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29 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Why does the US basically have a two-party system?
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Because of:
-Election Laws -Single Member Districts -Ballot requirements (hard to get a third party on the ballot) |
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What factors influence Interest Group strategies and tactics?
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-Goals
-Resources -Larger: Congress -Smaller: Courts (civil rights leaders had very little power, but helped change racial discrimination through sympathetic courts) -Incentives |
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Are interest groups good for Democracy?
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Good:
-educate citizens about what govt. is doing/ and about what citizens want -induce participation -express views of public that might not otherwise be heard -good competition for improving public policy Bad: -Elite dominance- there are no IG's for weaker parts of society -weaken the party system- people often want to support only 1 issue instead of many |
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Who Participates in politics?
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mostly the educated participate
Depends on: Education Socioeconomic Status Age (older you are the more you participate--until 60's) Race and Ethnicity(Whites more than AA's or hispanics) Religion(jews-higher part. rate) Region |
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What are the important characteristics of public opinion?
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Direction: What does the majority prefer?
Stability: How often does public opinion change? Intensity: How strong are the opinions? Salience: How important is the issue? How much do they care about it? |
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How do IG's affect Policy?
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The Inside Game-using a small number of people to pressure policy makers
The Outside Game- using a large number of people to pressure govt (ex: letter writing) |
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Why do people join Interest Groups?
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*Incentives
-Material: something physical you will receive for your contribution ex: public radio sends you a mug -Solidarity: being with like-minded people |
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How does socialization typically change over a person's life?
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*Childhood- Look up to leaders: sympathetic view of politics, vote w/ parents
*Adolescence- politics is a matter of conflict, begin to identify issues with parties, keener sense of cynicism *Young adults- views are set for life, generally *Major Political Events- ex: depression, war, new deal coalition, vietnam (mistrust) |
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What are the major functions of the media in American Politics
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-Connects citizens and the government
-Provides information -serves as a watchdog -Agenda setter (decides which issues are important) -Persuasion -expose wrong-doings in the govt. -media can influence public officials |
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What factors affect interest group influence?
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External Game:
*Interest groups are constitutionally protected; free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition *Campaign Finance laws restrict their power *Political Environment: Fragmentation: separation of powers--- interest groups have a lot of different bodies to affect--utilize presidential veto, congressional committees Growth of Govt-- Every new committee forms a policy that attracts Interest Groups The larger the govt. grows-- more interest at stake Internal Game: Membership *Breadth- AARP (elderly members) *Intensity- NRA (gun rights) *location- broad is better *prestige *mobilization- labor unions are very strong Internal Factors *Resources -contribution -lobbyists -legal representation -publicity -technology -mobilization *Ability to Cause trouble -green peace is effective *Lack of Opposition -other groups: no one opposes research for breast cancer -Public opinion |
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Who Has power??
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Guys: These are all of the notes I have gathered from everyone's notes on 'who has power'
-Multiple pieces of govt. have power at different times -constitution is the ultimate power, however it has been ignored (civil rights, abortion) -The public has power through votes -Interest groups have power, however, they often fight w/ each other -Political parties are powerful in organization and motivation but weak by intl standards |
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What is efficacy?
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If you believe that your participation matters
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Is Political news biased?
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Yes, it is biased.
-news ranges in opinion (conservatives vs. liberals) -choice presentation (slant) -comes in when determining certain issues in certain ways |
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What are interest groups?
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Individuals that come together to influence policy
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What are the impacts of the media on politics?
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Media has impact on
Elections: -Candidates- (how we percieve them) -Issues -Turnout Government: -President -Congress -Bureacracy -Courts |
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What is Political Socialization?
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The Complex process by which people acquire values, attitudes, and beliefs about politics.
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What is the inevitable dillemma of journalism in a democracy?
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The media's role is to inform and critique, so it must be free from governmental control.
--If the media is free, it can act in its own interest. --Therefore, the media's interests might not serve public interest---making it less democratic |
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What are the three important functions of Political Conventions?
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1. Meet with donors--raise $$$
2. Television--first way the U.S. gets a look at the candidates 3. Rallying supporters |
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What are the major elements of socialization?
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Family
Peers School Media, "sets the agenda" |
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What influences voting behavior?
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Choice
Party Identification Group Orientation- ex: christian coalition(republican), African Americans (Democrat) Issues- gun control, abortion etc Campaigns-mobilize your supporters, demobilize opponents supporters--negative campaigning will demobilize Retrospective voting (looks to the past to guide what will happen in the future, they ask "am i better off now than i was 4 years ago??") Prospective Voting- (looks to the future to see how one will help you) |
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What are the three main elements of Public Opinion?
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Values- core of who we are and what we stand for
Attitudes- Broad orientations toward public policy; based on values Opinions- depends on specific issues of the day (more flexible, it can change); based on attitudes |
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More Notes on Presidential Campaigns
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*The Primary system forces candidates to pick positions that they can win in.
Presidential campaigns involve difficult strategic choices to be made-- how far right or left should they lean-- or should they stay in the middle? |
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Why do people participate in politics?
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Interest
Efficacy Resources Knowledge |
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What are the purposes of Political Parties in the US?
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*To define roles and purposes of the Govt.
*To simplify voter choice *To win elections *To run the government |
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How representative are elections?
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Political equality (voting and resources)
Extent of Franchise Ease of Voting- registration--how available and easy is it Meaningful choice-often times voters aren't given any options that they want--- ex: VA voters were only given John Warner b/c he is so popular, democrats did not even run a challenger *incumbents spend more on reelections, it makes it harder for challengers to win *more money---better chance for winning--therefore making elections less representative |
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What are the two types of presidential campaigns?
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Primary-
Announcements, fundraising, retail campaigning (personal/direct appeals to the voters), caucuses and elections General- Electoral strategies, voter mobilization (and demobilization) , voting and the electoral college |
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What are the major forms of participation?
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*Voting
*Persuading others *Community work- Change your community, young people are more skeptical of electoral politics, and more supportive of volunteerism *Group activities- AARP, group of like-minded people working towards a common goal - interest groups spend more than politicians on advertisements *Personal Contact w/ officials *Campaign Activity- 1/10 of people do this, amount of volunteers is gradually getting smaller, they rely on paid staff and the media *Unconventional Participation- Illegal activities *Non-Participation- People think they can't change anything, some affluent people are satisfied--see no need to change anything, felon disenfranchisement |
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Who votes?
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Depends on:
Partisanship Education Income Age Perceptions Competitiveness |
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What are the three main 'publics'?
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Mass Public- The mass public is 75%-80% of the public
-they are apathetic, uninformed, unstable about opinions Attentive Public: 15%-20% Better informed, more involved, more stable opinions Opinion makers: actively engaged, make the opinions, newspapers |