POLS 1101 Exam 3 Study Guide

*unconventional participation*

Activities that are legal but often considered inappropriate. Young people, students, and those with grave concerns about a regime's policies are most likely to engage in unconventional participation.

*conventional participation*

Activities that we expect of good citizens. For most people, participation occurs every few years at election time. People strongly committed to politics are more likely to participate on a regular basis.

*attitude*

"an organized and consistent manner of thinking, feeling, and reacting with regard to people, groups, social issues, or, more generally, any event in one's environment"

*why is polling so hard?*

- A good sample size requires 1,000 to 2,000 people - The sample must be random - But also roughly reflect the demographics of the nation/state/district in question - Poorly worded question may skew results - Including to many non or only occasional voters may also skew things

*does America have a strong or weak party system?*

- America operates under a weak party system this is because parties are fragmented with their being the national party apparatuses followed by state parties and with most cities and counties also having their own party structures - in the American system parties can do little to punish members who do not always toe the party-line outside of withholding donations - less true today due to polarization but traditionally it was not uncommon for state parties to be out of step with their national counterparts on one or more issues. - you still see this today a bit ex West Virginia Democrats more likely to be pro life and pro NRA than national Democrats. New Hampshire Republicans meanwhile are often much more moderate or libertarian than their national counterparts

*party systems*

- American politics has been defined by 5 or 6 distinct party systems all of which basically boiled down to just two major parties. - only during the late 1800s early 1900s were the Populists and Progressives relevant in a few states as significant third parities i.e. they held governorships had seats in Congress etc - 1st Federalist vs Democratic Republicans - Era of Good Feelings -parties kind of meaningless - 2nd Democrats vs Whigs - 3rd Democrats vs Republicans - 4th Democrats vs Republicans (Post Civil War Republicans very dominate - 5th New Deal Coalition Dems vs Republicans now Democrats are the dominate party - Lots of debate about when this era ended are we now in a 6th or 7th party system?

*What are the differences between values/beliefs and attitudes/opinions when it comes to public opinion?*

- Beliefs/values are more hard wired into you and are the basic principals for how people see the world and rarely change Ex people rarely change religions or from having a liberal approach to politics and the world to a conservative one and vice versa. Shift on hot button issues abortion, gun control, etc also fairly rare - Attitudes or opinions meanwhile are more issue specific and are more likely to change overtime based on new information or changing life circumstances. Ex someone may change how they feel about the upsides and downsides of raising the minimum wage without changing parties

*What is a textbook example of what it means to have a conservative political ideology in America?*

- Broadly speaking in the American context this refers to distrusting government authority and regulation while holding the free market and private sector in higher regard - Worth noting that having a conservative attitude or predisposition or core attitudes is different from being a political conservative. Someone can be conservative in their personal life i.e. value tradition, be skeptical of change, and being fiscally prudent without always having conservative political views

*What does the rally-around-the-flag effect refer to?*

- Following a crisis or occasionally a victory on the world stage public support for political leaders particularly the President may temporarily skyrocket or at least noticeably improve - H.W. Bush immensely popular following the conclusion of the 1st Gulf War - Following the 9/11 approval for W. Bush also skyrocketed likely allowing Republicans to accomplish much more than would have been possible with their narrow majority in Congress party even gained a few seats in mid terms - This effects may pass quickly though ex after Bin Laden was finally brought to justice President Obama's bump in approval disappeared after a few short weeks. Same for Trump after the leader of ISS was killed.

*When discussing polling what does the Bradley Effect refer to?*

- For decades minority candidates particularly African American ones dramatically underperformed compared to their polling Mayor Tom Bradley lost his race for Governor of California despite a solid lead in the polls - Doug Wilder of Virginia barely won his governors race despite a strong polling lead and Democrats having been on a long winning streak in the state. - This led to the consensus that potential voters would lie to pollsters when races featured minority candidates in order to come off as more progressive - This is in part why Barrack Obama's landslide victory in 2008 was such a surprise even though in hindsight John McCain's campaign had been rocky from the start. - you also occasionally see this play out in reverse when colorful or controversial candidates are on the ballot some percentage of people will not admit to supporting them to pollsters due to social stigma but vote for them in the privacy of the ballot box - Wrestler Jessie Ventura's election to Governor of Minnesota - Klansmen David Duke of Louisiana also regularly outperformed his polling to be elected to the state house and nearly becoming Senator and then Governor in the 1990s

*What does the term gender gap refer to?*

- Going back decades now women across the board have consistently been more liberal regarding political matters than men this is especially true among unmarried women. - Female candidates for political office are also typically perceived as more moderate/liberal regardless of their stances - Somewhat less true today but even amongst Republican officeholders women have tended to be more moderate and bipartisan.

*What is the difference between ideology and partisanship - do they always go hand in hand?*

- Ideologies are organized sets of political attitudes - In America this basically boils down to the question of if you are liberal or conservative - To overly generalize Liberals- think gov should do more to address societal and economic problems while Conservatives think the government should do less and more trust should be placed in individuals and private groups to deal with the nations problems

*what does a poll need to be accurate?*

- In order to be accurate polling samples must be random and include a representative sample of the relevant population - For example a poll in a diverse state like Georgia will be highly flowed if African Americans are underrepresented - Lists of registered voters are also generally used for political surveys because results may be flawed if too many nonvoters are included

*Explain the free rider problem interest groups face?*

- Interest groups are nearly all voluntary associations out to achieve political goals. Like all groups seeking public or collective outcomes, they encounter the free riding problem. - The large-n problem isn't confined to interest groups, but rather afflicts any organization that produces large-scale public goods.

*measuring public opinion*

- Issues include most people aren't political experts - Framing/ how you ask questions can skew results ex programs to help the poor poll better than "welfare programs" - Opinions can constantly change based on news cycle and new information ex the Clintons have been all over the place in terms of public approval - Sometimes people have complex views that are hard to capture in simple binary polling

*What are the dominant political ideologies in the United States?*

- Liberalism: prior to the last 100 years or so the term liberal was mostly used to describe those who favored individual rights and liberties and was suspicious of governments ability to manage social and economic affairs. - This is why in some European nations the "Liberal Parties" may not seem much like the American Democrats - This is also why you may hear moderates, socially liberal Republicans, or libertarians who mostly vote Democrat describe themselves as "classical liberals" - Conservatism: meanwhile to those who believe that aside from protecting a nations borders and policing the streets one should be skeptical of government attempts to address societies problems and instead of government one should look toward charitable individuals, the private sector, and institutions like Churches to address a nations problems - Again things become a bit more complicated when it comes to politics in other countries in some European nations parties may have conservative in their name but act a bit more like Democrats than Republicans because British or Burkean Conservatism is a bit more open to change and government reforms so long as they are meticulous planned out and debated

*The government moderately regulates the content and ownership of one form of media while basically leaving another alone?*

- Modest regulation of broadcasted content and of ownership traditionally government actors don't want a few companies controlling to many media outlets - Print media basically anything goes - Social media? - Federal Communication Commission or FCC licenses broadcasters and regulates profanity, obscenity, and indecency - Prior restraint: an effort by a government agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way - Near v. Minnesota (1931) set a high legal threshold for government prior restraint

*Do journalists tend to identify as Democrats or Republicans? Why would one be more likely?*

- More journalists identify as Democrats in surveys but this may have a lot to do with major media markets being in Blue States - Ex. Chris Wallace of Fox News, clearly a moderate conservative but has admitted to being a registered Democrat because he lives in Washington D.C. and wants to vote in Democratic primaries because Democrats always win local races there - New York has closed primaries so if you care about local/state politics it makes more sense to register as a Democrat

*Is obviously biased media a new phenomenon?*

- No, many early news papers were controlled by political parties or party factions. - William Randolph Hearst helped promote Yellow Journalism in the late 1800s and early 1900s some argue the Spanish American War may have started because Hearst wanted to sell more papers - 1940s to 1980s or so was period of unusually high amount of focus on being nonpartisan and objective - Conservatives have often argued though that the period was biased against the conservative perspective and maybe media was blandly liberal or just pro status quo - From the 1990s forward there has been much more overtly partisan media particularly for conservatives some of this is ideological some of it just about taking advantage of an untapped market

*On the big issues most people hold stable consistent opinions but what about new questions and more in the weeds issues? How do form their views?*

- Only a fairly small percentage of people follow the news and issues closely the rest of us free ride off of Opinion Leaders- public figures, news personalities, politicians, etc for others this may simply be friends and family members - We also use Cognitive Shortcuts - ex: just going along with our party or liberal/conservative, personalities, or interest groups

*In recent decades what characteristic has become incredibly predictive when it comes to how people feel about various political and cultural issues?*

- Party Affiliation: now this is not to say that people always embrace every portion of their preferred parties platforms but in recent decades as polarization intensified and local and regional parties have become more and more like their national counterparts knowing someone's partisan affiliation can tell you how they probably feel about a wide range of issues. - Partisanship has now risen to such a degree that partisans may quickly reverse their stances on issues if national party leaders do so first ¡It is worth noting though that there are a few exceptions when it comes to how much an individuals partisan identity can tell you about them. - In states where a party has suffered a heavy decline in popularity people may stubbornly continue to identify with their a party despite strongly opposing its current leadership and rarely voting for its members beyond the local level - This is the case in states like Kentucky and West Virginia which vote overwhelmingly Republican in presidential elections but Democrats continue to do well at the local level

*What is a good definition of public opinion and why is public opinion so important in our system of government?*

- Public Opinion: can be thought of as the opinions of individuals important enough for government officials to pay attention to - important because if in a Democratic system that is based on supporting individual candidates rather than parties if politicians are out of step with voters on top tier issues Abortion, Gun Rights, Civil Rights they are unlikely to stay in office regardless of their campaign resources or the quality of their opponents - Non-elected officials can also find themselves removed if it is reveled that they are wildly out of step with the public on top tier issues

*What factors influence public opinion? How does partisanship cloud people's ability to think logically?*

- Public opinion can be influenced by public relations and the political media. Additionally, mass media utilizes a wide variety of advertising techniques to get their message out and change the minds of people. Since the 1950s, television has been the main medium for molding public opinion. - Partisanship can cloud people's ability to think logically because they might just follow a party blindly. If you're in one party and another party puts out a policy that you would normally agree with, you might disagree just because it came from the other party.

*public opinion polling*

- Random Sampling: goal of good polling is to get a random sample of people that is basically representative of the relevant demographics - Margin of Error: pollsters account for the possibility that their sample is off by factoring in a margin of error a margin of error of say 3 means that if the same survey was done 100 times, they would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times. - Ex: if a pollster says 48% of people support the president with a margin of error of three this means that the range of possible support is actually 45% to 51% of Americans - Scope Conditions: a. All Americans b. Registered Voters c. Likely Voters

*What does the term framing refer to?*

- Refers to how influencers like the media or political campaigns chose to portray events and which aspects to highlight or downplay - For example, a fringe groups rally could be framed as a threat to public safety or as a positive example of the nations commitment to free speech with neither being inaccurate - Political campaigns can also emphasize different aspects of their rivals records. - Ex: the text highlights President Trump and Senator McCain's feud regarding McCain's experiences in Vietnam - In 2004 Bush and Kerry also differed on how Kerry's war record should have properly been interpreted

*What are issue publics?*

- Small groups who are highly knowledgeable about a typically under the radar issue usually because it impacts them in some way ex farmers. - Because their issues are so specific that they don't really impact the general public . But if they mobilize they can have a major impact on things most people don't follow like farming or banking policy. If a politician doesn't respond to local players concerns they can help fund or recruit a challenger

*What are some examples of institutional barriers to the franchise commonly employed in the U.S.? In what ways did the 15th, 19th, and 26th amendment eliminate certain institutional barriers?*

- State-by-state variation in voter registration laws, criminals are sometimes denied the right to vote, voter ID laws, lack of same-day voter registration, and no absentee voting are some examples of institutional barriers to voting - The 15th amendment gave African Americans the right to vote (states that no citizen of the US will be denied the right to vote based on their race, color, or previous condition of servitude), the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote (states that no citizen of the US will be denied the right to vote on account of sex), and the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18 (states that no citizen of the US will be denied the right to vote if they are over the age of 18). These 3 amendments expanded suffrage to previously disenfranchised groups.

*What does the term political socialization refer to and where does much of this take place?*

- Term refers to the process by which one world view and political viewpoints are shaped this occurs throughout ones life as they move, work different jobs, learn, and take in new experiences. - The most important junctures though are ones childhood and young adulthood with one's family and demographic background strongly influencing their world view - Agents of political socialization include - Family and Social Networks- even very partisan parents rarely seek to indoctrinate their children into their political world view yet it is fairly rare for people to have dramatically different political preferences than their parents. Most of those that do not align with their parents didn't develop diverging viewpoints until leaving home - Extended family, friends, coworkers, and social media networks may also act to reinforce or pushback against the political socialization people experience at home - Education: public schools to some degree seek to teach all children a common set of civic virtues such as respect for liberty, equality, and democracy in addition to respect for America's Founding Fathers and documents - Going away to college may also expose individuals to very different social and political outlooks compared to their home town. Additionally a College education seems to correlate with much higher political engagement such as voting, donating to candidates, volunteering/ working for campaigns and taking part in protests - Social Groups are also agents of socialization these include categories people are born into such as nation of origin and groups people join willingly such as labor unions. These groups may offer important experiences and perspectives that shape individuals worldviews - Ex: Active Labor Union members may sometimes vote for candidates who do not belong to their preferred party because they have been a union member or their ally in the past - Race and Ethnicity is also a strong predictor of partisan ID - For example, African Americans who could vote following the Civil War were overwhelmingly Republicans until the New Deal era where their partisan leanings become more evenly split but after Democrats emerged as the stronger champions of Civil Rights in the 1960s African Americans have become overwhelmingly Democratic leaning - Latinos overall meanwhile lean Democratic but Cuban Americans specifically lean Republicans due to feeling that Democrats in recent decades were insufficiently hostile to Fidel Castro

*How would you describe the state of studying public opinion? What are some of the famous failures?*

- The great failures of public opinion and polling remind us of the importance of getting a truly representative sample when gauging public opinion - 1936 Literary Digest fiasco? - 1948 Dewey Defeats Truman fiasco? - Nixon v Kennedy Debate - Bradley Effect - 2016 Presidential election

*polling*

- While the polling industry suffered greatly after 2016 with very few predicting President Trumps victory when done well public-opinion polling can be revealing - 2016 issues the national polls weren't that far off with Clinton's popular vote win being not that much lower than predicted but state level polling proved quite flawed in the key states that gave President Trump his victory in the Electoral College - If the 2018 midterms are any indication a number of states remain difficult to accurately poll

*Young people get most of their news from what source? While older Americans primarily rely on blank. Middle aged folks?*

- Young Americans primarily get their news online and as well as lots of second hand stories via social media - Older Americans mainly TV - Middle aged folks split the difference lots of online but still lots of TV

*media shapes public opinion through 3 basic ways...*

- agenda setting: the power to bring attention to particular issues and problems - priming: the process of preparing the public to take a particular view of an event or a political actor - framing: the power of the media to influence how events an issues are interpreted

*franchise*

- an authorization granted by a government or company to an individual or group enabling them to carry out specified commercial activities, e.g., providing a broadcasting service or acting as an agent for a company's products - the right to vote

*What has happened to the Honeymoon period in recent years?*

- as a result of the rise of polarization honeymoon periods have become much shorter - President Obama's lasted only a few months - President Trump's lasted a few weeks if that

*conceptualizing public opinion*

- attitudes - attitude objects - attitude dimensions - opinions

*Why do we basically have a two party system?*

- because American elections are winner take all and legislative government uses single member districts this limits minor parties chances of gaining influence - Duverger's Law: basically says any system that uses a winner take all rules will result in only two meaningful parties - most European nations meanwhile use proportional representation where a party gets seats based off their proportion of the vote. In some nations getting just 1% of the vote guarantees the party 1 seat in parliament

*why is voter turnout in the US relatively low?*

- due to federalism America has more elections/types of elections than many nations which may dampen turnout for any particular contest - only a few states make voting by mail easy and they have far higher turnouts ex California, Utah, Oregon, Washington - the US only has two major parties while most nations have many - most elections are not particularly competitive in the US - unlike the US some European nations also make voting mandatory

*what are exit polls?*

- exit polls survey a sample of voters as they leave the ballot box on election day. - usually only conducted for Presidential elections or major races in swing states expensive and much debate over how good a sample you can get this way

*other forms of political participation*

- forming and contributing to interest groups - party/candidate activism - citizen activism - civil disobedience

*how would you define what exactly is a political party?*

- historically Americans hate political parties - in polls over half of Americans typically say we need a 3rd party - Americans like the idea of divided government and you have to go back to the Great Depression to find an example of one party controlling the Presidency and Congress for more than a few years. - most recent Gallup poll 43% of people identify as independents vs. 26% R and 29% Dem - Edmund Burke, "a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed." - Anthony Downs, "a team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election"

*why only 2 parties?*

- in America the two parties also tend to conspire to make it hard for minor parties to compete ex in order to get on the ballot third parties must raise large sums of money, prove they have tens of thousands of members, or get tens of thousands of people to sign petitions proving support for the party. - when it comes to debates third parties must also prove significant support to get on the debate stage ex in presidential debates the libertarian or Green party candidate have never been invited. - if a third party has a policy that becomes extremely popular one of the major parties will probably just co-opt it and take a good chunk of that parties supporters - ex for decades if pot legalization was your most important issue the Libertarian Party was your only option but slowly Democrats began agreeing and now most Democratic politicians champion pot legalization as well - the Electoral College also basically guarantees a two party system because if the vote is split to many ways no one will get the 270 necessary votes which means the House will get to decide the winner. - fearing this outcome people who are torn between one of the major parties and a third party tend to back the major party candidate. - and because third parties do poorly in presidential elections they have trouble attracting attention and being taken seriously for other contests. money: - American elections are very expensive compared to democracies like Europe which have public financing of elections or rules that require media coverage for all parties - as such outside of maybe local races people don't want to invest their money in candidates that are unlikely to win - in a sense we do have multiple parties in the US but they exist under the umbrella of the two major parties. - in recent years Democratic Socialists have openly ran as Democrats. Libertarians also tend to run as Republicans - Moderate Republicans and conservative Blue Dog Democrats also find it easier to identify with one of the two major parties rather than to try and start their own thing. - less true today but historically the major parties haven't gone out of their way to enforce party discipline and allow local and state parties to do their own thing. So state/local parties could be much more liberal or conservative on various issues based on what their local voters wanted. - 20 years ago or so it wasn't that uncommon to hear Democrats in the Deep South admit to voting Republican in presidential elections and vice versa for New England Republicans

*recall elections*

- in about 20 states voters may demand a vote on whether to remove a governor or other state official before their term is expired - the thresholds to demand these sorts of elections are often very high and only occur if a politician is extremely scandal plagued but refuses to resign

*referendums*

- in every state the state legislature may refer certain policy proposals to the voters to accept or reject via a popular vote - sometimes state constitutions require voters to directly consent to certain policies but more often these are controversial measures where the legislature would rather just pass the buck if it turns out to be unpopular

*How did news papers during most of the 1800s differ from news papers today?*

- in the late 1800s they stressed profit and featuring human interest stories, crime news, etc. - today most are online but press biases

*What exactly is the rally-around-the-flag effect?*

- in times of crisis the American people and to some extent Congress tend to become more supportive of the President. - to some extent this also includes when the president successfully addresses a crisis on the world stage - due to polarization this seems to be decreasing President Trump, for example, got a small bump in support during the early stages of COVID

*market-driven journalism*

- journalism designed to reach the largest audiences possible - also designed to turn a profit

*television media*

- leading source of news in the US - televised speeches and news conferences give the President the ability to communicate directly with the public - televised candidate debates are important, especially in the presidential race

*radio media*

- led to immediate reporting of news and allowed the president to speak directly to the public - FDR used this to influence public opinion in "fireside chats" - continues to be an important news outlet

*print media*

- newspapers date back to the colonial times and reached their peak in the early 20th century but have been declining since the 1950s - magazines devoted to public affairs began in the mid 19th century and attracted mass readership in the 20th century but is now also declining

*Most of the founding fathers particularly George Washington really did not like the idea of political parties how/why did they still develop so quickly?*

- parties grew out of the efforts of political entrepreneurs to build alliances and coordinate the collective activity necessary to gain control of and use the machinery of government. - the organization of Congress (who will be the speaker) naturally lead to factions - the construction of formal political parties made understanding and participating in politics much easier for the growing number of working class voters as well as made mobilizing these voters easier - Congressional power to regulate elections does not necessarily imply power to regulate political parties.

*patronage*

- patronage is when politicians use their office or connections to award supporters with government jobs, government contracts, business licenses, or any other sort of perks. - most forms of this are illegal today although presidents and governors of big states do still have a fairly high number of offices to fill with loyalists. Presidents sometimes give donors or celebrities fun/cushy jobs like ambassadors to tropical countries - during the late 1800s this sort of corruption was widespread and party bosses could dole out lots of jobs and favors. President James Garfield was even killed by a political hack who though he was owed a job for supporting Garfield - this is relevant to the continuation of the two party system because despite reforms limiting patronage if one really wishes to be a professional Democrat or Republican and are well connected there are government, party, and special interest group jobs available to you so long as you meet some qualifications. - if you're a Libertarian or Green Party supporter there is very little infrastructure through which to reward and support allies.

*formation of attitudes and opinions*

- political socialization: a. transmission of values b. social networks c. environmental factors - political cognition: a. knowledge b. identity c. experience and emotion d. reasoning

*what are push polls?*

- push polls are polls that are phrased in such a way that may prime the sample to answer a certain way such as - "Many Americans feel that we need more independents in office do you plan on supporting independent candidate x? - or when one campaign primes the sample with unflattering info real or fake about the other candidate ex "Do you support candidate X or draft dodger Y?"

*Recruiting Candidates for office is the main function of political parties why is this function so difficult and time consuming?*

- recruitment is difficult because running for office is expensive and seems to become more so every cycle as such it is often difficult to find candidates who both fit the district/ state/ locality and can raise large sums of money - a partial exception to this is small local offices where expenses are minimal and the handful of states with robust public financing systems where candidates who met certain benchmarks can apply for tax payer funds to finance their campaigns. These policies are controversial but a few states believe that they limit the influence of big donors and special interests - recruitment is also difficult due to the incumbency advantage incumbents are rarely defeated and even in the modern era of polarization incumbents who represent states or districts that do not favor their party still have some good will among independents and voters in the other party due to their constituency service. - parties also handle nominations which determine who will represent them in the general election - a few states still use nominating conventions or other obscure processes where party insiders largely determine their standard bearer - in most states though parties merely set some threshold in order to qualify to appear on the primary ballot and then the voters select their preferred candidates. Parties in a few states set fairly strict guidelines though such as requiring that candidates have been a registered party member for a certain period of time and/or have not publically endorsed, supported, or donated to members of another party - at the federal level the organization of the chamber is a purely partisan affair but at the state level you occasionally see odd coalitions. - occasionally members of the minority party will support a Speaker of the other party in exchange for a committee chairmanship or some other perk - moderates may also refuse to support their parties leadership if they feel that it is too extreme. Currently in Alaska, for example, while Republicans hold the most seats in the state house the chamber is controlled by a coalition of moderate Republicans, Democrats, and Independents

*political participation*

- refers to voluntary activities undertaken by the mass public to influence public policy, either directly or by affecting the selection of persons who make policies - by voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to represent them and their ideas, and the leaders support the citizens' interests. There are two special rights only for U.S. citizens: voting in federal elections and running for federal office.

*understanding who participates*

- socialization: a. political interest b. voting as a civic duty - education: a. socialization b. civic skills - income: a. leisure time b. ability to take off c. paying the costs of voting

*role of parties*

- some argue that dips in voter turnout compared to are due to weaker parties during late 1800s turnout was often sky high (if numbers are accurate) and this was perhaps due to parties being more like social clubs that did lots of activities and distributed favors to members - 1970s-2000 turnout also took a dip some argue this was an era of weak unappealing parties so elections very candidate driven ergo if you weren't a party person and you did not find the major candidates appealing you were unlikely to be mobilized to vote

*while not always the case, third party candidates often play what role in an election?*

- sometimes third party candidates have their own independent base of support but often they play the role of SPOLIER by drawing support away from one of the other two major candidates - Ex in 2000 Ralph Nader may not have cost Al Gore the presidency but he definitely cost him votes - as a result in very close elections third party candidates may drop out at the last minute if they prefer one of the major candidates over the other or get them to adapt one of their policies or pledge to support something that they do

*understanding who abstains*

- the disillusioned/apathetic: a. efficacy - the hidden costs of voting: a. information b. opportunity c. transportation - institutional barriers: a. the disenfranchised

*what are tracking polls?*

- tracking polls are conducted on a regularly scheduled period and always use the same line of questioning - Gallup, for example, asks for approval of the president almost every day

*how does voter turnout in the US compare to most other democracies?*

- voter participation in the US is about 60% give or take for presidential elections and more like 40% for midterms the 2018 midterms were very unusual because about 50% of people voted. - turnout in many European nations meanwhile is closer to 80 or 90%

*what are single issue voters and who are they in practice in American politics?*

- voters who value one single issue above all others when deciding who to vote for either because it deeply effects them or has lots of symbolic value. - single Issue voters may also value this one issue more than partisan ties - ex the National Rifle Association backs members of both major parties - on the opposite end some gun control groups also back both parties

*explain the differences between political parties and interest groups?*

- while the two are similar in that they both take part in a range of political activities from such as educating the public on issues, raising money for political causes, and writing legislation the two are also quite different - the simplest difference is that political parties primary function is to field candidates to run for public office interest groups meanwhile virtually never do this - interest groups lobby and endorse politicians but they virtually never field candidates themselves - interest groups also tend to be highly ideological and all of their efforts are focused on either a single issue or group of related issues. Political parties meanwhile must have a stance on every political topic. Political parties may also compromise on ideology in order to win elections - interest groups may also be closely associated with a particular party but are almost always independent and bipartisan for example groups like the NRA may endorse both the Democrat and Republican candidate for office or stay neutral if they both equally support the groups objectives. - political parties must take stands on virtually all the relevant issues and present a party platform. Interest Groups meanwhile tend to be concerned with one or two narrow issue areas ex guns or the environment - political parties are also concerned with controlling the day to day operations of government while interest groups mostly just want to keep one or two particular issues on or off the political agenda

*Discuss the business model of the media and how it affects what is consumed by the public.*

Five major corporations rule the media. They control the media and therefore determine what the public sees through their channels. This helps shape their views.

*The number of corporations controlling major media outlets has increased or decreased since the 1980s?*

Major decline since the 1980s about 10 to 15 corporations control most major media outlets. Things like YouTube though have changed the game a little but lots of independent media outlets deal with niche interests

*Discuss trends in media viewer and readership (who watches what, if anything.)*

Newspapers are on the decline. Most people get their news through their TVs or apps. Fewer people are reading from traditional print media outlets today.

*How does group identity influence a person's political opinions?*

People may be reluctant to disagree with others and/or already share in the same beliefs and do similar things that express these views.

*Discuss how the public influences the government and why the government would/should listen to public opinion.*

Perhaps the safest generalization that can be made is that public opinion does not influence the details of most government policies but it does set limits within which policy makers must operate. That is, public officials will usually seek to satisfy a widespread demand—or at least take it into account in their deliberations—and they will usually try to avoid decisions that they believe will be widely unpopular.

*Why does political participation matter and identify the key role that individuals play in the government?*

Political participation matters because it keeps the government functioning- it is citizens' obligations to ensure our rights and take interest politically. Voting is the key role individuals play in government, helping shape public opinion.

*What exactly is a straw poll?*

Straw polls are polls that are not trying to be scientific merely aimed at doing something like a News Paper or Magazine trying to see how their particular readers feel about something.

*What is a textbook example of what it means to have a liberal political ideology in America?*

Term can mean different things in different contexts and in other parts of the world like the UK the word is synonymous with libertarian or focused on the protection of the rights of the individual and you occasionally see some of this line of thinking in America ex liberals tending to focus more on civil rights but broadly speaking liberal political ideology refers to believing that the government should be used to decrease economic inequalities and provide for the common good

*How does the U.S.'s voter turnout compare to that of other industrialized nations?*

The U.S. ranked 31st in voter turnout.

*How are political values shaped?*

The attitudes that individuals hold about political issues, events, and personalities tend to be shaped by their underlying beliefs and values. The processes through which these underlying political beliefs and values are formed are collectively called political socialization. The agents of socialization include the family, social groups, education, and prevailing political conditions.

*What exactly does the Honeymoon period refer to?*

Typically when a new president is first sworn in the American people and to a lesser extent Congress are open to giving them a fair shake and for the first 6 months to a year of their term their approval rating is unusually high and members of Congress who are of the opposing party are somewhat willing to support their legislative program because the American people have spoken and they won the election. If the president won a particularly large victory the effect may be even stronger.

*When can polls be trusted?*

Usually they cannot be trusted because the media outlets showing the results are skewed.

*party identification*

a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

*closed primary*

a direct primary in which only persons meeting tests of party membership may vote

*open primary*

a primary election in which voters are not required to declare party affiliation

*What are the advantages and disadvantages of a two party system?*

advantages: - a major advantage of a two party system is that it is generally more stable than a multiparty one. In parliamentary systems there are sometimes many rounds of voting and months of political deal-making before a governing coalition of many parties is formed - you may also have situations where extreme parties that only have the backing of 1/3rd or 1/4th of the voters gain power because they ally with other minor parties - in a multiparty system governments may also collapse suddenly because cross party coalitions fall apart forcing new elections during times of crisis - two party systems also tend to produce more moderate governments because parties must win over the average voter and parties also benefit from taking a big tent approach rather than enforcing ideological/policy conformity - moderation - while Democrats and Republicans have many differences they share much more in common than the parties in most European systems which may range from centrist to socialist/ outright communist or even outright fascist disadvantages: - as for disadvantages voters are given less options which may limit political participation because voters don't feel the two major parties really reflect their preferences. - unlike multiparty systems folks in the US who prefer a 3rd party must accept almost never winning an election or supporting the party that they dislike the least. - additionally minor parties in a parliamentary system can occasionally see their policies become law by partnering with a major party. In the US this is virtually never happens at the national level but does occasionally happen in the handful of states where independents and third parties are relevant. - stagnation: American parties are often slow to change and adopt new ideas meaning that occasionally the American people and rank and file members of a party are solidly behind a policy but party leaders are very slow to adopt it. Ex Democrats are overwhelmingly in favor of pot legalization but recent party leaders like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were uncomfortable with the idea. - the two main parties also tend to propose the same stock solutions to new problems with little room for innovation

*public opinion*

consists of "those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed"

*party organization*

denotes people who hold offices in the parties or contest elections as their nominees or otherwise work for them in election campaigns

*what are some institutional factors that impact voter turnout?*

how easy or difficult a state makes it to vote is also a factor, does the state have early voting, vote by mail, how many polling places: - is voter registration automatic - do you have to formally join a party to participate in primaries (varies by state) - do candidates/ parties have strong get out the vote organizations did some one ask you for your vote/support - requirements like Voter ID mostly have little impact although some states with very burdensome restrictions probably decrease turnout a bit ex Alabama

*infotainment*

increasingly popular, nontraditional source of political information that combines news and entertainment (i.e. talk shows, political comedy programs)

*Aside from partisanship what sort of factors may make us more likely to support a candidate?*

incumbency: - incumbents tend to get reelected presumably because they are doing a good job or at least not one so bad that the public notices - additionally for incumbents elections can be referendums if the public thinks they are doing a good job particularly when it comes to the economy they are rewarded at the polls and punished for a poor job - candidate referendums particularly for high profile offices like President or Governor can to some degree trump partisanship - ex in 1984 Democrats did fine in Congressional races but Reagan was reelected in a massive landslide - ex in 1996 Democrats in general did not do particularly well but Clinton was easily reelected - incumbents also benefit because they have the opportunity to deliver benefits to their voters, constituency services, and personal favors which may allow them to make a connection with voters who would not otherwise support a member of their party. - this is why some Blue Dog Democrats continue to be elected in very conservative areas and moderate Republicans retain offices in very liberal areas such as the governor of Vermont referendums: - voters may also take their frustration with an unpopular president or governor out on their co-partisans. - ex 2006 W. Bush was extremely unpopular and Democrats retook both Houses of Congress. Or 2010 Obama's approval was underwater and Democrats had their worst midterms ever

*selective exposure*

individuals' tendency to favor information which reinforces their pre-existing views while avoiding contradictory information

*ballot initiatives*

many states have processes in place where activists can get around state legislatures by placing policies directly on the ballot for an yea or nay vote by the public provided they can meet certain thresholds such as getting a certain number of petitions signed

*what sorts of folks are more or less likely to turnout to vote?*

more likely: - highly educated people - people with deep community roots (probably know some of the local candidates) - women slightly more likely to vote - strong partisans - married people less likely: - younger pepple - Latinos - southerners (few competitive elections) - poor/working class people (making it to the polls probably more difficult)

*new media*

new technologies, such as the internet, that promote means of mass communication

*negative or attack campaigning*

pointed personal criticism of the other candidate

*institutional barrier*

policies, procedures, or situations that systematically disadvantage certain groups of people

*issue publics*

subsets of the population who are better informed than everyone else about an issue because it touches them more directly and personally

*initiative*

the method by which voters may propose new laws or amend existing laws by gathering signatures from registered voters to place the issue on the ballot

*political attitude*

the opinions and values individuals hold about political issues, events, and personalities

*political socialization*

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

*socioeconomic status*

the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation

*microtargeting*

the use of direct marketing techniques that employ highly detailed data analytics in order to isolate potential customers with great precision

*framing*

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments

*scientific polling*

tool developed in the 20th century for systematically investigating the opinions of ordinary people, based on random samples

*measurement errors*

uncertainties in public opinion, as revealed by responses to polls, that arise from the imperfect connection between the wording of survey questions and the terms in which people understand and think about political objects

*single-issue voters*

voters who care so deeply about some particular issue that their votes are determined by a candidate's position on this one issue