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210 Cards in this Set
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bureaucracy
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system of organization and control that is based on hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules
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hierarchical authority
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chain of command where people at the top have authority over the people in the middle and so on
efficient because reduces conflict |
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job specialization
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each person has only one job to do and they get really good at it
efficient becuase each person concentrates on a specific job |
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formalized rules
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standardized procedures and regulations by which bureaucracy is forced to conduct operations
efficient because enable workers to make quick decisions |
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cabinet departments
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15 of them
head of each department is its secretary (except for department of justice--led by attorney general) responsible for general knowledge area and have operating units (bureau, agency, divisions, service) part of the president's cabinet |
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independent agencies
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same as cabinets just narrower area of responsibility
ex: CIA and NASA could be departments but would look bad (putting NASA in department of defense looks like its all military |
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regulatory agencies
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Congress creates them when they recognize the importance of close regulation of an economic activity
could be done by Congress but requires moer attention issue regulations and judge whether organizations have followed the |
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government corporations
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charge clients for service but get federal funding
directors appointed by president with senate approval ex: postal service |
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presidential commissions
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give advice to president
some are permanent like Commission on Civil Rights some are temporary and disband after making recommendations on an issue |
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types of federal employees
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professionals--give expertise to solve problems
service workers--perform tasks like delivery of mail middle and top managers--supervise work of various agencies |
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merit system
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when employees are hired based on tests, experience, and education
intended to protect public from biased administrative practices (partisanship) |
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downsides to federal employment
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underpaid in comparison to private sector
can form labor unions but they can't strike or they get fired can't hold key positions in campaigns |
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Graded Service job ranking
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federal employees have levels of employment (GS-1 through GS18)
they rise through the ranks as they work there longer and get more experience higher levels get paid more |
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Taft-Harley Act
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prohibits federal workers striking and if they do they can get fired
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Hatch Act
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prohibits federal employees from holding key positions in election campaigns
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Merit Service Protection Board
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handles appeals of civil servants who have been fired or face disciplinary action
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Office of Personnel Management
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handles hiring and classification of federal employees
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powers granted to bureaucracy by constitution
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none
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primary function of administrative agencies
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policy implementation
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policy implementation
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carrying out decisions made by Congress, president, and courts
sometimes make policy by determining how they are followed out ex: made Bell company open networks to AT&T for cheaper than what they charged retail customers to promote competition cheif way they exercise real power |
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secondary function of administrative agencies
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delivery of services
sometimes determines policy ex: FBI pursue organized crime more than white collar crime becuase they want to not becuase they are told to |
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patronage system
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give bureaucratic management positions to people based on good sense, not necessarily experience
top administrators should be in office for short periods of time to ensure influx of new ideas |
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spoils system
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placing political friends in government office to reward them for support
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neutral competence
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goal of merit-based bureaucracy
competent because employees are hired on basis of skills neutral because employees are not partisen and do work for everybody, not just president or a specific political party |
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executive leadership system
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strengthened presidency as a means of coordinating bureaucracy's activities to make them more efficient
overcome agency boundaries can potentially give president too much leverage over bureaucracy and limits the checks that Congress has on executive branch |
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ways the president uses executive leadership system
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Office of Management and Budget
Executive Office of the President |
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Office of Management and Budger
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gives president authority to coordinate annual budget
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Executive Office of the President
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oversees actions of agencies on the president's behalf
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agency point of view
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bureaucratic administrators look only only for their agency's point of view
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power of expertise
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essential to developing public policy
bureaucracies give advice and guidance to Congress |
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power of clientelle groups
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groups whose interest align with a specific agency
put pressure on Congress to give hunding and support to their agencies |
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power of friends in high places
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sometimes agencies resources can help elected officials, and then the officials help the agencies
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efficiency of bureauccracy
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bureaucracies often more efficient than private organizations
ex: reitrement agencies, health care sometimes efficiency is a bad standard ex: FAFSA--if they did it on who turned in their shit first it would suck so they have to be inefficient and judge each application individually |
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bureaucratic accountability
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degree to which bureaucrats are held accountable for the power they exercise
primarily watched by oversight function |
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ways to exercise oversight function
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reorganization of bureaucracy
presidential appointments executive budget |
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presidential appointments
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president can appoint head of agencies, etc to keep them in line
downside is that pres can't keep track of all appointees and some of them have little knowledge of the agency they head |
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executive budget
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watched by the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President
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Executive Office of the President
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holds the Office of Management and Budget
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Office of Management and Budget
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no agency can issue regulation or propose legislation without OMB verification
assigns each agency a budget limit |
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Congressional control over bureaucracy
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mostly through authorizing funds--Government Accountability Office and Congressional Budget Office
sunset law |
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Government Accountability Office
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monitors whether policies are being implemented as Congress intended
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Court control over bureaucracy
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judges can order agency to change its application of the law
ex: black farmer showed that the department of agriculture gave more money to white farmers so the courts told them to even it out |
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bureaucracy holding itself responsible
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whistle blowing
demographic representativeness |
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whistle blowing
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reporting instance of official mismanagement
whistle blowers sometimes provided with monetary rewards doesn't happen often becuase whistle blowers are afraid of retaliation |
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demographic representativeness
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having administrative positions in the bureaucracy would represent accurate opinions of the public
doesn't really work becuase they would just work for their own agency, not their demographic |
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grassroots party
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built from the bottom up with organizations at the local, state, and national levels
membership open to all eligible voters |
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party reallignment
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when parties remake themselves to support new policies and philosophies
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party identification
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when a certain sector of the public tends to vote with a certain party (young voters tend to support the party that 'rises from the dust' and challenges the status quo)
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split ticket
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casting a ballot on which their vote for each office is divided
voters don't just vote for democrats, they vote for republicans in some offices |
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partisan voting
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voting strictly for a single party
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prospective voting
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voter chooses a candidate on the basis of what the candidate promises to do
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retrospective voting
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based on a judgment about past performance
more common form of issue voting |
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two-party system
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having only two major parties to chose from
happens because we have single-member districts |
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multiparty system
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more than two parties are represented in government
usually with proportional representation |
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single-member districts
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when we elect people in districts and the percentage of the vote there rather than the percentage of vote as a whole in the U.S.
discourages minor parties |
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proportional representation
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seats in legislature are given out according to the party's share of the popular vote
encourages minor parties |
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seeking the center
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when parties have really broad stances on issues so they can get the extreme vote and the moderate vote
nobody wants to give the entire moderate vote to the other side moderate voters make up most of the voting so ideologies that have moderation are the most successful |
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party coalition
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groups and interest that support a party
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Democratic coalition
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underdogs--ex:blacks, union members, poor, jews, minorities, etc
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republican coalition
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mainly middle class white protestants
strongest in suburbs and regions where traditional values and lower taxes are most pronounced |
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minor parties in the US
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formed to promote policies that followers believe are not adequately represented by either party
minor parties disappear quickly because they bring the issues to the attention of the major parties and then they take a stance on it--either way they serve their purpose |
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single-issue parties
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parties formed around a single issue of overriding interest to their supporters
ex: Prohibition party usually disband when their issue has been resolved or is less important |
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factional parties
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when internal conflict causes a major party to break up into pieces
ex: Bull Moose Party |
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ideological parties
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characterized by ideological committment to a borad and radical philosophical position
ex: socialist workers party, green party |
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party oganizations
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local, state, national level of party support
their job is to recruit candidates, raise money, develop policy positions, and canvass for votes |
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nomination
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selection of the individual who will run as the party's candidate in the general election
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primary election/direct election
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puts nomination in the hands of the voter
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closed primary
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participation is limited to voters registered or declared at the polls as member of the party whose primary is being held
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open pirmary
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allows independednt and voters of either party to vote in a party's primary
voters cannot participate in both parties primaries |
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blanket primary
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single primary ballot listing both republican and democratic candidates by office
voters don't have to vote along party lines for primaries |
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local party organization
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conduct registration drives, send mailing and hand out leaflets, and help get out the vote
most local campaigns not funded |
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what are the only two elections contested nationally?
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presidency and vice-presidency
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state party organization
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day-to-day operations appointed by central committee--often the party's leading politician
work at fundraising and voter registration |
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national party oreganization
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parties national conventions meet periodically so usually just set site of presidential nominating convention and rules governing selection of delegates
day-to-day handled by national chairperson chosen by national committee RNC and DNC run training for candidates, raise money, seek madia coverage, conduct issue and group research, help state and local parties |
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hard money
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goes directly to the candidate and can be spent as he or she chooses
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soft money
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cannot b ehanded over directly to candidate but the party could use the money they have to support party activites that directly benefit a specific candidate
now banned |
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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
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banned soft money
can be got around with 527 groups |
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527 groups
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can legally engage in issue advocacy which lets them attack candidates
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money chase
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candidates spend basically their whole political life trying to raise money for their compaigns
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hired guns
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a candidates team of experts on how to run their campaign
include consultants, pollsters, media producers, etc |
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packaging a candidate
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highlighting aspects of the candidate's partisanship, policy, personal backgroung, and personality that are the most attractive to voters
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air wars
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candidate's use of televised ads
candidates use press to get their message across for free televised debates also attract large and attentive audiences |
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web wars
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candidate websites and email instead of paper mail
disadvantages are that email is much easier to ignore than commercials or regular mail |
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voter turnout
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the proportion of adult citizens who actually vote in a given election
lower in midterm congressional elections registration requirement, frequency of election, and lack of difference between political parties contribute to low voter turnout |
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registration
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name must be on an official list of eligible voters before they can vote
turnout in US election declined steeply after registration was implemented |
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problems with registration
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times and location are not widely publicized
eligibility can be difficult to prove |
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motor voter law
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requires states to permit people to resiter to vote when applying for a drivers license and when applying for benefits at state offices
citizen must take time to fill out an application form so kind of sucks |
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problem with frequency of elections
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americans asked to voite 2 or 3 times more often than Europeans which increases their apathy to voting
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problem with party differences in voting
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parties have too broad of platforms so difficult to tell the difference between the two
if not enough of a choice difference, people don't want to vote |
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apathy in voting
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general lack of concern for politics
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civic duty in voting
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belief that you have an obligation to participate in public affairs
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alienation in voting
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sense of personal powerlessness in government
the notion that government is unresponsive to or uncaring of citizens people think that officials pay no attention to their subset in society |
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problem with age in voting
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young people don't vote as much
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typical voters
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ppl with top level of education are twice as likely to vote becuase their personal acheivement contributes to an interest in public affairs and the belief that they can make a difference
americans in the bottom thir income group are more likely than those in the top third to believe that election outcomes have no appreciable effect on their lives |
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how to become a federal judge
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nominated and appointed to office by president, but must be confirmed by majority vote in senate
no age, residency, or citizenship requirements to become a federal judge don't have to have legal training serve until death or retirement |
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jurisdiction
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authotiry of court to hear cases of a particular type
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original jurisdiction
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authority to be the first court to hear a case
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appellate jurisdiction
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authority to review cases that have already been heard in lower courts and are appealed to a higher court by the losing party
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appellate courts
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have appellate juridiction
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primary function of the judiciary
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to interpret the law in such a way that rules made in the past can be applied reasonably in the present
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precedent
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judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature
lower cases are expected to follow precedent and resolve cases in a similar way to how higher courts have in the past |
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writ of certiorari
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losing party in a lower court case explains in writing why the case should be heart by the Supreme Court
4 of 9 justices must decide that accept the case |
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solicitor general
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high ranking justice department official who serves as the government's lawyer in supreme court cases
his request to grant a writ of centiorari is usually granted by justices |
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types of cases the supreme court hears
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raise major constitutional issues
affect lives of many americans address issues that are being decided inconcsistently by the lower courts involve rulings that conflict with a previous supreme court decision |
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written briefs in the supreme court
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contains each sides complete arguement
more important than oral arguments |
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judicial converence
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attended by all 9 justices
they discuss and vote on the case |
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decision of supreme court
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indicates which side the corut supports and by how large a margin (how many judges voted for it)
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opinion
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explains the reasons behind the decision
most important party of a supreme court ruling because it contains the legal reasoning |
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majority opinion
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when a majority of the justices agree on the legal reasoning behind the decision
not always because sometimes the majority agree on the decision but not the reasoning |
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plurality opinion
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when there is not a majority opinion, the plurality opinion present that view held by most of the justices who side with the winning party
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consurring opinion
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a separate view written by a justice who votes with the winning side but doesn't have to same reasoning behind it as other judges
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dissenting opinion
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written by judges who don't agree with who won to explain the reasons why they thought that party should have lost
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who writes the opinion
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if the cheif justice if part of the majority then he decides (usually given to self in important cases)
if not, then the senior member of the majority decides |
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per curiam
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unsigned decision of the supreme court that states the facts of the case and the courts ruling
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district courts
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lowest courts
at least one in every state and up to 4 in some states judges appointed by the president with consent of the senate only courts where judges hear testimony most federal caess end with the district courts decision |
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court of appeals
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where cases go after being appealed at the district level
do not use juries base decision on a review of lower court records appellate judges are supervisors in the legal system and review trial court decisions and correct what they think are legal errors 13 in the US covering 3-9 states with 4-26 judges serving but each case usually heard by a panel of 3 each circuit monitored by a supreme court justice |
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the only place to have their own court of appeals
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washinton dc
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US court of appeals for the federal circuit
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specializes in appeals involving patents and internation trade
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special US courts
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US claims court (cases where US gov is being sued for damages)
US court of international trade (handles caess inolving appeals of US customs office rulings) US court of military appeals (hears appeals of military courts-martial) |
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state courts
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each state decides for itself the way that judges are chosen (appointment or election or merit plan)
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merit plan of choosing judges
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governor picks judges based on a list of acceptable candidate provided by a judicial selection commission
judge gets periodically reviewed by the voters |
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politcal power throught appointing the supreme court
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can be appointed based on political standing
then influence policy for years to come on the basis of that party this means presidents appoint according to their political party |
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senatorial courtesty
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applies to lower court nominees
means that if a senator from the state in which a vacancy has arisen should be given a say in the nomination of the senator is of the same party as the president |
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presidents role in appointing lower court judges
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screening nominees is often delegated to deputy attorney general
senatorial courtesy |
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role of partisanship in judge nominations
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presidents chose members of their own party
even though the judges rule on legal basis and a political one, partisanship can influence judicial decisions |
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role of things besides partisanship in appointing judges
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usually have prior judicial experience
white males usually dominate democrats tend to appoint more women and minorities than republicans--supreme court is less demographically representative than lower courts |
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restrictions on the court's power
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courts can't issuing a ruling on anything unless presented with a court
ruling restricted to who would follow them voluntarily unless the court issues a mandate that everybody must courts must make decisions based on current laws and cannot create them itself |
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types of law
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civil law
criminal law procedural law |
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civil law
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governs realtions between private parties
ex: divorce, business contracts, property transactions |
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criminal law
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deals with acts that the government defines as illegal and that can result in a fine, imprisonment, or other punishment
government is always a party in criminal law case and the other party is the individual that allegedly committe the crime |
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procedural law
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refers to rules that govern the legal process
ex: miranda rights |
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contraints to the courts
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constitution
legislative statutes precedents |
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constitutional constraint on the courts
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judges must uphold whatever it says in the constitution first and foremost
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contraint of legislative statutes on the courts
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judges must work within applicable law and cannot prosecute beyond the extent of the law
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statutory law
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law enacted by a legislative body
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administrative law
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derived from statutory law but swet by government agencies
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legal precedents constraint on the courts
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courts follow previously set examples
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public opinion and its effect on the courts
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courts stay close enough to public opinion to avoid massive resistance to their decisions
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interest groups and their effect on the courts
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interest groups file lawsuits to get the precendent they want becuase law isn't likely to change in their favor through legislation
amicus curiae |
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amicus curiae
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"friend of the court"
brief in which an enterest group presents its views on a case in which it is not one of the parties directly involved |
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ways congress can change the court
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can control size of court system
can rewrite laws that they think the court has misinterpreted |
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strict constructionism
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says judicial officer should apply a narrow interpretation of the law
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loose constructionism
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says that a judicial officer can apply an expansive interpretation of the law
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judicial review
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power of courts to declare legislation to be unconstitutional
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legitimacy in the courts
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tauthority of the judiciary in a political system based in part on the principle of majority rule
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judicial restraint
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judges should work closely within the wording of the law, follow precedent, and defer to decisions made by lesgilature
basically says public issues should be decided by legislature and not courts believed that restraint means more public compliance with the ruling |
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judicial activism
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says judges should actively interpret the constitution, statutes, and precedents in light of established principles when legislature ignores those principles or rights
says judges must prevent majorities from working through legislators to violate legitimate rights of the minority protects the people from the government's neglect |
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political socialization
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learning process by which people acquire their political opinions, beliefs, and values
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process of political socialization
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influenced heavily by childhood learning
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age-cohort tendency
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a significant change in the pattern of political socialization is typically concentrated among younger citizens
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agents of socialization
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family
schools mass media peers political leaders church |
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effect of families on socialization
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has most of the attention of young children
family contributes to basic orientation that have political significance ex: equality, individualism |
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effect of schools on socialization
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build support for the nation (teach pledge, GW, MLK, etc)
contribute to sense of social equality |
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effect of mass media on socialization
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themes and images that dominate media affect perception of the world
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effect of peers on socialization
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reinforce what a person already believes
people are unwilling to deviate too far from what their peers think |
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effect of political leaders and institutions on socialization
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leaders guide opinions of the public
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effect of churches on socialization
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shape social and political positions
people take religious values and relate them to politics |
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lliberals
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those who say that government should do more to solve US problems
say government ought not to support raditional values at the expense of less conventional ones |
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conservatives
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feel government should be sparing in its programs
feel government should use its power to uphold traditional values |
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libertarians
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are reluctant to use government either as a means of economic redistribution or as a means of favoring particular social values
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populists
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would use government both for economic redistribution and to guard traditional values
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religion effecting politics
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as a typical group, more conservative
religious right=most powerful religious force in the country right now |
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class effecting politics
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people tend to group together with their economic class and people of similar employment
poorer people like social welfare programs |
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region effecting politics
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red states and blue states (red=conservative)
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race and ethnicity effecting politics
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usually a result of differing economic situations and histories
black less likely to trust police and courts |
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gender effecting politics
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generally differ on topics like military forst, abortion rights, social welfare, and education with women being more liberal
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age effecting politics
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elderly tend to oppose increases in public school funding but support increases in social security
stems from face that young people are served by different faction of government than elderly |
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crosscutting cleavages
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when individuals belong to more than one group and have contact with many opinions
encourage individuals to appreciate differences which leads them to more moderate differences |
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2 characterisitcs of an interest group
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1) organized membership
2)pursuit of policy goals that stem from its members shared interest |
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economic groups
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interest groups that exist primarily for economic purposes
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organizational edge of economic groups
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access to financial resources
corporations especially becaues they don't have to charge money to belong because they make money from business income private goods and material incentives are reasons to join |
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private goods
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benefits that a group can grant directly to the individual member
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types of economic groups
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business groups
labor groups agricultural groups professional groups |
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business groups
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concentrate activities on policies that touch directly on business interests (tax, tarriffs, regulatory decisions)
have advantage of the size factor |
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labor groups
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goal is to promore policies that benefit worker in general and union members in particular
unions are used to organize service and public employees |
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agricultual groups
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don't always agree on issues (small and large farms as well as specialty associations)
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professional groups
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promote or oppose legislation according to interests of their represented group (AMA and doctors)
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citizens groups
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noneconomic groups
frawn together by purposive incentves |
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purposive incentives
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opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe
have a hard time acquiring resources necessary for organization offer collective goods as incentive to membership |
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collective goods
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benefits that belong to everybody (public parks)
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free-rider problem
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individuals can receive the benefit of a public good even if they don't contribute to the group's effort
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types of citizens groups
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public interest groups
single-issue groups |
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public interest groups
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claim to represent broad interest of society as a whole
problem is that the issues they target are those the leader wants to |
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single-issue groups
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organized to influence policy in just one area
EX: NRA environmental groups could be a single issue or a public interest |
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ideological groups
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have a broad agenda that derives from a philosophical or moral position
ex: Christian coalition, national organization for women |
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lobbying
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efforts by groups to inluence public policy through contract with public officials
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inside lobbying
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based on group efforts to develop and maintain close "inside" contacts with policymakers
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lobbying congress
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ensures that a group's bill even gets on the agenda
also educate policymakers on the facts |
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lobbying executive agencies
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can influence policy decisions at the implementation and initiation stages
groups assist agencies by providing support when their programs and budgets are renewed by congress and the president |
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lobbying the courts
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can influence selection of federal judges to support their political positions
also use lawsuits to influence courts when they can't make a difference through legislation |
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iron triangles
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consists of a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislator, and lobbyist who seek to develop policies beneficial to a particular interest
ex: department of agriculture, farm groups like associate milk producers, and agriculture committees of congress |
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issue networks
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an informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists brought together temporarily by their shared interest in a particular policy probem
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outside lobbying
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involves bringing public "outside" pressure to bear on policymakers
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grassroots lobbying
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a type of outside lobbying
pressure designed to convince government officials that a group's policy position has popular support ex: AARP |
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political action committee
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gets funds from groups and uses them to support a candidate
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objective journalism
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based on reporting the facts instead of opinion
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signaling role
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role of journalists to alert the public to important developments as soon as possible after they happen
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agenda setting
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ability of media to influence what is on people's minds
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common-carrier role
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role of media to provide political leaders a channel through which to communicate with the public
helps both leaders and the public |
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watchdog role
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role of media to expose any official who violates accepted legal, ethical, or performance standards
imposes checks on those who hold power |
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public representative role
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role of media as spokesperson for and advocate of the public
obstacles: media not subject to level of public accountability require of a public representative; representation requires a point of view and they cannot be objective |
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2 types of employees
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partonage
civil service |
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patronage employees
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appointed by president
hired based on political connections more than job skills lasts 3-8 years |
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civil service employees
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career bureaucrats
hired and promoted based on skills lasts about 20-30 years |
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sources of presidential power
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presidential popularity
unified government appointment power budget power control of information |
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common law
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based on norms and traditions of socieety and judicial precedent
flexible--adjusts easily to changing circumstances |
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codified law
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statutory law
laws passed by legislature and written down and made available to all |
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two types of legal systems
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adversarial system
inquisitorial system |
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adversarial system
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2 advocates (lawyers) present competing voersions of an event
and impartial body (jury) decides whic hstory is true separate impartial body (judge) makes sure rules are followed |
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inquisitorial system
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judge acts as an investigator digging through evidence and seeking witnesses in order to discover the truth
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