Purdue University POL 101: Final Exam

Public Opinion, Campaigns & Elections, Interest Groups, Media & Politics, Polarization, (Reform, Renewal, Revitalization)

What is a Social Construct?

What does it mean for something to be socially constructed? Can it change overtime?

1. Anything that receives its meaning from human interaction (money, gender roles, race, customs)

2. They can change overtime

   1. ex: Feminists rejecting gender norms (should women be able to read, own property, vote)

How is the social construct of alc perceived in other places? How has interracial marriage changed as a social contrust in USA?

• Alcohol being “morally” unacceptable in different places

  • India: (89%) thinks it is

  • Canada: (9%) thinks it is

• Interracial marriage used to be (4%) acceptable in 1958 —> now (94%) rate

• Accepting gay marriage also changed overtime (68% accept now)

True or False:

Something can’t be a policy problem if we don’t know causes

True

What is a paradox?

• Give an example of a paradox

• Seems self contradictory but may still be true

• a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

  • When 48% of Americans say welfare should be cut but when asked about programs for poor children 47% say it should be increased

  • Paradox: do Americans want to enlarge or reduce welfare spending? → all depends how you ask question

How do interest groups influence public policymaking?

• hint: basically what do they do in general

Applying pressure through lobbying, campaign donations, mobilizing members, and shaping public opinion to sway policymakers.

Why doesn’t policy often match up with public preferences?

• Due to factors like:

  • Interest group influence & public ignorance (overestimating how much others actually agree with you)

  • Status quo bias: public policy hard to change → takes time

  • Polarization: more frequent gridlock intervals

Name some reasons as to why citizens in US are sovereign (in theory)?

What does it mean by sovereign?

• Means: we’re like the “supreme” power

  • Gave some (limited) power to gov via constitution

  • (In theory) ony policies which serve public interest should be pursued → in democracy

    • → this why system aims to increase deliberation (w/ things like veto pnts)

Besides elections how are public preferences otherwise expressed?

• How does agency loss relate to this and the public?

• Protests

• Through polls

• Direct communication

  • Calling statehouse

  • town hall meetings → opportunity to tell rep what u think

  • public meetings

• Americans don’t rlly do any of this besides voting which can cause a larger disconnect with representatives and citizens (agency loss)

What is difference between forecasting & polling?

• Forecasting: Predicting outcomes of political events (hard)

• Polling: Gives idea of which candidates have most support at a particular moment in time (opinion based) → what’s happening rn

Besides the public who do elected officials also respond to?

Parties, money, interest groups, etc.

Recap: What are guidelines to run for

• House of Reps

• Senator

• President

• House of Rep

  • 25 yrs old; citizen for 7 yrs; “inhabitant” of state district is in

• Senator

  • 20 yrs old; citizen for 9 yrs

• President

  • 35 yrs old; Born in US; Resident at least 14 yrs

Differentiate primary election & general election

Primary election: Where candidates compete with others from their party for nomination for a particular office (if victory then those candidates go off to general elections)

General election: Election in which candidates are elected to offices

Pros & Cons of a Permanent Campaign?

• Permanent Campaign: when politicians raise $$ traveling to states/districts nearly every week to interact w/ constituents, conjure up creative ways to appear in news media

Pros: Citizens receive more info about you (since news/advertising persists for months)

• Know more about what your voters wants (improve quality of representation)

Cons: May be waste of time since most citizens pay attention until elections are close

• endless fund raising/nights away from home

• demanding, can’t focus too much on policymaking

What is:

• Process where # of seats each state receives in US House of Reps is redistributed based on decennial census population data

Reapportionment

What is a single member district & what determines the actual # of districts?

• Each state subdivided into districts & each state is represented by one legislator

  • determined by reapportionment

  • ex: IN has 9 congressional districts → 9 seats in House of Rep

What is gerrymandering & how does it constrain political candidates in terms of reapportionment / redistricting

Gerrymandering: manipulation of district boundaries for some political purpose

• Redistricting: may forestall candidates political careers → in districts strongly skewed to one party

  • means candidate in other party unlikely to win/ run for office

  • can end career of someone in office (ig cuz u won’t be reelected anymore but like y would that end career in its entirety ?)

Match primary w/ def (closed, semi, open)

1. both unaffiliated voters and those registered as members of party can vote in that party’s primary

2. all voters can vote in either party’s primary (but not both)

3. only citizens registered w/ prty can vote in that party primary

1. Semi-closed Primary

2. Open Primary

3. Closed Primary

Plurality Rule:

voting system where candidate w/ most votes win, even if they do not achieve an absolute majority (more than __%)

50%

What does Duvegers Law talk about? (theoretical)

In system where there are more than 2 political parties voters often engage in strategic voting (voting for candidate who is not their first choice but has better chance of winning)

General purpose of elections? (what benefits do they provid w things like principal agent relations, etc.)

• Structure principal agent relations (selection & accountability)

• Reduce conformity costs → majority gets what they want

• Reduces barriers to collective action → (decrease in info/transaction costs.. less people doing the decision making work)

How do elections reduce transaction costs?

• Representative function

  • Easier for 435 representatives to do politics rather than entire American pop.

• Elections w/ parties make it easier for citizens to choose the representatives they want

Why do parties like “info shortcut” (you don’t have to know anything but which team you prefer)

• Not necessarily good; but reduces info costs greatly and makes it easier for people to participate

Why do policy outcomes not always happen, even if the majority wants it?

• Not everyone will be happy with policy passed

• Gerrymandering

• Agents disconnected from principals

• Status quo bias → make it hard to pass stuff because of things like veto points

What is the senate meant to represent equally?

Senate → To represent states equally

How?

• (Article I, Section 3) mandates that each state, no matter its size, sends TWO senators to Washington D.C.

• Connecticut Compromise: Having senate provide equal state representation

• Each senator casts one vote, meaning Wyoming's two senators have the same voting power as California's two senators.

  • (because in Wyoming 1 vote = 3.8 votes while in Cali 1 vote = 1 vote since they have more population)

What is an interest group? What do they do? What are some benefits? What is a collective action problem they may face?

• Interest group: collection of people that work together to advance their policy preferences in gov/society

• Advance policy preferences

• Benefits: provide some sort of incentive/benefit to their members for participanting in the group

Name a conservative & liberal interest group

Conservative: NRA (National Rifle Association); Heritage Foundation (trying to make policies more conservative)

Liberal: Emily’s List (about pro choice abortion), Sierra Club (more about environmental stuff)

Name the three types of interests for interest groups

• Grps that claim they are pursuing a policy change for “public good”

• Grps that organize themselves around the material interests of their members

• Grps formed within an existing institution to advocate for the larger institution

• Public interest

• Economic Interest

• Institutional Interest

What is an institutional interest? Give an example

• Grps formed within an existing institution to advocate for the larger institution

  • Ex: Purdue Uni, American Bar Association → You’re not part of purdue interest grp but you’ll get benefits for whatever they’re trying to lobby for

Whats an economic interest grp?

• Grps that organize themselves around the material interests of their members

  • US Chamber of Commerce, labor unions like AFL-CIO

What is a public interest groups purpose?

• Claim they are pursuing a policy change for “public good”

  • ex: Sierra Club (fights for environmental protection), American Civil Rights Union → defends individual rights

What is the purpose of lobbying?

• Influencing the decisions of public officials in favor of the interest groups preferred policies (using a specific approach)

Identify which is inside lobbying and which is outside lobbying, give an example for each

• Inside lobbying: direct interactions between interest grp & elected officials

  • ex: usually interest grps approach elected officials but sometimes officials contact int grps

• Outside lobbying: Indirect influences by changing public opinion

  • An ex: Advertising in favor or against a political candidate

What are the two types of insider lobbying

Persuasion: changing a members mind about a policy (like when hostile or undecided about a policy)

Legislative subsidies: partner w/ politicians to create legislation

what typa insider lobbying

• Partner w/ politicions to create legislation

  • type of insider lobbying

  • can draft bills, building coalitions, expert info (int grps providing expert info)

legislative subsidies (type of insider trading)

changing a members mind about a policy (like when hostile or undecided about a policy)

Persuasion (in insder lobbying)

What is a revolving door lobbyist and why can they sometimes be controversial?

• People moving between jobs in the public sector (government) and the private sector (lobbying firms, corporations, and interest groups).

  • The practice raises ethical concerns about conflicts of interest and the potential for undue influence over public policy. 

  • ex: if they kno theyre retiring or not being re-elected they can make policies while in gov to most likely get hired from place they’re making policies for

Outside lobbying: what mobilizations are these?

• Using members from interest groups to pressure an elected official

• Using interest groups financial resources to pressure an official actor

• Member mobilization

• Financial mobilization

What is pluralism? What are pros & cons w/ it regarding interest grps?

• Idea that many diverse interest groups compete in the political process, and because no single group dominates, different groups become influential on different issues at different times.

  • Pro: wide range of policy preferences

  • policy interests of wealthy individuals tend to be reflected more

____ idea that many diverse interest groups compete in the political process, and because no single group dominates, different groups become influential on different issues at different times.

Pluralism

What is media?

means or channels of communication within a society

What is it when: media coverage of an issue leads people to view those issues as more important / worthy of attention (way media shapes how ppl think ab. politics)

Agenda Setting

What tactic does the media use that influences how we think about issues (how they word things, how they show things with pictures)?

Framing

Why did the House stop growing with each decennial census? What problems does this present in terms of representatives and their relations with constituents?

• 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act → Capped the size of House to 435 seats

  • Reps represent about 762,000 people each

  • Problem: Reps too removed from constituents

What are some pros if the House grew w/ each decennial census?

Pros:

• Smaller districts = better responsiveness, would align with population sovereignty

• more house members = more effective legislative oversight of exec branch

• smaller district, less expensive the campaign

• Bigger house = better representation/inclusivity

What did the reading by Allen regarding Apportionment suggest we do with democracy?

• Need to renovate it, by starting at first branch (which is designed to be closest to people aka legislative branch aka congress)

What is the electoral college? Why can it be controversial? Why was it made in the first place?

• The Electoral College is a process in which each U.S. state’s assigned electors, based on its representation in Congress, cast official votes to determine the president and vice president.

• Controversial: Presidents can lose to their opponent if they get more electoral college votes, even if they win popular vote by half a million (Bush vs. Al Gore, Clinton vs. Trump) → if this because norm it can nullify popular vote

• Purpose: kinda a safety measure back then because less people were uneducated, so the founding fathers wanted a group of “smart wise men” to cast votes for presidency ensuring the population doesn’t elect someone who wouldn’t be “fit” for president.

What is polarization?

When citizens & political leaders become increasingly divided

What are the three types of polarization?

Policy, ideological, partisan

Policy: views on some issue (disagreements that are deep, 2 sides & far apart)→ like abortion

Ideological: relatively fewer moderates than ‘extremes’

Partisan: organized around parties

Describe Policy, ideological, & Partisan polarization

Policy: views on some issue (disagreements that are deep, 2 sides & far apart)→ like abortion

Ideological: relatively fewer moderates than ‘extremes’

Partisan: organized around parties

How has polarization affected politics? → esp. how it is nowadays

• Causes narrow majorities & effects incentives of officeholders main concern to be re-elected

  • Parties become fanatical about partisan loyalty (always voting along your party)

    • Parties tolerating expansions of power (as long as they’re in charge)

    • parties line up behind presidents

    • Makes effective policymaking harder to do → making ppl who actually care about policymaking & WANT to be in government not pursue it, or makes them leave

      • ex: Mike braun leaving congress because it was too hard to get stuff done → sometimes replaced by ppl who care ab. building a brand/wealth

How does partisanship effect how elections work?

• Trumps policy (ig types of policies that could be passed), accountability (holding someone less accountable if they’re from ur prty), etc.

• Animosity toward other party

• Negative partisan becoming a more common thing (when voters support their own political party primarily out of dislike or animosity for the opposing party)

• More gridlock intervals which = more status quo bias & more policymaking by courts/agencies instead of the house

What are some ways that the media can be polarized?

• Lets people seek out views they want to see

• Media often tells them (often extreme) versions of what they want to know ab. → (telling them things that’ll make them mad)

• Politicians actively participate in this

what is this describing

This entity applies pressure through lobbying, campaign donations, mobilizing members, and shaping public opinion to sway policymakers.

Interest grp

• what is Process where # of seats each state receives in US House of Reps is redistributed based on decennial census population data

Reapportionment

What law talks ab when

• In system where there are more than 2 political parties voters often engage in strategic voting (voting for candidate who is not their first choice but has better chance of winning)

Duvegors Law

inside or outside lobbying?

• Indirect influences by changing public opinion

Outside