Unit 3: Politics

a. Define each of the following methods used by states to choose delegates to party conventions. i. Open primary ii. Caucus

A primary election in which any voter can cast a ballot in any party's primary. A meeting or gathering of members of a political party where members deliberate and choose from the list of those seeking the presidential nomination

a. Identify one current government electoral requirement that decreases voter turnout. Explain how it decreases voter turnout.

Age, Residency, Citizenship, and ID are all factors when voting that restricts many people as these and many more requirements are to hard for them to obtain

c. Explain how each of the following factors has weakened the influence of political parties over the political process. i. Direct primaries ii. Candidate-centered campaigns

Candidates appeal directly to voters and bypass parties; candidates may win who are not favored by the party elite with less power given to the party. Candidates appeal directly to voters; candidates can raise money by appealing to voters or PACs directly. Also candidates choose what actions and ideas they run upon

c. Several other changes in party composition have emerged in the past few decades. Select three of the following groups and for each explains how parties have changed in composition with respect to that group. i. Catholics ii. Labor union members iii. Women iv. Social conservatives

Catholics have become generally Republican voters. Labor Union members have become generally Democratic voters; have decreased in number and thus there are fewer Democratic supporters; have become a smaller percentage of the Democratic voting. They have become more reliable Democratic voters; have increased in number and thus there are more Democratic supporters; have become a larger percentage of the Democratic voting. They were previously nonexistent and have now crystallized to become more reliable Republican voters; previously found in the Democratic party and have moved to the Republican party.

c. Describe one specific federal governmental regulation of interest groups.

Disclosure of contributions, funding or activities, PACs, Campaign finance laws, Prohibition of bribery, Any other law or regulation with an idea of what it does when regulating interest groups

The United States Congress has debated a variety of campaign finance reforms over the last decade. The proposals debated have included the following: Eliminating soft money Limiting independents expenditures Raising limits on individual contributions a. Select one of the listed proposals and do all of the following: Define the proposal Describe an argument that proponents make in favor of the proposal Describe an argument that opponents make against the proposal

Eliminating soft money is the restrictions of campaign contributions to political parties. Soft money is often reasons why hard money is restricted also it evens the campaigns financing, Also decreases ways you donate to a party or official. Problems are the ideals against public opinion and weakening of party control

b. Choose two of the following and use each to explain why southern voters from 1948 to 2000 were electing Democratic candidates to Congress more frequently than choosing Democratic candidates for the presidency. i. Incumbency advantage ii. Gerrymandering iii. Differences between state and national parties

Even though southern voters were voting for Republican presidential candidates, they continued to vote for incumbent Democratic congressional candidates because of the incumbency advantage. District lines created safe seats/majority-minority districts, which protected Democratic seats even though there were more Republican voters in statewide presidential elections. Because of the national and state, parties were largely independent of each other, to get votes Democratic congressional candidates responded to local interests, whereas Democratic presidential candidates responded to a national constituency.

a. Identify the fundamental goal of interest groups in the political process

Interest groups goals are to sway public opinion and government opinion as well as change government laws and give endorsements and information to help their industry.

a. Describe two techniques interest groups use to influence elections.

Interest groups influence elections by -Campaign contributions by Endorsements, PACs, and Issue Ads. Also by lobbying and expenditures.

b. Interest groups engage in a variety of activities to affect public policy. Explain how each of the following is used by interest groups to exert influence over policy. i. Grassroots mobilization ii. Lobbying of government institutions iii. Litigation

Interest groups organize citizens, who act to influence policymakers. Direct contact with policymakers for the purpose of persuasion through the provision of information, political benefits. The use of courts to gain policy preferences through cases or amicus curiae

b. Explain how interest groups use each of the following to influence government decision making. i. Issue networks (also known as iron triangles) ii. Amicus curiae briefs

Interest groups participate in issue networks by providing funds, information, and endorsements in hopes of obtaining political support from the government and large programs. Interest groups use amicus briefs to inform the courts in the hopes of influencing the cases and decisions

c. Describe two different ways by which interest groups support the fundamental goal of political parties in the political process d. For one of the forms of support you described in (C), explain two different way in which that form of support helps interest groups to achieve their fundamental goal in the political process.

Interest groups support certain parties and representatives are that they support their ideas and are willing to change the law to make it what it is. And have like-minded individuals in office to influence policy.

c. Explain how each of the following serves to limit interest group influence. i. The media ii. Pluralism

Media can act as a gatekeeper and a watchdog by providing the public with information of what they support and reporting on the problems that occur on their way

a. Explain why voter turnout is different in each of the following. i. Presidential versus midterm elections ii. Primary versus general elections

Media coverage is greater in presidential elections. Increased interest in and importance of national and presidential campaigns. Partisans and activists are more likely to vote in primaries. Only party members may vote in closed primaries. Many primary elections are noncompetitive. Independents are less likely to participate in primary elections. General elections simplify choices. Media coverage is greater in general elections. Increased interest in and importance of general elections

b. Identify one linkage institution other than elections and explain two ways it connects citizens to government.

Media is a big part in government as it gives them ideas on popular opinion and it gives them a chance to find the faults of many politicians. PACs are the same as they fund campaigns and help elected officials by helping them with projects and spreading information.

c. Minor parties make important contribution to the United States political system in spite of the institutional obstacles to their candidates' success. Describe two of these contributions.

Minor parties causes the two main political parties to become more moderate in their views. Overall, the citizens of America like when politicians are more moderate. Minor parties also are more specific on their certain issues they run on. Sometimes people want to vote for a minor candidate running because that minor candidate focuses on a specific issue. If a voter thinks this specific issue is truly important, then they will vote for them, causing votes to be split from the other major party that is most similar to them. Overall, causing the opposite party to win

a. Explain how each of the following factors may affect voter turnout. i. Motor voter laws ii. Photo identification laws

Motor voter laws added more registered voters to the election and hopefully changing voter turnout. Photo identification laws create a potential barrier for those without accepted forms of Identification or none what so ever.

b) Explain how the national news media engage in agenda setting.

National News Media will raise awareness for certain topics, demonstrate importance for it and show the consequences that the subject shows with it or without it.

c. The Democratic Party has used superdelegates in the presidential nominating process since 1984. Explain why the use of superdelegates increases the influence of party leaders in the Democratic nomination process.

Party leaders are now assured a role in the nomination process, regardless of which candidate they support. Party leaders can cast the deciding vote in close nomination contests. Superdelegates can go anywhere and sway the election greatly

a. Describe the point of view expressed about minor parties in the political cartoon above

People voting for minor parties are basically throwing away their vote to parties that might not ever win. Minor parties are never going to win because typically minor parties do not get the majority vote from states in order to win the electoral delegate votes and ideas are usually single motives. Also, by people voting for minor parties, they are also taking away votes from the party that was most similar to them, causing the opposite party to win

e) Describe the change from 1974 to 2002 in viewing habits that exists for all age categories.

People watched more TV in 1974 compared to these days with most media and ideas coming from other sources

a) Define policy agenda.

Policy Agenda is a set of issues, problems, and subjects that people like politicians need to change or protect. Are important topics for the community and people.

d. Explain how party polarization has strengthened party influence in Congress

Political Party Members vote only for their certain party and don't overlap when electing different elections.

d. Describe two campaign tactics presidential candidates use to win the key states identified in the cartoon above.

Presidential Ads that give voters an idea of what you are and what you do. Money spent in that area with projects to help put your name in communities in those states.

b. Describe the message the cartoon above conveys about presidential elections.

Presidential Candidates go to swing states for the vote and avoid certain states as they are a majority of one certain party

The United States Congress has debated a variety of campaign finance reforms over the last decade. The proposals debated have included the following: Eliminating soft money Limiting independents expenditures Raising limits on individual contributions b. Select a different listed proposal and do all of the following: Define the proposal Describe an argument that proponents make in favor of the proposal Describe an argument that opponents make against the proposal

Raising limits on individual contributions is increasing the donation amount PACs or companies can give to a candidates campaign. Super PACs will be more used and smaller PACs will lose influences also it helps candidates focus more on campaigning than their financing. The bigger company's and officials will have more control with bigger donation amounts than restricted amounts.

d. Explain two reasons why the electoral college has not been abolished

Reasons of abolishment are Helps to ensure that a majority of electoral votes are earned by one candidate, History/tradition, No clear consensus on an alternative, Overall benefits of small states, Racial minorities and interest groups in some states like the electoral college because it protects their votes, Overall benefits large states, Favors a two-party system

b. Explain one way in which the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college affect how presidential candidates from the two major political parties run their campaigns

Resource allocation or focus on competitive states, swing states, and large states where candidates spend their time or money or buy media. Issues are given as well as the Vice President with them.

c. Describe two different ways by which interest groups support the fundamental goal of political parties in the political process

Some different ways interest groups change government opinions is monetary funds given such as donations, independent expenditures are another also, information, and Media Campaign.

a. Explain two provisions in the Bill of Rights that protect individuals who try to influence politics.

Speech and Assembly are some provisions in the bill of rights as you give the right to speak what you want and the right to group and discuss beliefs and ideas. Press and Petition are some other provisions as it gives you a right to a story and a right to appeal. Due process is also a provision protecting people from harassment from the government and people.

a. Describe two important functions of political parties in United States elections.

The allow input for certain political issues, put out representatives for elections, support in campaigns, and raising funds for certain elections.

a. Describe the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college

The candidate who gets the majority of votes wins all of a state's electoral votes.

b. Explain why each of the following enhances the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress. i. Strong public opinion as expressed in polling results ii. Competitive re-elections

The desire to get re-elected and perceived obligation to represent their constituents. And again their desire to be re-elected.

b. Select one of the following demographic features and describe its relationship to the likelihood of a person voting in an election. i. Education ii. Age

The higher the education the more likely you are to vote. Also the older you are the more likely you are to vote also.

b. Describe one important role political parties play within Congress to promote the party's public policy agenda.

The parties try to be leaders in the office to influence major decisions, also they facilitate priorities for office holders, and lastly they elect candidates to run for their party in most cases

c) Explain the primary reason the president tends to have an advantage over Congress in gaining media attention.

The president has advantage over the media so ideas he speaks are what most people feel are important, but the senate and house have an advantage as they are many people and under the constitution have more power when passing and rejecting laws.

f) Given the information in the table, describe one implication for presidents in their use of the media to promote their political and policy objectives to the American

The president must find many sources of information to spread what he supports like TV for the older audiences and get other media sources for the other half of Americans when spreading word of ideas and acts he would enact

c. Explain why voter turnout is different in each of the following. i. Presidential versus midterm elections ii. Primary versus general elections

The presidential is more popular than the midterm as half of Americans vote in the presidential election due to the media outcry during every four years and midterm the out turn is nearly half with 25% voting due to the smaller media chatter. The primary is more of an election with parties and very political people with less people going for those elections and with general it has a very huge media chatter.

d. Explain why a candidate's strategy to win the nomination is often different from the strategy developed to win the general election.

The reason why strategies are different is that the primary election is winning heavy party supporters and you must shift to sway independents in the general election moving ideas differently. Your running mate is also different as you move from elections with other party mates to a different running party. Lastly, funds are distributed differently through those elections.

2010 Over the last several decades, the composition of the Democratic and Republican parties has changed in important ways. A major partisan shift has occurred in the South, but other demographic changes have also been identified. Changes in party composition are reflected at different rates in presidential elections than in congressional elections. a. Identify one specific trend evident in the figure above.

The trend for the Democratic party in the election shown by the figure shows a decrease in the votes for elected officials.

b. Identify the fundamental goal of a political parties in the political process

Their goals are to get as many representatives as possible into office and control as much of the government as possible to pass laws and fix laws against their ideas and beliefs

c. Explain why California, Texas, and New York do not appear prominently in the cartoon above.

These states are not swing states as a certain party has a majority of control in that region due to winner-take-all elections and the ideas in that state that supports its ideals.

a. Describe one reason that the framers chose to use the electoral college as the method to elect the president.

They didn't want uninformed citizens directly voting for president and ruin the democracy. Also wanted to give fair representation to states no matter the size.

c. Explain one way in which the winner-take-all features of the electoral college hinders third-party candidates

Third-party candidates may get a lot of popular votes but no electoral votes unless they carry a state. The difficulty of winning electoral votes hampers the ability to raise funds and gain other campaign resources.

b. Republican Party rules permit winner-take- all primaries. Describe one consequence of this rule for the Republican nomination process.

This only gives the candidate certain locations to talk to and separating where funds are implemented. Name recognition is also a big thing when talking about Republican winner-take-all systems.

c. Explain why each of the following limits the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress. i. Legislators' voting records ii. Party leadership

To avoid being perceived as indecisive by voters and supporters. Party Leadership needs to avoid the risk of losing party support.

a. Identify two characteristics of a valid, scientific, public opinion poll.

Two characteristics for these polls are random sampling and unbiased wording. Also what helps is a large sample size

b. identify and explain how two rules of the United States electoral system act as obstacles to minor-party candidates winning elections

Winner-take-all and gerrymandering are the two biggest rules in the winning of elections and the reasons minor parties don't win. As these systems give a party a bigger chance in success as zoning prohibits minor parties getting votes with the biased sections and how their voting system occurs.

d) Describe the difference in the viewing patterns of older and younger age-groups.

Younger audiences don't view TV as much as older audiences do these days.