Pols Final Exam Guide

Front 1

Bureaucracy

Back 1

Executive branch departments, agencies, boards, and commissions that carry out the responsibilities of the federal government

Front 2

Patronage

Back 2

Political system in which government programs and benefits are awarded based on political loyalty to a party or politician

Front 3

Pendleton Act:

Back 3

Act that established a merit and performance-based system for federal employment

Front 4

Civil Service Commission

Back 4

Created by the Pendleton Act to administer entrance exams for federal civil service and set standards for promotion based on merit

Front 5

Civil Service:

Back 5

System of employment in federal bureaucracy under which employees are chosen and promoted based on merit

Front 6

Federal Regulatory Commission

Back 6

Federal organization that has a defined number of appointed overseers to oversee a particular issue (economic or political)

Front 7

Independent Agencies

Back 7

Federal Organization that has independent authority and does not operate within a cabinet department

Front 8

Federal Corporation

Back 8

Federal organization that is similar to a private business in that it provides a service or commodity for a price to the public but that also received federal funding

Front 9

National Endowment

Back 9

Federal Organization that distributes funds to promote a public good or service

Front 10

Iron Triangle

Back 10

the relationship among interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies

Front 11

Federal Administration

Back 11

Federal organization responsible for running or administering a federal Program

Front 12

Political Party:

Back 12

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

Front 13

MULTI-PARTY SYSTEMS: Benefits

Back 13

More representative of the people (candidate choice = > representation)
Encourages cooperation & compromise (coalitions to form working majorities)
Reduces the probability of “tyranny of the majority”

Front 14

Multi-Party Systems: Challenges

Back 14

Less stability (splintering of coalitions)
Less accountability
Increases opportunity for special interest exploitation & ignoring geographic interests

Front 15

Winner-take–all-system

Back 15

Electoral system in which whoever wins the most votes in on election wins the election

Front 16

TWO – PARTY SYSTEMS: Strengths

Back 16

Most qualified person is selected
More political stability (reduces threat of faction)
Leaders and policy trend toward the middle
More responsive diverse interests

Front 17

TWO – PARTY SYSTEMS: Weaknesses

Back 17

Not as representative of the population (small parties have no chance to win)
Less compromise
Can lead to apathy when in the minority of a district

Front 18

Three Components of Political Parties

Back 18

Party Organization, Citizens Who identify with the Party, Officeholders Elected or Appointed in the Name of the Party

Front 19

Levels of Party Organization

Back 19

Local & County level: (First levels of political participation) Grassroots participation
State level: State committee (state leadership)
National level: National committee (National party leadership)

Front 20

Caucus

Back 20

Meeting of party members in town halls, schools, and private homes to:

Front 21

Delegate

Back 21

Individual(s) selected by party voters in a primary or caucus election who is committed to supporting a particular presidential nominee at the party’s national nominating convention

Front 22

Party Platform

Back 22

Document that lays out a party’s core beliefs and policy proposals for each presidential election.

Front 23

Functions of Political Parties

Back 23

Political Organization, Influence Government, Provide Party Identification

Front 24

Political Ideology

Back 24

Set of consistent political beliefs

Front 25

Political Realignment

Back 25

Long-term shift in voter allegiance from one party to another

Front 26

Liberal

Back 26

Individuals who have faith in government to improve people’s lives, believing that private efforts are insufficient.
Tend to oppose regulation relevant to personal choice
Tend to support regulation relevant to economics

Front 27

Independent

Back 27

Individuals who do not affiliate with either of the major political parties

Front 28

Moderate

Back 28

Individuals who are in the middle
of the ideological spectrum and do
not hold consistently strong views
about whether government should
or should not be involved in people’s
lives.

Front 29

Conservative

Back 29

Individuals who distrust government, believing that private efforts are more likely to improve people’s lives
Tend to be more supportive of the regulation of social issues
Tend to be resistant to economic regulations

Front 30

Third Parties

Back 30

Minor political parties that present a third alternative to two dominant political parties in the American political system

Front 31

The Impact of Minor Parties

Back 31

Influencing the Major Parties
Affecting the Outcome of an Election
Nader,

Front 32

Party Alignment:

Back 32

Party identification with a political party in repeated elections

Front 33

Australian vote

Back 33

Voting system in which state governments run elections and provide voters the option of choosing candidates from multiple parties

Front 34

Incumbents:

Back 34

Occupant of elected office

Front 35

Challengers

Back 35

Candidates seeking to unseat current officeholders

Front 36

Primary Elections

Back 36

Election in which voters select the candidates who will run on the party label in the general election

Front 37

Frontloading

Back 37

Moving a state primary or caucus earlier to increase its influence

Front 38

Types of Primaries

Back 38

Closed
Semi closed
Open
Runoff

Front 39

Who runs for office?

Back 39

Overwhelmingly white and male

Front 40

Flip-flopping:

Back 40

Changing position on an issue for reasons of political expediency

Front 41

Position Issues

Back 41

Political issues that offer specific policy choices and often differentiate candidate’s views and plans of action

Front 42

Matching

Back 42

Campaign strategy of closely aligning one’s views to the opponent’s position, making it more difficult for the public to differentiate the two.

Front 43

Valence Issues

Back 43

Non-controversial or widely supported campaign issues that are unlikely to differ among candidates.

Front 44

Public Opinion

Back 44

Aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials

Front 45

Approval Ratings

Back 45

Performance evaluation for the President, Congress, or other public official or institution

Front 46

Polls

Back 46

Methods for measuring public opinion

Front 47

Mass Media

Back 47

New sources, including newspapers, television, radio, and the internet, whose purpose is to provide a large audience with information about the nation and world

Front 48

News Media

Back 48

Subset of mass media that provides the news of the day, gathered and reported by journalists

Front 49

Watchdog Media

Back 49

Role of the press in monitoring the government

Front 50

Not-so-minimal effects model:

Back 50

View of the media’s impact as substantial, occurring by:

Front 51

Agenda Setting

Back 51

Ability of the media to affect the way people view issues, people, or events by controlling which stories are shown and which are not

Front 52

Priming

Back 52

Process whereby the media influence how the public views politicians by emphasizing criteria that make them look good or bad

Front 53

Framing

Back 53

Ability of the media to influence public perception of issues by constructing the issue or discussion of a subject in a certain way