Political Ideologies

Conservative

a political ideology that generally favors fewer governmental regulations of the marketplace, less governmental involvement to ensure social and economic equality, and a narrower scope of personal privacy (except in arenas involving religious and educational freedom)

Demographics

characteristics of populations, e.g., race, sex, income.

Dealignment argument

contention that parties are less meaningful to voters, who have abandoned the parties in greater numbers to become independents

Elite theory

theory that upper class elites exercise great influence over public policy

Factions

term used by Madison to denote what we now call interest groups - "any group for a cause against a cause"

Feeding frenzy

Just as sharks engage in a feeding frenzy when they sense blood in the water, the media "attack" when they sense wrongdoing or scandal in government, and devote great amounts of coverage to such stories.

Gender gap

difference in voting patterns for men and women, particularly in the greater tendency of the latter to vote for Democratic presidential candidates.

Globalization

the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale; the interconnection of people, companies, economies, and governments of different nations

Horse race coverage

the tendency of the media to report on an election campaign as if it were a horse race, i.e., who is ahead, who is behind, who is gaining ground.

Ideology

set of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Ideological

based on or relating to a system of ideas and ideals, especially concerning economic or political theory and policy.

Independent

one is not registered with a political party. Independent learners tend to vote for candidates of one particular party. Independent leaners tend to vote for candidates of one political party whereas pure independents have no consistent pattern of party voting.

Investigative journalism

media activities aimed at unearthing facts previously unknown by the general public; typically focused on uncovering wrongdoing by individuals and institutions.

Keynesian

an economic philosophy advocating active government's intervention in the economy through public policies that aim to achieve full employment and price stability

Party identification

a sense of affiliation that a person has with a particular political party.

Liberal

a political ideology that generally favors more governmental regulations of the marketplace, more governmental involvement to ensure social and economic equality, and a broader scope of personal privacy (except in arenas involving religious and educational freedom)

Political culture

the widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government.

Libertarian

a political ideology that generally favors little or no governmental regulations of the marketplace beyond the protection of property rights and voluntary trade and disfavors governmental intervention in social issues beyond the protection of private property and individual liberty.

Political efficacy

capacity to understand and influence political events.

Political socialization

process in which one acquires his/her political beliefs.

Rule of Law

idea that written laws and the Constitution are superior to all offices and officeholders; related to concept of limited government

Scientific polling

a type of survey or inquiry designed to measure the public's views regarding a particular topic or series of topics using a random sampling of the population being measured.

Selective exposure

the practice of selectively choosing media sources which are in harmony with one's own beliefs.

Selective perception

the practice of perceiving media messages the way one wants to.

Solid South

historically, the South voted solidly Democratic. However, the South is now strongly Republican: Bush carried every Southern state in 2000.

Split ticket voting

casting votes for candidates for one's own party and for candidates of opposing parties, e.g., voting for a Republican presidential candidate and a Democratic congressional candidate.

Straight ticket voting

casting votes only for candidates of one's party.

Suffrage

the right to vote.

Supply-Side

an economic theory that reduction of tax rates encourages more earnings, savings, and investment and thereby expands economic activity and the total taxable national income

Voting Behavior Models

Theories of the motivations behind voters' choices in a given election

Rational Choice Voting

Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's individual interest

Retrospective Voting

Voting to decide whether the party/candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past.

Prospective Voting

Voting based on predictions of how the party/candidate will behave in the future

Party-Line Voting

Voting for candidates from a single political party for all offices across the ballot

Sound bite

a short, pithy comment that is likely to attract media attention, e.g., Ronald Reagan saying, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job and recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job."

Limited government

a system wherein government capacity is restricted to only those powers expressly provided by a constitution or similar authority.

Majoritarian

governed by or believing in decisions of the majority or in the best interest of the majority

Monetary policy

The Federal Reserve Board's regulation of the supply of money in circulation in order to

achieve optimal economic well-being

Fiscal policy

taxing and spending policy.

Free enterprise

freedom of private business to organize and operate for profit in a competitive system without interference by government beyond regulation necessary to protect public interest and keep the national economy in balance.

Spin control/spin doctoring/political spin

placing a certain slant on a story to deflect negative public attention against a candidate or officeholder.