1. List 3 demographic/ socioeconomic traits associated with the Democrats & 3 traits associated with the Republicans.
Democrats:
1. Working class & poor
2. People of color/ minorities
3. Live in cities & on the coasts
4. Younger
Republicans:
1. Rich
2. White people
3. Southern states & mid- West
4. Older
2. Describe & explain @ least 4 of political party functions
>Recruiting candidates for government office
>Educating the public
>Operating the government
>Dispensing patronage (rewards for supporters)
3. Basic political beliefs of Democrats & Republicans?
Democrats:
1. Gov't should regulate economy to be more fair & provide safety nets
2. Secular gov't (separated from religion)
3. Higher taxes (for social programs)
Republicans:
1. Less gov't regulation in economy= More productivity
2. Believe religion can
4. 3 types of third parties... What makes it difficult for 3rd parties to win election in the US?
1. Single issue party (issues get resolved= party absorbed) (Prohibition Party)
2. Ideological party (ex. Libertarian, Green)
3. Splinter party- splits away from major party b/c conflicting ideas (ex. Dixiecrats)
> Difficult b/c 2 main parties= more fundi
1. 3 propaganda techniques.. how can influence an election?
1. Labelling- Name calling
2. Spin- Interpreting a political event/ statement from particular point of view
3. Card stacking- Giving one side of facts to support candidate's position
> Media has influence on public opionion
1. Main objectives of interest groups & how they can affect public policy
Main obj: influence gov't thru collective action & organization
Affect: lobbying, educate voters, fund campaigns & candidates, can write bills
2. How do lobbyists affect the political process? Give 3 examples & explain.
1. Can write bills that have potential to become law
2. Providing useful info to Congress members that can sway their stance on an issue
3. Testify before committees
3. Five factors that shape public opionion
1. Family & home influence
2. Schools
3. Peer groups
4. Social characteristics- Working or middle class, or minority, age
5. Mass media
4. Describe some of the different types of interest groups and how they are not created equal.
1. Business-Related interest groups
> Work to decrease regulation, less oversight, lower interest rates, lower taxes.
2. Labor-Related Interest Groups
> Works to better conditions of workers in labor unions (typically). Ex: United Min Workers & United Aut
5. What is a PAC & how do PAC's influence politics?
Political Action Committee- dedicated to fundraising for political campaigns.
> Indirectly donate $$ to candidates that represent their interests.
> Large % of funding comes from PACs in the form of commercials, ads, & single issue ads
6. Roles of: polls, campaign advertising, & controversies over campaign funding.
Polls- Used to predict outcomes of elections & gauge popular opinion. Can sway people's votes.
Campaign advertising- Esp in swing states, lots of campaign funds are directed towards ads that can sway people's opinion in the form of TV ads, internet ads, a
1. How does civil society provide opportunities for individuals to associate for social, cultural, religious, economic and political purposes.? How does civil society make it possible for people individually or in association w/ others, to bring their inf
1. Join organizations that represent an interest group.
2. Communicating/ writing with officials, protesting, action alert, petitions, grassroots organizing, volunteering @ organization/ phone booth.
2. Describe the ways that citizens use to participate in the political process? (ex. voting, campaigning, lobbying. etc)
-> Voting- Can vote for representatives or measures that represent their interests
-> Campaigning- Organizing to gather support for a candidate or measure by phone banking people in a community or educating citizens on measures/ issues
-> Lobbying- Direct
3. Discuss meaning/ importance of free & responsible press. Describe roles of broadcast, print, and electronic media (including internet) as way of communicating in American politics. Explain how public officials use the media to communicate with the citi
1. Free & responsible press= Media outlets finding balance between free press & providing unbiased news coverage.
2. How public officials use media to communicate w/ public= Directly communicate with citizens on Internet thru social media. Educate the pub
4. 5 steps in the process of being elected President of the U.S.
1. Preparation- Gathering resources, organizing campaign, fundraising.
2. Announcement/ Official Bid- Saying which party you're running for (making it public)
3. Campaigning- Speeches, Interviews, Campaign ads, Getting support from other politicians
4. Pr
political party
A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy
ideologies
Basic beliefs about government
independent
not owned or controlled by, or does not receive money from, another organization or the government
national convention
A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules.
national committee
National party organization that, with Congressional leaders and President, runs party affairs between national conventions, (DNC and RNC, each is headed by a chairperson).
patronage
Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support
caucus
A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.
direct primary
Election in which voters choose party nominees.
open primary
A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place
plurality
Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.
ticket
The purpose of a national convention is to select a ticket
platform
a series of statements expressing the party's principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of campaign finance information and public funding of presidential elections, and enforcing contr
political action committee
A committee set up by a corporation or interest group to raise and funnels money to political candidates. Donation amounts to PACs are limited by FECA rules (hard money).
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
also called the mccain-feingold act, the federal legislation 1- restricts soft money spent by political party and 2- regulated expenditures on ads that refer to specific candidates immediately before an election and 3- increased limits on hard money donat
soft money
Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.
precinct
district of a city
absentee ballot
One that allows a person to vote without going to the polls on Election Day
propaganda
Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.
interest groups
aggregates of individuals based on a limited range of shared concerns. They promote their policy agenda, in large part by providing legislators and policy makers with specialized information in issues.
publish interest groups
to provide a forum for experts in the digital publishing ecosystem of electronic journals, magazines, news, or book publishing
lobbying
A strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of the legislature.
public opinion
the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues
political culture
A set of basic values and beliefs about one's country or government that is shared by most citizens and that influences political opinions and behaviors
liberal
A person whose views favor more govt involvemnt in business, social welfare, minority rights, &increased govt spending
conservative
A person who believes government power, particularly in the economy, should be limited in order to maximize individual freedom.
moderate
Person whose views are between conservative and liberal and may include some of both ideologies
straw poll
Early form of polling that asks the same question of a large number of people
scientific polling
Tool developed in the twentieth century for systematically investigating the opinions of ordinary people, based on random samples.
sample error
error caused by observing a sample instead of the whole population.
mass media
Forms of communication, such as newspapers and radio, that reach millions of people.
front runner
(n) the person or thing that seems most likely to win or succeed
prior restraint
A government preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is usually unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case
shield laws
state laws that protect journalists from having to reveal their sources
fairness doctrine
Old FCC rule requiring media stations to provide different viewpoints for any controversial political issue