Democracy 2

7. What are the two different views of how public opinion should impact government policy?

"The task of the leader is to decide how best to achieve the goals set by the people" vs Representatives should take interests' into account but use own judgment in deciding which will best serve the interest

7. What are the two sides of the debate about money in American politics?

-Interest groups/rich individuals can spend vast sums on campaigns and it undermines democracy because it gives them influence (can buy politicians essentially) money undermines democratic process by giving too much power to the wealthy and detracting power from ordinary citizens -Ability to give money to candidate/party you favor is an essential aspect of the first amendment right to freedom of speech and that those complaining are exaggerating its impact on elections and underestimating voters ability to get through the noise and pick what they want

12. What did the Supreme Court decide in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission? Why has this ruling been criticized?

-People say it was necessary because the constitution can't limit corporations and up to voters to sift through everything and decide -People against say it gives too much power to wealthy individual and interest groups that can now influence elections very deeply

5. What are the three historical phases in the development of professional standards in the US media?

1) 19th century, media was openly partisan (belonged to political parties), emergence of objective journalism in the late 19th/early 20th century which set standard to put aside bias and partisan, journalism schools began to take root. 2) eventually started reverting back to openly bias around late 1980s, probably emergence of cable tv, didn't use public airwaves so it didn't have to subscribe to Fairness Doctrine- put in place by Federal Communications Commission and applied to traditional broadcasters, said that whenever you report on controversial issue you have to present it in a fair and balanced way that looks at different sides of it (got rid of it entirely in 1980s because it lost its purpose) 3) More in recent years we see people retreating into these media/ideological bubbles- in which they're only looking at highly partisan/bias media that only reinforces and strengthens their own view, to the point we're all isolated in our own bubbles and see world in completely different ways

Political Party- 2 main defining characteristics___

1) Present candidates in elections, run them under their own name 2) Parties are multi-issue groups (not just like NRA where focus is guns) bc their running candidates need opinions on multiple things

3. What major roles do the news media play in democracy?

1) Provides us with vital information we need as citizens of a democratic society 2) political actors in own right with agendas and ideologies of their own

1. What functions do parties have?

1) Providing information on candidates (Dem. vs Repub. gives an idea of their views) 2) Coordination (provides a way for people with similar views to work together and make change) alliances of like-minded people working to make their views happen

Media has role of providing in three functions:

1) Signaling- the fact the media brings to our attention important events/issues that otherwise we might not know about (flags as important) 2) Common Carrier- involves media allowing our political leaders to communicate with us about what their views/agendas are 3) Watchdog- media reports on things that those same political leaders don't want us to know (failure/incompetence/wrongdoings) calls attention to things that are going wrong

3. What types of activities does lobbying involve?

1) persuasion- convincing government officials that what you want is worth doing (some will hire professional lobbying firms (consisting of former government officials- have experience and contacts) to do on their behalf, led to a phenomenon known as revolving door- in which people work in government then go into lobbying industry 2) advertising- take it to public (if we can influence them than we can influence government as well) 3) campaign contributions- can influence by giving money to campaigns for election/reelection (implicit trade- they need money for campaign, interest group needs influence)

3. In the United States, what do the terms conservative and liberal mean, respectively?

1. Liberal- government help disadvantaged and get rid of traditional values 2. Conservative- government hold traditional values and no help for disadvantaged

1. What factors limit the power of public opinion to shape government policies, even in a democracy?

1. Public not informed enough, not strong enough opinions on certain things 2. Money talks (loudly in politics), rich individuals/interest groups are going to influence more

2. What constitutional amendments and laws have expanded voting rights?

15th, 19th, 24th, 26th amendment, Voting rights Act

2. When were the Republican and Democratic parties created, respectively?

1st was democratic party, grew from Democratic Republican party in late 1820s split, one faction created Democratic Party led by Andrew Jackson who won presidency in 1829. 1854 the Republican party rose with a central appeal as anti-slavery party, and won the presidential elction in 1860 with Abe Lincoln. Consolidated Dem vs Repub. in 1850's, been stable since then

1. Who was eligible to vote when the United States was founded?

Adult, white, men with some property/income

8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of our two-party system?

Advantages: governability- more parties can make a system more unstable (if president comes from party that only had 20% of votes it would be hard to get things passed) still hard with our system but still more likely with only two parties -Disadvantages: often voters don't find a party that really matches their views and preferences (usually parties more specifically geared towards voters) with only two they have broader more diluted views to be able to appeal to everyone, tends to lead to voter apathy- people uninterested/disengaged in politics because they don't have a party they feel they can identify with (stop participating)

4. What do the terms agenda-setting and framing mean, respectively?

All media organizations have some sort of bias/agenda of some sort -2 decisions media leaders pick that project that bias outwards -Agenda-setting- choosing what issues and events/what questions to report or neglect, by picking what things they show they set the agenda for public and even political leaders on what's important. -Framing- how the story is framed, same story can have different interpretations depending on what frame they decide to show the viewer and biases come out during this

10. With regard to voting, what is the difference between apathy and alienation?

Apathy- lack of interest Alienation- a feeling of powerlessness rooted in belief government ignores their issues

6. What is a political action committee (PAC)?

At the federal level, interest groups (especially economic) can't give directly to campaigns so they have to do a PAC- have to solicit voluntary donations from people who have interest in that interest group (corporate interest group is going to solicit from CEO, CFO, top officials, board of members, etc. but donations to PAC had to be voluntary)

13. What is a Super-PAC?

Attract donations (from corporations and wealth individuals) and use money to run advertising for or against candidates but advertisement can't be coordinated with candidate (has to appear independent)

2. What advantages do economic groups enjoy over citizens' groups in influencing government?

Big businesses can raise money from big influential people (money talks in politics)

5. How is today's US party system different from the one that existed until the 1960s with regard to the regions where each party gets the bulk of its votes and what each party stands for?

Biggest change in who supports parties has occurred in terms of geography, southern states that had been very loyal to Democratic party (Solid South) over couple decades would become equally loyal to the Republican party and Northeast goes from kinda mixed to solidly Democratic -to a large extent due to civil rights movement, when Dem party sided with civil rights under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson many white southerners decided to switch over Democrats: stand with minorities and women (pushing during civil rights) liberal Republican: conservative -Difference in values of regions

5. What is the pattern of US public opinion on gun control, in terms of direction, intensity, and salience, respectively?

Direction- US is split on the issue but majority favor stricter gun control laws Intensity- gun rights advocates tend to be more committed to their position then gun control advocates Salience- usually ranks low on the public's list of top issues

2 major categories of interest groups

Economic groups- represent the economic interest of businesses/owners/employees/professionals (any major business/industry in USA likely represented by at least one national interest group and possibly other state level ones, employees have their own (labor unions- help in respect to government policy as well) doctors, etc. as well (MORE POWERFUL) Citizens' groups- more concerned with principled or ideological interest, bring individuals together that want to influence government on some issue (environmental, policing, gun rights, etc.) also trying to

4. What is a party realignment?

Even though the parties are the same, what they believe in has switched almost completely, moments in which some crucial issue or crisis divides the country and the way the issue is resolved has a long term major impact on what the parties stand for and who supports them (1860s- slavery, 1930s- depression, 1960s- segregation/vietnam war)

9. What is social capital?

Face-to-face interactions between people (community groups, work to accomplish community gorals, contact local officials)

4. How do education and race, respectively, tend to affect the political views people hold?

Great predictor of what they will choose

1. What is the difference between a party and an interest group?

Interest Group- organized groups seek to influence government on specific issue without running candidates for public office -differ by 1) single issue that they care about 2) seek to influence without trying to directly control by holding public office)

15. What is the free-rider problem?

Members of a group who recognize that they get the collective good for a group's activity even if they don't participate

6. Does the United States have a greater or smaller number of political parties than other major democracies? Why?

Most countries have multi-party systems (up to 6 usually), briefly have had third parties (like green or libertarian party) but none have really challenged the duopoly of Dem/Repub. -Because of only one seat, it's winner take all, either get it or shut out, even if you're discontent it doesn't make sense to go against those two bc the system favors the major two parties

9. How much influence do American party organizations have today over elections?

Not a lot, the individual candidates that really call the shots in their own elections decide how the campaign goes, what methods used, etc. -In other countries parties tend to have bigger role, decide who the candidate is gonna be and have a lot of influence over them since they chose them, usually they vote for the party as a whole not the individual

5. How do age and income, respectively, tend to affect turnout?

Older, more educated, and wealthier all vote more

8. Is there a limit on how much money an individual can donate to a candidate today in a federal election?

One measure to limit influence of money, the Federal Election Campaign Act- created a system of limits on federal campaign donations and contributions on PACs

2. What is political socialization? What are agents of socialization?

Opinions tend to be learned from people's social environments- especially during childhood, values/ideas you learned as a kid (even w no political agenda) will influence your eventual political opinions

14. What are inside and outside lobbying, respectively?

Outside- seek mobilization of public support for their goals, encourage group members and the public to communicate their policy views to officials, as well as efforts to elect officeholders who will support group aims. - Inside- based on group efforts to develop and maintain direct contact with policymakers (usually ones who are inclined to support the group)

10. Why do pluralists support interest groups and what are the major flaws in their arguments?

Pluralist theory holds that americans interest are best represented through group activity, argue society is best seen as a collection of separate interest and is best served by a process that accommodates a wide array of interests and that they expand the range of issues that get lawmakers' attention by advocating for more controversial issues There is no concepts of the public interest in a system that gives special interest the ability to decide the policies affecting them -Economic interests are the most highly organized and most advantaged when it comes to exerting influence on policy

2. Which major media outlets (i.e., newspapers, TV stations) are most clearly favored by Republicans and Democrats, respectively?

Republicans- Fox News, ABC News Democrats- MSNBC, New York Time, NPR

8. Has protested activity tended to rise or decline in recent years?

Rise, republican/democrat split growing

6. With regard to public opinion polls, what do the terms sample and sampling error mean?

Sampling error- error that results from using a sample to estimate the population, expressed as a plus-or-minus percentage. Sample- a small group used to estimate opinions of whole population

5. What is agency capture?

Situation where a regulatory agency (FDA) sides with the industry it is supposed to regulate rather than with the public that it is supposed to protect

11. How does the American system of checks and balances affect the ability of interest groups to influence politics?

System has made it relatively easy because they have numerous points at which to gain access, usually only needing a single ally (congressional committee, executive agency, federal court) to get at least some of what they seek and likely to last because eliminating is even harder

1. Which of the traditional media have declined as a source of news for Americans?

Television and newspaper

7. How are political movements different from parties or interest groups?

They use some form of protest to show their dissatisfaction and express their opposition

6. Why are voter ID laws necessary, according to their supporters? Why are they often criticized?

To protect integrity against fraud -Keeps more Americans from voting than it does actually help

3. What groups continue to be ineligible to vote, at least in some states?

Under 18, felons, non citizens

10. What developments have affected their power over time?

Used to be kind of like this is the USA but over 20th century the establishment of Primary elections- occur before general election and decide whos party candidates are going to be (not party bosses/leaders, but the voters decided- so they have relatively little power)

4. Why is voter turnout unusually low in the United States?

Voter registration difficulty, on a Tuesday when people busy, not required

7. What are proportional representation and single-member district systems, respectively? Which one does the United States have?

We have single member district system- each congressional district across country sends only one person to represent in congress- tends to favor a two party system -most countries use proportional representation- each sends several members and manages by dividing seats in proportion to vote each party wins- tends to favor multi party system

12. What is the gender gap?

Women are voting disproportionately democrat and opposite for men

9. Can candidates for the presidency receive campaign funding from the government?

Yes but it comes with strings attached and they rarely do, can't go after private money, and restrictions on how you use it -Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)- declared any limits on the ability of economic interest groups (especially corporations) to advertise during an election campaign were unconstitutional

Agents of socialization-

forces that shape socialization (small group face-to-face contexts like school or sports teams, impersonal forces like news/media)

11. What are candidate-centered election campaigns? What are their advantages and disadvantages?

the individual candidates that really call the shots in their own elections decide how the campaign goes, what methods used, etc.