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76 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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the distribution of the populations' beliefs about politics and policy issues |
public opinion |
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we can use these characteristics of the population to generalize about public opinion |
demographics |
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Census is required by the Constitution every ___ years |
10 |
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the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census |
reapportionment |
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the process through which an individual acquires their political orientation |
political socialization |
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how a diverse group of people, from different backgrounds, and with different interests find middle ground and "get along" |
political socialization |
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how are politicians to know public opinion? |
-letters, e-mail, phone calls -media attention -public opinion polls |
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the level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll |
sampling error/margin of error |
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collective public opinion tends to be: |
stable |
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percentage of public that trusts the government |
25% |
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a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose |
political ideology |
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% conservative |
36 |
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% liberal |
24 |
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% moderate |
39 |
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all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue |
political participation |
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most salient issue in American politics |
the economy |
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overall set of values widely shared within a society |
political culture |
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specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or White House |
beats |
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international news leaks to assess the political reaction |
trial balloons |
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television news can affect what people think is important |
agenda-setting effect |
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the media influence the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders |
priming effect |
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media does this to raise issues to public and governmental attention |
play "watchdog" |
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priming relies on the notion that people: |
-make decisions based on information that is most successful -top of one's head response to survey question |
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priming effects are strongest with: |
television news |
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dominant linkage institution in American politics |
media |
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how an issue is characterized by the news (influencing the public) |
framing |
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television emphasizes appearance |
style over substance |
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an organization of people withs hared policy goals entering the policy process who try to achieve those goals |
interest groups |
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policy specialists |
interest groups |
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policy generalists |
political parties |
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politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred politics |
pluralist theory |
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societies are divided along class lines and an upper-class elite rules, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization |
elite theory |
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groups are so strong that government is weakened |
hyper-pluralist theory |
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communication by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decision-maker with the hope of influencing his decision |
lobbying |
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group involvement in election process (help funding campaigns and getting members to work for candidates) |
electioneering |
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political funding vehicles created by 1974 campaign finance reforms - used by interest groups to donate money to candidates |
Political Action Committee (PAC) |
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resolving disputes in the court system/courts offering a remedy if interest group fails |
litigation |
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briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" to raise additional points of view and present information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties |
amicus curiae briefs |
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cultivate own public image through advertising and marketing (encouraging voters to contact legislators, vote for or against legislators) |
going public |
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interests in TX |
business, agriculture, labor unions, ethnic groups, professions |
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interest groups in TX are: |
strong |
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a wide open government forces groups to compete and counterbalance each other, and thus balance democracy |
pluralists |
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if groups are not equal, then interest groups are not good for democracy |
elitists |
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key to interest group success |
-single-issue groups -focus on emotional issue -intensity -protest -financial resources |
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PACs an example of: |
electioneering |
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what do lobbyists do? |
-source of information -help politicians plan political strategies for legislation -help politicians plan political strategies for reelection campaigns -source for ideas and innovations |
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does lobbying work |
there's mixed evidence to support it |
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interest groups try to shape policy through: |
-lobbying -electioneering -litigation -going public |
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collective action and the free rider problem are observations of |
rational choice theory |
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some people don't join interest groups because they benefit from the groups activities without officially joining |
free-rider problem |
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the free-rider problem is particularly problematic for: |
large groups |
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how is the free-rider problem overcome? |
providing selective benefits (think AAA) |
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a good that, once provided, cannot be withheld from a non group member |
collective or public goods |
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-individuals have no rationale to join a group that already provides a good it is not in an individual's self-interest to pay for something that is already provided |
collective action problems |
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types of interest groups |
economic, environmental, equality, consumer & public interest lobbies |
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types of economic interest groups |
labor, agriculture, business |
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iron triangle |
policy-making relationship between bureaucracy, interest groups, and Congress |
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subgovernments consist of a network of groups that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas (give type of theory this connects to as well) |
iron triangle; hyperpluralism |
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groups have become too powerful to try to appease every interest |
hyperpluralism |
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lobbying is a problem because it benefits the few at the expense of many |
elitism |
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only a few benefit, public interest does not prevail |
elitism |
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groups play by the "rules of the game" |
pluralism |
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lobbying is open to all so it is not problematic (thus public interest will prevail) |
pluralism |
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a linkage institution for all |
pluralism |
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interest groups are strongest where: |
parties are weakest |
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amiture legislator means TX lawmakers need: |
expertise from lobbyists |
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decentralized executive: |
increase points of access for lobbying; more interest groups |
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TX interest groups Direct means of influence: |
-lobbying to affect legislation -filing suit in Court -advising the state |
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TX interest groups indirect means of influence |
-electioneering; campaign contributions -educating and socializing the public |
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television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet |
mass media |
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staged events that look spontaneous (leads to?) |
media events; superficial stories |
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major corporations control most of the print media to compete with other news media |
corporate consolidation |
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most informative media |
newspapers |
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media that encouraged press conferences (which president used this?) |
radio; Roosevelt |
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media trumps parties as the dominant linkage institution in American politics today because: |
television encourages individualism, which decreases influence of political party |
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candidates run on their own by appealing to people on television |
individualism & the media |
