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Definition
| The distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues |
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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 |
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| A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose |
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| The process through which an individual acquires their particular political orientation |
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| An overall set of values widely shared within a society |
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Term
| What influences the results of public opinion polls? |
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Definition
• Random sampling the key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample(KEY TO GOOD POLLS)
• Exit Polls: used by the media to predict election day winners
• May discourage people from voting |
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Term
| What are the trends of party identification? |
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Definition
•The self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
•Rise in Independents, decrease in Democrats |
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Term
| What is the "three-headed political giant"? |
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Definition
•Party in the electorate- largest part of three headed political giant
•Party as an organization- staff, laws, budget, activists, office, chair person, national convention, trying to win elections
•Party in government- consists of elected officials (members of Congress, President) |
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| What is the family's role in the process of political parties? |
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Definition
| Family has a monopoly with your emotions and time, which makes you mirror your parent's political interests |
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Term
| What does rational choice theory say about political parties? |
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Definition
| Assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives |
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Term
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Definition
•An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals
•Interest groups pursue their goals in many arenas |
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Term
| How are interest groups different from political parties? |
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Definition
•Political parties fight election battles; interest groups do not field candidates for office but may choose sides
•Interest groups are policy specialists; political parties are policy generalists |
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Term
| What is the free-rider problem? |
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Definition
•Some people don’t join interest groups because they benefit from the group’s activities without officially joining
•Large groups are difficult to organize |
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Term
| What is a collective good? |
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Definition
| Something of value that cannot be withheld from a group member |
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Term
| What are the advantages of single issue groups? |
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Definition
•These are groups that focus on a narrow interest, dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics
•Intensity encourages non-conventional means of participation, i.e.—protests |
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Term
| What are the strategies of interest groups? |
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Definition
•Lobbying- communication by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decisionmaker with the hope of influencing his decision
•Electioneering- Groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates
•Litigation- Class Action lawsuits permit a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated
•Going Public- Use marketing strategies to influence public opinion of the group and its issues and advertise to motivate and inform the public about an issue |
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Term
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Definition
•Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous.
•Media events can be staged by almost anybody |
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| What effect does television have on politics? |
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Definition
•Chief source of information as children age
•Generation gap is viewing television news |
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Term
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Definition
| •A “team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election” |
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Term
| What stories do journalists cover? |
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Definition
•Investigative Journalism: the use of an in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, putting reporters and politicians opposite each other
•“Yellow journalism”: Eye-catching headlines. A sensational style of reporting characterized newspapers at the turn of the century |
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Term
| How do the media affect individual vote choice? |
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Definition
| News will tell you what is important, what to think about, NOT who to vote for. |
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Term
| What are open and closed primaries? |
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Definition
•Closed primaries: Only people who have registered with the party can vote for that party’s candidates
•Open primaries: Voters decide on Election Day whether they want to vote in the Democrat or Republican primary |
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Term
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Definition
| •The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time |
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Term
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Definition
•The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election
•Rare event that is usually punctuated by a crisis or some trauma in our nation’s history |
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Definition
| Disengagement of people from parties as evidenced by shrinking party identification |
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Term
| What are the origins of the Republican and Democratic parties? |
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Definition
•Republican-Started in 1854 as the principle antislavery movement
•Democratic-Started in 1828-1856: Jackson and the Democrats Versus the Whigs |
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| Characteristics of the current party era |
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Definition
| •The current party era is an era of divided government (due to party dealignment and party neutrality) |
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| Structure of the Republican and Democratic parties |
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Definition
•National Convention: the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and the party’s platform
oThe supreme authority for the party
•National Committee: one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions
•National Chairperson: responsible for day-to-day activities of the party |
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Term
| Why are Iowa and New Hampshire important in American politics? |
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Definition
| If you do better in the Iowa or New Hampshire CAUCASES (different format than all other states) than expected, you can build momentum and get more media attention and raise campaign funds |
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Term
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Definition
•Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass-roots level or for generic party advertising. For a time, such contributions were unlimited until they were banned by the McCain-Feingold Act.
•Also, political contributions made in such a way as to avoid the United States regulations for federal election campaigns |
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Term
| Federal Election Commission |
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Definition
•Created by the Federal Election Campaign Act
•A bipartisan body with 6 members
•Administers campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements |
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Term
| Federal Election Campaign Act |
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Definition
| 2 Main Goals: to tighten reporting requirements for contributions and to limit overall expenditures |
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Term
| Political Action Committees |
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Definition
•Political funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms
•PACs are used by interest groups to donate money to candidates |
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Term
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Definition
| A party's official endorsement of a candidate for office |
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Term
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Definition
| The way in which candidates attempt to manipulate each of these elements to achieve the nomination |
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Term
| McGovern-Fraser Commission |
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Definition
| 1968 Democratic Convention that made the democratic conventions more representative and open to public input |
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Term
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Definition
| People who are awarded automatic slots as delegates based on the office they currently hold |
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Term
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Definition
| States' voters vote for their preference for a party's nominee for president |
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Definition
| Most attention is paid in the early state primaries |
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Term
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Definition
| If presidential candidates accept federal support, they agree to limit their campaign expenditures to an amount prescribed by federal law |
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Term
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Definition
| Named after the section of the federal tax code that governs these political groups |
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Term
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Definition
| Unlike 527 Groups, 501 groups can't spend more than half their funds on political activities |
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Term
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Definition
| Paying most attention to things you already agree with and interpreting events according to their own predispositions |
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Definition
| The belief that ordinary people can influence the government |
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| Urges people to support democratic government and get out and vote |
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Definition
| Made voter registration easier by requiring states to allow eligible voters to register by simply checking a box on their driver's license application |
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| Mandate theory of elections |
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Definition
| Idea that citizens vote for the candidate whose policy views they prefer, many journalists and politicians claim that the election winner has a mandate from the people to carry out the promised policies |
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Term
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Definition
| When people base their choices in an election on their own issue preferences |
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Definition
| Determines who becomes president of the U.S. |
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Definition
| Socialize and institutionalize political activity |
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