POLS256 Exam guide

voting

the process of selecting a leader and can be done through various ways

campaign

what candidates do to compete to be elected by voters

How do we get leaders?

Leaders are elected by a selected group of voters

Types of Campaigning

Advertisements, public apperances (kissing babies), policy proposals, debates

Are campaigns expensive?

Yes! running ads, tours and hold events are expensive

how do they raise money for campaigns?

candidates & staff raise money

Valence Issue

one that most people support

PAC

Political action committee

How to donate for campaigns?

PAC, or directly. PAC donations are regulated

Citizens United

A supreme court case where corporations were effectivelty viewed as people with the right to contribute politically

Super PACS

Emerged after Citizens United, no restriction on amount of money donated. Independent expediture only committe. Can be funneled through nonprofit. Legally tricky- dark money, hard to trace. NOT POPULAR

SUPER PAC

cannot cordinate with candidate or campaign

Electoral College

538 votes in electoral college, DC gets three

How is electoral college numbers determined?

each state gets an equal number to their representatives + senators

How many votes to win electoral college?

270

Winner takes all

most states (expect maine and nebraska) have this- majority wins 

electoral collage equation

number of representatives + senators

tie in electoral college

1) goes to house of representatives

2) each state gets 1 vote

3) tie in house: senate decides VP, VP becomes president

reasons for parties

coordination, consoldiation, simplification

Coordination in parties

goals and people must be cohesivelt organized, otherwise risk of failure

Consolidation in Parties

america is a diverse place, and government can only do so much. parties consolidate the issues and highlight whats important

Simplification in parties

not everyone can know everything, an organization that they know generally alligns with their beliefs is a quick shortcut to support

Party reasons in practice

organize legislation, nominate and promote candidates, direct funds, provide structure

how do scholars view parties?

political parties created democracy and unthinsable save in terms of parties, the only way collective responsiblity has ever existed is through political parties, 

party leaders

in the party organization (the party chairs), in legislatures (speaker), in the executive branch (the president)

Various constitutencies

party leaders, individual politcal elites (members of congress, high ranking government/campaign staff), general population

Partisan

someone loyal to a particulart party, some are formal members or operatively partisan.

Partisanship

the state of being a partisan

Is Partisanship the same as ideology?

They can and often do overlap, BUT THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. a party generally espouses a particular ideology, but one is a group/institution while the other is a system of beliefs

Parites in constituion

NO mention, founds hated them- madison viewed them as “faction” which were “adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the communtiy”

Duverger’s Law

first past the post, single member districts tend to yield two-party systems
when you have single person representating district it tends to lose practicality in two party system.

Median voter theorum

middle person who votes: assumes rationality of voters

good reasons for parties by scholars

to build stable legislative and electoral alliances, to mobilize voters, to develop new electoral techniques, use party labels and enforce collective repsonsiblity

basic features of the party system

two party competition, decentralized fragmented party coalitions, professional politicians

theory of political parties

bawn et al (2012), parties are coalitions of interest groups and activists (general population is secondary). contrasts with currently dominant theories which view parties as controlled by election-minded politicans

interest groups

the previous slides showed rallies associated with causes replete with associated interest groups, how do interest get what they want (lobbying, outside and insdie)

Interest Group

Organized groups of people seeking to influence public policy. NOT AN OFFICAL PART OF THE GOVERNMENT

Two categories of interest groups

organized and behavioral

Organized groups

how groups are structured

Behavioral

How behavior qualifies someone for an interest group

Lobbying

activities through which individuals interest groups, and other institutions seek to influence public policy by persuading government officials to support their groups’ positions

Inside lobbying

strategu that is directly aimed at decision-makers including tactics such as direct contacts with them or participation in government

Outside Lobbying

strategies that relies on public pressure to influence public beliefs

legislative subsidy

helping a legislator achieve their goals by advancing the organization’s goals

legislators most valuable comodities

time, money, expertise 

the average u.s representative has

over 750,000 constituents, 15 stagg constitutent services, communications, policy, administrative. a need to be educated on literally every possible issue

Print

colonial times no one earned a living solely by publishing the news. emergence of federalist and democratic parties in 1790s, commerical concerns redirected newspapers towards politics

Radio

introduced in 1920 (KDKA pittsburgh)

Radio by 1930

just over 40% of households owned radios

televised

1950-1960 the television audience exploded from six million to sixty million viewers, more than 88% percent of households

the beat

permanently assigning reporters to certain values. ex; “White House Correspondent”

Pew’s journalistic standards

1. journalism is a discipline of verification (u need sources)

2. that its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover (eliminate personal bias)

does partisan media polarize?

yes & no

viewers see a larger divide in america than reality, few people watch partisan news, polarization via media is a multi-step process. empirical evidence directly linking media to polarization is mixed

alternative explanations

media (transparency) incentivizes eliotes to be partisan. media increaes attitudinal certainty. audience (though small) can become more activist, media is a two step information flow. opinion leaders consume then spread

What should social movements be distinct from?

Political parties and interest groups

Why is operationalizing (defining clearly) social movements difficult?

Because the boundaries between social movements, political parties, and interest groups can blur

McCarthy & Zald’s (1977) definition of a social movement?

A set of opinions and beliefs in a population that represents preferences for changing some elements of the social structure and/or reward distribution of a society.

Tilly’s (1984) definition of a social movement?

“Sustained interaction between a specific set of authorities and various spokespersons for a given challenge to those authorities.”

What do most social scientists believe about the impact of social movements?

That social movements have relatively little impact.

Why are beliefs about the impact of social movements considered paradoxical?

Because the reasons include contradictory assumptions—either democracy works poorly or democracy works well.

What does it mean when scholars say “democracy works poorly”?

American politics is seen as a “members-only” system where powerful groups keep the door shut to others. (Gamson 1990)

Which political scientist argued there is bias within the interest system?

Schattschneider

What question is raised when saying democracy works poorly?

Whether democracy functions if only resource-rich groups can organize and influence policy

What does the “democracy works well” perspective argue?

Elected officials know what the public wants and respond accordingly (Burstein 1999).

In the “democracy works well” view, where do social movements sit?

At the fringe of society, not representing majority viewpoints.

What are the three goals of elected officials?

• Re-election

• Policy achievement

• Power/influence

What are examples of conservative social movements?

The Religious Right, Pro-Life Movement, Gun Rights, Parents’ Rights.

How do conservative groups tend to form within movements?

They tend to favor reactive formation—responding to perceived threats or changes.

Which side has more social movements: conservative or liberal?

Liberal social movements are more numerous.

When evaluating policy and social movements, what is the key factor?

he slideshow states “A Key Factor” but does not specify—likely refers to policy impact or movement success criteria. (I can create a flashcard if you know the missing content.)