AP Gov; Unit 3

political ideology

a consistent set of beliefs a person has about what the government should and shouldn't do

i.e. conservative, liberal

political culture

an overall set of values widely shared within a society

individualism

Fundamental worth and importance of the individual; strong emphasis on individual initiative and responsibility

equality of opportunity

Equal rights of people to pursue life, liberty, and happiness; people ought to be able to compete on equal terms, or on a "level playing field"

free enterprise

the right to compete freely in a market with limited government involvement; the "invisible hand" of producer and consumer relations will regulate the economy (laissez-faire)

political socialization

The process by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs; a lifelong process

#1 form of political socialization

family

valence issue

concerns or policies that are viewed in the same way by people with a variety of ideologies (i.e. there is consensus)

wedge issues

issues that sharply divide the public; leave little room for acceptance of competing ideas

Example: abortion

Saliency

Degree to which issue is important to a particular individual or group (i.e. social security = high for senior citizens)

Political independent

A voter who does not belong to any organized political party, and will vote for candidates and issues rather than on the basis of a political ideology or partisanship (will often "split their ticket"

moderate

Person whose views are between conservative and liberal and may include some of both ideologies; not radical or extreme

Ticket-splitting (split-ticket voting)

Voting for one party for one office and for another party for other offices. Frequent among independent voters; leads to divided government.

straight ticket voting

voting exclusively for the candidates of one party

Political trends by age

Millennials/younger generations tend to be more liberal, whereas the older generations (Silent, Boomer) tend to be more conservative.

linkage institutions

Institutions that connect citizens to government; examples are the mass media, interest groups, elections, and political parties

political party

Organized groups of people with similar political ideologies and goals; #1 goal is to win elections to influence policy

party platform

A document drawn up at each national convention, outlining the policies, positions, and principles of the party.

national convention

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform.

national chairperson

person responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party

divided government

one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress

party realignment

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party OR when a party sees a major shift in the allegiance of voters

critical elections

elections that reveal sharp, lasting changes in loyalties to political parties, often due to new/major issues

coalition

a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends; parties will appeal to these groups/demographics to broad their voter base

political dealignment

the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification (since the 1960s)

candidate-centered politics

politics that focuses directly on the candidates, their particular issues, and character, rather than on party affiliation

party identification

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

Third-Party

smaller sized political parties that play a lesser role than the major political parties; AKA minor parties

Ideological Third Party

party that subscribes to a consistent ideology across multiple issues (i.e. Libertarian)

Single-Issue Party

a political party that campaigns on only one issue (i.e. Green Party, Right-to-Life Party)

factional/splinter parties

party formed by a split/break within one of the major parties (i.e. The Progressive Bull Moose Party)

two-party system

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections.

single member districts (aka plurality)

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official; the winner is the candidate who gets the most votes, even if they do not receive a majority (aka first-past-the-post)

Winner Take All Voting

any voting procedure in which the candidate with the most votes gets all of the seats or delegates at stake; used in almost all American elections

proportional representation

An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

political cleavages

national, ethnic, linguistic, and religious divisions that affect political allegiances and policies (i.e. demographics)

cross-cutting cleavages

when two or more subgroups intersect in one person; makes determining party identification difficult

interest group

An organization of people with common policy goals who enter the political process to achieve those goals.

factions

term used by Madison to denote what we now call interest groups

Single Issue Interest Groups

groups usually organized around one side of a single issue, i.e. pro-life or pro-choice, Mothers Against Drunk Driving

ideological interest groups

political organizations that attract members by appealing to their principles and ideological convictions

Pluralism

the theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government; the outcome of this competition is compromise and policy

Federalist 10

Topic = factions (interest groups); minority factions controlled by majority; majority faction controlled by greater size of USA + virtuous leaders

Lobbying

Engaging in activities that apply pressure to influence public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact

Electioneering

the process by which interest groups contribute campaign finances to candidates in exchange for influence and support

Political Action Committee (PAC)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

Endorsements

public expression of support, given to candidates by interest groups

amicus curiae brief

"friend of the court" brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision

Litigation

the process of using the courts to try and take legal action

Hyperpluralism

when the interests become more powerful than the government itself, and the government simply becomes a puppet for the powerful interests

free rider problem

the problem faced by interest groups when citizens can reap the benefits of interest group action without actually joining, participating in, or contributing money to such groups.

public opinion

how people think or feel about a particular issue or candidate; measured through polls

Benchmark Polls

Often the first type of poll used by a political campaign (usually before a potential candidate has declared his or her intentions)

Used to measure support for a candidate and to gather information about the issues that people care about

tracking polls

continuous surveys that enable a campaign to chart its daily rise or fall in support

Entrance and Exit Polls

conducted outside the polling place to publicly predict the outcome of the election after the polls close

Presidential Approval Polls

ask whether the respondent approves, yes or no, of the president's job performance; there is usually a "honeymoon period" in which the rating is high at the beginning of their term

Question framing

the way in which a question or an issue is posed; can influence peoples' decisions and expressed opinions

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole

random sample

method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected

weighting / stratification

techniques for manipulating the sampling procedure so that the sample more closely resembles the larger population

margin of error

a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll; AKA sampling error

push polling

polls taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate

Seen as a type of campaigning rather than polling

bandwagon effect

a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner

social desirability bias

the tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable

non-response bias

Bias introduced into survey results because individuals refuse to participate.

Horse race coverage

Media coverage of electoral campaigns that concentrates on who is ahead and who is behind, and neglects the issues at stake.

free press

an uninhibited institution that places an additional check on government to maintain honesty, ethics, and transparency; later enshrined in the First Amendment

investigative journalism

the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

A government agency created in 1934 to regulate American radio stations and later expanded to regulate television, wireless communications technologies, and other broadcast media.

Scorekeeper Role

The role played by the national media in keeping track of and helping make political reputations; contributes to horse-race journalism

Gatekeeper role

Media sets their own news agenda by determining what is newsworthy and what info the public will receive

What is presented and how much coverage determines the issues the people find important

watchdog role

concept of the press as a skeptical and critical monitor of government; Journalism that attempts to hold government officials and institutions accountable for their actions; strengthened during and after Vietnam

confirmation bias

the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms what they already believe; side effect of people being drawn to ideologically oriented programming

creates "echo chambers" of information

consumer driven media

media whose content is influenced by the actions and needs of consumers (i.e. what stories do people click on and read the most?)

Fairness Doctrine

rule in effect from 1949-1985 requiring broadcasters to cover events adequately and to present contrasting views on important public issues

Narrowcasting

media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN

Sensationalism

stories designed to grab attention that often have little substance. A part of the news media that focuses on high ratings as a means to drive revenues

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

law signed in 1966; allows the public to gain access to nonclassified federal documents

electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

Franchise/Suffrage

the right to vote

political participation

the different ways an average citizen gets involved in the political process, ranging from voting, signing petitions, protesting, etc.

15th amendment

States cannot deny any person the right to vote because of race; gave African American males the right to vote

literacy test

A test administered as a precondition for voting, often used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

poll tax

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote

grandfather clause

allowed states to recognize a registering voter at it would have recognized his grandfather; prevented African Americans from voting

white primary

the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation

17th amendment

Established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

19th amendment

Women's suffrage

voter registration

a system in the US where citizens must sign up to vote; usually intended to protect fair elections and prevent voter fraud

Voting Rights Act of 1965

removed many barriers to African American's ability to vote; outlawed literacy tests and gave the federal government supervision over state regulations

24th amendment

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1964) eliminated the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in national elections.

23rd amendment

Gives Washington DC electoral college votes as if it were a state (3 electoral votes)

26th amendment

prevents states from denying citizens 18 and over the right to vote

rational-choice voting model

when a voter examines an issue/candidate, evaluate the campaign promises and platform, and decides to vote in the way that seems to most benefit them