POLITICS FINAL SHORT ANSWER
Citizens United
"Corporations are People" -A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow) -a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that the First Amendment prohibits government from censoring political broadcasts in candidate elections when those broadcasts are funded by corporations or unions. -Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was a 2010 Supreme Court case that granted corporations and unions the right to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections.
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 -President is seen as emperor taking strong actions without consulting Congress or seeking its approval -a U.S. presidency that is characterized by greater power than the Constitution allows. -example: President Nixon invading Cambodia without the approval of congress
4 Takeaways about Lawmaking in Congress
-no law is permanent -long processes -hard work doesn't always pay off -outcome is heavily dependent on rules
why no Multiparty System
A multi-party system refers to the political party system in which more than two parties are allowed to legally operate in the state. disadvantages include that it is expensive to operate due to many parties, provides too many choices for voters depleting the relevancy of certain parties, and generates unnecessary rivalry when one party tries to outdo the other.
Realignment - Walter Dean Burnham
Occurs when -Issues that currently separate two parties decline in relevance -New issues emerge that parties center around -There are dramatic shifts in which party governs -There are dramatic shifts on positions the parties support -a theory of American political development that focuses on the role of party systems that endure for several decades, only to be disrupted by a critical election. a critical election poses a dramatic change in the political system.
Building Blocks of Congress
The building blocks of congressional organization include the political parties, the committee system, congressional staff, the caucuses, and the rules of the House and Senate.
Counter-Majoritarian Dilemma
The counter-majoritarian difficulty is a perceived problem with judicial review of legislative laws. As the term suggests, some oppose or see a problem with the judicial branch's ability to invalidate, overrule or countermand laws that reflect the will of the majority.
The ways Media shapes Public Policy
The media can influence public policy by providing policy makers with information. Ways the media influences public policy: 1) Giving issues specific attention. 2) Shaping public opinion by influencing attitudes and beliefs. 3) By providing information to policy makers. Examples of Media: T.V. Newspaper Magazines Telephone Radio Examples of public policy: Gun control Abortion laws Labor laws Death penalty laws
Concentrated Corporation ownership of Media
The media landscape is dominated by 2 trends known as concentration and atomization. Media started out as small locally owned or family own industries which eventually became big business. Chains began purchasing these small industries, and then conglomerates purchased these chains. This resulted in 7 top-tier media conglomerates which were Walt Disney, News Corporation, Time Warner, Viacom, Sony, GE, and Bertelsmann. These corporations own multiple newspaper, radio, and television stations. However there are concerns with the media being owned by only a few large outlets. This concerns include but are not limited to narrowing of political views, censorship, unreported news (that could hurt that specific outlet), decline of local news, and the financial pressure on these outlets which reduces the quality of news. Along with the concentration of media, there is Atomization. Atomization is a counter-veiling trend to media concentration. Aspects of atomization include narrowcasting, populist backlash, news softening, increased 24 hour news competition, as well as blogging,
3 Criteria that make Elections Democratic
Things that make an election Democratic are -every citizen should have one vote of equal value -elections should be held at regular intervals -the candidate preferred by the people should get elected -elections should be conducted in a free fair manner where people can choose whom they vote for as they wish.