American Politics Final Exam

How does Congress decide what laws to pass?

Note: majority party within the House, Speaker of the House, Majority leader of the Senate, and the Minority leader of the Senate (since they can filibuster) all hold power in bringing bills to the floor and in passing legislation Social movements, the public, interest groups, and the media affect the creation of laws

Why do registration laws affect voter turnout?

People want nice and simple. When states have laws that make registration or voting more complicated people tend to not show up because it takes more time and energy. Registration to vote can be trickier than actual voting. Registration periods can happen when interest in a campaign is far from its peak. People are rational: they are not going to waste their time or energy on voting when they think it does little good

Why don't young people vote?

(Typically the inattentive public) Young people today do not feel they have much of a stake in society. Having children and owning property gives you a direct interest in how schools and hospitals are run, and whether parks and libraries are maintained. People who have not settled down are not much affected by political decisions, and their transient lifestyles can also make it difficult to vote. Education about the political system is another variable in why young americans do not vote.

What is the impact of lobbying (the attentive public)?

- "pressure" policy and political information (defined as how your constituents feel about this bill) - money = power - more money leads to effective acts that bring about the desired results

How do IG's affect elections?

- $PAC contributions - running an independent campaigns - mobilizing their own members - mobilizing other voters (non-members) - lobbying allows IG's to go straight to Congress when trying to pass bills into legislation

How can interest groups and social movements successfully form? What kinds of obstacles does each of them have to overcome to do so?

- A group of people have a common grievance that has been unaddressed and they come together to address this. - Usually social movements will arise when there are changes in the political opportunity structure (I.e. Movements arise when there is a shift in political power to a party or leader who is more likely to work WITH that group). - 1- leadership accountability: by having a leader to organize, the group will be more focused and organized, as well as holding the leader to transparency so that they cannot abuse their power -- PROBLEM: iron law of oligarchy states that eventually a leader will act in their own self-interests, even at the expense of the organization - 2- membership outreach: attracting members and keeping them over time is essential to survival too many members creates internal disagreements because there is too many opinions, but too little makes it hard for them to exert influence in policy system - 3-financial stability: require money to sustain organizations staff, lobbying, and information distribution this can allow them to influence members of congress around re-election - 4-influence in public sphere: they need to have influence to appear like they can make a difference. a good example is when they get quoted by the press. These movements can only keep going if they keep focus and avoid radicalism because the more radical the lets people will join.

What makes a social movement more likely to achieve its goals?

- A large number of people who seek to change public opinion and public policy through outsider tactics of collective action - Collective action: action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their status and achieve a common objective. It is enacted by a representative of the group. - there is no specific size necessary, no membership criteria, no formal structure, and it is not hierarchically organized - They emphasize outsider tactics (but not exclusively) and focus on protests more so than lobbying - keeping focus, although successful movements sometimes broaden - avoiding radicalization, but consensus movements generate radicals - cohesive social groups - organization is key - important members have to be really interested in the collective good to become leaders

Is the system fair to all groups? What would a pluralist say?

- A pluralist would say yes: pluralists believe that groups will form freely; that any group can form if its interests are at stake; and that all groups' interests will be represented. - Because all of the groups' interests are at stake, no one group will continuously dominate. Therefore the system is fair to all groups.

When do members of Congress pay attention to attentive publics? Inattentive publics? PACs that give them money?

- Attentive publics: citizens who know about an issue and has firm preferences about how Congress should act, usually members of interest groups. - Inattentive public: most people. Read/watch the news but do not pay attention to specific bills Congress is voting on and what each bill exactly entails. Knows the schedule of Congress. Does not have firm policy preferences nor is knowledgeable of what Congress is exactly doing. - Congress pays attention to attentive public on anything complicated, on anything media doesn't cover, on committee votes, procedural votes. Attentive public can affect how a member works with monetary threats. Serves the attentive public/interest groups on low profile issues. - Congress pays attention to inattentive public when inattentive public might notice what they do, when voting on bills that get a lot of media (ie healthcare reform, immigration, etc.), when voting on symbolic issues, when their own vote is inconsistent with their constituents (vote with their voters so they don't have to explain). Serves inattentive public/the median voter on high profile issues.

How do differences in individuals' and groups' participation rates potentially bias the political system toward the interests of some groups in society?

- Certain individuals and groups may be more invested in specific topics and so the people that will have an influence on the political policies will be those people who care deeply about that topic. It is also these groups of people who rally contributions and influence (in regards to number of members) in order to sway the votes of legislators in order to pass and kill bills that would help their agendas. - For instance, gun laws regarding anything from policies that affect the selling of ammunition or the number of licenses in a state, will be affected by people who are deeply invested in guns and want to use them or by those people who want more than anything to tighten gun restrictions. - Also, we can think about this in relation to social movements. Social movements arise because there is an unaddressed grievance or opportunity for change that may arise because of a change in the political structure (change in power from Democratic Representation to Republican Representation and vice versa). These interest groups will help to increase influence of the voice of groups of individuals that feel a certain way about an issue. Not all groups of people are represented by interest groups, for instance, there is not an interest group that represents the voices of college students, thus the voices of those people will not be heard as heavily or at all. - Because interest groups only represent their interests, there will be a potential bias in the political system towards the views of people represented by interests groups (those who have $$ and ways to persuade members of Congress will receive what they want).

How do the public's notions about presidential power affect the balance of powers in the Constitutional system?

- Dominguez said in class: "if the american people are okay with the president's actions, his power is going to expand!" - If the public's approval ratings of the president go up after a major legislative decision then future legislation is more likely to pass through Congress that the president wants because Congress wants constituents to be happy. And if we like the president, then we expect Congress to act accordingly. The more that the public agrees with the actions of the president the more backing he will have to further his agenda. But this is also a problem if the American people do not understand the context of how he is putting these rules into law because this can result in abuse of the power. - Congress will act against the president if public feels it is necessary - Presidents have also expanded their powers for instance signing statements which stretch their boundaries of power.

What strategies did African Americans use to overcome the obstacles to full citizenship placed in their way?

- Dred Scott sued in federal court for his freedom - non-violent protests - activities aside from voting - Brown vs Board of Education - boycotts (ex. sit-ins) - freedom rides, trips on interstate buses into segregated South - 1955 Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott - 1960 Greensboro, NC and other lunch counter sit-ins - 1961 Freedom Rides on interstate buses - 1963 Birmingham, AL demonstrations - 1963 March on Washington

What are some factors that affect whether or not certain individuals and groups in society will participate in politics? (hint: both the Logic text regarding the free rider problem and the textbook chapter on participation are relevant here, as are the lectures on voter participation and group formation)

- Failure to vote affects which representatives make laws and govern, and who governs has policy consequences that affect everyone in the united states - Inattentive (no knowledge or participation within the political system) vs. attentive (those who do participate; passionate about what they believe in) - We can consider what motivates people to vote and thus participate in politics: - Higher Education: -- More interest in politics (higher benefit) -- More background information to understand politics, and skills to get through the registration and voting process (lower costs) - There are interest groups which are groups that have organized to promote a political agenda, and then there are potential groups which are groups of people that have an interest in common, but who have not yet organized an interest group. - Some factors that influence whether or not certain individuals and groups in society will participate in politics , or move from being a potential group to an interest group are Free rider problem: one person's contribution to the collective good is small, and the idea that the collective good will be provided whether or not you contribute directly → many people think this way since we can think of people as being rational. For instance, one person riding their bike everyday to work will not solve any pollution issues, so practically no one does this, but if EVERYONE were to ride their bike to work, then there would be a major positive difference. But we are rational, and our small contribution is too minute for us to consider the costs to be worth it. → for instance, those college kids I discussed have not yet moved from being a potential group to an actual interest group and the free rider problem contributes to this because for instance, I think that some other college kids will get it started and I can maybe join later, but this is how we all think...so it doesn't happen! This would be considered the tragedy of the commons (collective goods exist but can be depleted or destroyed by overuse, and it is in everyone's private interest to overuse)

Describe Olson's argument about the logic of group formation.

- First, citizens must find a focal point to target their energies towards a common purpose - Producers can form a "trade group" because they have an interest in selling their product for as much money as possible. They organize and establish set prices. The organization of a trade group is entirely dependent on the participation of the members. If one producer refused to join, they can sell their product for less and dominate the market. It is difficult for this type of group to form because each producer wants to be the one that is dominating the market, hence their individual interests conflict with the collective interests of the group. - Another type of group is one that is seeking a benefit, but not selling product. Collective bargaining- negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an organized body of employees. Workers can form unions to drive up wages and demand better working conditions. Non-joiners do not endanger members, but they gain the benefits of collective agreements. In this group, each individual has an interest in becoming a free-rider in order to gain benefits without having to do any work. Because so many people would attempt to free-ride, not enough people would put their resources towards the goal and it would not be achieved.

What are some ways in which individuals can participate in the political process?

- Voting - Running political campaigns/ working for one - Join a political action group - Stay informed on political issue - Join Interest Group

Who is less likely to participate and why?

- Young people- don't seem to care as much - People who have a cultural barrier- less likely to be informed or might not be able to read ballot - Less educated people- tend to work long hours and barely have enough to support family getting to the polls and getting involved least important

What did the framers mean by the phrase Commander in Chief? How do we know? How did the early presidents interpret it? What does it mean today?

- Interpretations of what the President's power should be - Why should Congress have war power: deliberation is greater than single decision making, controls the budget, presidents do it for prestige and start wars for own glory - Why should war power be in president's hands: Congress is slow to react, Congress goes out of session, Congress can act in self-interest, the President is elected so American public should trust him making decisions Has grown over time: - Veto: Jackson - Proposals: Theodore Roosevelt - Speechmaking and public leadership: TR/Wilson - Increase, decrease, then increase of political appointments: Carter - Regulatory review: Reagan - Signing Statements: W.Bush - Constitution has no provisions that authorize the President to enact, to amend or repeal statutes - Presidents interpret the constitution very broadly - What is actually in the constitution: "The President shall be COmmander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. and of the Militia of the several states, when called into actual Service of the United States" - Due to general growth of Presidential prominence, precedents, military technology and the Cold War, Secret agencies, Curtiss-Wright case - War Powers Resolution: President must consult Congress or report after already committing the action

Define the public's role:

- Many people, many problems - Some problems find representation through interest groups

Who is more likely to participate in politics?

- More educated people - tend to be more inform and understand civic responsibility and have more free time to get to polls - Age-older means more voters - Higher income- can afford more time to learn about issues and take- off work or leave early to go vote - White Americans

The Logic of Politics argument:

- People are rational and self-interested! - by manipulating the political actor's private incentives, you can change their behavior - If you understand the incentives faced by a political actor, you can make a good guess as to how they will behave and design rules to change their behavior.

What are some barriers to voting?

- Some States like Oregon only do voting by mail - Some States like Minnesota only do same day registration - Not being in town on voting day and have to vote by absentee ballot - Weekday voting hard for people to get out of work - Having to bring valid ID to the poles

What are some ways our informal Constitutional system is more democratic than our Constitution itself?

- The American people and the leaders response to them were the ones responsible for ensuring that the new republic would rapidly become a democratic republic. - A Peaceful Democratic Revolution in the years following the making of the Constitution allowed for changes in the Constitution FORMAL LEGISLATION: - The expiration of the Alien and Sedition Acts - The Bill of Rights: Explain in brief summary impact - Other Amendments 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments- abolishing slavery 16th Amendment- Congress power to tax income 17th Amendment- direct election of US senators (Previously elected by State Legislatures) 19th Amendment- Women's suffrage granted INFORMAL CHANGES: The rise of Political Parties - Ability to recognize citizens who would not otherwise be adequately represented - Competition is necessary to maintain democracy - Allowed for new institutions and practices The rise of Majority Rule: Explain in brief summary impact????????

What kinds of groups are easier to organize? Are those groups representative of the whole population?

- The book argues that smaller groups face less challenges than larger groups due to collective action problems like free-riding, and members of large groups will gain less than members of small groups. - These groups do not necessarily represent the whole population.

Is this system fair? If not, where are the holes?

- There is only one route where the immediate public has direct interaction with Congress. The attentive public, through interest groups and the very rich people, find more influence over Congress and the passing of laws. Therefore, the system is swayed towards the people who "pay attention." - Our system is biased in the favor of NO CHANGE. It is shocking when laws are passed into legislation. This becomes a problem because in order to solve problems, changes in behavior must be implemented. - Elections matter because parties pass legislations that represent their PARTISAN point of views if the majority of the Senate, majority of the House, and the party of the president are all the same. - The two main wild cards in the political sphere: the media and the inattentive public!

Very rich people (a part of the attentive public) have influential power when it comes to politics in select circumstances

- They can make unlimited contributions to independent campaigns - This only affects a handful of competitive elections - Large contributions also make a difference in very low profile elections (such as city councils) - Requirement for money to be influential: the opposing side must "be lopsided" in their spending - Most cases, however, include all parties having large SuperPACs of their own

The media also affects what propositions become laws

- They influence the public's opinion on what the true problems are - They tell us what would be interesting in order to increase viewer rates - They act off of emotion (fear, humor) --Stories should be simple and NOT BORING AND COMPLICATED - They are biased in what problems are highlighted

How do citizens' attention and participation affect the content and quality of the media?

- This is just a guess, but the more citizens pay attention the more accurate the media is going to be, more like PBS news style versus if they do not pay attention there is going to be more "eye grabbers" with big headlines that are like CNN. (Is this the correct answer?) I would more say that because there is an inattentive public the news has to be simple and understandable and only gives news that makes huge headlines. There are however media programs that are objectionable and do appeal to the attentive public such as BBC or other smaller news networks that sacrifice sensationalism for hard bi-partisan news. (idk thats my guess??). - Since the inattentive public is not demanding hard news, news stations will more likely cover soft news

According to Mayhew, explain how incumbents are re-elected?

- Vote with median voter (majority in the district) on high profile votes - Make statements that please median voter - They visit districts - Please the interest groups that support them through low profile issues - The rich people, being a subset of the attentive public, are also pleased through low profile issues - Raise a lot of money to discourage competition All of these lead to the gaining of votes, which are based upon party, name recognition, and incumbency

The Minimal Effects Model

- after WWII and witnessing the propaganda in Nazi Germany, scholars in the U.S. studied public opinion and the influence of the media on it - Paul Lazarsfeld did a study examining the media's effect on the election of 1940 and discovered that people had made up their minds before the campaign and media, therefore, had minimal effect -- minimal effect model: View of the media's impact as marginal, since most people seek news reports to reinforce beliefs already held rather than to develop new ones ---selective exposures: process whereby people secure information from sources that agree with them, thus reinforcing their beliefs ---selective perception: process whereby partisans interpret the same information differently ---- partisans interpret the same information differently partisanship involves a perceptual lens that shapes how outside events are viewed

The Era of Media Choice

- best way to describe media environment is choice -- many possible sources of political information: the Internet, cable television, satellite radio --- as well as a large amount of entertainment programming that may lead to opting out of political news altogether --- with larger array of media choices, information is more polarized Americans have access to large amount of information, but the availability of more information does not necessarily mean that the public as a whole is more informed self-segregation: people follow news outlets that conform to their existing ideological preferences, which further fuels polarization because many aren't getting info from the other side

Social Networking

- billions of people worldwide use social media frequently - politicians are using social media to communicate with constituents for campaign donations and discussions on current issues - direct campaigning

Blogs

- blogs provide a forum for bottom-up commentary, descriptions of events, video postings, and general conversation - average citizens express opinions to a wider audience than ever possible before - blogs created a new category of journalists: citizen journalists, that aren't professional but who circulate opinions and interpretations that influence public debate - blogs symbolize the modern transformation of mass media: captures the interest of people of all ages; some hope blogs will increase deliberation and participation - evidence of participation, but not deliberation (conservatives read conservative blogs, liberals read liberal blogs) - blogs have no ethical code to report only accurate info, so false info is easily spread News that is not picked up by the mainstream media can gain traction in the blogosphere and then force mainstream media to cover it

How do citizens' attention and participation affect the constitutional functions Congress is able to perform?

- congress will express constituency preference, not necessarily common good - pass legislation that contains particularized benefits - will pass legislation that will not impose large direct costs on citizens - will pass legislation that "appears" to solve, but doesn't - no checks/balances- b/c do constituents really care?

The Professional Era, 1900 to 1950

- development of mass circulation newspapers led journalism towards becoming a serious profession that involved ethical objective reporting - muckraking: journalistic practice of investigative reporting that seeks to uncover corruption and wrongdoing (key example: Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906) gave politicians an additional incentive to pursue good public policy - the goal of being impartial and unbiased in reporting became part of the journalists' creed - muckraking faded around 1916, but press maintained role as watchdog over the government --goal became to present public new, important, accurate information ---this included ignoring politician's personal lives ----FDR's polio went unreported in the press though there were clear signs, he died three months into his fourth term

Please explain how the public's disagreement with political notions can affect whether or not the president will follow through with supporting those propositions?

- he will not be likely to continue supporting oppositions that the public is against if his approval ratings are low - If the public thinks it is okay to expand their powers, then the president can do this.... Most of the time the public has no idea and the president gets away with this anyway.

Implications of the Internet

- important to note that the Internet is not equally available to all Americans (underprivileged and elderly have less access) -- this inequality suggests that people who have internet are more informed than the general public was twenty years ago, while the people without internet access are less informed --- over time this gap will likely shrink

How do citizens' attention and participation affect members of Congress?

- mayhew's argument: Members of Congress are primarily focused on re-election and doing the things that will make their constituents happy... thus if a constituent tells their Congress member to vote a certain way, member of Congress may listen if it increases their likelihood of getting reelected - If members of congress are dealing with attentive members- they are going to be very careful of the laws they are signing and are going to side with their constituents more because they are the ones who get them re-elected. an example of this would be members of an interest group - If members of congress are dealing with inattentive members- example of the people who fit into this category are ordinary people who watch the news sometimes, but are not sure what bills are in congress at this moment. The members of congress are going to be pay attention to these people when there is a chance they might notice what is going on. example: voting on symbolic issues. -- if both of these groups of people do not participate or pay attention there is no one to hold them accountable

The Propaganda Model

- naive model (which can be dismissed as untrue): the media has no influence on citizens. which would mean that either the public ignores the media or that citizens learn about politics by observing events themselves - propaganda model: extreme view of the media's role in society, arguing that the press serves the interest of the government only, driving what the public thinks about important issues Example, Nazi Germany: The Nazi party controlled the content of newspaper/radio

Quality of Information

- news that people actually watch/ pay attention to focuses on soft news -- example: crime or natural disaster --- soft news: focus on the drama surrounding the event like the loss of life or homes --- hard news: discuss public policy that could reduce crime or provide quicker government response to disasters - emphasis on image as opposed to substance: visuals appeal more to the emotions than to the intellect -- visual images convey impressions that go beyond the facts - however, neither is better than the other because soft news may be more informative because the public finds it more interesting and easier to understand - despite recent changes in the mass media, Americans have as much info about politics as they did before the arrival of the Internet and the 24-7 news cycle

The Not-So-Minimal Effects Model

- not-so-minimal effects model: View of the media's impact as substantial, occurring by agenda setting, framing and priming -- agenda setting: ability of the media to affect the way people view issues, people, or events by controlling which stories are shown and which are not -- priming: process whereby the media influence the criteria the public uses to make decisions ---- the public pays attention to what the media chooses to cover -- framing: Ability of the media to influence public perception of issues by constructing the issue or discussion a subject in a certain way

The Durability of Radio

- radio is underestimated as a medium of communication considering that many/most Americans listen to the radio everyday in their car - political talk radio is very popular, but is dominated by conservatives

The Television Era, 1950 to 2000

- television nationalized daily news that was the same across the country - Walter Cronkite represented objective journalism and the height of TV network news and was the "most trusted man in America" - TV revolutionized politics: politicians could be seen during debate and those who seemed the least nervous and most put together were more trusted by the public

The News and the Millennials

- the millennial generation is much more likely to get its news from the Internet than from newspapers - youth are more likely to "channel surf", or skip around on internet news outlets - millennials appear to be more interested in politics at this point in their lives than any other generation at the same age --millennials reject the top-down approach to learning about politics, which is filtered by professional journalists. they are interested in the bottom-up approach made possible by the wide-open availability of new media for citizen participation

Are the Media Biased?

- the obsession with claiming the news media is biased one way or another distracts from the central point of today -- with so many sources of information, it's easy to find liberal-slanted news and conservative-slanted news -- twenty-first century media is much like the partisan, party-dominated nineteenth-century press, and less like the neutral twentieth century press - fair to conclude that individual news outlets are biased, but collectively the media provide a full range of ideological viewpoints

Laws are created in order to change behaviors

- they create negative private incentives - they create positive incentives to engage in behavior we want to encourage

What gives rise to a social movement?

- unaddressed oppression, grievances - movement entrepreneurs - changes in political opportunity structure

What are examples where the president followed public approval ratings and did not follow public approval ratings?

- when president bush had a high approval rating he passed the Patriot Act which expanded the powers of the federal government in the area of national security - when he had a low approval rating congress rejected his immigration reform and people of his own party in congress had started to turn against him

How does our government measure up against other democratic governments? Is it more democratic? Less democratic? In what ways? What criteria does Dahl use to evaluate this point? What criteria do you think we should use?

-United States government has become more democratic over time -expansion of suffrage -abolition of slavery -changes to election of Senators -Our government is unique in that it is: -federal, not unitary -bicameral, not unicameral -judicial review -separated system (the only one), not parliamentary -Plurality vote, not proportional representation -Dahl's argument says that: - the Constitution is not a sacred text -Less democratic: our system does not live up to modern democratic standards (unequal representation, judicial review, no direct election of the president) -our system of government is no better than other democratic systems -Dahl: evaluating our democracy against others Explain following characteristics in detail????? -stability -individual rights -responsiveness -fairness to losers -effectiveness

What is an interest group?

A group of citizens who share a common interest, whether a political opinion, religious affiliation, ideological belief, social goal, or economic objective, and try to influence public policy to benefit members. Other types of groups form for purely social or community reasons. All interest groups are based on the idea that members joining together in a group can secure a shared benefit that would not be available to them if they acted alone.

What is the relationship between law and liberty?

All law limits someone's liberty

The Changing Media Environment

Americans adopt new media quickly - radio, television, and then the internet took over American households in a matter of years respectively - news became increasingly available at all times with each new technology; news is now available constantly

15) What are the differences between plurality and proportional representation as rules for electing representatives?

As a result of proportional representation the percentage of seats won by a party in the legislature will roughly mirror the percentage of votes cast for candidates of that party. Plurality (majority) system means those who the most votes in a particular district win that district's single seat, and the other candidates do not win a seat at all. Plurality is a winner take all while proportional at least gives the loser some representation. Proportionality is fairer than plurality. Proportional representation is far more effective at building consensus within governments. Voters of the losing party are almost as satisfied as the winners whereas in a majoritarian system, voters are much more dissatisfied if they are of the losing party. The American system is a hybrid of proportional and majoritarian systems and possesses the strengths of neither but the defects of both.Neither majoritarian nor proportional democracies clearly outperform one or the other on macroeconomic effectiveness, control of violence, quality of democracy, or democratic representation. In other words, a constitutional system does not sacrifice between democratic principles and executive effectiveness.

Who creates these laws?

Congress at the federal level

How are these representatives elected?

Elections - plurality vote (winner take all system) - first primary in their party then general election - Vast majority are not competitive (think incumbents since they win most of the time) - Most seats are safe for one party

Why does Mayhew argue that this assumption holds in both marginal and safe districts?

Even though non-marginals can watch national election percentages oscillate and presidents come and go with some calmness while marginals are at the mercy of national partisan electoral swings and are in little position to have any real effect on national party/presidential success that would ensure any real success in congressional electoral percentages....both marginals and non-marginals are on the same playing field when it comes to their ability to affect the percentages in their own primary and general elections. They both think they can affect their own percentages, they can, and therefore they try to do so. Non-marginals try to affect own percentages too because: 1) Congressional seat are not as safe as they seem. There are many narrow victories. 2) Variation in voting in a district is only 1/3 attributed to national swings. District vote fluctuations beyond or in opposition to national trends is substantial. 3) There is a connection between what they do in office and whether they are re-elected or not. They think their actions in office have an impact and so they use them to stay in office

Social movements arise with the goal of changing public opinion

For this reason, they also impact what laws Congress decide to pass

What does Hamilton mean by "race to the bottom news coverage," and what produces it? How do financial incentives lead to herding behavior among journalists?

Hamilton means that news coverage is motivated by making a profit, and given that people are not willing to pay a lot to consume the news, the resources in which journalists have to investigate news stories are limited. Therefore, many journalists will sort of piggy-back off of each other in order to cut down on costs/save time etc. Recycling of news stories.

Why is having an informed citizenry a public good that is subject to the free rider problem? To what degree is our citizenry informed? What about our system makes it costly to become informed?

Having an informed citizenry is a public good, which would overall benefit the country as a whole as citizens would probably have more incentive to vote and those who do vote would be more informed and educated on issues. To be an informed citizen, however, requires a lot of time and effort from each individual in order to keep up with the news. Therefore, many individuals are discouraged from staying informed, especially since it may seem like one individual would not contribute to the overall public good of an informed citizenry- a phenomena known as the free rider problem.

Why does the news have the characteristics that it does (homogeneity, repetitiveness, poor quality, soft news, etc.)?

Homogeneity: the news reports what sells→ entertainment - There is room for source biases→ desire to appeal to certain audience - Simplistic versions of problems - Soft news: due to inattentive public. May not understand or be interested in hard new/s/ - Repetitiveness: cut down cost of researching and instead recycles information

Summarize Readings: Hobbes, Logic text on Collective Action, Dahl, Lippmann, Mayhew, Arnold, Fisher, Geer chapters from the second half of the class

Look at Google Document

What does Mayhew say about the consequences that the re-election motive has for Congress as an institution? What is Congress good at? Bad at? How can these institutional outcomes be traced to the re-election motive?

Look at google document

What kinds of things does Mayhew argue that members of Congress do in order to get re-elected?

Look at google document

Why is it sensible to make a simplifying assumption that the ONLY goal members of Congress have is to get re-elected?

Mayhew argues that all members of Congress have the primary goal of getting re-elected because: Successful pursuit of a career requires re-election If members want to achieve influence within Congress and make "good public policy" THEN... Re-election must be achieved over and over again, re-election underlies everything else. Proof that Congressmen want to get re-elected is that : 1) The Downsian model that parties are selfish and that legislative representatives are intermediaries for a party's quest for power wherein legislative reps are only responsible to parties does not apply to the US on the Congressional level. 1) Because the majority of states rely on direct primaries for elections, rather than caucuses or conventions, there is no reason to expect large primary electorates to honor party loyalty. Party organizations are not usually strong enough to control congressional primaries. 2) The typical American congressman has to mobilize his own resources initially to win a nomination and then to win election and re-election. They must build a power base substantially independent of party. 3) Congress does not have to sustain a cabinet and hence does not engage the ambitions of its members in cabinet formation to induce party cohesion. The way in which candidates win party nominations is not one that fosters party cohesion in Congress. THEREFORE- They are left as individual congressmen who have to use their own resources, not rely on party power, in order to be re-elected.

How are other democratic governments different from ours?

Other countries with "advanced democratic countries" have political systems that vary from ours. Technically, we're no better than other democracies! Pointless to compare it with countries with nondemocratic regimes. 1. Representation in the second chamber (Unicameral in other democracies, Bicameral in the U.S.) - The US has significant unequal representation in the second chamber that is an element of all federalist governments. - Unequal representation in the US senate by allocating over representation to voters in small states allowing for their vote to count for more than the vote of a person in a state with larger population. - The interests of the least privileged minorities are sacrificed for the interests of the most privileged minorities 2. The authority of the Judicial Branch (No Judicial review except in the USA, Canada, Germany) - Judicial Branch being able to declare legislation that has been properly passed through Congress and the President as unconstitutional based on their own ideologies and biases is undemocratic. - Other countries authorize their highest national courts to strike down legislation or admin actions by the federal units, but not the national government's decisions. 3. Congressional Elections - Most countries rely on proportional representation in electing second chamber members - The US uses a hybrid of neither predominantly "first-past-the-post" system or proportional system of elections 4. Party Systems - Because most other countries rely on a proportional representation system- it results in more multiparty system in which three, four, or more parties are represented in the legislature where in minorities tend to be represented more effectively in governing. Because the US uses some elements of a "first-past-the-post" system it usually results in two-party systems wherein a single party is more likely to control both the executive and legislature. 5. Presidential System - The US stands alone in possessing a single popularly elected chief executive endowed with important constitutional powers (Presidential system). - Most other democratic countries use some variation of a parliamentary system in which the executive, a prime minister, is chosen by the national legislature *We have a separate system of government, whereas other democracies have a parliamentary system Add in differences between parliamentary system and our system in regards to the passing of legislation Separated system: -Meeting of the President and Congress-they must work together to pass laws Parliamentary System: -Parliaments can act as "rubber stamps" of laws that the Prime Minister comes up with/proposes; PM sends these to parliament for ratification -In general: laws are made by majority vote of the legislature and signed by the head of state, who does not have an effective veto power. In most parliamentary democracies, the head of state can return a bill to the legislative body to signify disagreement with it. But the parliament can override this ''veto'' with a simple majority vote.

Why are there differences among racial and ethnic groups in voter turnout?

Participation and voting differs among members of racial and ethnic groups . Discriminatory practices kept the turnout rate of African-Americans low until after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation kept black voters from the polls. Eventually, civil rights protests and litigation eliminated many barriers to voting. Today, black citizens vote at least as often as white citizens who share the same socioeconomic status. Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups in the United States, indicated by the highest level of voter registration and participation in elections among these groups in 2004. Sixty-five percent of black voters turned out in the 2008 presidential election compared with 66 percent of white voters The Latino population in the United States has grown to over 47 million people from diverse countries of origin. Although this group forms a substantial political bloc, only 49 percent of eligible Latino voters voted in the 2008 presidential election. Language is one barrier to Latino participation. Candidates recognize that Latinos constitute a large and growing voting bloc and have begun campaigning in Spanish. During the 2000 presidential election campaign, candidate George W. Bush ran nearly as many ads in Spanish as in English. The 2008 presidential candidates' websites, as well as the 2010 congressional candidates, featured extensive Spanish-language content .

In what ways is our written Constitution undemocratic?

SLAVERY: - Did not forbid slavery nor did it empower Congress to abolish slavery - Allowed for the Fugitive Slave Laws SUFFRAGE: - Failed to guarantee the right of suffrage - Left it up to the states to decide - Excluded half the population (Women, African Americans, and Native Americans) ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT: - Election by popular majorities (electoral college cough cough) AND Congressional control CHOOSING SENATORS: - Senators were to be chosen by the state legislators, not the people - Six year terms EQUAL REPRESENTATION IN THE SENATE: - "Connecticut Compromise"- each state awarded same number of senators regardless of population - Over represented small states - Highly privileged minorities (slaveholders) gained disproportionate power over government policies at the expense of less privileged minorities JUDICIAL POWER - Failed to limit the powers of the judiciary in their ability to declare laws as unconstitutional that had been properly passed by Congress and the President - "Judicial Policymaking"- judicial legislation CONGRESSIONAL POWER - Powers of Congress limited in ways that prevented the federal government from regulating or controlling the economy - No power to tax incomes - No regulatory actions- railroad rates, air safety, minimum wages, etc.

What kinds of things does Arnold argue that members of Congress do in order to get re-elected?

Supporting, opposing, or abstaining from voting. -Abstentions are rare, make the representative look weak and indecisive. Retrospective Voting: Voting on bills that give perceptible benefits Maintain support from most consistent voters

The Transformation of TV News

TV network news audience is also shrinking, causing concern about how well informed the public is about politics, however, cable news viewership is increasing - events are covered live, transforming the news cycle - news comes at rapid-fire rates with interpretations included in 24/7 programming - internet news sites on the rise for viewership and sources

Why is our Constitution undemocratic? (What did the framers actually have to consider when deciding what to put in the Constitution?)

The Framers couldn't possibly foresee the future of the American republic nor could they draw on knowledge that might be gained from later experiences with democracy in America and elsewhere History had produced no truly relevant models of representative government on the scale that the US had already attained. They had to compromise in order to get the Constitution signed in the first place - Slavery- coexistence as a nation was contingent upon the compromise not to abolish slavery in order to get the consent of the southern states to sign the Constitution - Representation in the Senate- refusal of the delegates from small states to accept the Constitution that did not provide for equal representation in the Senate - Framers couldn't also give too much power to the federal government to regulate taxes and other economic regulators since it would've prevented the passage of the constitution

How do collective action problems make it difficult for groups to form?

The free Rider problem is a key problem in collective action. People will not want to support free riders and in turn not join the collective group. The free rider problem is common among public goods. These are goods that have two characteristics: non-excludability — once provided it is for everybody; you cannot stop anyone from using it — and non-rivalry — when you consume the good, it does not reduce the amount available to others. The potential for free riding exists when people are asked to voluntarily pay for a public good 1. One person's contribution to the collective good is small 2. collective good will be provided regardless of persons contribution 3. the person can receive the benefits without contributing. 4. Private incentive is to "free ride" on contributions of others. A common example of a free rider problem is defense spending. No one person can be excluded from being defended by a state's military forces, and thus free riders may refuse or avoid paying for being defended, even though they are still as well guarded as those who contribute to the state's efforts.

Inattentive Vs. attentive publics

The inattentive public:The sleeping giant. The people who are the least aware of legislation getting passed that is not directly covered by the media. But when made aware can change policy. Attentive public: Comprised of some rich people. Sometimes combined with interest groups. These are the people who are educated on what is going on in the government and are pushing through legislation to the congress.

proportional representation

an electoral system that assigns party delegates according to vote share in a presidential primary election or that assigns seats in the legislature according to vote share in general election

winner-take-all system

electoral system in which whoever wins the most votes in an election wins the election

single member plurality system

electoral system that assigns one seat in a legislative body to represent citizens who live in a defined area (a district) based on which candidate wins the most votes

iron triangle

insular and closed relationship among interest groups, members of congress and bureaucratic federal agencies.

Infotainment

many TV viewers get political news from talk shows, which offer soft news - soft news: news stories focused less on facts and policies than on sensationalizing secondary issues or on less serious subjects of the entertainment world - appeal to emotion rather than intellect

Frontloading

moving a state primary or caucus earlier in the year to increase its influence

The Decline of Newspapers

the sharp decline of newspaper production and readership over the past few decades raises concern because newspapers tend to contain more hard news than other outlets - hard news: political news coverage, traditionally found in the printed press, that is more fact-based, opposed to more interpretive narratives and commentary - some people ignore this concern, saying people are just moving from printed newspapers to online versions - despite concerns, Americans want the news and continue to seek it out so newspaper owners still have incentive to develop new means of profit

Lobbying

trying to persuade elected officials to adopt or reject a specific policy change. Lobbying is a legitimate form of petitioning, and interest groups of all types engage in it.

plurality vote

vote in which the winner needs to win more votes than any other candidate

Australian ballot

voting system in which state governments run elections and provide voters the option of choosing candidates from multiple parties; also called the secret ballot.