Political Science Exam 2 Study Guide

• Safe Seat

"A congressional seat from a district that includes a high percentage of voters from one of the major parties." Safe seats are districts where the party affiliation of the voters is so one-sided that the candidate who wears that party's label is virtually assured of victory.

• Closed shop

"The law that requires employees to become members of the union as a condition of employment in unionized workplace." Unions differ from professional associations in that the laws provide certain bargaining rights to unions. Union membership may be required for all employees as well. State laws vary on this issue. Some states are open shop, which means that employees in that state maintain the option of whether or not to join a certified union. Of course, in open-shop states, workers who do not join the union may benefit from union activities without "paying the price"—another form of the free-rider problem. Since 1947, the federal Taft-Hartley Act has technically banned the closed shop, which requires union membership as a condition of employment in a unionized workplace.

• SuperPac

PACs are defined as: "The political arm of a business, labor, or trade union, legally entitled to raise money on a voluntary basis from members, stockholders, or employees." SuperPACs are like PACs, but are larger and unrestricted, without any limitations. They are independent-expenditure political action committees.

• Clinton pardons

President Clinton issued 140 pardons on his last day in office in 2001. Individuals he pardoned included: 1. Marc Rich 2. Hugh Rodham 3. William Cunningham III 4. Hasidic Jewish Community, NY 5. Roger Clinton

• Social movements

"A large informal grouping of individuals and/or organizations focused on specific political or social issues." Numerous social movements have been identified in American history, such as the civil rights, consumer safety, women's rights, and environmental movements of the 1960s and 1970s. These large informal groupings of individuals were often spawned directly from particular interest groups. The consumer protection movement, for example, was driven by the activities of the group Public Citizen, formed by consumer activist Ralph Nader. The American drive toward equality has produced a number of important social movements that utilized organized interests. Movements have been political (for example, women's suffrage in the early 1900s), economic (for example, labor rights in the late 1800s and early 1900s), and social (for example, the civil rights movements of the 1960s). These movements have all been propelled by the activities of interest groups.

• Random-digit-dialing

"A probability technique for scientific telephone polling that randomly assigns the last 4 digits to known information about telephone area codes and exchanges." Modern-day scientific polls of Americans and voters typically use a probability technique known as random-digit dialing (RDD) to obtain scientific telephone samples. RDD uses known information about telephone area codes and exchanges and randomly assigns the last four digits to these. RDD sampling, however, only covers landline telephones. Pollsters using RDD now generally supplement their RDD samples with randomly selected cell phone numbers so that the sampling adequately reflects the growing number of Americans who use cell phones exclusively. To ensure that polls are scientific, samples must be chosen randomly using probability theory through techniques such as random-digit dialing. Unscientific polls can produce misleading results.

• Iron triangle

"A three-sided network of policymaking that includes congressional committees (and subcommittees) in a specific policy area, executive agencies with authority over that area, and private interest groups focused on influencing that area." An iron triangle is made up of the following three groups: 1. Congressional committees, 2. Bureaucratic agencies, and 3. Interest groups

• Cover up

"An attempt to prevent people's discovering the truth about a serious mistake or crime." Perhaps the most well-known case of the media uncovering and exposing government corruption was the investigative reporting of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the early 1970s concerning the Watergate corruption scandal of President Richard M. Nixon's administration. Their work led in part to the resignation of President Nixon in 1974 for his role in covering up the details of the Republican-led break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate Hotel during the 1972 presidential campaign. Woodward and Bernstein largely depended on an anonymous administration source, who came to be known as "Deep Throat," for information that ultimately exposed the White House cover-up of a number of criminal activities in Nixon's 1972 campaign for reelection. "Deep Throat" told Woodward and Bernstein to "follow the money," so they were able to trace the 100 dollar bills found on the burglars of the Watergate Hotel back to the bank in Mexico, and from there to the original person who wrote the check. They then called them and asked, "Can you tell us how a donation you made for the campaign to re-elect the president ended up in the Watergate burglar's pockets?" "Deep Throat" gave the reporters clues for to how to ferret out the 5 names that were allowed to spend the extorted money. Nixon, meanwhile, was trying to plug up any leaks, so he had these guys working for him who were called "the Plumbers" who were responsible for shutting up the leaks. They would stop at nothing to try to stop whomever was leaking information to the media. So "Deep Throat" could only leave the reporters breadcrumbs for them to follow in order to not get caught. Once the scandal was exposed, it was not the scandal that brought him down but the cover up. Nixon refused to turn over the Whitehouse tapes to the special prosecutor, and when he eventually did release some of the tapes, one of the tapes had an 18 minute gap of missing/deleted conversation. This was then referred to as the "smoking gun". Nixon left office less than halfway through his second term in 1974 under the looming threat of impeachment. He was the only president to resign, after being as accused of obstructing justice in the now infamous Watergate scandal. He knew he was about to be impeached, so rather than lose his pension and secret service protection and end up convicted, he resigned.

• Critical election

"An election that produces sharp changes in patterns of party loyalty among voters." The theory of critical elections, developed by political scientist V. O. Key Jr., posits that certain elections can be characterized as producing sharp changes in patterns of party loyalty among voters. Certain elections, such as those of 1860, 1896, and 1932, are considered "critical elections" because they produced sharp and lasting changes in patterns of party loyalty among voters. Some political scientists have termed the era since 1968 as a period of dealignment, characterized by a decline in voter attachment to parties and in clarity of party coalitions.

• Free rider

"An individual who does not join or contribute to an interest group that is representing his or her interests ." Large interest groups must always concern themselves with the problem of "free riders," those who benefit from the groups' activities without ever joining or contributing to the groups.

• Interest groups

"An organization of people with shared goals that tries to influence public policy through a variety of activities." They are private groups that attempt to influence government. Interest groups link people with government policies. The linkage created by interest groups is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees the people's right "to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances." People assembling in groups that carry out activities to foster group members' goals is a common activity in Washington, in the 50 state capitals, and in thousands of local governments. Interest groups provide all groups in society with an opportunity to win support for their ideas and positions. The vast number of interest groups represents a wide array of political opinions, economic perspectives, and social class differences. The products of public policy are largely a function of support for and membership in interest groups that compete for influence through activities such as lobbying.

• Straw Poll

"An unscientific poll that gathers the opinions of people who are conveniently available in a gathering place, such as a shopping center." Today, many refer to these polls (straw polls) as "convenience" polls.

• Soft money definition

"Money not donated directly to a candidate's campaign, but rather to a political advocacy group or a political party for "party-building" activities." PACs engage in "soft money" spending on advertising and other political work independent of candidates and parties. "Soft money" contributions are sometimes called "nonfederal" contributions because they are given to political parties for purposes other than supporting candidates for federal office. Unlike hard money contributions, there are no limits on the amounts of soft money that can be given by individuals to political parties.

• Political machine

"Party organizations that recruit their members with tangible incentives and are characterized by a high degree of control over member activity". They were primarily Democrats. Members of Political Machines include party loyalists, precinct workers, precinct captain, ward bosses, county committee members, and city bosses. These Political Machines developed in the early 19th century, and their hayday was from about 1890-1910, and it slowly declined after that. The reason they developed in the early 19th century was because we had a lot of immigrants come to the country at that time, and more than half of them lived in populace cities/urban areas, predominantly Irish immigrants on the east coast. They were living in crowded conditions, were underpaid, working very hard, with no food stamps, no Medicare, nothing from the government to help these new immigrants assimilate and get a leg up. The Democrats saw this as an opportunity to go after these people and target them, to organize them and get them on board with the Democratic party.

• Solidarity benefits (of group membership)

"Satisfaction that individuals receive from interacting with like-minded individuals for a cause." Individuals tend to join or support interest groups in order to receive material benefits, purposive benefits (those that benefit society more generally), and solidarity benefits based on individuals' satisfaction from interacting with like-minded people in pursuit of a goal.

• Solid South shift

"Solid South Shift" refers to the one of the biggest incidents of a shift in party loyalty. It involved the southern states (which until that time had been Democrats), shifting to the Republican Party. If you look at a map of the US states, you will see that red states (Republican) are in the center of the country, while blue states (Democrats) are those along the coast. However, until the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (signed by LBJ, a Democrat), the south was actually Democratic. Southerners were not real proponents of Civil Rights, so when Lyndon Johnson (who himself was a Southerner from Texas) signed the Civil Rights Act, he took the pen he signed the Act with and delivered it to the guy sitting next to him and said, "We just delivered the South to the Republicans for a long time to come". He was right. The south went from Democrat to Republican.

• Divided government

"Split-party control of Congress and the presidency." Divided government refers to split-party control of Congress and the presidency. Because both houses of Congress are required for passing new laws, when the majority party in at least one house of Congress differs from the party occupying the presidency, a form of divided government exists. For example, the last six years of Democratic President Obama's term were characterized by GOP control of either one or both houses of Congress. This presence of divided government made it difficult for either party to advance its policy goals and objectives.

• Citizens United v. FEC

"The 2010 Supreme Court opinion that held that government restrictions on independent political spending by corporations, unions, and other associations violate the First Amendment. Critics of the decision predicted the ruling would bring about a new era of corporate influence in politics. In fact, the bulk of large expenditures has come from so-called Super PACs dominated by a small group of billionaires; this development more than anything else has shifted significant power away from the political parties and toward the donors themselves." In the Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Court struck down a federal law banning corporations from most forms of participation in election campaigns. Note: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) was established in 1974 to enforce all campaign financing rules and regulations, including limits on campaign contributions. Today, the FEC is the federal agency in charge of enforcing election laws. Provisions for public funding of presidential campaigns were subsequently passed in 1976 and 1979.

• Equal time rule

"The FCC mandate that radio and TV broadcast stations offer equal amounts of airtime to all political candidates who want to broadcast advertisements." This rule also now includes a provision requiring that if a station broadcasts the president's State of the Union message, then that station must also provide free airtime for the opposing political party to broadcast a response.

• Campaign law Nixon team trying to thwart

"The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA)" The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), passed in 1971 and amended in 1974, required that all federal candidates accurately disclose campaign contributions and document all campaign expenditures. Nixon was poised to be re-elected in 1972. However, the campaign finance law was scheduled to be implemented in 1971, so in order to bypass the law, Nixon and his campaign staff tried to do as much fundraising and raise as much money for his re-election BEFORE the law was scheduled to go into effect and he would have to abide by the new fundraising rules. He did not want people to see where the money was coming from, which the disclosure laws would ensure.

• National committee

"The committee that oversees the conduct of a party's presidential campaign and develops strategy for congressional elections."

• "Intensity" - (public opinion)

"The degree of strength or commitment the public feels about the opinion it holds."

• Civil Rights Act of 1964

"The federal law that banned racial discrimination in all public accommodations, including those that were privately owned; prohibited discrimination by employers and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate complaints of discrimination; and denied public funds to schools that continued to discriminate on the basis of race."

• Universal suffrage

"The idea that all citizens in a nation have the right to vote." The states have exercised significant authority in defining who is eligible to vote. For many years, states regularly denied minorities, women, young adults, Native Americans, and the poor the right to vote for officeholders at the local, state, and national levels of government. In addition, a number of states prescribed property ownership requirements that prevented many people from being eligible to vote. Some states at various points in the nation's early history sought to broaden the right of suffrage. New Jersey, for example, allowed women the right to vote in the early 1800s, and some northern states provided for black suffrage prior to the Civil War. But the goal of universal suffrage—or the right of all citizens to vote—has been an elusive one throughout American history. Restrictions on voting rights have systematically denied the right of particular groups of people to participate in choosing their leaders.

• Digital divide

"The large differences in usage of the Internet between older and younger people, lower- and middle-/upper-class people, lesser and better educated people, and minority groups and nonminority groups." Another issue that is of concern to some is that those who use the Internet are more likely to be younger, middle and upper class, better educated, and nonminority—a disparity that has been referred to as the digital divide. Greater access to the Internet facilitates access to news and information, and those who have access clearly enjoy an advantage. However, as computers and Internet access costs decline, and as younger generations with computer skills replace older generations, the digital divide is likely to become less and less pronounced. Public libraries have provided another remedy to the digital divide. In 1996, 28 percent of all libraries had public access to the Internet. Today, 95 percent of libraries offer Internet access to patrons. Because they are eager to gain access, the number of visitors to public libraries has increased by nearly 20 percent over the past six years.

• Lobbying

"The means by which interest groups attempt to influence government officials to make decisions favorable to their goals." It is the actual communication between the government and lobbyists. Interest groups achieve their goals through lobbying activities, supporting candidates in election contests, litigating, and mounting persuasion campaigns.

• Voter turnout

"The number of people who turn out to vote as a percentage of all those eligible to vote." An individual's interest in politics and attentiveness to news about politics and campaigns, sense of civic duty, and sense of political efficacy (that is, the belief that one's vote can make a difference) all lead to higher rates of voter turnout, which is the percentage of eligible voters who show up to vote on Election Day. In addition to these "political" factors that help to distinguish between citizens who are more or less likely to vote, there are a number of demographic characteristics that also help to explain turnout. A person's gender, age, race/ethnicity, and level of education are all related to the decision to vote

• Partisan press era

"The period from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s when newspapers typically supported a particular political party." The Federalist/Anti-Federalist battle ushered in the partisan press era, a period characterized by newspapers supporting a particular political party. This period lasted from the late 1700s through the mid-1850s. Newspapers advocating the Federalist position that favored a stronger central government included John Fenno's Gazette of the United States and Noah Webster's American Minerva. The Anti-Federalists and later the Jeffersonian-Republicans, who supported states' rights, had their own partisan newspapers, such as the National Gazette and the National Intelligencer. Partisan newspapers appealed mostly to readers who already agreed with the political positions advocated by those publications. Partisan-oriented news eventually became big business, and government printing contracts to partisan publications became a regular part of the spoils system.

• Prenomination campaign

"The political season in which candidates for president begin to explore the possibility of running by attempting to raise money and garner support." Although the presidential campaign officially begins with the first state contest for delegates in January of the election year, the real campaign for president actually begins much earlier, soon after the previous presidential election has concluded. As part of the prenomination campaign, behind-the-scenes candidates who are thinking about making a run often begin to "test the waters" by talking to party insiders, shoring up early commitments of support, lining up a campaign staff, beginning a fund-raising operation, traveling around the country making speeches and appearances, setting up "exploratory committees" to assess the feasibility of making a formal declaration of official candidacy, and then making the official announcement. Shortly after the 2012 election, for example, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, among others, all established exploratory committees and began testing the waters to wage a bid for their party's nomination. The prenomination campaign also marks the beginning of the "weeding-out" process. Early on, many would-be candidates find insufficient support from party insiders. Others cannot raise sufficient funds to be competitive. Some tire too quickly of the arduous and time-consuming schedule necessary for launching a run for the presidency. These and other obstacles begin the process of narrowing the field of candidates.

• Spoils system

"The postelection practice of rewarding loyal supporters of the winning candidates and party with appointive public offices." President Andrew Jackson, elected to office in 1828, undertook a massive restructuring of the federal workforce. Jackson ran for the presidency as a populist advocating for the interests of the "common man." Upon taking office, he chose to remove individuals in the bureaucracy who were not at all "common" and who found themselves politically at odds with the new president. Resistance among many in the bureaucracy to follow Jackson's orders, along with the president's own desire to see that the bureaucracy more closely reflected the demographics of American society, led Jackson to undertake a major overhaul of the bureaucratic workforce. Jackson replaced the long-term, upper-middle-class bureaucrats with political supporters and friends who came from many walks of life. This spoils system of hiring federal workers quickly became a steadfast American tradition. To the victors of presidential elections went the spoils of jobs in the federal government. Under this system of patronage, campaigning, political party activities, and governing became intertwined. Political parties enticed people to work on political campaigns by promising the payoff of a good federal job with an electoral victory. Often, those who were given a job were expected to return a percentage of their salary to the political party—a very clever fund-raising strategy. Strength of partisan support became the key criterion for landing and maintaining a good job.

• Coattail effect

"The potential benefit that successful presidential candidates offer to congressional candidates of the same political party during presidential election years." In a presidential election year, the names of candidates for Congress typically are listed below the name of their party's candidate for president on the ballot. Thus, voters' selection of congressional candidates may be influenced by their choice for president. The congressional candidates, in effect, ride the coattails of the presidential candidate. For the coattail effect to be apparent, the outcome of the presidential race typically needs to be a landslide victory for the winner, such as in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan soundly defeated Democrat Walter Mondale. The "coattail effect," by which congressional candidates and state and local officials benefit at the polls from the votes of the president's supporters, may strengthen the president's position with party members during the upcoming term.

• Political socialization

"The process by which an individual acquires values, beliefs, and opinions about politics." Political socialization is a lifelong process, beginning in early childhood and continuing throughout an individual's life. The learning process that leads to the acquisition of values and opinions not only applies to politics—it also applies to other orientations of people, including their beliefs about religion and culture.

• Cultivation theory

"The theory of media effects that suggests that heavy television exposure helps develop an individual's overall view of the world." According to this theory, the emphasis on violence and crime in both news and entertainment programming would lead the heavy viewer to overestimate and be disproportionately concerned about the extent of crime and violence.

• Franking privileges

"The traditional right of members of Congress to mail materials to their constituents without paying postage." Incumbent members of Congress enjoy financial advantages, such as the franking privilege, which allows members to mail materials to their constituents without paying postage.

• Party system in the US

"Two-Party System (Democrats vs. Republicans)" Although party systems in a democracy vary in numerous ways, they may generally be classified into one of two types: (1) two-party systems and (2) multiparty systems. The United States features a two-party system, dominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties. The vast size and organizational structure of the two major parties, coupled with the fact that these two parties win the great majority of elections, appropriately classify the United States as a two-party system. The two-party system in America generates a majority of members from one of the two major parties, in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Since 1851, the majority party in each house has been either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. Members of the party that has the majority of seats constitute the majority caucus, whereas those who are members of the party with a minority of seats constitute the minority caucus. The majority caucus in the House and the majority caucus in the Senate use their respective majorities to elect leaders and maintain control of their chamber. The larger the party's majority, and the more discipline and unity among party members, the stronger the power of the majority party's leadership ability.

• Order of ascension in a political machine:

1. City 2. Ward - smaller than city 3. Precinct - smallest For members of a political machine, the ascension order is as follows: 1) Precinct Worker at the bottom, then 2) Precinct Captain above the Precinct Worker, then 3) Ward Boss, then 4) County Committee member, and above that is the 5) City Boss

• Soft money loophole

1. Independent expenditures - PACs and individuals can donate unlimited amounts of money 2. Earmarking - People can donate to PACs and tell the PACs that the money is earmarked for a particular candidate or party 3. Federal Elections Only - 4. Refusal of Public Funding - candidates can refuse the public funding that is allocated by the Federal Government for campaigns, and can opt to raise funds for their campaign without the assistance of the public funding 5. Borrowing from Financial Institutions - Candidates can take out a loan from a financial institution, such as a bank, to fund their campaign 6. Wealthy Candidates - wealthy candidates can donate an unlimited amount of their own money towards their own campaign 7. Minors or "Diaper Donors" - since there is technically no age limit for being a donor, wealthy families can make donations to their preferred candidate and put the donation in their child's name 8. FEC 9. Shadow Parties

• Structural factors affecting voter turnout

1. Women's Suffrage - women were unable to vote until 1920 2. African Americans - many laws/factors restricted Blacks from being able to vote, such as: a. 15th Amendment 1870 b. Jim Crow Laws c. Poll Taxes d. All White Primaries e. Intimidation and Violence 3. Phony Literacy Tests - making it difficult for immigrants to vote 4. "Character" Tests - Disenfranchisement of Felons (prohibit felons from voting) 5. Residency Requirements 6. Age Requirements - only those 21 years on up may vote 7. Registration - prospective voters must have registered weeks in advance of election day 8. Voting Day - Election Day is a Tuesday, so not everyone is able to make it there due to work and other commitments

• Voter turnout after voting age lowered

After the voting age was lowered, voter turnout decreased! The passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971 that lowered the voting age to 18 led to lower turnout rates. One explanation for this phenomenon is that many newly eligible voters were not yet registered to vote and required some time and socialization to get into the habit of voting.

• Who owned the newspapers, originally?

Before the Revolutionary war, very little was written about politics. There was no criticism of the government by the media, because the government had to approve whatever message went out to the public. As tensions between the colonists and the British grew, more and more was written in the newspapers, some of which was inflammatory. The Boston Massacre was an example of this; it was portrayed by the papers as a "massacre," when in fact only 5 people died. The media would inflate the number of incidences that happened between those who read it, and it was to agitate people. During what's known as the Partisan Press Era (the period from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s), newspapers typically supported a particular political party. Politicians were known to endorse newspapers, and as a result the papers could only print what the politician wanted because the newspaper did not have the financial means to print whatever it wanted. As a result, you couldn't trust what the paper said, because the papers had an extreme bias because they were endorsed by political appointees. The Partisan Press Era was ushered in by the Federalist/Anti-Federalist battle, and was a period characterized by newspapers supporting a particular political party. It lasted from the late 1700s through the mid-1850s. Newspapers advocating the Federalist position that favored a stronger central government included John Fenno's Gazette of the United States and Noah Webster's American Minerva. The Anti-Federalists and later the Jeffersonian-Republicans, who supported states' rights, had their own partisan newspapers, such as the National Gazette and the National Intelligencer. Partisan newspapers appealed mostly to readers who already agreed with the political positions advocated by those publications. Partisan-oriented news eventually became big business, and government printing contracts to partisan publications became a regular part of the spoils system.

• CREEP

CREEP is an acronym which stands for: "Committee for the Re-Election of the President" (also known as the Committee to Re-elect the President). It is abbreviated CRP, but often mocked by the acronym CREEP, and refers to the fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nixon's administration.

• Socioeconomic factor with greatest variation in voter turnout

Education!! The single MOST determining socioeconomic factor that influences voting is education! Higher education is associated with greater voter turnout. 81% of college graduates vote. Meanwhile, 57.5% of highschool graduates vote, and only 35% of people who do not have a highschool degree vote.

• Money route in Watergate scandal

Extortion --> Deposited into a Bank in Mexico to Launder it --> Withdrawn from the Mexico bank as cash --> Brought back to the US --> Placed in a safe in the Chief of Staff's Office --> Spent on "Dirty Tricks" If companies or individuals did not have "liquid" money, Nixon would say "No problem. You can give us money in stocks or checks, etc." So they got all kinds of checks and stocks, etc., and LAUNDERED them through a bank in Mexico where the banking records were not subject to a US subpoena! They would take the checks they received through their extortion methods, and they would deposit the checks into a bank in Mexico, and would then take the money back into the US in cash form. This money was then placed in a safe in the Chief of Staff's Office, where only 5 people were authorized to spend that money! So if you watch the movie "All the President's Men" or you read the story of the journalists who uncovered this, their journey was uncovering these 5 names. The Chief of Staff was the only one who kept a little IOU (I owe you) record of what money people had donated in order to then give them back political favors. But that was the only record kept of this. This information was never reported to any other Republican! Usually, party officials can see how much money is rolling in in an election campaign, and if it's an incumbent president they can say, "hey, you are basically going to get elected, but I am having a hard time in my district, can you help with some money from your campaign funds?" But in Nixon's case, he never even told his fellow Republicans that he had this money. There was no reporting, so no one knew this money even existed. The money was then spent on what we've come to associate as "Dirty Tricks". Examples of "Dirty Tricks" include: hiring hecklers to mess up the rallies, cancelling venues of the Democrats, McGovern's running mate's psychiatric records were stolen and made public for everyone to see, and to hire the dumbest burglars to break into the Watergate Hotel which was where George McGovern had his campaign headquarters. When the burglars were caught, rolls of 100 dollar bills were found on their persons, along with the phone numbers of top White House Aids.

• How did Nixon raise money?

In one word: Extortion!! Nixon's campaign used extortion, threats, and intimidation in that they would approach big companies or wealthy individuals who were having trouble with government agencies (i.e.: maybe their taxes were getting audited by the IRS or they were having trouble with safety laws and OSHA or something like that), and Nixon would use government agencies to put pressure on those companies and individuals to donate money to his campaign. They leaned on large companies, like American Airlines, American Shipbuilding, etc., and even unions - mob-dominated unions, and underground sources like Casinos! He and his campaign staff would threaten these companies and enterprises by saying things like, "You might get shut down for such-and-such," and they would shoot to get $100,000 from each of these companies for the Nixon re-election campaign. So Nixon essentially extorted the money! This is why later he was charged with abuse of power. He abused government agencies by using them to collect money for his campaign. When an individual is running for re-election, they are supposed to keep their campaign and governing separate - they should not use their power to raise money.

• Why do people join groups?

Individuals tend to join or support interest groups in order to receive material benefits, purposive benefits (those that benefit society more generally), and solidary benefits based on individuals' satisfaction from interacting with like-minded people in pursuit of a goal. Every individual has interests, and interest groups are a mechanism for people with shared goals to protect or advance their own interests. People can influence government by joining a group that is organized to accomplish an objective. By their very nature, humans seek out others who have ideas similar to their own. Joining groups and working for the interests of the group are natural inclinations of citizens and should be encouraged as a method of representation in our democracy. People who may join an interest group include individuals who are: - Passionate about something that the interest group supports - They may have hopes of shaping public policy and laws Interest groups today play a central role in making laws, regulating industries, and even influencing court decisions - Interest groups exert influence on congressional voting in a number of ways, including making contributions to congressional campaigns and hiring lobbyists to provide arguments to members regarding why they should vote a particular way on a bill - To influence the president Many interest groups provide input to the president through leaders in the cabinet - Interest groups have become increasingly active in confirmation proceedings, lobbying senators directly and testifying in favor of or against particular nominees

• John Huang

John Huang is a former Riadi and Lippo employee, who got a job in the commerce department of the US government for Ron Brown securing multi-billion dollar contracts (like Walmart) around the world for James Riadi. Despite him saying that he had "no connection" to Riadi and Lippo group and that he disassociated himself before he got the government job, but records showed that he made dozens of calls and there were emails back and forth with his former employer, Lippo Bank, while he served as a top Commerce Department official. He was investigated for conspiracy to make illegal contributions, so he left the Commerce Department and became one of the top Democratic Party fund-raisers in 1996. The Lippo Group also owned a bank in LA. The bank was being investigated by the FDIC, and one phone call from John Huang and all of a sudden the FDIC left the bank alone and all their problems went away; they got "lenient coverage" or supervision. John Huang said he didn't call, but there are records showing he did.

• Lobbyist

Lobbyists are the professionals who do the lobbying. The best lobbyists are former government officials. Lobbyists provide information to public officials, with the hope that the information will convince the official to vote or act in a manner favorable to the group's interest. Lobbyists perform a valuable function to public officials by providing not only information and perspectives on issues, but expertise as well. In the iron-triangle system, lobbyists seek access to members of Congress and to managers in executive agencies in a particular policy area. Public officials come to depend on the lobbyists for information and knowledge. A common depiction of lobbying is that of an individual offering money, gifts, trips, or other goods in return for a favorable action, such as a congressperson's vote on a particular bill. Though such activities do take place, in modern times they have become the exception rather than the rule. The activities of lobbyists today are strictly regulated by federal and state governments. Lobbyist gift-giving and bribery of public officials are illegal in most states and can be prosecuted. States require lobbyists to provide financial statements, report expenses, and maintain official registration for interest groups and individuals who provide lobbying services. Lobbyists are regularly seen in the halls of the Capitol building and the House and Senate office buildings. They are also common fixtures in the halls and offices of the state capitol buildings. Many lobbyists own their own lobbying firms and contract with interest groups to provide services, similar to the way that an organization might hire a law firm to conduct legal work. More commonly, however, lobbyists are employed by businesses, associations, or other organizations to lobby for that employer alone. Large organizations and businesses have the resources to hire full-time lobbyists; contract lobbyists often work for smaller organizations that do not have the resources to hire their own full-time lobbying staff.

• What do lobbyist provide legislators?

Lobbyists provide information to public officials, with the hope that the information will convince the official to vote or act in a manner favorable to the group's interest. Lobbyists perform a valuable function to public officials by providing not only information and perspectives on issues, but expertise as well. In the iron-triangle system, lobbyists seek access to members of Congress and to managers in executive agencies in a particular policy area. Public officials come to depend on the lobbyists for information and knowledge. For example, managers in the Department of Defense and members of Congress on the Armed Services Committee rely on lobbyists from Pratt & Whitney for information on emerging jet engine technologies, engine performance data, and other information, which allows the military to plan and improve the nation's defenses. Similarly, the congressional committees responsible for workplace safety standards and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the executive agency responsible for administering those standards, depend on the lobbyists representing labor unions and product safety groups for data and information on workplace hazards and for recommendations for remediation. Of course, these same public officials are likely to be lobbied by business interests concerned about the increased costs associated with remediation of hazards. Lobbyists communicate with public officials in many different ways, including formal presentations, written memos and policy papers, informal e-mails or notes, face-to-face meetings, and informal discussions over a meal or a drink. The most effective lobbyists are those who provide valuable, truthful information on policy issues and who make persuasive arguments. Having a good working relationship with public officials and a quality reputation provides the lobbyist with access to officials, which is crucial to the lobbyist's success.

• PAC

Political Action Committees. "The political arm of an interest group that promotes candidates in election campaigns primarily through financial contributions." It is "the political arm of a business, labor or trade union legally entitled to raise money on a voluntary basis from members, stockholders or employees". These are essentially ways of LAUNDERING MONEY for political parties or interests. In other words, they take a lot of small donations and bundle them together to pass on to parties or candidates. This is because in order to be a legal PAC, the money collected by the PAC must be collected from at least 50 different VOLUNTEER donors, and given to at least 5 candidates, and the PAC must abide by the contribution limit which is $5,000)

• Marc Rich pardon

President Clinton issued 140 pardons on his last day in office in 2001, including one to Marc Rich, who had previously fled the country for tax evasion and whose wife was a major contributor to Clinton's political campaigns. Bill Clinton's controversial presidential pardon of fugitive Marc Rich, (who died in 2013), came under scrutiny as Rich, a financier who fled to Switzerland after being indicted on multiple federal charges, including tax evasion, in 1983. Clinton's motive for pardoning Rich on his last day in office was questioned because Rich's ex-wife, Denise Rich, was a wealthy Democratic donor who made a $450,000 donation to Clinton's presidential library foundation and more than $100,000 to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.

• Random sample

Random sampling is achieved by giving each possible respondent in the population a known chance of being selected in the sample. A scientific sample is one that uses probability theory as a guide to selecting people from the population who will compose the sample. Random selection of respondents in the sample is key to achieving a scientific, or representative, sample. There are a number of ways of achieving a random sample. If the vast majority of people in a population are given a chance of being sampled, then the poll is scientific. If not, then the sample represents nothing beyond itself. In an unscientific sample, some individuals in the population have no chance of being included. A Random Sample poll means that the poll was a scientific poll and the results can be generalized to the full American adult public.

• McCutchen Decision (2014)

The Supreme Court decision to ban all aggregate total caps to candidates, parties, and PACs. The court determined by a 5-4 ruling that capping donation totals was a violation of free speech, because donating to a candidate or party is a FORM of free speech, so capping it and restricting individuals as to how much they can donate is illegal! So in 2014 the aggregate totals were discontinued and they are no longer existent.

• FECA and Bipartisan Reform Act similarities (FECA = Federal Election Campaign Act)

The first significant piece of federal legislation aimed at regulating campaign financing was the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), passed in 1971 and amended in 1974. The law required that all federal candidates accurately disclose campaign contributions and document all campaign expenditures. Subsequent amendments to FECA imposed legal limits on campaign contributions by individuals ($1,000 to each candidate per election cycle; $5,000 to PACs per year; and $20,000 to national party committees per year). Additionally, FECA imposed an outright ban on certain campaign contributions by corporations, unions, national banks, and foreign nationals, among others. Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002: Also called the McCain-Feingold Act, the federal legislation that (1) restricted soft money spent by political parties, (2) regulated expenditures on ads that refer to specific candidates immediately before an election, and (3) increased limits on hard money donated directly to candidates and their campaigns. The FECA and Bipartisan Reform Act impose similar restrictions, including: 11. No Corporations/Unions 12. No Foreign Money 13. No Federal Contractors 14. Disclosure of Sources 15. There are dollar limits on Individuals/Candidates 16. Aggregate Totals (the total amount an individual can donate to all campaigns in 1 year, or 2 years, etc.)

• Errors in opinion polls

The key step in ensuring the accuracy of a poll is in the sample! It must be truly random! Being truly random means that everyone has the same chance of being asked the question. A typical size for a reliable sample is around 1,000 people. Errors in opinion polls may occur due to many factors. One of the most interesting errors in opinion polls is that people lie! During Trump's election, many people lied when polled about who they were going to vote for. This ended up being termed the "shy Trump vote". Other errors may occur due to measurement, the way questions are asked/worded (they may be leading people to answer a certain way), as well as different people's interpretation of questions that are asked. Errors may occur because of: 1. The question may be leading it's very important that questions are NEUTRAL 2. Thinking that the Median is the middle since polls usually go from 1 to 10, if one person rates something as a 1 and another person rates it as a 10, the median is 5 - so the 1 and 10 are canceled out. This makes it appear as though there are a bunch of people in the middle, when in fact they are not. 3. Illusions of saliency this is where people think their idea is so salient (or important) that people are just rushing to tell you their opinion. A lot of times people DO NOT CARE and just answer because they are asked. So the "opinions" can't always be taken as very important 4. Sampling errors Sampling error is the term used to indicate the amount of error in the poll that results from interviewing a sample of people rather than the whole population under study. Sampling error is largely a function of sample size: the larger the sample size, the less sampling error with the poll. 5. Limited options The poll may provide limited options, so people may not have the ability to select what they really want or think. People may want to answer that something is good AND bad, but they don't have that option 6. Alters vs. Measures Public Opinion some polls are actually not really polls at all but are designed to INFLUENCE those polled rather than get real feedback. They will try to sway and alter a person's opinion rather than measure it. Other things that may render a poll unreliable include: 7. The audience asking people who watch a certain show to call in and give their opinion will not provide an accurate poll because the audience will be typically be predisposed to think a certain way - that's why they watch that show, because they agree with the views (i.e. left views, right views, etc.) 8. Inadequate political knowledge people may not have enough information to answer 9. Inability to contact enough random people people no longer have house phones so it's harder to get a random sample 10. Over-interpretation of data it's important not to over-interpret the data!

• Penny Press

The term "penny press" aptly described the low cost of newspapers during the early to mid-nineteenth century. It was not until the advent of the Penny Press (which was made possible because of the invention of the "rotary press" in 1815) that mass production of affordable newspapers was possible. This allowed newspapers to become financially self-sufficient/independent, and therefore able to print whatever they wanted. In addition to being able to mass produce the papers (which increased revenue), they also got money for advertising, which was also new. There were technical improvements that allowed for more rapid production, and the literacy rate was increasing so more people were able and interested in reading and buying newspapers. A decade later, the invention of the telegraph enabled penny-press papers to quickly produce stories on breaking-news events.