies required to get that candidate elected

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campaign consultant

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a professional who produces candidates' television, radio, and print advertisements

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media consultant

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political advertisements purchased for a candidate's campaign

amount, form, and content are determined by the campaign staff and consultants

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paid media

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coverage of a candidates campaign by the news media

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free media

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new technologies, such as the internet, that blur the line between paid and free media sources

websites, social networking, blogs, etc.

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new media

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advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate's qualifications, family, and issue positions, without reference to the opponent

usually favored by the incumbent candidate

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positive ad

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advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent's platform or character

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negative ad

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ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the sponsor

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contrast ad

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television advertising on behalf of a candidate that is broadcast, in 60, 30, or 10 second duration

make up the majority of paid advertisements

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spot ads

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advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched

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inoculation ad

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technique of campaign staff and consultants in which they put forward the most favorable possible interpretation for their candidate on any circumstance occurring in the campaign, and they work the press to sell their point of view or at least to ensure that it is included in the reporters' stories

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spin

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forum in which political candidates face each other to discuss their platforms, records, and character

not a staple of electoral politics until the twentieth century

in most cases they do not alter the results of an election, but rather increase knowledge about candidates and their respective personalities and issues positions

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candidate debate

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early 1970s act that established disclosure requirements, established the Presidential Public Funding Program, which provides partial public funding for presidential candidates who meet certain criteria, and created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency tasked with enforcing the nation's election laws

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Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

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2002 act co-sponsored by McCain and Feingold that reformed unregulated soft money campaign contributions; included a "fast track" provision that any suits challenging the constitutionality of the reforms would be immediately placed before a U.S. district court, and giving appellate powers to the U.S. supreme court

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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

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the Supreme Court held that the government's interest in preventing corruption overrides the free speech rights to which the parties would otherwise be entitled, and, thus found that BCRA's restrictions on soft-money donations and political advertising did not violate free speech rights

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McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003)

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the Supreme Court invalidated BCRA's strict ban on genuine issue ads during the "blackout" period on the grounds that the timing of the ad does not automatically designate it as electioneering

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Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life (2007)

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the virtually unregulated money funneled by individuals and political committees through state and local parties

outlawed by BCRA

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soft money

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federally mandated, officially registered fund-raising committee that represents interest groups in the political process

have influence disproportionate to that of individuals

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political action committee (PAC)

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donations from the general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates

only presidential candidates receive them

candidate must raise $5,000 first

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public funds

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donations to presidential campaigns from the federal government that are determined by the amount of private funds a qualifying candidate raises

Presidential Election Campaign Fund is accumulated by taxpayers who designate $3 of their taxes for this purpose each year

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matching funds

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campaign advertisements that do not use explicit words or phrases and therefore can be paid for with unregulated soft money

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issue advocacy advertisements

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campaign advertisements that use explicit words or phrases such as "vote for" or "vote against" and are openly intended to influence federal elections

can only be paid for with strictly regulated hard money

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express advocacy advertisements

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legally specified and limited contributions that are clearly regulated by the Federal Election Campaign Commission

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hard money

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nonprofit and unregulated interest groups that focus on specific causes or policy positions and attempt to influence voters

most significant unintended result of the BCRA in 2004

circumvent the direct advocacy prohibition by creating "sham issue ads" naming a particular candidate and stating how the candidate has supported or harmed a particular interest, but without directly stating the group's opinion on how to vote in the election

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527 political committees

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nonprofit and tax-exempt groups that can educate voters about issues and are not required to release the names of their contributors

prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to influence elections to public office

permitted to educate voters on political issues as long as they do not overtly advocate a specific position

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501(c) (3) committees

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an organized effort by office holders, candidates, activists, and voters to pursue their common interests by gaining and exercising power through the electoral process

unlike interest groups, they stress the role of elections in gaining and exercising power

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political party

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the office holders who organize themselves and pursue policy objectives under a party label

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governmental party

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the workers and activists who make up the party's formal organization structure

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organizational party

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the voters who consider themselves allied or associated with the party

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party in the electorate

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a party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity

fueled by emigration fro Europe

provided housing, employment, food, entertainment, and an opportunity for upward social mobility

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political machine

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era from 1874-1912 during which there was remarkable stability in the identity of the two major political parties

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The Golden Age

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the selection of party candidates through the ballots of qualified voters rather than at party nominating conventions

championed by the Progressive movement

removed the power of nomination from party leaders and workers and gave it instead to a much broader and more independent electorate

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direct primary

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these acts removed the staffing of the bureaucracy from political parties and created a professional bureaucracy filled through competition

Progressive movement reform contributing to reduced party influence in the United States

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civil service laws

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politics that focuses on specific issues rather than on party, candidate, or other loyalties

gained support in the post-WWII era through weakening of party systems

encourages ticket-splitting

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issue-oriented politics

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politics that focuses directly on the candidates, their particular issues, and character, rather than on party affiliation

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candidate-centered politics

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a shifting of party coalition groupings in the electorate that remains in place for several elections

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party realignment

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an election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues

1800 - TJ's formation of the Democratic-Republican Party in reaction to the Federalist Party

1860 - Whig Party gradually dissolved because of slavery and the Republican Party won the presidency

Great Depression --> voters embraced the Democratic Party

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critical election

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last confirmed major realignment

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1928-1936 - 1932 election of FDR --> the majority of voters responded favorably to Roosevelt's New Deal policies, accepted his vision of society, and ratified their choice of the new president's party in subsequent presidential and congressional elections

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the gradual rearrangement of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shocks to the political system

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secular realignment

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a group made up of interests or organizations that join forces for the purpose of electing public officials

continuing mutual interest eliminates the necessity of forming a new one for every campaign or every issue

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coalition

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a statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a political party, usually promulgated at the national convention

also argues why its preferences are superior to those of the rival party

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national party platform

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a voting system that apportions legislative seats according to the percentage of the vote won by a particular political party

used in many European countries

encourages a multi-party system an can make it harder for one party to form a majority

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proportional representation

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an electoral system in which the party that receives at least one more vote than any other party wins the election

used in the United States

encourages the grouping of interests into as few parties as possible

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winner-take-all system

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a party meeting held in the presidential election year for the purposes of nominating a presidential and vice presidential ticket and adopting a platform

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national convention

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institutional collection of policy-oriented researchers and academics who are sources of policy ideas

influence party positions and platforms

dominated by Republicans

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think tanks

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a citizen's personal affinity for a political party, usually expressed by a tendency to vote for the candidates of that party

reinforced by the legal institutionalization of the major parties

parents are the single greatest influence

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party identification

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a general decline in party identification and loyalty in the electorate

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dealignment

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Era of Good Feelings

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1817-1825 - James Monroe's presidency during which party politics was nearly suspended at the national level

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the process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values

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political socialization

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what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time

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public opinion

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interviews or surveys with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feelings and beliefs of the entire population

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public opinion polls

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seminal work by Walter Lippmann in which he observed that research on public opinion was far too limited, especially in light of its importance

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"Public Opinion"

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unscientific surveys used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues and policies

used in "Literary Digest"

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straw polls

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a subset of the whole population selected to be questioned for the purposes of prediction or gauging opinion

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sample

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a method of poll selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected

it is actually impossible because no one has lists of every person in a group --> representative polling is used instead

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random sampling

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a variation of random sampling; census data are used to divide the country into four sampling regions

sets of counties and standard metropolitan statistical areas are then randomly selected in proportion to the total national population

used by most national surveys and commercial polls

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stratified sampling

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polls conducted as voters leave selected polling places on Election Day

results are used to help the media predict the outcome of key races

provide an independent assessment of why voters supported particular candidates

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exit polls

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a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll

makes predictions very difficult in a close election

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margin of error

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the coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals

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political ideology

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polls taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate

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push poll

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continuous surveys that enable a campaign to chart its daily rise or fall in support

involve small samples

fraught with reliability problems and vulnerable to bias but good at measuring trends

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tracking polls

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the entire array of organizations through which information is collected and disseminated to the general public

include print sources, movies, TV, radio, and internet material

make use of broadcast, cable, and satellite technologies to distribute information

powerful tool for both entertaining and informing the public

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mass media

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media providing the public with new information about subjects of public interest

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news media

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a form of newspaper publishing in vogue in the late nineteenth century that featured pictures, comics, color, and sensationalized, oversimplified news coverage

lowered journalistic standards to increase readership

used in the late 1800s and early 1900s by prominent publishers such as William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer

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yellow journalism

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a form of journalism, in vogue in the early twentieth century, concerned with reforming government and business conduct

rose from the Progressive movement

named by Teddy Roosevelt as a derogatory term used to describe reporters who focused on the carnal underbelly of politics rather than its more lofty pursuits

benefits - stimulated demands for anti-trust regulations and exposed deplorable working conditions in factories

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muckraking

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the traditional form of mass media, comprising newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and journals

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print media

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television, radio, cable, and satellite services

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broadcast media

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technologies, such as the internet, that blur the line between media sources and create new opportunities for the dissemination of news and other information

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new media

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an association of broadcast stations (radio or television) that share programing through a financial arrangement

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network

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local television stations that carry the programming of a national network

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affiliates

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an electronic delivery of news gathered by the news service's correspondents and sent to all member news media organizations

Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and United Press International (UPI)

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wire service

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expert consultants hired to discuss the dominant issues of the day in the news media

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pundits

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a form of niche journalism that targets media programming at specific populations within society

increases the chance that group members will rely on news that is appealing to their preexisting views --> could result in the further polarization of public opinion

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narrowcasting

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web-based journal entries that provide an editorial and news outlet for citizens

they have become webs of information, linking together people with common ideological or issue-specific interests

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blogs

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the collecting, reporting, and analyzing of news content by ordinary individuals

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citizen journalism

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act that deregulated whole segments of the electronic media - sought to provide an optimal balance of competing corporate interests, technological innovations, and consumer needs

result was the sudden merger of previously distinct kinds of media in order to create a more "multimedia" approach to communicating information and entertainment

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Telecommunications Act of 1996

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government attempts to regulate the substance of the mass media

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content regulation

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the rule that requires broadcast stations to sell air time equally to all candidates in a political campaign if they choose to sell it to any

exception is a political debate

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equal time rule

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act that says common carriers such as telephone companies are required to be neutral in the content they carry over their networks and cannot limit or censor individuals or organizations they may disagree with

internet service providers are not subject to this regulation

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Communications Act of 1934

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legislation advocated by many free speech advocates and high-tech firms that would define ISPs as common carriers, placing them on the same obligations of content neutrality to which companies offering telephone services must adhere

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net neutrality legislation

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Supreme Court ruled that the government could not prevent publication by the New York Times of the Pentagon Papers, classified government documents about the Vietnam War that had been stolen by Daniel Elsberg

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New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971)

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phenomenon of widespread resistance to war that grows out of the media's unfettered access to the front lines and broadcasts of graphic footage on television

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"Vietnam Syndrome"

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act that makes it a criminal offense for a Briton to publish any facts, material, or news collected in that person's capacity as a public minister or civil servant

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Official Secrets Act of 1911

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a document offering an official comment or position

usually printed on paper and faxed or handed directly to reporters

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press release

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a relatively restricted session between a press secretary or aide and the press

range of questions is limited to one or two specific topics

public figure is represented but does not appear in person

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press briefing

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an unrestricted session between an elected official and the press

provide a field on which reporters struggle to get the answers they need and public figures attempt to retain control of their message and spin the news and issues in ways favorable to them

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press conference

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information provided to a journalist that will not be attributed to a named source

used to elicit information that might otherwise never come to light

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on background

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information provided to a journalist that will not be attributed to a named source

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deep background

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information provided to a journalist that will not be released to the public

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off the record

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information provided to a journalist that can be released and attributed by name to the source

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on the record

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the Supreme Court concluded that "actual malice" must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure

makes it very difficult for public figures to win libel cases

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New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)

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the influence of news sources on public opinion

greater influence on uncommitted voters or on topics far removed from the lives and experiences of readers and viewers

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media effects

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the constant process of forming the list of issues to be addressed by government

news organizations can influence what we think about, even if they cannot determine what we think

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agenda setting

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the process by which a news organization defines a political issue and consequently affects opinion about the issue

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framing

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4 North Stars of Presidential Election

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1. Economy
2. War and Peace
3. Scandal
4. Social Issues

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Used by reporters from 1941 to 1966. Journalists reported and served the political establishment, taking stories and facts at face value and not reporting politicians’ missteps in their private lives. This type of journalism emerged due to wartime and continued into the JFK presidency, when Kennedy’s multiple adulterous relationships, some which caused significant conflicts of interest, were not reported by the American press.

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lapdog journalism

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Prevalent from 1966-1974. Reporters scrutinized and checked the behavior of political elites by undertaking independent investigations into statements made by public officials.

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watchdog journalism

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A phenomenon in journalism where the range of standards acceptable to individual reporters and their outlets has become enormous and stories produced under the lowest standards sometimes get the widest circulation.

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LCD Journalism

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Refers to the Republican domination of the South, small-towns, and the suburbs. Voters in theses three group consistently vote for the GOP, some because of social conservatism, and others because of fiscal conservatism. Until the 2008 election, where Obama was able to slightly break it, these demographics were virtually uncontested for the Republican party.

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Republican Lock

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Refers to the tendency for major political figures to win votes for members of their party running for other political offices. In 2008, there was believed to be a large one for Barack Obama, as the Democrats dominated in Congressional and local elections as well.

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coattail effect

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total amount individuals can give per election cycle (every 2 years)

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$48,000

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overall limit for election cycle (PACs and candidates)

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$115,000