American Political System Combo

Traceability

-legislators think about this

Going Public vs. Going Local

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Partisan model

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Principal-agent problem

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What Does Government Do?

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Obiter dicta

... - Other things said. comments from a judge on a particular case that have no relevance to the current case - not legally binding

Solicitor general

... Senior Justice Department attorney. responsible for handling all appeals on behalf of the US government to the Supreme Court

Cert pool

...A system initiated in the Supreme Court in the 1970's in which law clerk screen cases that come to the Supreme Court and recommend to the justices which cases should be heard.

According Mayhew there are 3 kinds of activities to increase chance of reelection:

1) Advertising, 2) Credit Claiming, Casework. 3) Position-taking, many roll call votes are about "position-taking," where members stand by on the side of a issue supported by their constituents and are unwavering in their voting and legislation.

Factors fostering compliance with the courts

1. Acceptance of court authority--the courts are the most revered and respected; and well-liked, for that matter; branch of government. 2. Courts, particularly at the appellate level, can often employ sanctions on lower courts, but these sanctions are fairly weak. 3. Can reverse decisions of the lower courts--think that lower courts want to avoid being overturned, as it may affect their legitimacy. 4. Takes money to bring suit, however, and many may be unwilling to do so; e.g., religious observance in schools. 5. For some administrative agencies that depend on the courts for approval, support from the courts is necessary. 6. Can officially rebuke noncompliant individuals, embarrassing them in public.

Presidential power

1. runs executive branch 2. commander and cheif or military 3. makes treaties 4. appoints government officials 5. Vetos laws 6. can grant pardon to people convicted of crimes. DEAMVP

The Tragedy of the Commons is solved by:

1.) Government regulation through coercive laws or taxation (including tax breaks) 2.) Privatization

Principal-Agent Problem examples:

1.) The constituent-legislator relationship, 2.) The lawyer-client relationship

Civil War Amendments

13th Amendment formally emancipated the slaves. 14th Amendment granted citizenship. 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote. a) Enforced through military reconstruction b) Had partisan implications c) Newly-freed slaves voted for the "Party of Lincoln" d) Without taking a loyalty oath, some white Southerners were barred from holding elected office or voting

The Federalist Papers

1787-88, a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution; a strong national government was considered crucial to solving collective dilemmas facing the states and the people.

Supermajority

2/3 of senate and house

Organizations that are independent of any party or candidate, and thus not regulated by the FEC as they advocate publicly for or against specific candidates, parties, or policies are called:

527s; Money spent by 527s is considered soft money and therefore is not subject to FEC regulation. As with all soft money, though, 527 groups may not legally promote or oppose a specific candidate, party, or policy.

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion.

public good

A benefit provided to a group of people such that each member can enjoy it without necessarily having to pay for it, and one person's enjoyment of it does not inhibit the enjoyment of it by others.

selective incentive

A benefit that a group can offer to potential members in exchange for participation as a way to encourage that involvement.

sound bite

A brief video clip of a candidate or political official speaking, often with a memorable phrase.

civil case

A case in which at least one person sues another person for violating the civil code of conduct.

criminal case

A case in which the government prosecutes a person for a crime against society.

Iron triangle

A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group. a) Special relationships often develop between elements in Congress, interest groups, and bureaucratic agencies or departments. b) Often charges of a "revolving door" in Washington. c) Fear that the ties might be too close.

ideology

A coherent, organized set of ideas and principles that functions as a core on which individuals draw when forming their attitudes about public affairs.

special or select committee

A committee appointed to consider a special issue or serve a special function that disbands once it has completed its duties.

Joint committee

A committee made up of members of both the House and Senate.

joint committee

A committee made up of members of both the House and Senate.

markup

A committee or subcommittee process where committee members edit and amend bills.

latent interest

A concern shared by a group of people on which they have not yet chosen to act collectively.

specialization

A congressional custom that members will remain on the same committee and become experts in its issues.

Original jurisdiction

A court in which a case is first heard

injunction

A court order preventing someone from violating someone else's rights.

party platform

A document stating the party's positions on issues.

Medicare

A federal government program that provides basic health care insurance to the elderly.

Social Security

A federal government program that provides basic income assistance to retired elderly people and the disabled.

Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program; SNAP

A federal government program that provides electronic debit cards for poor people to buy food; formerly known as the Food Stamp program.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; TANF

A federal government program that provides temporary income assistance to the poor.

Help America Vote Act of 2002

A federal law meant to reduce barriers to participation in elections. (page 330

No Child Left Behind Act

A federal policy established in 2001 that links education funding levels to learning standards for states and local school districts.

Government corporation

A federally owned corporation that generates revenue by providing a public service, operating much like a private business and with a higher degree of autonomy than a cabinet department or an independent agency

government corporation

A federally owned corporation that generates revenue by providing a public service, operating much like a private business and with a higher degree of autonomy than a cabinet department or an independent agency.

equity

A flexible judicial doctrine that allows judges to resolve a case based on a sense of fairness.

parliamentary democracy

A form of democracy in which the executive is elected by the legislature and government is responsible to the legislature.

mixed presidential system

A form of democracy in which the executive is elected independently and shares responsibility for the government with the legislature.

presidential system

A form of democracy in which the executive is elected independently and the government is not responsible to the legislature.

Competitive Federalism

A form of federalism in which states compete to attract businesses and jobs through the policies they adopt.

Prisoner's Dilemma: Another Example of a Collective Dilemma is

A formal rationale for the collective action problem Originally applied to foreign relations; individually natural to defect and not cooperate.

political knowledge

A general understanding of how the political system works, and who runs the government. (page 329

Internet

A global computer network allowing near-instant communication.

redistributive policy

A government benefit provided to some people that is paid for by another group of people.

divided government

A government in which the president is from a different party than the majority in Congress.

unified government

A government in which the president is from the same party as the majority in Congress.

distributive policy

A government policy intended to provide benefits to large portions of the population.

means-tested program

A government policy that applies to people based on whether they qualify according to a quantitative measure, such as income level.

Medicaid

A government program, co-funded by the federal government and state governments, that provides basic health insurance to the poor.

political party

A group of candidates and elected officials organized under a common label for the purpose of attaining positions of public authority.

Standing committees

A group of legislators given permanent jurisdiction over a particular issue area or type of policy.

standing committee

A group of legislators given permanent jurisdiction over a particular issue area or type of policy.

suspect classifications

A judicial doctrine that laws involving race, religion, or ethnicity will be subject to close scrutiny by the courts because they are presumed invalid.

strict constructionism

A judicial philosophy used by modern conservatives to restrict the power of the government to the original intentions of the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

exclusionary rule

A judicial rule that excludes any evidence obtained by illegal means.

landmark decision

A judicial ruling that establishes a precedent that causes major changes in the law; for example, Brown v. Board of Education ending legal racial segregation in public schools.

fragmentation of power

A key pluralist perspective that no one group dominates American politics.

non-attitude

A lack of opinion on an issue, or an opinion so weakly held that it does not enter into a person's calculations about voting or taking some other political action, even though the person may express an opinion to a pollster.

class action

A lawsuit in which the plaintiff or defendant is a collective group of individuals.

Class action suits

A lawsuit in which the plaintiff or defendant is a collective group of individuals. Two kinds: Opt-in Opt-out

entrepreneur

A leading group participant who is so committed to the group's goals, and/or so skilled in the pursuit of those goals, that he or she does not need selective incentives.

constituency service

A legislator directly helping a constituent in dealing with government bureaucracy.

Bicameral

A legislature consisting of two chambers or houses.

bicameral legislature

A legislature consisting of two chambers or houses.

bicameral

A legislature with two houses, such as the U.S. Congress with the House of Representatives and Senate.

political machine

A local organization that controls the city or county government to such an extent that it can reward whole neighborhoods, wards, and precincts, or other groups with benefits such as jobs and government programs, in return for supporting the party's candidates.

social movement

A loose coalition of groups and organizations with common goals that are oriented toward using mass action to influence the government.

social class

A major social division based on occupation and income and the awareness this produces of relations toward other classes.

median voter theorem

A mathematical result showing that the voter with the ideological preference in the middle of the ranking of voters must be satisfied and approve of a majority-rule winning outcome.

socioeconomic status; SES

A measure of the way that individuals are regarded within a society by virtue of their wealth, income, education, and profession.

socioeconomic status (SES)

A measure of the way that individuals are regarded within a society by virtue of their wealth, income, education, and profession. (page 343)

Conference committee

A meeting of legislators from the House and Senate to reconcile two bills passed on the same topic.

conference committee

A meeting of legislators from the House and Senate to reconcile two bills passed on the same topic.

whip

A member of the House or Senate who is elected by his or her party to help party leaders coordinate party members' actions, including enforcing party discipline.

Proportional representation

A method for allocating seats in a legislature in which the number of seats a party receives in a district or nationwide is proportional to the votes it receives in the elections.

proportional representation

A method for allocating seats in a legislature in which the number of seats a party receives in a district or nationwide is proportional to the votes it receives in the elections.

Plurality rule

A method for determining an election's winner in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

plurality rule

A method for determining an election's winner in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.

iron triangle

A model describing how public policy in a specific area is inflexibly decided by a trio of lobbyists, bureaucrats, and congressional committees.

oversight

A nonlegislative power of Congress to investigate and examine the activities of executive branch agencies.

Line-item veto

A partial veto that allows the executive to strike specific passages from a given bill.

line-item veto

A partial veto that allows the executive to strike specific passages from a given bill.

party professional

A person who works directly for the party, is loyal to its goal of winning elections, and stays with it over long periods through multiple election cycles.

Civil servant

A person who works for the government

idealism

A philosophy about international politics based on the assumption that countries have common interests and can work effectively together, often through international organizations. Also known as liberalism.

realism

A philosophy about international politics based on the assumption that countries primarily seek to increase their own power relative to other countries.

Forum shopping

A plaintiff choosing a court in which to sue because he or she believes the court will rule in the plaintiff's favor.

Virginia Plan

A plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention by Edmund Randolph of Virginia, which outlined a stronger national government, with an independent executive and a bicameral legislature whose membership in both houses would be apportioned according to state population.

New Jersey Plan

A plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention by William Paterson of New Jersey to amend, rather than replace, the standing Articles of Confederation.

by-product

A political activity conducted by groups whose principal organizational purpose is the pursuit of some nonpolitical goal.

New Deal Party System

A political alliance between southern Democrats, big-city Democrats, rural voters, and African Americans that endured for several decades after the election of Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.

government

A political association that makes rules determining the distribution of values of a society and is the ultimate regulator of legitimate force.

monarchy

A political system in which a ruler (usually a king or queen) is chosen by virtue of being the heir of the previous ruler.

cooperative federalism, aka Shared Federalism

A political system in which both levels of government—national and state—are active in nearly all areas of policy and share sovereign authority.

dual federalism

A political system in which each level of government—national and state—is sovereign in its own sphere of policy authority.

one-party state

A political system in which one party controls the government and actively seeks to prevent other parties from contesting for power.

oligarchy

A political system in which power resides in a small segment of society.

republic

A political system in which public officials are chosen to represent the people in an assembly that makes important policy decisions.

unitary system

A political system in which the national government holds ultimate authority over all areas of policy and over the actions of subunit governments.

authoritarianism

A political system in which there is no expectation that the government represents the people, and the institutions of government do not give the people a direct voice in who will lead.

federal system

A political system with multiple levels of government, in which each level has independent authority over some important policy areas.

federalism

A political system with multiple levels of government, in which each level has independent authority over some important policy areas.

confederation

A political system with multiple levels of government, in which lower-level governments retain full sovereignty and cannot be compelled by the national government to act.

special donor

A potential participant in a group for whom the cost of participating is very low and/or the benefits of participating are very high.

veto

A president's constitutional power to refuse to sign legislation, thus preventing it from becoming law unless overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.

State of the Union address

A presidential speech before Congress at the beginning of the year outlining his legislative program.

open primary

A primary election in which any registered voter can vote, regardless of party affiliation.

Closed Primaries

A primary election in which only voters registered with the party can vote.

revenue-sharing

A principle whereby the national government and the lower-level governments cooperate in funding a project.

Recall

A procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.

voter registration

A process by which citizens enroll themselves with the government to gain permission to vote in an election. (page 329)

private good

A product or benefit provided such that its enjoyment can be limited to specific people, and one individual's consumption of it precludes others from consuming it.

vote by mail

A program in many states that allows voters to mail in their ballots rather than appearing in person at a polling place. (page 331)

Open rule

A provision that allows any amendment to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor.

open rule

A provision that allows any amendment to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor.

Closed rule

A provision that allows no amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor.

closed rule

A provision that allows no amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor.

Restricted or modified rule

A provision that allows only certain kinds of amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the floor, typically only amendments that pertain to the original purpose of the bill.

restricted; or modified rule

A provision that allows only certain kinds of amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the floor, typically only amendments that pertain to the original purpose of the bill.

party identification

A psychological attachment or loyalty to a political party.

veto threat

A public statement issued by the president declaring that if Congress passes a particular bill that the president dislikes it will ultimately be vetoed.

Signing statement

A public statement written by the president and attached to a particular bill to outline the president's interpretation of the legislation.

signing statement

A public statement written by the president and attached to a particular bill to outline the president's interpretation of the legislation.

legitimacy

A publicly recognized quality of a leader or institution that makes their power correct and widely accepted.

Participant observation-

A qualitative method for gathering data that involves developing a sustained relationship with people while they go about their normal activities. AKA Field research and Ethnography- The study of a culture or cultures that some group of people share, using participant observation over an extended period of time.

Intensive interviewing-

A qualitative method that involves open-ended, relatively unstructured questioning in which the interviewer seeks in-depth information on the interviewee's feelings, experiences, and perceptions, from Lofland & Lofland 1984: 12. One-on-one in-depth interviews is more effective than observations and less complicated in interpreting data in comparison to Focus groups.

Focus groups-

A qualitative method that involves unstructured group interviews in which the focus group leader actively encourages discussion among participants on the topics of interest.

Duverger's Law

A regularity that only two parties tend to compete for control of the government in countries that have single-member, plurality electoral systems.

Complete observation-

A role in participant observation in which the researcher does not participate in group activities and is publicly defined as a researcher

Cloture

A rule that limits debate on a bill to a specific number of hours. Senate rules require 60 senators to support such a motion to end debate (including filibusters) and proceed to a vote.

cloture

A rule that limits debate on a bill to a specific number of hours. Senate rules require 60 senators to support such a motion to end debate (including filibusters) and proceed to a vote.

split referral

A rule; in place since 1975; that permits the Speaker to split a bill into sections and give sections to specific committees.

biased sample

A sample that, because it does not accurately represent the overall population, is likely to lead to erroneous conclusions about the population.

survey Target population

A set of elements larger than or different from the population that was sampled and to which the researcher would like to generalize any study findings

Regulatory capture

A situation in which bureaucrats favor the interests of the groups or corporations they are supposed to regulate at the expense of the general public

"smoke-filled room"

A situation in which party elites make important decisions away from the scrutiny or influence of party membership.

collective-action problem

A situation in which people would be better off if they all cooperated; however, any individual has an incentive not to cooperate as long as others are cooperating.

collective dilemma

A situation in which there is conflict between group goals and individual goals or self-interest.

Coordination problem

A situation in which two or more people are all better off if they coordinate on a common course of action, but there is more than one possible course of action to take.

civil rights movement

A social movement of the 1950s and 1960s focused primarily on the situation of African Americans, but also promoting the goals that all people be treated as equals under the law and that discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and place of origin be eliminated.

anarchy

A society without government.

Notice and comment procedure

A step in the rule-making process in which proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and made available for debate by the general public.

notice and comment procedure

A step in the rule-making process in which proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and made available for debate by the general public.

survey Sample

A subset of elements from the population

Group-administered survey-

A survey in which an interviewer questions group respondents and records their answers.

In-person survey-

A survey in which an interviewer questions respondents and records their answers.

Phone survey-

A survey in which interviewers question respondents over the phone and then record their answers.

Mailed survey-

A survey involving a mailed questionnaire to be completed by the respondent.

Electronic survey-

A survey that is sent and answered by computer, either through e-mail or on the web.

rule of law

A system in which all people in a society, including governing officials, are subject to legal codes that are applied without bias by independent courts.

intergovernmentalism

A system in which multiple levels of government are active in a given policy area.

Civil law

A system of jurisprudence in which authoritative documents determine how the law is to be interpreted. Under this system, legal codes and statutes (and not judges) inform future decisions.

civil law

A system of jurisprudence in which authoritative documents determine how the law is to be interpreted. Under this system, legal codes and statutes (and not judges) inform future decisions.

Common law

A system of jurisprudence in which the judiciary has the authority to determine how the law is to be interpreted. Under this system, legal precedent established by judges informs future decisions.

common law

A system of jurisprudence in which the judiciary has the authority to determine how the law is to be interpreted. Under this system, legal precedent established by judges informs future decisions.

regressive tax

A tax that places a greater financial burden on the poor and the middle class than on the wealthy.

progressive tax

A tax that places a greater financial burden on the wealthy than on the poor and the middle class.

Select committee

A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose.

legal model

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the case, the plain meaning of the text from the Constitution and statutes, the intent of the framers, and/or legal precedent.

attitudinal model

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the policy goals and ideological agendas of judges.

Attitudinal, personal model

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the policy goals and ideological agendas of judges. Assumes judges have policy preferences.

strategic or rational choice model

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the policy goals of judges and the various constraints that stand in the way of achieving those goals.

Environmental, strategic model

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the policy goals of judges and the various constraints that stand in the way of achieving those goals. Separation of powers

power elite

A theory that American politics is dominated by a unified nonrepresentative elite.

convergence theory

A theory that says that if there are two candidates competing in an election, and voters are arrayed along a line ideologically, the candidates' policy positions will become more moderate as they converge on the middle (median) voter. (page 426)

divergence theory

A theory that says that voters on the extreme ends of the ideological spectrum, as opposed to moderate voters, have strong influence over electoral outcomes, and will influence candidates to campaign in favor or more extreme policies. (page 428)

Australian ballot

A type of ballot that lists all candidates running for each office and allows voters to cast their votes secretly and for specific individual candidates. (page 426)

super PACs

A type of organization regulated by the Federal Election Commission that can spend unlimited sums of money to advocate for the election or for the defeat of a candidate, but is prohibited from contributing funds directly to federal campaigns and parties.

political action committee (PAC)

A type of organization regulated by the Federal Election Commission that raises money from donors to support the election campaign of federal political candidates. (page 434

political action committee; PAC

A type of organization regulated by the Federal Election Commission that raises money from donors to support the election campaigns of federal political candidates.

common good

A variant of a public good; a benefit provided to a group of people that each member can enjoy without necessarily having to pay for it, but such that one individual's consumption of it limits or precludes others from enjoying it.

club good

A variant of a public good; a product or benefit provided such that its enjoyment is exclusively for those who paid for it, but for which one person's enjoyment of it does not inhibit the enjoyment of it by others.

Pocket veto

A veto that occurs automatically if a president does not sign a bill for 10 days after passage in Congress and Congress has adjourned during that 10-day period.

pocket veto

A veto that occurs automatically if a president does not sign a bill for 10 days after passage in Congress and Congress has adjourned during that 10-day period.

plural elitism

A view of American politics as being divided into different policy arenas where various special interest elites dominate.

pluralism

A view of the American political system that emphasizes the fact that a large number of diverse interest groups are involved in the political process, and that any given group may be influential on some occasions and not on others.

confidence vote

A vote held in a parliamentary system that, if it fails, brings on an election and possibly a new set of party leaders.

What is the Bureaucracy?

A) located within the executive branch. b) made up of: Civil servants and political appointees (lots of them)

ruling class

According to the power elite view this is the privileged group that controls the major institutions of society and government.

Going public

Action taken by a president to communicate directly with the people, usually through a press conference, radio broadcast, or televised speech, in order to influence public opinion and put pressure on Congress.

going public

Action taken by a president to communicate directly with the people, usually through a press conference, radio broadcast, or televised speech, in order to influence public opinion and put pressure on Congress.

outside lobbying

Activities by interest group leaders that seek to mobilize constituents and others outside the policy-making community to contact or pressure policy makers.

inside lobbying

Activities by lobbyists and interest group leaders that involve direct contact with policy makers.

political participation

Activities citizens undertake to influence government behavior. (page 323)

bargaining

Actors (e.g., countries) advance their own interests while working toward a specific common objective with other actors (e.g., other countries).

Which of the following is an example of a positive externality?

After California passed stringent air standards, the air quality in neighboring states improved.

An example of an Independent agencies

Agencies dependent of any executive departments that help to regulate business or further government goals (NASA)

regulatory commissions

Agencies semi-independent from the rest of government charged with regulating parts of the economy—for example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

populism

American protest movements that periodically arise to protest dominance by an elite of the government or economy; present-day cultural populists represent religious conservatives opposing what they see as liberal control of the government and media.

Responsible

Among other elements, parties present distinct policy alternatives, represent a particular ideology, and organize political conflict along such lines

Unicameral

An adjective describing a legislative body with one chamber

Bureaucracy

An agency or office devoted to carrying out tasks for the government in a manner consistent with the law.

bureaucracy

An agency or office devoted to carrying out tasks for the government in a manner consistent with the law.

Independent agency

An agency that exists outside the cabinet departments and is run with a larger degree of independence from presidential influence.

independent agency

An agency that exists outside the cabinet departments and is run with a larger degree of independence from presidential influence.

Executive agreements

An agreement between the United States and one or more foreign countries. Because it is not a formal treaty, it does not need Senate approval.

executive agreement

An agreement between the United States and one or more foreign countries. Because it is not a formal treaty, it does not need Senate approval.

Connecticut Compromise

An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention that there would be a bicameral legislature, with an upper house and a lower house.

government contract

An agreement whereby the government hires a company or an organization to carry out certain tasks on its behalf.

Bush Doctrine

An approach to American foreign policy developed during the George W. Bush administration that advocates preventing terrorism through active intervention in foreign countries,

internationalism

An approach to foreign policy that advocates for a country to engage actively with other countries and to become involved in international organizations.

isolationism

An approach to foreign policy that advocates for a country to stay out of international affairs.

multilateralism

An approach to foreign policy that considers and depends on the perspectives and resources of multiple nations.

unilateralism

An approach to foreign policy that is informed primarily by a nation's own interests and means, relying little on the approval or support of other nations.

checks and balances

An arrangement in which no one branch of government can conduct its core business without the approval, tacit or expressed, of the other branches.

separation of powers

An arrangement in which specific governmental powers are divided among distinct branches of government; typically, this means having an executive who is chosen independently of the legislature, and thus executive power and legislative power are separated.

national convention

An assembly of party delegates usually selected by primaries who meet every four years to nominate their party's candidates for president and vice president; it is the party's highest governing body.

lobbying

An attempt to influence public officials by speaking to them directly or by pressuring them through their constituents. the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government

dictatorship

An authoritarian political system in which sovereign power is vested in one individual.

Agenda setting

An authority that controls what options are decided on by a group.

agenda setter

An authority that controls what options are decided on by a group.

agenda setting

An authority that controls what options are decided on by a group.

laissez-faire

An economic philosophy advocating that the government take a noninterventionist approach to the economy, leaving market forces alone to determine the economic behavior of people and business firms.

incumbent

An elected official currently in office with all the advantages that confers.

recall election

An election during the term of an elected government official in which citizens vote directly on whether to remove the individual from office.

primary election

An election held before Election Day to allow voters to select which candidates will appear on the ballot under a party label.

initiative

An election held to vote directly on a ballot proposition that was proposed by a group of individuals. (page 445

ballot initiative

An election in which citizens vote directly on a proposition raised by a group of fellow citizens.

referendum

An election in which citizens vote directly on whether to overturn a bill or a constitutional amendment that has been passed by the legislature.

Critical election

An election when significant groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty. 1936 campaign

Single-member district

An electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office.

single-member district

An electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office.

commerce clause

An enumerated power listed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution that grants Congress the power to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."

government agency

An individual unit of the government responsible for carrying out tasks delegated to it by Congress or the president in accordance with the law.

seniority

An informal congressional rule by which the chairman of a committee is automatically the member from the majority party who has served the longest on the committee.

principal-agent problem; delegation problem

An instance in which one actor, a principal, contracts another actor, an agent, to act on the principal's behalf, but the actors may not share the same preferences, and the principal lacks the means to observe all of the agent's behavior.

unstable coalition

An instance in which three or more people must make a collective choice from a set of alternatives, but any voting coalition in favor of an alternative can be divided by consideration of another alternative.

logrolling

An instance of two or more legislators agreeing to vote in favor of one another's proposed bills or amendments.

prisoner's dilemma

An interaction between two strategic actors in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though both would be better off if they both cooperated.

Trade association

An interest group composed of companies in the same business or industry (the same "trade") that lobbies for policies that will benefit members of the group. types of groups that are narrowly geared for securing investments that benefit them i.e. NAMM, music manufacturers,

intermediate scrutiny

An intermediate standard used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is compatible with the Constitution. A law subject to this standard is considered constitutional if it advances " an important government objective" and is "substantially related" to the objective.

party amateur

An issue activist who is mostly interested in specific policy areas and works for the party, or for the specific politicians within the party, to advance these goals.

Federal register

An official document, published every weekday, which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.

Executive order

An official means by which the president can instruct federal agencies on how to execute the laws passed by Congress.

executive order

An official means by which the president can instruct federal agencies on how to execute the laws passed by Congress.

dissenting opinion

An opinion issued by a member of the Supreme Court in opposition to the majority, offering legal reasoning for the decision to oppose.

concurring opinion

An opinion issued by a member of the majority of the Supreme Court that agrees with the decision of the majority but offers a lternative legal reasoning.

writ of certiorari

An order by the Supreme Court directing an inferior court to deliver the records of a case to be reviewed, which effectively means the justices of the Court have decided to hear the case.

Per curiam

An unsigned decision issued by an appellate court; it reaffirms the lower court's ruling.

The Tragedy of the Commons

Any commonly available resource will be overused because the benefits of overuse are private and the costs of overuse are public. commonly held resource inevitably is degraded or destroyed because of narrow self-interests.

bureaucrat

Any government employee who is not part of the ruling powers.

interest group

Any group other than a political party that is organized to influence the government.

Pure democracy- is also sometimes referred to as

Athenian or Greek democracy

An example of Doctrine of Interposition

Before becoming president, Jefferson tried to overturn the Sedition Act of 1798

Franking

Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free.

free riding

Benefiting from a public good while avoiding the costs of contributing to it.

Federal Reserve Board

Board of directors, consisting of seven members appointed by the president, in charge of policies for the Federal Reserve System.

Amicus curiae

Briefs (letters to the court) in which those who are not parties in a case provide their opinions on how the case should be decided.

amicus curiae

Briefs (letters to the court) in which those who are not parties in a case provide their opinions on how the case should be decided.

What kinds of cases heard by SCOTUS?

Broad legal and practical significance—a) ripeness not Mootness, b) Conflict or uncertainty in the law e.g., a split in the circuits, c) An impression that the lower court has made an error.

test case

Brought by interested groups seeking a favorable precedent by the courts concerning a major violation of civil rights or liberties affecting a large number of people.

Neutral competence

Bureaucrats provide expertise and avoid taking sides in policy debates, being swayed by elected officials, those outside of government, or by their own goals; The idea that agencies should make decisions based on expertise rather than political considerations.

hard money

Campaign funds that are given directly to candidates or parties to support a particular candidate, and thus subject to FEC regulations. (page 436)

soft money

Campaign funds that are given to parties or other organizations to support voter mobilization or voter education activities, and thus typically are not subject to FEC regulations.

Generalizability-

Can be used to develop a representative picture of the attitudes and characteristics of a large population.

Versatility-

Can be used to enhance understanding of almost any social issue.

Elite-focused approach to political parties

Candidates, elected officials, and party elites

Veto

Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature

random selection

Choosing a sample such that each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected into the sample.

A three member versions unstable coalition of a spending bill being considered by Congress; where Each bill includes spending that would go to each member's district, and clearly favors one district at the expense of the other two. what's clear and what is the solution?

Clearly, each legislator has an incentive to vote for one, and only one version of the bill. Solution: An agenda-setter, say the Speaker of the House, only allows bills to the floor that can garner a majority.

Australian ballot was introduced to reduce possible

Coercion from voting orally or by party ballot

chain

Companies that combine media, including newspapers and TV stations, in different cities under one ownership.

What do we want our parties to do?

Compromise and Provide for its constituency

Three-Fifths Compromise

Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives. later negated by the 13th amendment.

Civil service reform

Congress took action in the late 19th century to protect ethical politicians and create standards for political service; including, a civil service test for those seeking a job in government. The administrative service of a government. This term often applies to reforms following the passage of the Pendleton Act in 1883, which set qualifications for U.S. government jobs and sought to remove such jobs from political influence.

police-patrol oversight

Congressional oversight that consists of actively monitoring agencies through routine inspection.

Police patrol oversight

Congressional oversight that consists of actively monitoring agencies through routine inspection. OIG

fire-alarm oversight

Congressional oversight that relies on interest groups and citizens to inform representatives of unwarranted action.

fire alarm oversight

Congressional oversight that relies on interest groups and citizens to inform representatives of unwarranted action. Oversight that becomes active only when there is evidence of bureaucratic wrongdoing.

Credit-claiming

Congressman claim credit for particular legislation, even though they are only one member of the vast Congress. Also casework and earmarks.

Sources of law

Constitution, Statute, Regulation, Executive orders, Precedent

Commander-in-chief

Constitutional power of the president - "supreme commander" of the nation's armed forces. Important to keep military under civilian control, leads to conflict with Congress over war power (War Powers Act)

political questions

Controversial issues that the courts refuse to deal with because they feel they lack the capacity and that other branches are most suited to resolve.

Game schema

Covering an election in a way that emphasizes the horse-race. Framing politics and elections as a game with strategy and success tactics. Journalists emphasize the 'game'

Functional

Crucial intermediary between citizens and government. Performs the functions of a political party (to be discussed in a minute)

Tea Party

Current conservative grassroots movement focused on reducing government spending; influential within the Republican Party.

presidential enumerated poweres

D.E.A.M.V.P

Party Machines Famous machines

Daley in Chicago, Tweed in NYC

Efficiency-

Data can be collected from many people at relatively low cost and relatively quickly.

Which of the following is NOT a formal power of the President of the United States of America?

Declares war

14th Amendment

Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues. 1) Citizenship for African Americans, 2) Repeal of 3/5 Compromise, 3) Denial of former confederate officials from holding national or state office, 4) Repudiate (reject) confederate debts

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties; 4th; 1893-1932

Democrats and Republicans; Issues: industrialization and immigration

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties; 5th; 1933-1968

Democrats and Republicans; Issues: size and scope of the federal government; Also known as the New Deal Party System

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties; 6th; 1969-present

Democrats and Republicans; Issues: size of government, civil rights and liberties, foreign policy

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties; 3rd; 1857-1892

Democrats and Republicans; Issues: slavery, reconstruction, industrialization

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties; 2nd; 1829-1856

Democrats and Whigs; Issues: tariffs and slavery

Cabinet department

Departments within the executive branch that encompass many of the agencies that implement federal policy. Secretaries appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate are given the responsibilityof leading these departments and providing advice to the president.

cabinet departments

Departments within the executive branch that encompass many of the agencies that implement federal policy. Secretaries appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate are given the responsibilityof leading these departments and providing advice to the president.

Gerrymandering

Drawing strangely shaped district boundaries to gain political advantage.

gerrymandering

Drawing strangely shaped district boundaries to gain political advantage.

Other Political Party definitions focus on ideology or policy agreement:

Edmund Burke's view and Anthony Downs' view

externalities

Effects on people, good or bad, arising from the economic behavior of others. Also known as spillover effects.

voter mobilization

Efforts by organizations to facilitate or encourage voting. (page 342

affirmative action

Efforts to redress previous discrimination against women and minorities through active measures to promote their employment and educational opportunities.

presidential primaries

Elections held by states to determine which nominee's delegates will be sent to the national convention.

maintaining elections

Elections that continue the popular support for the majority and minority parties at the same level.

realigning elections

Elections that show a long-term shift in the popular base of support of the majority and minority parties.

soft news

Entertaining lifestyle stories about celebrities, including politicians; as opposed to hard news on public affairs.

Primary sampling units

Entities selected in the first stage of the sample

Secondary sampling units

Entities selected in the second stage of the sample

survey Nonresponse

Entities such as people who do not participate in a study even though they were selected for the sample

Monroe Doctrine

Enunciated in 1823 by President James Monroe, the notion that the United States could claim the entire Western Hemisphere as its exclusive sphere of influence.

Framing

Establishing the context for an issue in such a way as to emphasize certain aspects over others.

framing

Establishing the context for an issue in such a way as to emphasize certain aspects over others.

What does the exclusionary rule state?

Evidence gathered improperly can be excluded from trial.

Federalist #10

Factions in a republic are natural but controllable by institutions; A large, diverse nation, coupled with republican institutions, checks the "mischiefs of faction" whether of a majority or a minority; Defense of the republican form of government;

Matching Grants

Federal government agrees to "match" the funds spent by the states.

Fiscal Federalism

Federal money is used to encourage policy shifts; ex: highway dollars tied to increasing the drinking age to 21

Hatch Act

Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds. Prohibits govt employees from engaging in pol. activities whle on duty/running for office/seeking poli. funding while off duty; if in sensitive positions, may not be involved w/ pol. activities on/off duty

Federalist #51

Federalist paper that said: separation of powers, each branch a check of the other, non-perfect nature of man, bicameral legislature

Writing under the pseudonym Publius, supporters of the new constitution were called what?

Federalists

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties; 1st; 1789-1828

Federalists and Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans; Issues: location of the capitol, national bank

Cue Theory; The Supreme Court has to wade through a lot of potential cases:

Fewer than one percent of appeals are actually heard by the Court

Laboratories of Democracy

Flip side of competitive federalism. States can "pilot" policies. Policy experimentation need not happen nationwide. If a policy is successful it can be "exported" to other states or the nation as a whole. Ex. Election Day Registration in WI and MN.

whips

Floor leaders in Congress who work to coordinate votes and assist the heads of the parties in both houses.

Why does Hamilton think that the president should be eligible for multiple terms in office?

Four years is enough time to take an interest in the position and enough time to resist the impulses of the people and of Congress. It is not long enough, however, to justify alarm to the public liberty.

Establishment Clause

Freedom of Religion; Contradictory messages; For instance, Congress opens each session with a prayer—justified as civil religion; In spite of a number of Court decisions to the contrary, school prayer was fairly commonplace; Reminder that someone still needs to bring suit to correct violations

First Amendment freedoms

Freedoms of religion, speech, press, and assembly.

civil liberties

Freedoms protected from interference by the government, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Different definitions illuminate different perspectives on what political parties should be

Functional, Responsible, or Both?

Allowing legislators to choose their constituents for the purposes of partisan gain, the creation of majority-minority districts; before it was ruled unconstitutional, or to protect members of Congress from having to wage a tough battle for re-election is known as what?

Gerrymandering

Necessary and Proper Clause

Gives congress the power to do anything that is necessary and proper to carry out an enumerated power. Also known as the "elastic clause." Leads to implied powers doctrine; McCulloch v. Maryland

capital

Goods used to create other goods in an economy.

foreign policy

Government actions affecting a country's relationships with other countries.

social policy

Government actions intended to provide a basic level of assistance with income, safety, education, housing, and health care for certain categories of people at risk.

marketization

Government bureaucratic reform that emphasizes market-based principles of management that are common to the private sector.

representative democracy

Government in which the people rule indirectly through elected representatives.

monetary policy

Government management of the supply of money in the economy, which affects prices, interest rates, and the availability of loans.

Minimum Scrutiny, Rational Basis

Government need only show that a law that burdens certain fundamental rights serve a legitimate state interest

Pork-barrel legislation (earmarks)

Government spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some other kind of political support, including campaign donations.

pork barrel

Government spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some other kind of political support, including campaign donations.

GOP

Grand Old Party; the traditional nickname of the Republican Party.

categorical grants

Grants that narrowly define how the funds are to be spent. These grants normally come with conditions that need to be satisfied in order for the money to be used. for a particular policy area—comes with "strings attached."

Anti-Federalists

Group opposing adoption of Constitution; they preferred stronger state governments and more popular participation.

Issue publics

Groups of citizens who are more attentive to particular areas of public policy than are average citizens because they have some special stake in the issues.

identity politics

Groups that organize on the basis of their religious, ethnic, or sexual identity to pursue political objectives.

Political Science as a Discipline

Helps understand leadership, persuasion, and advocacy

Opinion leaders

High-profile individuals who interpret political information and influence the voting habits of the public are called:

Post-broadcast democracy

How Media Choice Increases Inequality in Political Involvement and Polarizes Elections; An argument that usage of new media has improved political knowledge among those voters already informed and has reduced political knowledge among those less informed.

Third person effect

Hypothesis that holds that individuals will perceive media messages to have greater effects or influence on other people than on themselves. It does effect the person!

Veto override

If the President vetoes a bill, the Congress may override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The bill would then become law, the President's objections notwithstanding.

Caucus

In a legislature, a group of legislators that unites to promote an agenda not pursued within the parties or the legislative committees.

caucus

In a legislature, a group of legislators that unites to promote an agenda not pursued within the parties or the legislative committees.

sample

In statistical research, a subset of the population chosen to provide information for the research about the population.

population

In statistical research, the entire group about which you want to learn, such as all adults living in the United States.

margin of error

In statistical research, the range of outcomes we expect for a population, given the data revealed by a sample drawn from that population.

special prosecutor

Independent, private-sector counsel hired by Congress to investigate government officials.

survey Elements

Individual members of the sample

Nonresponse bias

Individuals selected to be in the sample who do not respond to the survey have different opinions from those who do respond. Entities such as people who do not participate in a study even though they were selected for the sample.

American Electoral Campaign private contributions come from

Individuals, parties, or PACs and are regulated by the FEC

Filibuster

Instances in which senators, once recognized to speak on the floor, talk for an extended period; "hold the floor"; in an attempt to block the rest of the Senate from voting on a bill.

filibuster

Instances in which senators, once recognized to speak on the floor, talk for an extended period; "hold the floor"; in an attempt to block the rest of the Senate from voting on a bill.

New Institutionalism

Institutions are created by individuals who hold clear preferences and intentions Yet, once institutions are in place they tend to persist and define he parameters for further action There is a path-dependence to institutions

Single-issue groups

Interest Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. These features distinguish them from traditional interest groups.

Interest Groups and Federalism

Interest groups may target states or "expand the scope of conflict" and take their case to the national stage. More efficient. May receive a more favorable hearing in one arena or the other.

executive agreements

International agreements signed by the president and not needing approval by the senate because they are usually less important than treaties.

blogs

Internet websites used to form networks of people to support a political candidate or to share views on a common issue.

What is it called when one party is thought to be consistently advantaged relative to the other party on a particular issue?

Issue ownership

When thinking about campaigns in other countries, which of the following statements is true?

It is common for other countries to limit the campaign period to several months before the election.

partial incorporationists

Judicial position that believes only preferred rights, such as the First Amendment freedoms, should be included in the Fourteenth Amendment and applied to the states.

Judicial activism

Judicial rulings that go beyond interpreting the law in order to promote a judge's personal or political agenda.

judicial activism

Judicial rulings that go beyond interpreting the law in order to promote a judge's personal or political agenda.

An example of Government playing the role of a surety

Labor disputes. Gov't can make sure that both sides are living up to their agreements. mediation enforces

Ratio decidendi

Latin) the legal Reason for a judges Decision

pork-barrel bills

Laws designed to produce targeted local benefits from federal government spending.

Jim Crow laws

Laws passed after the Civil War to establish a system of segregation of public facilities and private establishments that made African Americans second-class citizens.

Senate majority leader

Leader of the Senate majority party and the Senate equivalent to the House Speaker, currently Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada.

Why does Hamilton support the creation of a strong executive? (he lists at least five reasons)

Leading character in the definition of good government Protect the community against foreign attacks Leads to the steady administration of the laws Protects property Secures liberty

War Powers Act

Legislation passed in 1973 requiring the president to notify Congress and seek its approval within 48 hours after ordering military action.

authority

Legitimate power.

Although it was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Bill Clinton used this type of veto to selectively strike down parts of bills that reached his desk.

Line-item veto

Where does Hamilton (like Madison) look in crafting his defense for the particular structure that is given to the executive branch in the Constitution?

Looked to antiquity, history, as well as the experiences of the states.

Divergence theory

Maintains that the two candidates must appeal to more extreme voters to give the party nomination and gain financial help.

executive agencies

Major departments of the government that are not in the Cabinet—for example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Social Desirability

Make questions that are just as easy to say yes to as it is to say no

Infotainment

Mass media programming that is intended primarily to entertain, but also provides political news.

infotainment

Mass media programming that is intended primarily to entertain, but also provides political news.

Mass media

Means of communication such as newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet that can reach large, widely dispersed audiences.

mass media

Media that is intended to be publicly available, or at least targeted at large numbers of people.

The Constitution is criticized by

Modern debate between Charles Beard and Robert Brown

leadership PACs

Modern political machines established by congressional leaders to further their ambitions by raising funds for party colleagues. See PACs.

clear and probable danger test

Modified the "clear and present danger" test established in Schenck v. US by holding the identified threat need not be imminent, but may be judged by the probability that the speech would incite someone to violence in the future.

grants-in-aid

Money that is distributed to lower-level governments with the purpose of funding special projects.

government grants

Money that the government provides to individuals or organizations to perform tasks in the public's interest.

Third Parties in America Pols are not accurate:

Most people Gravitate to major parties when in the booth

Executive agreements when president has first mover advantage

Much the same as treaties, but cut the Senate out of process

TV networks

National media corporations owning numerous local television outlets to whom they produce and sell programs.

Federal Reserve System

Network of U .S. government banks that loan money to and regulate the commercial behavior of private banks.

path-dependence to institutions framework:

New Institutionalism and the Study of Old Institutions. Institutions are created by individuals who hold clear preferences and intentions. once institutions are in place they tend to persist and define he parameters for further action.

Partisan press

Newspapers and other communication media that openly support a political party and whose news in significant part follows the party line. The country began through print media

E.E. Schattschneider Critiques of Pluralism

Normative element came under fire rather quickly

Historical development of the bureaucracy

Not a linear process Three relatively short periods of time saw a great deal of growth in the size and scope of the bureaucracy: 1890s, 1930s, and 1960s; a) growth in nationalization of America; Progressive Era early 1900s, b) WW2 and New Deal legislation, c) Great Society programs 1960s, d) number of bureaucrats plateaued in 1960s e) spoils system, Civil Service Reform,

527 organization—

Not subject to caps. Engage in issue advocacy

OMB

Office of Management and Budget. Responsible for preparing the budge that the pres. submits to Congress. —"creates the annual federal budget, monitors agency performance, etc."

national committee

Officials who oversee the operation of their party nationwide.

Two class action case kinds:

Opt-in and Opt-out

527s

Organizations that are independent of any party or candidate, and thus not regulated by the FEC as they advocate publicly for or against specific candidates, parties, or policies. (page 436)

Checks on presidential power

Overrides vetos, declare actions unconstitutional, negative opinion, 2 term limit, 4 year terms; Congress: Overturn veto with ⅔ vote from both house

Equal Protection Clause

Part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction "the equal protection of the laws."

Gathering Information, p. 329. political knowledge defined as

Participating in politics requires a certain level of knowledge, and gathering political knowledge can often take effort that may discourage individuals from participating.

Party Systems—The Historical Development of the Parties

Parties have exhibited a remarkable ability to adapt and survive; 1st;1789-1828, 2nd; 1829-1856, 3rd; 1857-1892, 4th; 1893-1932, 5th; 1933-1968, 6th; 1969-present

17th Amendment

Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures. Biggest Institutional Change.

The notion that earlier events or decisions deeply affect current and future policy decisions is known as what?

Path Dependence

diplomacy

Peaceful negotiations and interactions among countries.

joint committees

Permanent congressional bodies including both senators and representatives covering certain subjects, for example, the Joint Economic Committee.

survey research Respondent

Person who answers questions on a survey

term limits

Populist effort to limit the number of times that state legislators or members of Congress can run for reelection.

Implied powers, inherent presidential powers

Powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution, but rather inferred from it. wage war, power over domestic security, to issue executive agreements, executive privilege. WWdsExAP

Enumerated powers

Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8, and include the power to coin money, regulate its value, and impose taxes.

Race to the Top

President Obama's educational reform requiring states to compete for federal funds through proposals to improve their schools.

Veto bargaining

President can shape what comes out of congress with the mere threat of a veto

Recess appointment

Presidential appointment made without Senate confirmation during Senate recess. bypass the senate

party discipline

Pressure on party members to vote on bills that have the support of the party leadership. Also, the tendency for members of a legislative party to vote as a bloc.

Head of government

Prime minister (elected by legislative branch) the office and the person occupying the office charged with leading the operation of a government

Reed's Rules

Procedural guidelines used by the majority party leadership for determining who sits on which committees, how the order of business should be decided, and how the majority party should limit the powers of the minority party.

Impeachment

Process by which the House of Representatives formally charges a federal government official with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

impeachment

Process by which the House of Representatives formally charges a federal government official with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Selective Incorporation

Process by which the Supreme Court has selectively applied the Fourteenth Amendment to state law. The case-by-case process by which liberties listed in the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states using the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

public policies

Programs and decisions by the government that are enforced by the rule of law.

Federalist 70-72

Provides a rationale behind why the presidency was structured the way it was Written by Alexander Hamilton, perhaps the convention's chief defender of a strong, energetic executive

Criteria for nomination to the SCOTUS

Qualifications Policy preferences Reward Pursuit of political support

Courts rarely overturn a case so they determine Ratio decidendi vs. obiter dicta

Ration decidendi-important information from a case vs Oditer dicta-not important information from a case

Avoid making either agreement or disagreement disagreeable

Reduce the likelihood of agreement bias by presenting both sides of attitude scales in the question

Presidential approval

Refers to the degree to which the American public as a whole approves the way the President is performing his responsibilities as the nations leader.

exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction

Refers to whether federal courts have sole authority over a case; exclusive, or whether they share that authority with state courts; concurrent.

embeds

Reporters who traveled with American frontline troops in the fighting in Iraq and the earlier Gulf War.

Delegate

Representatives who listen carefully to what their constituents want and make decisions based on feedback from constituents.

delegates

Representatives who listen carefully to what their constituents want and make decisions based on feedback from constituents.

Trustee

Representatives who make decisions using their own judgments about what is best for their constituents.

trustees

Representatives who make decisions using their own judgments about what is best for their constituents.

Rule of four

Requirement that a case can only be heard by the Supreme Court if four justices vote to hear the case

survey Census

Research in which information is obtained through the responses that all available members of an entire population give to questions

Field research-

Research in which natural social processes are studied as they happen and left relatively undisturbed.

mutually exclusive

Response choices do not overlap

civil rights part one of three

Rights that enable individuals to engage in activities central to citizenship or legal immigrant status, such as voting or petitioning the government;

democracy

Rule by the people; in practice today this means popular election of the government and basic protections of civil rights and liberties.

Coercive Federalism

Rules and guidelines handed down from the federal government Unfunded mandates; ex: No Child Left Behind

institutions

Rules or sets of rules or practices that determine how people make collective decisions.

unanimous consent agreement

Rules under which the Senate debates, offers amendments, and votes on a given bill. All members of the chamber must agree to them, so any senator can object and halt progress on a bill.

Selection methods for state judges

Selection methods vary greatly: Elections (partisan and non-partisan) Appointment Missouri Plan

Which of the following is an example of a coordination problem?

Shipping companies won't build lighthouses because they cannot fathom creating what is, in essence, a public good. Consequently, their ships continue to crash against the rocks.

Examples of Rules and procedures are:

Simple plurality election rules, Separation of powers, Judicial review, and Campaign finance laws.

spin

Slang for putting a self-serving, favorable interpretation or slant on the news given to the media and public by government officials.

gridlock

Slang term describing the inability of the federal government, especially Congress, to act because of partisan conflicts.

What is a Political Party?

Some disagreement about what, exactly, it constitutes and how they are differentiated from other entities like interest groups

SOPs

Standard Operating procedure , guidelines or methods utilized to manage the facility on a day to day basis.

Standing and Class-Action Suits

Standing—official status of being a party to a case in court; Must demonstrate real harm; Courts can grant standing to groups of individuals in a class action case

Back to models of SC decision-making:

Stare Decisis is How would you figure out whether the Court stood on precedent?

Direct Democracy

State governments are mostly modeled after the structure of the federal government. Tendency to view the states as "little national governments." Often very different in structure and operation, with the relative balance of power between different branches varying quite a bit. Some states have instituted reforms to make government "closer to the people" by way of Initiative, Referendum, Recall.

Elections are related and operated at the

State level, though Congress had imposed regulations to make electoral rules uniform. States also control how distrust are drawn for Congress and stare legislatures.

examples of Competitive Federalism

States no longer compete with each other over international trade. Still do so when it comes to business interests—businesses don't have to see losses in order to "punish" states by moving out. "Race to the bottom" effects with respect to regulation, taxes, and social safety nets. Tragedy of the commons, esp. when environmental regulation is at issue. Negative externality. Could also be a positive externality in some cases.

block grants

Sums of money transferred to lower-level governments such that, as long as the general purpose of the grant is met, the lower-level governments are allowed considerable freedom in deciding how the money is spent.

Citizens United v FEC; 2010

Supreme Court decision striking down many regulations limiting contributions of corporations and unions, the lid was off for campaign contributions.

survey research Interview schedule

Survey instrument containing the questions asked by the interviewer in an in-person or phone survey

survey research Questionnaire

Survey instrument containing the questions for a self-administered survey

fiscal policy

Taxing and spending decisions by governments.

news management

Techniques used by public officials to control information going to the media.

select or special committees

Temporary congressional panels established to do specific tasks, usually investigations; an example was the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate Hurricane Katrina.

Imperial presidency

Term used to describe a president as an "emperor" who acts without consulting Congress or acts in secrecy to evade or deceive congress. Unitary executive: George W. Bush's unique theory of the expansive powers afforded to the office of the presidency.

Obamacare

The Affordable Care Act of 2010; controversial law designed to bring uninsured patients into the health care insurance system and restrain the prices people pay for medical treatment.

U.S. Constitution

The Articles of Confederation: America's First Constitution; Ratified in 1781, although the de facto organizational structure throughout the war

104th Congress

The Congress elected in 1994 with the first Republican majority in both houses since the 1950s.

113th Congress

The Congress elected in 2012 with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican majority in the House.

Championed by Roger Sherman, this plan was the one that was eventually adopted at the convention.

The Connecticut (Great) Compromise

Austin Poor earns $20,000 a year, and Brian Rich earns $90,000 a year. Which of these two people is more likely to attend a political meeting?

The Demographics of Participation: Socioeconomic status affects individuals' propensity to participate in a wide variety of political activities. Because income is part of socioeconomic status and because Brian Rich earns more, Rich is more likely to attend a political meeting.

Most Buffalonians love their member of Congress (whether Chris Collins or Brian Higgins). Higgins won 65% of the vote in 2014 and Collins won over 67% of the vote in that same year. If they are anything like the rest of the country, though, most of their constituents dislike Congress. What does this situation most directly illustrate?

The Fenno Paradox

Rehnquist Court

The U.S. Supreme Court, from 1986 to 2005, named after late chief justice William Rehnquist.

power

The ability to influence another's behavior.

social sciences

The academic disciplines, such as history, economics, or political science, that study relationships among people.

Incumbency advantage

The advantage current officeholders have in an election, in particular as it relates to the high rates at which congressional legislators win re-election.

incumbency advantage

The advantage current officeholders have in an election, in particular as it relates to the high rates at which congressional legislators win re-election.

government bureaucracy

The agencies and offices devoted to carrying out the tasks of government consistent with the law.

calendars

The agendas or schedules for legislation in Congress.

federal court supremacy

The arrangement based on the supremacy clause in the Constitution that gives federal courts the authority to overturn state court decisions and to decide on the constitutionality of state laws and actions.

jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case

appellate jurisdiction

The authority of superior courts to hear appeals from lower courts.

original jurisdiction

The authority of the Court to initially try cases.

Judicial review

The authority of the judiciary to decide whether a law or any other government action is constitutional.

judicial review

The authority of the judiciary to decide whether a law or any other government action is constitutional.

administrative law

The body of law created by executive agencies with the purpose of refining general law passed in legislation.

public opinion

The collection of attitudes and preferences of the mass public.

constitutional law

The collection of fundamental rules for making statutory laws and regulations, their enforcement, and the court decisions interpreting those rules.

reciprocity

The congressional practice of members looking for guidance on legislation to members of their party on committees specializing in that area.

Articles of Confederation

The constitution drafted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified by the states in 1781. It set up a weak central government consisting of a congress with limited legislative power and virtually no authority over the execution of its laws.

home rule

The constitutional or legal authority held by local governments that allows them to govern themselves with little or no interference from the state. Gives a local government wide authority and even forbids states from interfering in local matters.

limited government

The constitutional principle by which the powers of government are limited by the rights and liberties of the people.

Speaker of the House

The constitutionally designated leader of the House of Representatives. In the modern House, he or she is always the leader of the majority party.

privatization

The contracting of private companies by the government to conduct work that was formerly done by government agencies.

Transaction Costs

The costs of making and enforcing agreements

national deficit

The difference in a given year between what the government raises in taxes and fees and what the government spends.

Conformity Costs

The difference in what you want and what collective society gets or requires. The cost to the participants to do something they prefer not to. Citizens naturally prefer them to be low, ex paying taxes

"Balance the ticket"

The effort by parties to represent different population groups and regions in their candidates for elected office.

grassroots campaigns

The effort to bring pressure on elected officials by mobilizing voters in their own districts and states using mail, phones, the Internet, or visits.

casework

The efforts by members of Congress to solve voters' individual problems with the government; an important part of their constituency service.

electoral college

The electors appointed by each state to vote for the president.

Federal Election Commission; FEC

The federal agency that regulates campaign donations to and spending by candidates for Congress and the presidency.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

The federal agency that regulates campaign donations to and spending by candidates for Congress and the presidency. (page 434)

U.S. district courts

The federal courts where most cases involving federal law are first tried.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate a set of liberties not to be violated by the government and a set of rights to be protected by the government.

The First Parties Two windows into the phenomena of party emergence:

The first Congress and the birth of the Republican Party

rationality

The habit of choosing the best choice among available options given one's interests and information.

speaker of the House

The head of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party, currently Republican John Boehner of Ohio.

Supreme Court of the United States

The head of the federal court system, composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices.

majority leader

The head of the party holding a majority of seats and, in the Senate, the leader of the Senate. In the House, the majority leader is second to the Speaker of the House.

strict scrutiny

The highest-level standard used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is compatible with the Constitution. A law subject to this standard is considered unconstitutional unless it advances a "compelling state interest" and represents the least intrusive means.

national agenda

The important political issues that are the current focus of public attention; gaining control of this agenda is a major goal of national politics.

Candidates often express regret after they air negative campaign ads. Further, in an election with two candidates, both generally would be happier if neither had run negative ads as opposed to both running them. Why, then, do strategic candidates air negative ads?

The incentives favor running negative commercials regardless of what the other candidate does because if only one candidate runs negative ads, that candidate will have an electoral advantage.

precedent, or stare decisis

The judicial practice by which the courts generally follow previous court decisions involving the same issue.

State capacity

The knowledge, personnel, and institutions that the govt requires to effectively implement policies.

statutory law

The laws passed by legislatures, or administrative agencies empowered by legislatures, and the court decisions interpreting those laws.

Originalism , strict constructionism

The legal philosophy that judges should use the intentions of those writing the law or the Constitution as guides for how to interpret the law.

strict constructivism

The legal philosophy that judges should use the intentions of those writing the law or the Constitution as guides for how to interpret the law.

Stare decisis

The legal principle that requires judges to respect the decisions of past court cases.

stare decisis

The legal principle that requires judges to respect the decisions of past court cases.

survey Sampling Frame

The list from which the elements of the population are selected

rational basis test

The lowest-level standard used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is compatible with the Constitution. A law subject to this standard is assumed to be constitutional as long as its goals are clearly linked to its means.

national party convention

The meeting where the party formally nominates its presidential candidate.

memorandum orders

The method by which the Supreme Court decides most cases without the need for oral arguments.

media

The methods or technologies people use for communication, such as phones, radio, newspapers, television, and the Internet.

marblecake federalism

The modern mix of overlapping relations between the states and the federal government.

path dependence

The notion that earlier events or decisions deeply affect current and future policy decisions or outcomes.

paradox of voting

The notion that people still vote despite the fact that individual costs of voting often outweigh the individual benefits. (page 325

democratic peace

The observation that historically it has been extremely rare for democracies to fight wars against other democracies.

standing

The official status of a litigant who is entitled to have his or her case decided by the court.

judicial restraint

The opposing concept that the courts should not impose their views on other branches of the government except in extreme instances; a passive role for the courts.

military action

The organized use of deadly force by a government.

preferences

The outcomes or experiences people want or believe they need.

press

The people and organizations that provide content about public affairs—news and commentary—that is disseminated across media.

standing committees

The permanent specialized units of both houses that draft legislation in subject areas like taxes and agriculture.

Fourteenth Amendment

The post-Civil War amendment that has been used to extend the protections in the Bill of Rights to actions by state and local governments and by private individuals and groups.

Congressional oversight of the bureaucracy

The power of Congress to oversee how laws are carried out, "watchdog function" to prevent fraud & waste. Carried out through committee hearings & investigations ex. Watergate, appropriations process, a) Fire alarms vs police patrols. b) Frequent criticism is that Congress often abdicates its responsibility to exercise oversight of the bureaucracy. c) Don't so much abdicate, as prefer a different type of oversight

Appellate jurisdiction

The power of a court to receive cases from trial courts for the purpose of reviewing whether the legal procedures were properly followed. it means that cases are brought there on appeal by either the plaintiff or the defendant after being decided in a lower level court. No new evidence or witnesses are brought to an appellate (or appeals) court. The appeals court makes decisions based on the soundness of the procedures used to decide the case at the lower level.

spoils system

The practice of rewarding loyal partisans with government positions after they demonstrate their support during an election.

senatorial courtesy

The practice of the Senate to only approve judicial nominees who are acceptable to the senator from that state.

Roberts Court

The present Supreme Court from 2005, named after the current chief justice, John Roberts.

equal protection

The principle that laws passed and enforced by the states must apply fairly to all individuals.

popular sovereignty

The principle that the authority to make decisions on behalf of society belongs to the people. (page 323

rule making

The process by which governmental agencies provide details on how laws passed by elected officials will be implemented.

incorporation

The process by which rights and liberties established by the Bill of Rights are applied to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

political socialization

The process of learning political attitudes and behavior.

politics

The process of making collective decisions, usually by governments, to allocate public resources and to create and enforce rules for the operation of society.

welfare state

The programs of the government devoted to social policies.

voter turnout

The proportion of potential voters who vote in a given election. (page 341)

elastic clause; also know as the necessary and proper clause

The provision in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution that states that Congress can make whatever laws are "necessary and proper" in order to provide the means to carry out its enumerated powers.

priming

The psychological process of shaping people's perceptions of a particular issue, figure, or policy.

intergovernmental relations

The relationship between the different levels of government.

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

due process

The right to legal protections against arbitrary deprivation of life, liberty, or property.

the franchise; or suffrage

The right to vote.

the franchise; suffrage

The right to vote. (page 335)

supremacy clause

The section of Article VI of the Constitution that states that the Constitution and the subsequent laws of the United States are to be the "supreme law of the land," meaning that they supersede any state and local laws.

political efficacy

The sense of political effectiveness, for example that efforts like voting will result in a change of government policies.

survey Population

The set of individuals or other entities to which we wish to be able to generalize our findings

minimum winning coalition

The smallest-size coalition necessary to achieve a goal.

State and Federal Power Over Time

The states had more responsibilities prior to the New Deal. Federal intervention in the economic arena pulled more power toward the national government. Some devolution in the 1980s, "New Federalism". Generally, Republicans have been more supportive of letting the states handle public policy while Democrats have favored national solutions.

Mootness

The status of a case in which further legal proceedings would have no impact on one or both parties.

moot

The status of a case in which further legal proceedings would have no impact on one or both parties.

incumbency

The status of already holding office

political science

The study of social relations involving power and authority, especially those including government actions.

gatekeeping bias

The tendency for the media or a particular media outlet not to report stories of a particular nature.

coverage bias

The tendency for the media or a particular media outlet to give less attention in terms of column space or air time to certain kinds of stories or aspects of stories.

statement bias

The tendency for the media or a particular media outlet to interject opinions into the coverage of an issue.

Lemon Test from Lemon v. Kurtzman 1971, Current standard is the "neutrality test"

The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose, such as education; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion.

national debt

The total amount owed to those who have loaned money to the government

In order to manage debate on legislation, the House has a Rules Committee that structures the consideration of bills coming out of committee. What is the analogous institution on the Senate side called?

The unanimous consent agreement

soft power

The use of nonmilitary pressure, such as economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, or public shaming, against another country.

gross domestic product; GDP

The value of all the goods and services produced by an economy within its borders.

partisan model

The view that majority-party leaders dominate the workings of Congress and ensure that most legislative benefits come to majority-party members.

hyperpluralism

The view that participation by too many groups demanding too many resources from the government leads to political paralysis.

distributional model

The view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are designed primarily to help members of Congress secure economic benefits for only their constituents, not the general public.

informational model

The view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are designed to help Congress make more informed decisions.

political system

The way a society organizes and manages its politics across various levels of public authority.

First Amendment: Freedom of Speech

There are no absolute rights Lots of latitude given to political speech, even of a symbolic nature Not protected: speech that advocates illegal activity. "Fire in a theater"-Clear and present danger test

Sequester

These government-wide spending cuts went into effect in 2013 (because of previous legislation) when Congress could not agree on specific budget reductions. They ended in early 2014 with a budget agreement.

Typical storyline of Third Parties in America:

Third parties garner a following and the major parties move to represent this population. Then the third party disappears from the political scene

U.S. courts of appeals

Thirteen federal courts above the district courts, which mainly hear appeals from those courts.

19th Amendment

This Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920.

1964 Civil Rights Act

This act prohibited Discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin by employers or labor unions; The adoption by voting registrars of different standards for black and white applicants; and Racial or religious discrimination in public accommodations.

Collective Dilemmas in Participation, p. 325. refering to voting

This is called the paradox of voting. The fact that people turn out in spite of the costs they face has been explained in a variety of ways, including the idea that people gain satisfaction for performing a civic duty.

Erie doctrine

This requires a federal court in diversity cases to apply substantive law, and state court decisions, of the state in which the case was filed, so long as there is no federal statutory rule or practice on point that directly conflicts.

reserved powers

Those powers not granted to the national government by the Constitution, and therefore reserved to the states.

residual powers

Those powers not spelled out in the Constitution but necessary for the president to carry out his other responsibilities; used to expand the duties of the president.

exclusive powers

Those powers only exercised by the federal government under the Constitution, such as the right to coin money.

expressed powers; also know as enumerated powers

Those powers specifically described in the Constitution.

Federalists

Those who favored adopting the Constitution as written because they believed that a strong national government was needed to solve the collective dilemmas facing the states.

elites

Those who get most of society's values, especially wealth and power.

Antifederalists

Those who opposed adopting the Constitution as written because they feared that it created an overly strong national government.

moral issues with federal grants and fiscal federalism.

Thought to create "moral hazard." Induces risky behavior when people or groups do not have to pay for all the costs of their actions.

Models of judicial behavior

Three models of judicial decision making: legal Model, attitudinal model, and rational choice or strategic model

the following are examples of a public goods:

University at Buffalo, SUNY, Lake Erie, and Letchworth State Park

advocacy ads

Used by interest groups to indirectly promote or defeat candidates for election; also called issue ads, they are a way of avoiding campaign spending limits.

independents

Voters who publicly identify with neither major political party.

Which federal law made it a priority of the national government to enforce provisions of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, leading to major improvements in voting rights for blacks, other minorities, and the poor?

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Negativity bias

We tend to gravitate to negative issues-" if it bleeds, it leads;" negative news is thought to sell. tendency for people to recall, pay more attention to, and be more affected by negative information/events than positive information/event

coalitional drift

When an ideological shift in elected branches creates disparity between the way an agency executes policy and the way new members of Congress or a new president believes the agency ought to execute policy.

R-A-S Model

When answering survey questions, people "sample"; S; from the considerations that they have "received" ;R; from the media and other sources and "accepted" ;A; as legitimate or applicable to a particular issue.

Bureaucratic drift

When government agencies depart from executing policy consistent with the ideological preferences of Congress or the president so as to execute policy consistent with their own ideological preferences.

bureaucratic drift

When government agencies depart from executing policy consistent with the ideological preferences of Congress or the president so as to execute policy consistent with their own ideological preferences.

bureaucratic capture

When regulatory agencies are beholden to the organizations or interests they are supposed to regulate.

order

When the Court requires someone to take a specified action to ensure someone else's rights.

inflation

When the purchasing value of a unit of currency, such as the dollar, declines so that goods and services cost more of the currency.

deflation

When the purchasing value of a unit of currency, such as the dollar, increases so that goods and services are worth less of the currency.

When do third parties emerge?

When there are issues or positions that are not represented by the major parties

When America Had 437 Congressional Districts

With the admission of Hawaii and Alaska to the union after the House was fixed at 435 districts, two new seats were temporarily established until the House could be reapportioned

Parties and the Collective Action Problem; Parties provide

a basis for lawmaking in Congress; think back to how leadership in Congress is organized

macro polity

a combination of several data results pertaining to what the public knows about politics. idea that individuals can be unstable but overall it shows that the public has a good grasp of political issues; Saritory is an example

Majority minority district

a district in which a majority of people are ethnic minorities

Party reputations have

a great deal of staying power; e.g., GOP as the party of Lincoln and the Democratic Party as the authors of the New Deal

There is no requirement to be

a lawyer in order for the supreme court judgeship to be filled

State Courts Judgeship Selection methods vary greatly:

a physical manifestation given to the president as to who should fill the position; a) Elections; partisan and non-partisan, b) Appointment, c) Missouri Plan

Parties in the Electorate Party Identification

a psychological identification with a particular political party

Each party shift is preceded by

a realignment—a shake-up in the electoral viability of one party and the issues that divide the parties more generally, Often marked by a critical election

Single-member districts in the US

a single person is elected to a given office

Faction

a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one.

New Jersey Plan called for

a unicameral legislature with equal representation among the states, along with a plural; multiperson; executive appointed by the legislature.

Advice and consent is

a vague issue where the Senate uses the ignorant card

Living constitution

a way of interpreting the Constitution that takes into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances rather than the text alone.

Some commonalities across Political Party definitions

a) "A group of candidates and elected officials organized under a common label for the purpose of attaining positions of public authority", b) Alternative Perspectives, c) focus on ideology or policy agreement:

Nominating the President: Does the Party Decide?

a) "Smoke-filled rooms", b) Party elites decided, c) Came to a head with the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, d) Resulted in the McGovern-Fraser Commission, e) Recent evidence, though, that party elites still lead the process, but through endorsements

The Senate Side of Things

a) A bill is introduced b) Referred to committee c) Referred to subcommittee d) Amended and considered in subcommittee e) Amended and considered in committee f) No Rules Committee on the Senate side, so use unanimous consent agreements for relatively uncontroversial bills g) Senate then amends and considers the bill

representative sample is:

a) A sample that looks like the population from which it was selected in all respects that are potentially relevant to the study. b) The distribution of characteristics among the elements of a representative sample is the same as the distribution of those characteristics among the total population. c) In an unrepresentative sample, some characteristics are overrepresented or underrepresented

Rules Committee

a) A standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the house. b) Many rule variants, but some key types: Open, Closed, Restricted or modified, c) After that the full chamber considers the rule, The bill is then amended and considered from the floor

Party Reform

a) Academics and other political observers always want to remake the parties, b) Tocqueville, c) Lord Bryce pined for earlier times, as did Woodrow Wilson, d) FDR also undertook actions to remake the parties with the purge, e) How would you change the parties now?

Anti-Partyism in the US

a) Anti-party sentiments early in US history, Federalist 10, b) Washington's farewell address, c) flare-ups throughout history

survey Sampling Error

a) Any difference between the characteristics of a sample and the characteristics of the population from which it was drawn. b) The larger the sampling error, the less representative the sample is of the population

The Role of Party Organizations in Campaigns

a) Both party professionals and party amateurs work for the party, b) Party professionals work, c) Party organizations also campaign on behalf of candidates—DCCC and NRCC, d) Can distance candidates from potential backlash from negative campaigning

Political institutions include:

a) Branches of government, b) Organizations such as the IRS, The Rules Committee in the House of Representatives, electoral collage, Political parties, Interest groups, etc., and c) Rules and procedures

Is Gerrymandering All Bad?

a) Brief experiment with the purposive creation of majority-minority experiments provided an opportunity to examine questions concerning representation b) Consensus that minorities in Congress represent minority communities more effectively c) Same finding with regard to women—of all parties

Rules for gerrymandering

a) Can't dilute minority voting power b) Contiguous c) Compact (?) d) Keeps "Communities of Interest" together e) Same population f) Political gerrymandering is "not justiciable"

Rules for Redistricting

a) Can't dilute minority voting power b) Contiguous c) Compact (?) d) Keeps "Communities of Interest" together e) Same population f) Political gerrymandering is "not justiciable"

Pork Barrel Politics

a) Certainly has a bad name b) Citizen interest groups complain about it; Citizens Against Government Waste produces a yearly "Pig Book" c) Counts lots of different kinds of spending as pork—money simply has to be earmarked for a particular state or district d) Some items might actually be in the interest of the greater good e) "Greases the wheels" f) Nevertheless, Congress has passed a moratorium on earmarks

The Constitutional Bases of Presidential Power

a) Clearly defined expressed powers in Article II, b) Makes treaties (Senate still has to ratify, hence executive agreements), c) Grant pardons, d) Nominate judges and other cabinet-level positions, e) Also receives ambassadors and commands the military

Interest Groups Core Concepts on Display

a) Collective action problems, b) Transaction costs, c) Electoral connection, d) Lobbyists as agents of interests, e) Coordination problems—often groups are more effective when they lobby together, but simply cannot agree on the means

Head of State and Head of Government

a) Commander in Chief, b) Congress declares war, but recent conflicts have seen the president taking the lead, c) War Powers Act, d) Executive agreements. Much the same as treaties, but cut the Senate out of the process, e) Controls the bureaucracy, f) As Nixon did, can (with some restrictions) control how appropriations are spent

Head of state and Head of Government

a) Commander in Chief, b) Congress declares war, but recent conflicts have seen the president taking the lead, c) War powers act, d) Executive agreements, e) controls the bureaucracy, and f) control how appropriations , like Nixon did

Conference Committee

a) Comprised of members of both the House and Senate b) Work out differences between House and Senate Versions of the bill c) Amended and reconciled bill goes back to both houses for final passage d) Then sent to the president for his signature or veto e) If vetoed, back to Congress for an override attempt f) 2/3 vote in each chamber

Presidential Pork

a) Congress effectively delegated the distribution of federal money to the president b) Still going to particular districts as dictated by political concerns c) For instance, stimulus money has gone to districts that supported the president and states that play into electoral college strategies

Presidential pork

a) Congress effectively delegated the distribution of federal money to the president. b)Still going to particular districts as dictated by political concerns. c) For instance, stimulus money has gone to districts that supported the president and states that play into electoral college strategies.

Other Influences on Member Behavior in Congress

a) Constituency matters—even one vote out of step can be disastrous electorally b) Interest groups have both direct and indirect effects on legislator behavior c) Interest groups subsidize information costs d) Two-way street: can also inform voters of member actions on certain bills e) Legislators think about traceability f) More likely to vote for something that goes against what their constituents want if costs are diffuse

CH 5 Congress

a) Constitutional Prerogatives b) Congressional Elections c) Understanding Congressional Politics d) Internal Institutions of Congress e) The Process of Lawmaking f) Making Law in a Separation-of-Powers System g) In Comparison: Legislative Institutions h) Taking Account of Congress

Party Influence in Congress

a) Contrary to Mayhew's; 1974; early work on Congress, parties play a major role in shaping legislation today b) It is the odd vote that does not have near complete separation between the parties c) Numerous possible explanations, some which involve constituency factors d) Debate over preferences vs. parties e) Desirable committee assignments are handed out at the discretion of party leadership f) Party leadership controls what comes up for a vote

Later Criticism of the Constitution from an Economic Standpoint

a) Delegates were fairly wealthy and stood to benefit personally from the new government , b) Several groups not represented at the Convention: , c) No explicit right to vote in the Constitution, d) Constitution did much to protect private property

Options Available to the supreme Court

a) Deny cert, b) GVR, c) Hand down an opinion, d) Majority, dissent, or concurrence, e) Per curiam, f) Published vs. unpublished decisions, g) Ratio decidendi vs. obiter dicta

Basic bureaucratic Divisions

a) Departments, independent agencies, and government corporations, b) Autonomy increases across the three types, c) Presidents promoting new initiatives that create quick action often push for the creation of independent agencies, d) government corporations such as the post office

New Federalism

a) Devolution of authority back to the states which Begun under Nixon b) Some sign that the courts are also starting to shift the balance of power since the late 80s c) Not clear at this point what is going on d) SCOTUS limited Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause in several cases, US v Lopez e) But seemed to expand federal power in a recent case involving medical marijuana, Gonzales v. Raich

Various authoritarian regimes Including:

a) Dictatorships and monarchies-rule by one b) Oligarchy-rule by a few

Models of Congressional Activity

a) Distributional b) Informational c) Partisan d) All offer a different take on which internal institutions are the most important for understanding how Congress functions

The structure of federal courts

a) District courts; federal trial courts, b) Circuit courts; intermediate federal appellate courts, c) Supreme Court d) Specialized courts e.g., Tax Court e) Three-judge district courts Meant to expedite certain types of cases f) Appeals go directly to the SCOTUS g) Circuit courts sit en banc for important cases

Cracking

a) Dividing an opponents voters into other districts, to weaken the opponents voter base. b) spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections

Duverger's Law and Third Parties in America

a) Duverger's Law—single-member districts and first-past-the-post electoral systems conspire to limit the number of parties, b) US is a very strong case for this social-scientific "law"

Critiques of Pluralism

a) E.E. Schattschneider; 1960; Normative element, b) "Upper-class accent" c) Olson; 1965, d) Biases in the interest group system, e) Public interest lobbies exist; and in great numbers;, but face considerable hurdles

The Articles of Confederation: America's First Constitution

a) Each state received one vote in the new Congress b) Laws required 9/13 states for passage c) Larger changes, such as direct taxation, required unanimity! d) No executive or judiciary

The President and the Parties

a) Early on conferred benefits to their parties through patronage, appointments to jobs in the bureaucracy—spoils system; b) The presidency was a prize to be sought by the parties—helps to explain why the GOP gave up on Reconstruction just to retain the office; c) Presidents received little media attention in the 19th century outside of the context of the campaign; d) Congress was the main attraction

Shay's Rebellion

a) Economic depression followed the Revolution b) Personal debt c) Farmers were especially hard-hit d) Occasional demonstrations e) High taxes in MA, local courts that were unforgiving f) Daniel Shay mounted a rebellion g) Massachusetts appealed to Congress, but Congress was unable to force other states to send troops h) State militia finally put down the rebellion i) Not an isolated incident!

Who is in the Party?

a) Elite-focused approach to political parties, b) interest groups and other fellow travelers who shape the ideological direction of the party; intense policy demanders

The Veto Game

a) Ends in a veto when Congress and the president are simply too far apart. 1) Congress favors a more drastic change in policy than does the president. 2) The president favors a more drastic policy change than does Congress

Madison's Factions: The Intellectual Roots of Pluralism

a) Federalist 10, b) Bentley (1908), Truman (1951), and pluralist democracy, c) People matter insofar as they are represented by groups; see also McCubbins and Schwartz 1984, d) Democracy is group conflict

Political Litigation

a) File amicus briefs, b) Use the courts to draw attention

The Development of Congressional Parties

a) First few Congresses did not have feature political parties b) Chief debate surrounded the role of the government, but no formal party organization c) Coordination problems galore! d) Nothing got done without a series of bargains and back-room deals—parties formed in response

Obscenity

a) For some time left up to local authorities to determine. b) Court is famously vague about what it constitutes. c) Justice Potter: "I know it when I see it" Unclear what the standards are d) "Prurient interests"

The Imperial Presidency

a) Frequent criticism of the office; b) Rarely lives up to the name; c) Unitary executive: George W. Bush's unique theory of the expansive powers afforded to the office of the presidency; d) In signing statements, Bush took exception to what he saw as legislative encroachments. Threatened to ignore certain provisions; e) In a similar vein, the justice department has refused to enforce certain laws; e.g., VRA pre-clearance under Bush; and the Solicitor General has declined to defend certain laws; e.g., DOMA, f) Executive privilege—confidential communications between the president and his advisors not be revealed without consent

Subconstituencies

a) Geographic constituency b) Re-election constituency c) Primary constituency d)Personal constituency

Presidential Approval

a) Gives the president the political capital necessary to make policy b) Honeymoon period after an election is often when most things on the president's agenda get done, c) As the electorate has polarized sharply, the honeymoon has gotten shorter

The president and public opinion

a) Going public, b) Convince those who would oppose him in Washington that there is a public mandate for his policies, c) But does it work? President is rarely able to move public opinion. d) Does it need to work? Appeal to the public alone may send the necessary signal to those he hopes to influence. e) Going Local

The President and Public Opinion

a) Going public, b) Convince those who would oppose him in Washington that there is a public mandate for his policies, c) But does it work? d) President is rarely able to move public opinion, e) Does it need to work? Appeal to the public alone may send the necessary signal to those he hopes to influence, f) Going Local, g) Contested opinion theories, h) The president and the permanent campaign

Groups and the Tax Code

a) Government encourages interest group activity through tax exemptions, b) Limited in terms of overt political action, c) Can "educate"

Organizational Ecology

a) Group competition forces organized interests to niche, b) Work to offer a unique contribution, c) Weigh the relative benefits of lobbying alone versus in teams

The Incumbency Advantage

a) Having served in Congress before affords enormous advantages on the campaign trail b) Why is that? c) Congress is a re-election machine—affords members all the resources necessary to gain re-election d) Example: franking privilege e) Case work f) Pork-barrel legislation

Reserved for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" (What does this mean?)

a) House impeaches, Senate votes for removal, b) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides

What do bureaucrats do?

a) Impose regulations, b) Developed in a process known as the notice and comment procedure c) Proposed rules are published in the Federal Register, d) Allows for input from interested parties, e) Lots of agencies issue regulations. Most, however, come from the FTC, FCC, and FDA

Setting the Agenda

a) In the House, which has much more restrictive rules than the Senate, party leadership controls what bills make it to the floor b) Specific Rules Committee on the House side c) Have an idea of how unified their party is on certain issues d) "Hastert rule"—thou shalt not roll thy own party e) Still doesn't explain polarization in the Senate—must be a "team effect" as well

Interest Groups Gaining Access

a) Insider strategies, b) Provide lawmakers with information, c) Persuasion; in the Neustadt sense, d) Cut information costs for politicians, e) Information or signals, f) Often draft legislation or regulations, g) Engage in litigation and conduct research

The Traceability Chain in Congressional Elections

a) Interest groups monitor what members do or vote on, b) Inform voters

What are some of these Issue Ownership?

a) Issues that are important to the electorate at a given time and the "nature of the times"; the problems facing the country; may advantage one party over the other, b) Not immutable; ex: GOP and Iraq War

Bureaucrats as experts

a) Key part of State Capacity b) Nevertheless, can be cumbersome c) Red tape, or SOP d) If the bureaucracy is there to "fill in the blanks" when Congress passes laws that are nonspecific or delegate authority to the bureaucracy, why is there a need for such, often complex, rules.

FDR and the Democratic Party

a) Legislative agenda was frustrated by conservative Democrats in Congress; b) "Court-packing" failed; c) Resolved to "purge" the Democratic Party of its conservative elements; d) Intervened in select Democratic primary contests in 1938; e) Is thought to have lost—turned to unilateral executive action in pursuit of his agenda; f) "Party predators"

Party Machines

a) Local political organization that controls the political process through vote-buying; e.g., rewards of jobs and services in return for support, b) Often Democratic, but there were exceptions; Philadelphia

Social Movements

a) Loose assemblages of groups, b) Examples: the civil rights movement, women's rights movement, possibly the tea party, c) Can spawn interest groups—social movement organizations

State Supreme Courts

a) Lots of variety, b) Some states have separate supreme courts for civil and criminal cases; Texas, b) Some states call trial courts supreme courts; New York, c)

Democracies functionality are generally:

a) Messy. Slow. Unworkable with large groups. b) Large societies require more efficiency

Constitutional Requirements

a) Minimum age to serve in the House-25 b) Minimum age to serve in the Senet-30 c) Length of U.S. Citizenship in the House-7 years d) Length of U.S. Citizenship in the Senate: 9 e) Length of a House term: 2 years f) Length of a Senet term-6

The Electoral Connection

a) Much of what members do in Congress can be attributed to the re-election imperative b) Mayhew's; 1974 theory c) Assumes that members of Congress have multiple goals; policy, good governance, etc., but that one is of primary concern: the need to be re-elected d) Members do three things: advertising, position-taking, and credit-claiming e) Parties play little or no role in this theory

Qualifications for U.S. president Office

a) Natural-born citizen, b) At least 35 years of age, c) Resident of the US for at least 14 years

Presidential Power

a) Neustadt, 1960: presidential power is the power to persuade. Convince others in Washington that the president's policy goals are in their best interest too, b) More recently, scholars have looked to the president's use of executive orders, and other tools at his disposal for unilateral policy-making as evidence that he need not necessarily persuade in order to get things done, c) Executive orders—power without persuasion

Putting together What The Constitution Tore Apart

a) No mention of political parties in the US Constitution, b) Still political institutions in a number of key ways, c) Invention of goal-oriented individuals, but also tend to persist, thereby structuring the rules of the political game

Democratic Concerns; Do the people pay enough attention to be effective citizens and hold elected officials accountable?

a) Not a lot in the way of political knowledge, but they may not need it b) Shortcuts vs. encyclopedias c) Opinion leaders d) Issue publics

The Legislative Process; The Slightly More Complicated Version

a) On the House side: b) Bill is introduced c) Referred to committee; multiple referral d) Referred to subcommittee e) Amended and considered in subcommittee f) Amended and considered in committee

Congressional Elections

a) Once thought to be strictly party-line affairs, legislators now work hard to cultivate a "personal vote" b) In the 19th century, congressional elections were responsive to top of the ticket; presidential; contests c) Manufactured responsiveness d) Party ballots e) Efficient gerrymanders

What Do Political Parties Do?

a) Organize political conflict, b) Recruit and train leaders, c) Foster political participation; mobilization, simplification of choices, d) Build coalitions, e) Allow for collective responsibility, f) Organize the activities of government

Interest Groups Electoral Politics

a) PACs, b) 527 organization, c) 501; c; organizations

Analyzing Political Parties

a) PIG, PIE, PO—VO Key's distinction, b) Lots of overlap, but division of labor makes the task more tractable

Other Forms of Executive

a) Parliamentary Democracy, like the UK, b) Presidential System, with separated powers, c) Mixed Presidential System, like France

Primary qualitative data collection methods, and most common in cj and crim research; PIF

a) Participant observation, b) Intensive interviewing, c) Focus groups

Party Primaries

a) Parties control the process of candidate selection, b) Often change the rules to maintain control, c) Allow for more popular input only when the parties can be reasonably sure of the outcome, d) Anti-party reformers have made inroads in democratizing the process of candidate selection, e) Open vs closed primaries; and everything in-between

Normative Takes on Political Parties Key argument:

a) Parties need to present real policy alternatives to the electorate, enact them, and let the voters decide, b) By this standard, are today's parties "responsible"?

Party Organizations PO—VO

a) Parties nominate candidates, b) National committees, c) Formerly chose candidates in private "smoke-filled rooms", but now most state parties hold primaries

Parties in the Electorate

a) Party Images, b) Party Identification

Parties and the New Institutionalism

a) Path dependence to political parties, b) Party reputations, c) Congress

survey research Response Rate

a) Percentage of persons surveyed who complete survey, b) Item response rate is the percentage of items that are completed on a survey

Deciding to Decide on the U.S. Supreme Court

a) Petition for certiorari, b) Discuss list, c) "Rule of four", d) Writ of certiorari, c) DIG-the case is moot

Five basic survey designs; PIGME:

a) Phone survey, b) In-person survey, c) Group-administered survey, d) Mailed survey, e) Electronic survey

the commonalities of the definitions of Political science are:

a) Politics is a process which is conflictual in nature. b) Agreement on a course of action is a goal, and c) Some focus on there being rules to this process

Issue Ownership

a) Possibly a subset of party images, b) Issues that are associated with the major political parties

Veto Bargaining

a) President can shape what comes out of Congress with the mere threat of a veto, b) Process of bargaining back and forth often ensues, c) What forms can this process take?

Types of Veto

a) President has ten days, excluding Sundays, to take action; b) Can sign, let the bill become law without his signature, or veto; c) Pocket veto—Congress recesses before the ten day period is up; d) Line-item veto—briefly used during the Clinton administration; e) Ruled unconstitutional by the Court; f) Confederate constitution had a line-item veto

The Politics of Judicial Selection on SCOTUS

a) President nominates, b) Senatorial courtesy and blue slips, c) Criteria for nomination

Leadership in the U.S. Senate

a) President of the Senate; VP b) President Pro Tempore c) Majority and minority leaders d) Party whips

Does the President Lead Public Opinion, or Follow?

a) Presidents, on occasion, pander to the public b) Follow public opinion even if they believe it to be wrong c) Do so conditionally d) Close to elections that are expected to be tight, owing to dips in approval polls

Interest Groups Outsider Strategies

a) Protests, b) Mass media campaigns, c) Mobilize public opinion, d) Grassroots lobbying, e) "Astroturf", f) Electioneering, g) Direct democracy—initiatives and referenda

other procurement issues

a) Provide services b) Research and development c) Managing and directing, oversee, for instance, government contractors, d) Implement laws, e) settle disputes- administrative adjudication

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

a) Provided for a very weak national government b) Highly decentralized

Criteria for nomination to the SC:

a) Qualifications, b) Policy preferences, c) Reward, d) Pursuit of political support d) The senior senator can decide who may fill the position

Basic terms of survey research; QIRR

a) Questionnaire, b) Interview schedule, c) Respondent, d) Response Rate

Other Internal Institutions

a) Reed's Rules—procedural guidelines for how the majority should determine who sits on what committees, how the business of the House is to be conducted, and how the majority should limit the influence of the minority party b) Caucuses—group within the legislature that is united to pursue an agenda outside of the party c) Also staff and research services—CBO was created as a counterbalance to the president's OMB

The End of Reconstruction

a) Republican Party realized it could hold on to power without the South b) Slowly drew back oversight of elections c) Reconstruction formally ended with the contested presidential election of 1876 d) In return for the presidency, military reconstruction was ended the following year e) Led to Jim Crow laws and institutionalized segregation f) "Mechanisms of control" white primary, grandfather clause, literacy tests, and poll taxes

The Filibuster

a) Rule in the Senate that allows for unlimited debate b) Must invoke cloture; 3/5 vote c) Effectively requires a supermajority to do anything d) Used to have to talk the vote to death e) In recent eras only had to threaten to filibuster; used a separate legislative track f) Nuclear option g) Changed the rules for nominees recently

To the Rules Committee

a) Rules committee proposes a rule b) Many variants, but some key types: Open, Closed, Restricted; or modified c) After that the full chamber considers the rule d) The bill is then amended and considered from the floor

first amendment cases

a) Schenck v United States (1919)—Schenck encouraged WW1 draftees to resist b) Gitlow (1925)—First Amendment applies to the states c) Later (Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969): clear and probable danger test

Interest Groups and Lobbying

a) Seek to influence policy, b) Often pursue narrow exemptions or preferential treatment, c) To these ends, interest groups employ lobbyists, d) Formerly concentrated on K Street in DC, e) Often talk of a "revolving door"

Formal Checks on Presidential Power

a) Senate confirms presidential appointees and formally ratifies treaties, b) Can also override the veto, c) Congress can tap special prosecutors to investigate alleged presidential misconduct, d) Can also impeach

Commercial Speech

a) Similar to the incitement test b) Words that, when uttered, assure a breach of the peace c) can also be limited d) fighting words

Polarization

a) Simply not the case that parties are unimportant today b) Parties in Congress are ideologically homogeneous c) Quite a bit of separation between the parties as well d) Stems from the re-alignment of the parties that began after the national Democratic Party embraced civil rights e) Southern Democrats; Dixiecrats; left the party

Electoral System

a) Single-member districts b)Plurality rule "first-past-the-post"— c) Contrasted with PR d) Conspires to limit the number of effective parties; Duverger's Law e) Primary elections often drive congressional candidates to the extremes ideologically

Group Formation

a) Small groups are better able to solve collective action problems and have lower transaction costs, b) Can offer selective incentives, whereas many public interest lobbies must rely on moral incentives; and often solidary or purposive benefits, c) Also coercion, d) Latent groups can be organized, e) Politics can also be a by-product

The Growth of Interest Groups

a) Social upheaval, b) Educated populace with disposable income, c) Technology, d) Opponents—pluralism at work, e) Interest groups provide benefits to the government, and are thus encouraged

Leadership in the House

a) Speaker of the House b) House majority and minority leaders c) House whips

Leadership in the U.S. House

a) Speaker of the House b) House majority and minority leaders c) House whips

Other Forms of Congressional Organization—Committees

a) Standing committees; includes power committees such as Rules and Ways and Means b) Special or select committees c) Joint committees d) Conference committees

Rationale Behind the Design of the Presidency

a) Strong executive needed to respond to national crises and enforce the laws, b) Coerce conflicting groups to cooperate for the good of the whole nation

Cue theory

a) Supreme Court justices do not have the time to carefully review all cases that are appealed to them, so they develop shorthand methods of seeking out easy-to-find cues to help them determine whether they want to review a particular case. b) Fewer than one percent of appeals are actually heard by the Court c) Delegate some grunt work to clerks d) Cert pool e) Also, make use of cues f) Solicitor General's involvement g) Amicus briefs

survey questions; split-ballot design

a) Survey has different versions in which unique questions or different versions of questions are administered to randomly selected subsets, b) Allows for: 1. The inclusion of more questions without increasing the cost. 2. Comparisons of different versions of questions

Normative Takes on Political Parties

a) The Responsible Party ideal, b) APSA's "Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System",

What are the five "ill effects of the exclusion" that he lists?

a) The conduct of foreign negotiations, b) T he preparatory plans of finance, in the form of the secretary of the treasury, c) The application and disbursement of the public monies, d) The arrangement of the army and navy, in the capacity of commander-in-chief

Case work

a) The direct assistance that a member of Congress provides to a constituent, community group, or a local or state official. b) focusing on legislation meant to benefit their indv. districts and Particularized benefits e.g. "earmarks" like tax cuts.

Standing

a) The official status of a litigant who is entitled to have his or her case decided by the court. b) Must demonstrate real harm c) Courts can grant standing to groups of individuals in a class action case

The Institutional Presidency

a) The organization of the presidency has come a long way b) White House Office—staff system, c) OMB—"creates the annual federal budget, monitors agency performance, etc." d) Cabinet—heads of executive departments

Surge and Decline

a) The phenomenon of mid-term loss, President's party loses seats in Congress in mid-term elections, with rare exceptions; 1934, 1998 & 2002. b) Excitement of presidential elections brings peripheral voters into the fold; surge, but these same voters stay home in low-intensity elections; decline. c) Mid-term losses can also be interpreted as a presidential referendum

What, in his view, is wrong with a plural executive?

a) There is a danger that difference of opinion in the office could slow down the process of decision-making when decisive action is needed. b) plural executive could lead to a situation wherein the country would be split into factions in light of disagreements between the multiple executives.

Citizens United

a) Thought to be a game-changer, b) Gave rise to super PACs, c) Many argue that nothing changed, d) Undoubtedly more money in politics today

The President and the Parties, Part Deux

a) Today, the president is often thought to be the leader of his (or her) party; b) Sets the parties' respective agendas; c) State of the Union address is often used to signal legislative priorities; d) Wasn't always the case

Types of Interest Groups

a) Trade associations; eg., NAMM, b) Economic groups, c) Citizen groups; also known as public interest lobbies, d) Single-issue groups; NRLC

Hyperfederalism

a) Tradition of home rule, b)Local and state self-determination has created a situation that some observers refer to as hyperfederalism—lots of little jurisdictions, c) Can be confusing or otherwise detrimental to the practice of democracy d) For example, over 10,000 local electoral districts

Representational Style, Redux

a) Trustees and Delegates b) Chief determinant of trust: the difficulty of the issue

How may, as he writes, the "unity" of the executive be destroyed?

a) Two or more executives b) One executive who is beholden to others

U.S. Impeachment

a) Two presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, b) Both escaped being turned out of office, c) Nixon almost certainly would have been impeached as well had he not resigned

The First Parties

a) Two windows into the phenomena of party emergence, b) First Congress, c) Every new issue would need a new set of coalitions, d) Nothing to structure debate, e) Resorted to a series of deals and bargains struck, f) Needed a "long coalition"

Chapter 1 outline

a) Understanding American Politics, b) Collective Dilemmas and the Need for Government, c) Types of Collective Dilemmas, d) Principal-Agent Problems, e) Designing Institutions, f) Types of Government Institutions, and g) Analyzing Politics and Government

According to Hamilton, what are the ingredients for a strong executive?

a) Unity, b) Duration, length of time in office. c) Provision for support, set salary and the like. d) Competent powers, both enumerated and implied.

Attractive features of survey research are; VEG

a) Versatility, b) Efficiency, and c) Generalizability.

Bureaucrats as policy makers

a) When bureaucrats "fill in the gaps" for lawmakers, they are, in essence, making law b) i.e. Chevron c) Bureaucratic decisions have the force of law d) Chevron deference: courts defer to bureaucrats on matters of administrative law

The Fenno Paradox

a) Why do we hate Congress so much if we love our member of Congress? b) Running for Congress by running against Congress c) Evaluations of Congress have been shown to hurt majority party candidates at the polls

The US is what type of government?

a) a republic, also sometimes referred to as a representative democracy, b) It Elects leaders to represent the interests of the people, c) It's Often coupled with protections; civil liberties, and d) Can coexist with pure; direct, democracy. Ohio is a direct Democracy

Procurement

a) buying government stuff b) Government Services Administration c) must first devise criteria for determining what to buy d) can be complicated, e.g. procuring a new fighter jet, d) subject to executive and legislative mandates

procurement

a) buying government stuff b) Government Services Administration c) must first devise criteria for determining what to buy d) can be complicated, e.g. procuring a new fighter jet, d) subject to executive and legislative mandates

SCOTUS Delegates some grunt work to

a) clerks b) Cert pool c) look for or make use of cues, d) Solicitor General's involvement, e) Amicus briefs

pluralism biasis in the interest group system are a result of

a) collective action problems, which some interests are better able to solve than others b) Public interest lobbies exist; and in great numbers;, but face considerable hurdles.

Types of Collective Dilemmas

a) collective-action problem; people are better off free riding, b) prisoner's dilemma; lack of incentive to cooperate, c) coordination problem; course of action problems, and d) unstable coalitions; different agreements to chose from

Packing

a) concentrating partisan voters in a single district in order to maximize the number of representatives that can be elected by the opposition in other districts. b) Placing as many voters of one type in a single district to minimize the number of elections they can influence.

Checks on the courts

a) congress creates lower federal courts, b) no set size, c) judges can be removed, although it is rare, d) can always amend the Constitution, e) Can "overrule" the court, or at least attempt to, through ordinary legislation ex. RFRA

Functions of the courts

a) dispute resolution, b) behavior modification, c) allocation of gains and losses, d) policymaking

What do Bureaucrats do?

a) impose regulations, b) developed in a process known as the notice and comment procedure, c) proposed rules are published in the Federal Register, d) Allow for input from interested parties e) lots of agencies issue regulations. Most however, come from the FTC, FCC, and FDA

Ways out of the Prisoner's Dilemma are

a) incentivize cooperation, Government can play the role of a surety. b) punishment, mediation enforces

Direct democracy

a) initiatives, b) referendums

Judicial philosophy

a) judges' own accounts of how they make decisions. b) most common distinction is between strict constructionists, also known as originalists and those who posit the existence of a living constitution. c) often hear changes of"judicial activism". d) simply more for the courts to do now that the federal government has grown in size.

Types of Interest Groups Also, often distinguish between

a) mass associations and peak associations, which consist of organizations rather than individuals, b) Centralized groups versus confederations

Survey Questions with response choices should be; ME Like Interpret Vine

a) mutually exclusive, b) exhaustive, c) Likert-type response, d) Interpretive questions, e) Vinettes

survey questions; things to Avoid; NADC

a) negatives and double-negatives, b) agreement or disagreement disagreeable, c) confusing phrasing and vagueness

Fenno paradox

a) people hate congress but love their congressperson. b) Running for Congress by running against Congress. c) Evaluations of Congress have been shown to hurt majority party candidates at the polls

Political Science's three core insights:

a) people's recurring collective dilemmas and principal-agent problems, b) Political institutions these people's problems and dilemmas, and c) the specific details of those institutions affect how costs and benefits are allocated; institutional details matter for who gets what and how.

Types of survey questions; SOC

a) split-ballot design, b) Open-ended/Interpretative questions, c) Closed-ended/Fixed-choice questions

The people's house; House of Reps; controlled

a) the purse strings b) is currently fixed at 435 members

Position-taking

a) when members of the congress take positions on certain issues and things so that they have a better chance of being re-elected. b) any public statement, such as roll call, vote, speech, editorial or position paper, about a topic of interest to constituents or interest group.

survey Sampling Unit

a)Units listed at each stage of a multistage sampling design, b) Any single unit sampled from the population, c) Primary sampling units, d) Secondary sampling units

Latent groups can be organized for

action by interest group entrepreneurs

After every census, Congress is reapportioned to

adjust for population changes

Nominating the President: Party elites decided, often

against the expressed wishes of the party rank-and-file

Parties in Government, PIG

alliance of current office holders cooperating to shape public policy

survey question Vinettes-

allow the scenarios to be brought to life by question components: i. Describes an event or circumstances, ii. Followed up by questions or set of questions to capture reactions.

"Take Care" Clause

also allows for expansive powers found in executive powers provision of article II, Section 3 of Constitution. Instructs the president to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed."

Citizen's groups

also known as public interest lobbies; must rely on moral incentives; and often solidary or purposive benefits; Organized interests formed by individuals drawn together by opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe but that does not provide them significant individual economic benefits. MADD make public safer

Hastert Rule

also known as the "majority of the majority"rule, is an informal governing principle used by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990s to maintain their speakerships and limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the House. ;speaker of the house will not allow a vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party supports the bill.

Symbolic Speech

an act that conveys a political message

Negative Externality

an effect felt by more than just those who chose to cause it.

proportional representation systems; PR—

an electoral system where legislative seats are allocated on the basis of each party's percentage of the national vote.

The bureaucracy is often held up as

an institution that holds the potential to admit of principal-agent problems

bicameral legislature consists of

an upper house ;the Senate; composed of equal representation from each state and a lower house ;the House of Representatives; composed of representation from each state in proportion to its population.

Simple Majority

anything over 50%; Supreme Court decisions require what type of vote for the decision to become binding?; one more than half; portion needed to win the Electoral College vote for President; What margin is required to elevate a President's nominee to a seat on the Supreme Court;

Biases in the interest group system

are a result of collective action problems, which some interests are better able to solve than others

Filter question are question that

are asked to establish whether concept is applicable; a question used to identify a subset of respondents who then are asked other questions such as Skip pattern Questions and Contingent questions.

Unconventional participation, by includes acts that

are extreme and usually not considered to contribute to a democratic system, such as rioting, terrorism, or insurgency.

direct lobbying

attempts to influence policy by speaking with elected officials

selective incentives

benefits only given to members of the interest groups-you get a mug if you are in this interest group

"Shall Take Care that the Laws be Faithfully Executed" presidential clause

broad and under a reasonable interpretation gives the president substantial discretionary power.

PACs—

can raise money to contribute to candidates or spend in support of candidates. Donations and expenditures are limited

Polarization in Congress

cases in which members of congress' stances on a given issue, policy, or person is more likely to be strictly defined by their identification with a particular political party (e.g., Democrat or Republican) or ideology (e.g., liberal or conservative).- strong evidence that parties are more unified and ideologically seperat;

For the United States to shift from plurality voting to proportional representation would require:

changes in state laws; Recall that states exert primary control over how they conduct their elections. Nowhere in the Constitution or in federal law is there a stipulation that members of Congress or state legislatures must be elected by plurality rule in single-member districts.

One solution to an unstable coalition is

choosing an agenda setter who limits the alternatives available to the group.

freeRider problem

collective action dilema-no incentive to contribute-people think that other people will take care of things so they don't have to participate/contribute---solution-coercion and selective incentives

Parties and the New Institutionalism, Parties solve

collective dilemmas

Parties and the Collective Action Problem; Cut the cost of

communicating with the electorate, but involves conformity costs

Red tape

complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done;

What type of Costs are Associated with Authoritarian regimes-

conformity costs are higher still; unless you happen to be the dictator, but transaction costs are extremely low

Parties in the Electorate Party Images

considerations associated with the parties

Anti-Partyism in the US; Federalist 10 was concerned with

controlling factions; of which parties might be a special case

Putting together What The Constitution Tore Apart as a Function to bring together the separate branches of government,

coordinating across institutions;e.g., Congress and the presidency; and providing voters with an easy cue by simplifying choices and promoting team-building

Chevron deference

courts defer to bureaucrats on matters of administrative law

A general view of elections is that they allow the people to shape policy by:

determining which policy makers are in office

grassroots lobbying

directly involving interest group members in lobbying efforts such as protests or letter writing

survey questions; Open-ended/Interpretative questions

do not have explicit answer responses: i. Interpretive questions help explain answers from other questions. ii. Provide a wealth of information, but takes time to organize and summarize and can overwhelm respondents

501(c) organizations—

donations to interest groups under this designation are tax-deductible, but limit the group's political activities

Positive Externality

e.g., Nevada's air quality may have gotten better with California's strict emissions laws.

interested parties who give input to bureaucrats

e.g., those whose behavior would be regulated

civil rights part two of three

ensure all individuals receive due process and equal treatment under the law; or

Primaries and caucuses may not make everyone happy, but they serve to

ensure that a single candidate emerges from the process.

Clear and Present Danger Test

established in Schenck v United States; 1919, it gives the government the right to censor free speech if, during national emergencies such as war, it can be proven that the result of the speech will significantly hurt national security.

survey questions; Closed-ended/Fixed-choice questions have

explicit answer responses: i. Inclusion of answer responses reduces ambiguity, but can also obscure what people really think. ii. Question providing pre formulated response choices for the respondent to circle or check.

government provides:

for the general welfare, solves collective dilemmas, regulation through coercive laws or taxation; including tax breaks, Privatization- divide and cause personal change or make laws,

Sources of bias in surveys

framing, nonresponse, question wording, sample framing- sample their own people

PO Parties nominate candidates, help candidates

get their messages out to potential voters and supporters, hire campaign workers, raise money, and mobilize voters on Election Day

civil rights part three of three

guarantee freedom from discriminatory actions by others that seek to deny an individual's full status as an equal member of society.

PACs are different from 527s because the donations PACs make to campaigns are considered

hard money (which is regulated by the FEC), while 527s spend soft money making their own commercials.

New Institutionalism Party reputations

have a great deal of staying power; e.g., GOP as the party of Lincoln and the Democratic Party as the authors of the New Deal; direct primary of 1836

Party Machines First forms of social services in the US

health care, trash collection, food

What type of Costs are Associated with Direct democracy-

high transaction costs, lower conformity costs

What type of Costs are Associated with a Republic-

higher conformity costs, lower transaction costs.

What is studied when we study Politics?

how the Influential affect others and move them towards another position. First political scientists looked at formal power: those in charge or the wealthy.

exhaustive

i. Every case can be classified into one of the response choices. ii. There must always be an opinion for respondents who require another choice; i.e., "other, please specify ___".

Avoid confusing phrasing and vagueness

i. Use good grammar and clear language, ii. Include a reference period; i.e., a time period around which a question is being asked

Avoid negatives and double-negatives to avoid misinterpretation

i. a question or statement that contains two negatives, ii. Which can muddy the meaning.

Avoid double-barreled questions; i.e., when a question is really asking two questions

i. a single survey question that actually asks two questions, ii. but allows only one answer

the directional and spatial models of voting maintain that voters base their decisions on

ideology, while the partisan model of voting contends that partisan identification is the primary factor.

A principal-agent problem example occurs when Congress and the president cannot

implement and enforce the law on their own. Rely on bureaucrats to do so. But bureaucrats may have preferences that diverge from those of their principals or be forced to deal with competing principals.

confederations

independent local organizations-provide much of their funding and hold most power

Parties and the New Institutionalism, Structurally-

induced equilibria vs preference-induced equilibria

peak associations

interest groups whose members are businesses/organizations -not individuals

mass associations

interest groups with large number of due paying individuals as members-those gun people

Cozy relationships between congressional committees, interest groups, and bureaucratic agencies are known as what?

iron triangle

intergovernmental relations example:

it may pertain to the struggle between the national government and the states for authority over a specific policy domain, or it may pertain to the coordination of action between the levels in an effort to achieve common goals.

Interest Groups employ lobbyists who

know how government works and have the contacts necessary to connect interests with those who craft policy; legislation or bureaucratic rules and regulations

centralized groups

large well known groups-decisions made at headquarters in dc

Incentivize cooperation-make the payoffs

larger or, conversely, the punishments for noncooperation more severe

Article I of the Constitution

legislative branch; Congress. a) received by far the most attention in the Constitution b) Broad set of enumerated powers c) Bicameral: senet and Hose of reps

The impact of the courts

limitations: a) decisions must be interpreted and applied by lower courts, b) Administered by the executive, and in particular "street-level" bureaucrats e.g. police, c) some policy areas e.g. foreign policy , rarely fall under the purview of the courts, d) can't go looking for cases, e) one of many actors in the public arena

astroturf lobbying

lobbying method initiated by an interest group to make it look like the independent participation of many individuals

In terms of transaction costs, where does a republic fall on the spectrum?

lower transaction costs than democracy

The democratic dilemma

lupia and mcubbins. People called upon to make reasoned choices, may not be capable of doing so, self-governance is an illusion, argue that however, people can make good choices with limited information. Americans are ignorant about politics, arguing instead that Americans tend to get the information they need when they need it.

Anti-party flare-ups throughout history

many of which were tied to pietist religious movements

The President and Congress; The modern presidency has been

marked by the presence of divided government. As a result, often bypass Congress altogether; Recess appointments—bypass the Senate; Intended to have a final check on the legislative process, the veto; Gradually came to set the legislative agenda; Congress delegates authority to the executive bureaucracy; President can issue executive orders; Acts as the "first mover." Solves coordination problems by proposing changes in national policy

Senate was believed to be

more "aristocratic" and insulated from popular pressures—would look to the long-term interests of the nation

Information or signals that are costly; for organized interests; are

more likely to build trust; e.g., testimony.

Nominating the President: Resulted in the McGovern-Fraser Commission, which paved the way for

more popular involvement in the process on both sides; Republicans changed their procedures as well

collective-action problems are also:

multi-person versions of prisoners dilemmas

Which of the following is an example of a private good?

my laptop

Without government; aka: a collection of institutions or rules, public goods are

not efficiently provided for by the free market, or are prevented from being provided by the collective action problem; no one Provides for the general welfare

Parties and the New Preferences "in nature" are

not enough to facilitate decision-making

Oditer dicta

not important information from a case; other stuff said in the opinion that future courts don't necessarily need to follow.

Journalistic norms

objectivity and productivity a) Professional journalists went to journalism school. b) things are changing now that anyone can have a website or a blog, c) Journalism schools impart norms on their students, d) One such norm has traditionally been objectivity, e) Other practices are shaped by the fact that news organizations are businesses and have to make money, f) also have policy preferences of their own

Anti-Partyism in the US; Washington's farewell address warned

of the dangers of political parties; Nevertheless, his own cabinet included individuals who would go on to form the nation's first political parties; Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.

PO National committees

officials who oversee the operation of the party nationwide and organize the national party convention

The Role of Party Organizations in Campaigns By contrast, party amateurs are

often issues activists and work for the party to advance those goals

Politics can also be a by-product of

organizations tending to the other needs of members

interest groups

organizations that seek to influence government policy by helping elect candidates who support the organizations policy goals and by lobbying elected officials; have lobbyists working for them.

Congress, in particular, is

organized in a partisan fashion; now, at least

Parties and the Collective Action Problem; Win more votes as

part of a team in Congress

New Institutionalism Path dependence to political parties

parties not in the original constitution—typically last for a really long time and the decisions made at one juncture in history shape political conflict well into the future; institutions product of individuals and once formed tend to persist and rules of the party shape future behavior.

In Democracies, Demos means:

people

What does he appear to be arguing against the creation of in Federalist 70?

plural executive.

Emily's List is an organization that raises money to donate to election campaigns of pro-choice candidates. What kind of organization is Emily's List?

political action committee (PAC), because it actually donates money to campaigns.

Under what circumstances does privatization not work?

pollution-pollution knows no geographic boundaries; Creates a negative externality. Also, overpopulation

Reconstruction

post-Civil War. President Andrew Johnson continued Lincoln's plan after his death. Union troops sent to the South to keep the people under control. Former slaves could vote, blacks elected to public office. When the Northern Troops left, the southerners ignored the rights of blacks.

Red tape, gets its name from

post-civil war where things were covered in red tap

Executive "Power"

power to execute, enforce, and administer laws. it is fairly vague in places. The power bestowed to the president via the constitution; Article 2, Section 1, and Article 2, Section 3.

Implied, or inherent powers

powers not written in the U.S. Constitution but are necessary and proper in order for the federal government to carry out the expressed powers

Partisanship

prejudice in favor of a particular cause; bias.

Bush doctrine includes

pressuring or even invading foreign countries and using military force against terrorists where they live and train; the doctrine also advocates maintaining a stronger military than any other country.

Key part of State Capacity

prove knowledge, personnel, and institutions necessary to implement policies

Full Faith and Credit Clause

provision in Article IV requiring that states honor the laws of other states, e.g., marriage.

Security and Rule of Law in providing for the common defense is

public good; a cheap way to submit to government; appeal to leviathan

Interpretive questions-

questions included in a questionnaire or interview schedule to help explain answers to other important questions. Utilize filter questions

Contingent questions are

questions that are asked of only a subset of survey respondents; Question or set of questions answered only by respondents to whom they are applicable

"Race to the Bottom"

referring to how the competition gives incentives for states to go lower and lower on something of value to their own citizens in order to attract business. might lead to calls for the national governments to set limits.

Principal-agent, delegation problem

regulatory capture and bureaucratic drift

Media bias

reporting is not systematically biased toward a particular ideology or party, most reporters believe in journalistic objectivity. Media outlets have a direct financial stake in attracting views and subscribers and don't want to lose their audience. certainly more partisanship on display today; Fox News vs. MSNBC

Delegates—

representatives who listen carefully to their constituents; house

Trustees—

representatives who use their own judgment about what is best for their constituents; senet

coercion

required participation

transaction costs in context of political parties

resources given up

Likert-type response categories are survey responses in which

respondents indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with statements along a continuum from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree"; perception/attitude response scales.

When thinking about institutions, think:

rules and organizations

bureaucrat's imposed regulations

rules that affect the choices that individuals or corporations make

bureaucratic imposed regulations

rules that affect the choices that individuals or corporations make

solidary benefits

satisfaction of volunteering to work towards a common goal

Types of Interest Groups Economic groups

seek monetary benefits

Parties in the Electorate Also provides an informational

shortcut and may form a "running tally" of evaluations about party performance

Skip pattern Questions

skipped by respondents to whom they are not applicable

What were some groups not represented at the Convention?

slaves, indentured servants, women, and males without property

The Growth of Interest Groups Social upheaval

social movements often spawn social movement organizations; interest groups

what helps limit free-riding?

social pressure, informal norms, Friends brought others into the fold and encouraged cooperation, civic republicanism; Civil rights movement was subject to free riding.

Political science drew upon cognate areas of study such as

sociology, economics, psychology, and even history and philosophy: the overall structure of the course most closely resembles the economic perspective.

What is the term for campaign funds that are given to parties or other organizations to support voter mobilization or other voter education activities, and thus typically not subject to FEC regulations?

soft money, Legally, soft money cannot be used to promote or oppose a specific candidate

Privileges and Immunities Clause

states cannot discriminate against citizens of other states or give preferential treatment.

What is scientific method in politics?

taking what might be influential and putting it to a test by questioning its validity, Stated as a research questions.

in the party Not to say

that a party's base of supporters isn't important

Bork means

that the SCOTUS nominees are grilled during the Senate interrogation for approval and denied the position

Party Reform Tocqueville though

that the nation's earliest parties represented real issues

President nominates with

the "advice and consent" of the Senate

Connecticut Compromise lower house

the House of Representatives; composed of representation from each state in proportion to its population.

Opt out example

the Milli Vanilli announcement is an example

Grant-Vacate-Remand means:

the SCOTUS states that the lower court follow something

Connecticut Compromise upper house

the Senate; composed of equal representation from each state.

Plurality rule is a method for determining an election's winner in which:

the candidate who receives the most votes wins, regardless of whether he or she wins a majority.

Head of state

the chief public representative of a country, such as a president or monarch, who may also be the head of government. ;The executive role that symbolizes and represents the people both nationally and internationally. The person who serves as the ceremonial head of a country's government and represents that country to the rest of the world In Australia the Queen Elizabeth II.

Restricting the Right to Vote, p. 336. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed in response to

the civil rights movement. This law sought to undermine barriers to voting that many states had established, especially barriers against African Americans in the South.

Parties and the Collective Action Problem; Reduces

the cost of legislative coalition-building and transaction costs more generally

Principal-agent problem is also known as

the delegation problem

Divided Government and the Parties Owing to

the existence of partisan identity; which sometimes creates partisan blinders;, partisans blame whichever one isn't from their party

anti-partyism

the government

Locke-Give up on

the idea of doing anything for self-preservation and the right to exact punishment; accept to some punishment

Doctrine of Interposition

the idea that if the national government passes an unconstitutional law, the people of the states can declare the law void through the state legislature. This idea provided the basis for southern succession and the Civil War.

Dual Federalism and the Court; Demise of dual federalism set the stage for

the incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the states; Incorporated selectively: Freedom of speech, 1925, and freedom of the press, 1931- 1st Amendment; Even the implied right to privacy, 1965's Griswold decision and 1973 with Roe; Most recently, the 2nd Amendment with McDonald v. Chicago

Parties in the Electorate Party The existence of party identifiers in the electorate guarantees

the major parties votes and lends stability to elections

What is the Scientific Study of Politics?

the methods in which the influential influence others. The Science is about method, not the object of study.

Persuadable voter

the middle-of-the-roaders who may be open to voting for either party depending on how much they like a certain candidate. idea that media against the one in power, not telling what to think but what to think about

revolving door!!!

the movement of individuals from government positions to jobs with interest groups and lobbying and vice versa.

The Role of Party Organizations in Campaigns Party professionals work directly for

the party and are geared toward winning elections for the party. In it for the long haul.

Enumerate Powers

the powers specifically named and assigned to the federal government or prohibited to be exercised by the states under the U.S. Constitution, also known as delegated powers

Senatorial courtesy

the practice in the U.S. Senate of confirming only those presidential appointees approved by both senators from the state of the appointee, or by the senior senator of the president's party. Senate will not confirm a presidential nomination for a position within a state; ex., District Court Judge; without the consent of the senior senator of the President's party from that state. Informal amendment to appointment process; by tradition.

cabinet answers directly to

the president

Divided Government and the Parties Who is to blame for a state's economy

the president or the governor?

Social science is

the use of scientific methods to investigate individuals, societies, and social processes, including questions related to criminology and criminal justice; the knowledge produced by these investigations.

rural electrification; REA, is a public good because:

the wire used for the electricity is utilized so that farmers provide goods

Gerrymandering By convention every decade, although

there is no formal institution preventing between-census redistricting; Texas example

When figuring Costs Associated with Each Type of System one must:

think costs versus government system

Hostile media effect

think that the media is biased against your side, How we view the media creates the hostile news; against our side; shapes our perception ad cause biases; because people view the world different and see what they want to see.

input from bureaucratic interested parties

those whose behavior would be regulated

in the party Not, typically,

thought of as partisan identifiers in the electorate

Divided Government and the Parties Works at two different levels owing

to federalism

Parties and the Collective Action Problem; Candidates need

to protect the party's brand on the campaign trail—can't run as individuals

Baker v Carr; 1962, and Wesberry v Sanders; 1964

together these Supreme Court decisions mandated that all districts within a state for the U .S. House of Representatives and the state-level house and senate had to be roughly equal in population size.

Advertising

travel home; the use of an advertising campaign through the media to influence political debate, and ultimately, voters. These ads are designed by political consultants and political campaign staff.

Path dependence to political parties—

typically last for a really long time and the decisions made at one juncture in history shape political conflict well into the future

we can better understand why certain political outcomes occurred by

understanding the preferences of political actors, and the set of rules under which they must operate; institutions matter, i.e. rules win!

Mass associations consist of _, while peak associations consist of __.

unions, independent people

The First Parties First Congress

was beset with coordination problems

Needed a "long coalition"

way of organizing conflict

conformity costs in context of political parties

what you give up for cofort

in the party Market metaphor:

whatever Campbell's is as a company, it is not people who consume their soups

Divided Government and the Parties Who to blame? Blame is often diffused

when parties control different institutions; e.g., Republican-controlled Congress and a Democratic president

Turkey farm

where gov put appointees they owe favor to who won't actually affect the bureaucracy by not knowing anything; are agencies where political appointees can be placed without much risk of causing harm.

Political scientist Harold Lasswell defines politics as

who gets what, when, and how. fundamentally revolves around satisfying people's wants and needs; about benefits.

Plurality rule "first-past-the-post"—

whoever receives the most votes wins; in most cases

Duverger's Law and multiple parties:

winner take all system makes it almost impossible for a 3rd party to exsist

purposive benefits

working to achieve a desired policy goal

Edmund Burke's view:

"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' view:

"A team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election."

E.E. Schattschneider's idea of political Parties

"Modern democracy is unthinkable save in terms of parties"; Maybe "unworkable" is a better way to put it

Hobbes-Life in the "State of Nature" is

"Nasty, brutish, and short" Must appeal to leviathan;

Madison's Factions: The Intellectual Roots of Pluralism; Federalist 10

"The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man."

Parties and the New Institutionalism, Hard to figure out

"what goes with what"

Blue slip

(by which the senators from the state in which a judgeship is located can veto a nomination), a slip that the senators from the home state of a nominee (for US District Court or US Court of Appeals by the President) that must be turned in to the chair of the Judiciary Committee in order for the nomination to move forward (turning in the slip does not mean the senator approves, just that the nomination should move forward

Collective action problem

A situation in which people would be better off if they all cooperated; however, any individual has an incentive not to cooperate as long as others are cooperating.

coordination problem

A situation in which two or more people are all better off if they coordinate on a common course of action, but there is more than one possible course of action to take.

Spatial model

...

Restricting the Right to Vote, p. 336;

A barrier to voting is a means of restricting a group of people from voting. In this case, literacy tests were legal at the time, but the uneven administration of them served to disenfranchise African Americans. Hence, literacy tests were a barrier to voting.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A federal law that made it a priority of the national government to enforce provisions of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, leading to major improvements in voting rights for blacks, other minorities, and the poor. (page 336)

Open Primaries

A primary election in which any registered voter can vote, regardless of party affiliation.

closed primary

A primary election in which only voters registered with the party can vote. (page 432)

Coordination Problems Example and Solution:

Example: A political party wishes to nominate a candidate to contest the presidency. However, the party elites cannot agree on one candidate. Solution: create an institution!

During the Jim Crow Era, many states in the South required individuals to pass a literacy test in order to register to vote. However, the tests administered to African American registrants were often much more difficult than the tests administered to white registrants. An unfair literacy test is an example of:

a barrier to voting.

The federal agency that regulates campaign donations to and spending by candidates for Congress and the presidency is the:

Federal Election Commission; Established through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, it serves to make campaign finance information publicly available and prevent violations of rules about campaign contributions.

McGovern-Fraser reform

Finalized the primary nomination system; allows the people to have a say.

Suppose senatorial candidate Prudence DeNiro gives a speech outlining her views on deficit reduction. The next night, the TV show Hardball shows clips from the speech, and the show's political pundits debate the merits of her ideas. Hardball's coverage of this speech is called:

Free media refers to indirect coverage of a campaign by journalists, pundits, or bloggers. When a show discusses a candidate's positions, this falls into the category of free media.

Which of the following countries does not conduct elections in single-member districts with plurality rule?

Germany; Overall, single-member plurality (SMP) elections are rare in the world. Germany, for example, uses multimember districts with proportional representation. The countries that tend to use SMP are Great Britain and its former colonies. Canada, India, and the United States are all examples of former British colonies.

Participation and Democratic Politics, p. 323. Conventional participation consists of

any act of participation that is widely considered legitimate during ordinary times. Distributing campaign literature fits this description, so it is conventional participation.

Which of the following observations would suggest that convergence theory is accurate?

In general elections, politicians often argue in favor of compromise between partisan proposals on policy.

Suppose that your state was considering a bill to allow voting on the Internet. What would be the biggest potential benefit of this bill?

It would lower the cost of voting for many people.

Political knowledge is:

a general understanding of how the political system works and who runs the government.

Elections for national office are nearly always conducted by

Plurality rule in single-member districts, although some states have exceptions to this by utilizing a majority runoff system

Reteospective-voting model

Proponents of this model observe, for example, that incumbent presidents are more likely to be reelected if the economy is doing well.

Convergence theory

Proposes that whomever is elected will be moderate in policy because both candidates will try to converge to the median voter

Buckley v Valeo; 1976

The Supreme Court established the important precedent that expenditures on behalf of candidates but independent of them could not be regulated because they qualified as First Amendment - protected political speech. However, FEC was allowed to limit and regulate contributions made directly to candidates and parties.

Individual donations toward candidates and parties are still regulated, but donors can get around many legal restrictions by

Setting up PACs or acting as "bundlers" in order to provide more money to their favorite candidate or party.

In 1978, a study by George Rabinowitz showed that moderate voters gave better evaluations to extreme candidates on their own side of the ideological spectrum than moderate candidates on the other side. Which model of voter decision making does this finding offer evidence of?

Since this study shows that voters are happier with candidates on their own side than with candidates who are ideologically similar but on the other side, it offers evidence of the directional model. As a contrast, the spatial model would have predicted the opposite finding in this case, with moderate voters preferring moderate candidates, even if those candidates are on the other side.

Those who argue that elections serve to keep competent and noncorrupt leaders in office believe that they do this through selection and accountability. Which of the following is an example of accountability serving this purpose?

a politician choosing not to accept a bribe for fear of losing re-election if the public found out; Accountability refers to public pressure preventing politicians from engaging in corrupt activity for fear of losing their job.

An election held to vote directly on a ballot proposition concerning a law or constitutional amendment passed by the legislature is:

a referendum.

Each state has two senators, but elects each senator separately. What kind of district is a senator elected in?

a single-member district; Despite the fact that there are two senators representing the same group of voters, a senator is elected in a single-member district.

An alternative view of elections is that they serve to keep competent officeholders in place and prevent

a) Politicians from becoming corrupt, b) under this view, elections can select the right kind of person or create accountability for those already in office.

R-A-S Model Answers to survey questions depend on:

a) Skew of considerations b) Weight of considerations; This sampling process explains why we find opinion instability. Extensions of the model: Alvarez and Brehm, 2002; Core values help to stabilize opinion

What do elections accomplish?

a) allow people to shape policies, b) convergence theory, c) divergence theory, d) keep competent officeholders in place

The rules of conduct for elections are important because they account for

a) how votes are counted and seats are allocated in legislation, b) how executives are chosen, c) how eligible electorate are determined

How are American Electoral Campaigns formed

a) nominees chosen through open and closed primaries, b) campaign money raised through individuals, parties, PACs, hard money, soft money, &527s, c) negative ads as a prisoner's dilemma, d) technology advances, e) four theories of voting

American Electoral institutions

a) rules of elections, b) elections regulated and operated, c) national office plurality rule in single-member districts, d) Australian ballot used

American Electoral Campaigns; to explain why individuals vote in certain ways, political scientists have developed four prominent theories of voting: SPReD

a) spatial model, b) partisan model, c) retrospective - voting model, d) directional model

A type of ballot that lists all candidates running for each office and allows voters to cast their votes secretly and for specific individual candidates is called:

an Australian ballot. The Australian ballot became widely used during the Progressive Era as a way to allow secret votes and cut down on voting coercion.

In 1994, residents of California voted on Proposition 187, a measure to ban state-provided services for undocumented immigrants. The measure was placed on the ballot after the California Republican Party funded signature drives that led to a sufficient collection of signatures. Proposition 187 was:

an initiative. The key factor here is that signatures were required for it to be placed on the ballot. By contrast, a referendum would have had to pass both chambers of the California State Assembly to appear on the ballot.

Voting, p. 330. Much like the states that have voting by mail, Internet voting would reduce the time and transportation costs involved with casting a ballot. By reducing these costs, individuals would

be more likely to turn out to vote. While increasing someone's sense of civic responsibility or increasing the benefits of voting would also make people more likely to vote, it is unclear how Internet voting could do either of these things. By contrast, the possibility of voting fraud would be a disadvantage of this scheme.

In Connecticut, a voter may only vote in the Democratic primary if registered as a Democrat. Similarly, only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary. What kind of primaries does Connecticut conduct?

closed primaries

Going door-to-door to distribute campaign flyers is an example of:

conventional participation.

The advantage of free media is that candidates

do not have to pay for it, but the disadvantage is that they have no control over what the producers of the free media say. By contrast, paid media refers to actually giving speeches or purchasing advertisements. The advantage of paid media is complete control over content, but the candidate must foot the bill for it

Limited Campaigning, p 447. Countries often do constrain campaigning to a narrow time period. Consequently, the U.S. presidential campaign cycle is one of the

longest in the world, Several countries also ban campaigning in the last few days before the election

As technology advances, American Electoral Campaigns have become:

more accountable for candidate's statements

In Comparison: Political Participation, p. 347. Americans are less likely to vote compared with other countries. However, Americans are

more likely to participate in alternate ways, such as working in campaigns and joining organizations

Compared with other countries, are Americans more, less, or equally likely to work on a campaign?

more;

The notion that people still vote despite the fact that the individual costs of voting outweigh the individual benefits is called the:

paradox of voting.

Directional model

proposes that voters are more interested in which direction parties will shift policy. The key is not how far away a party or candidate is in a policy space in comparison to the voter's preferred positions (as in the spatial model), but rather on how intensely a party pursues these policies.

Since 1996, voter turnout in presidential elections has:

risen; Trends in Voter Turnout, p. 341-342. In 1996, presidential turnout was the lowest it had been in decades. In the three elections since, turnout has risen consistently. Explanations for this increase vary, but a common one is that voter mobilization has been on the rise because recent elections have been close.

A referendum and an initiative each involve the public voting directly on policy. The key distinction is

that in a referendum, the state legislature crafts the policy for the public to consider, while in an initiative, ordinary citizens place a measure on the ballot by obtaining enough signatures in support of the measure.

Article 1 section 4 Electoral of the Constitution declares

that the states shall determine the times, places, and manner of holding elections. Therefore, the primary responsibility is left with the states.

Which model of voting emphasizes that voters evaluate politicians based on their past performance?

the retrospective-voting model

The Constitution mandates that elections are regulated and operated by:

the states.