AP Gov unit 4 and 5 Test

public policy

A choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem.

political culture

an overall set of values widely shared within a society

political efficacy

The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference

liberal

open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.

linkage institutions

The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

libertarianism

An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government, promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.

Republican vs. Democrats

Republican: Traditional values, oppose abortion, oppose legalizing weed, no restriction on gun laws, small government.

Democrats: Support minority rights, LGBTQ rights, restrictions on guns, pro choice, government regulations

core values

the primary or dominant values that are accepted throughout the organization

political ideology

a more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue

rule of law

principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern

sampling techniques

The method used to select people from the population.

socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.

sample error

The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results.

individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

limited government

A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

demographics

the characteristics of a population with respect to age, race, and gender.

public opinion

the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues

conservative

A person who believes government power, particularly in the economy, should be limited in order to maximize individual freedom. (republican)

types of media

print, broadcast, internet

communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

political parties

organization that tries to influence gov. policy by promoting its ideas and backing candidates for office

equality of opportunity

giving people an equal chance to succeed

political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

types of polls

-Tracking Polls

-Exit Polls

-Deliberative Polls

platform

a series of statements expressing the party's principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues

graying of American

the growing percentage of older people in the U.S. population

gender gap

A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.

special interest groups

an organization of people with some common interest who try to influence government decisions

Role of Media

the mass media and television news shape Americans' views of their society and nation; the media plays an important role in issue expansion through the functioning of symbols

Primary

A ballot vote in which citizens select a party's nominee for the general election.

View of Media

Point of view of the media

Campaign Financing

how money is earned to pay for political campaigns

Buckley v. Valeo

A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.

Types of Elections

primary and general

Candidate Centered vs. Party Centered Campaigns

Party centered: election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence.

Candidate centered: election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence (based on money and media and utilize the skills of professional consultants)

Bureaucracy

a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Interpreting Graphs

determining what information a graph is portraying

Caucus

a private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office

Bias vs Perspective

Perspective is the point of view that a person sees a historical event from, while bias is when a source is clearly one-sided in its description of the event.

Federal Election Commission

A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws.

Voter expansion amendments

15,19,23,24,26

Primary vs. Caucasus

State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves.

Centered Campaigns

Political campaigns that focus on the candidates for office—their personalities and issues—rather than the parties they represent

Swing States

In a presidential race, highly competitive states in which both major party candidates stand a good chance of winning the state's electoral votes.

Incumbents

Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win.

Democrats vs Republicans

democrats= more liberal

republicans = more conservative

Political Parties vs. Interest Groups

The difference between political parties and interest groups are simple. Political parties are any type of organization that runs for a political office as part of its label. An interest group is just a group of people that all have a common interest and as a result try to influence members of the government that have already been elected.

Voting Trends

older - R; male - R; catholic - R; wealthy and highly educated - R opposite for democrats

Iron Triangle

A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group

Third Parties

electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.

Media and Politics

has a larger role with advancements in technology. Talk to enormous amounts of people. Inform people about issues, candidates.

Soft Money

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

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