American Politics Final

Political campaign

A series of actions intended to accomplish spreading the canadates positions on issues and policy promises

to attract voter support in an election

Candidate

A person who can be portrayed as sufficently qualified and trustworthy for the job

Message

Tells voters why a particular candidate istheir best choice

Campaign Spending

Candidates for political office raise money to fund their campaigns

Negative Campaign Ad

Exploit voters' uncertainty inherent in thedelegation of authority to powerful agents

- They target Rationally ignorant and undecided voters

issue voting

Voting for candidates based on their positions on specific issues, as opposed to their party or personal characteristics.

Party ID

a citizen's loyalty to a specific political party

single-issue voters

People who base their votes on candidates' or parties' positions on one particular issue of public policy, regardless of their positions on other issues.

15th Amendment (1870)

granted African American men the right to vote

Voting Rights Act of 1965

outlawed the discriminatory voting practices and enforced the 15th amendment

19th Amendment/Women's Suffrage

Gave women the right to vote

Jacksonian Democracy

A movement for more democracy in American government . Acheived in the 1840s

26th Amendment

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Provoked by the vietnam war

free riding

benefiting from a public good while avoiding the costs of contributing to it

Party Labels

provide the cheap, shorthand cue so useful to rationally ignorant voters.

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Supreme court rejects spending limits on how much one spends their own money on their campaign.

Citizens United v FEC 2010

enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections.

Principal-Agent Problem

a problem caused by an agent pursuing his own interests rather than the interests of the principal who hired him

Agency loss

Agents (elected officials) might serve themselves rather than the people,

Delegation

the act of transffering power or authority to another

Direct Democracy

Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

Representative Democracy

Elected officials representthe people and make decisions

Voter ID laws

laws requiring that voters show government made ID at polls

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites

focus group

Small group of voters chosen by a political campaign, brought together to talk about the candidate.

Political Parties

groups that help elect people and shape policies

party in government

• Elected officials

• Party leadership in Congress

• Pass laws, win elections, and represent the party

Party in Electorate

• Made up of citizens who identify with that political party

•Vote, Donate

• Stronger partisans vote more frequently

Party Organization

Network of elected and appointed party officials

- Paid staffers

- National, state, and local committees

- Volunteer workers

Australian ballot (secret ballot)

system of voting where voters mark their choices in private

Caucus

Members assembled to talk about their preference among candidates running for office or select delegates to attend a convention.

Party Conventions

A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.

party machines

A type of political party organization that relies heavily on patronage, to win and to govern.

Patronage

exchange of favors and services for votes on election day.

primary

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

Progressive Era (1900-1920s)

• Civil service

• Australian (Secret) Ballot

• Primary elections

Superdelegates

elected officials who become delegates without having to run in primaries or caucuses

two-party system

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

17th Amendment

granted the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures.

Sorting

voters sort themselves into parties that match their ideology.

Party Brand

Refers to the image, identity, and reputation associated with a political party.

Duverger's Law

states that two parties are a natural result of a winner-take-all voting system.

New Deal Coalition

brought together southern conservatives, religious, and ethnic minorities who supported the Democratic Party for 40 years

Ticket-splitting

Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices.

party-line voting

process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation

grassroots lobbying

efforts to influence legislation through an attempt to affect the opinions of the general public(newspaper advertisements, public meetings, websites, and petitions)

insider tactics

Working directly with government officials to influence policy decisions

1. Gain personal access to government officials

2. Provide information to politicians

Outsider tactics

Persuade politicians to act as the group desires

1. With the use of mass media to shape public opinion

2. Demonstrations, picketing, and marches

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, to influence government decisions

Lobbyists

representatives of interest groups who contact lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making

Interest groups

organization of people who share political goals; and try to influence public policy to achieve those goals.

moral incentives

people who care passionately about an issue and are willing to make a contribution

Selective incentives

benefits that are available only to group members as an incentive to get them to join

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Diverse set of organizations that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

Social Movements

A large group of people who are organized to promote or resist some social change

policy gridlock

difficulty passing laws and policys due to conflicting opinions

AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)

Nationwide organization for people over 50 that offers discount drug purchases, health & auto insurance, & other activities

Special Interests

an organization seeking or receiving special advantages, typically through political lobbying.

Federalist 10

Factions tend to pursue selfish aims contrary to the rights of others or the public interest

- They are a threat to popular government

Opinion Writing

argumentative writing that supports an opinion on a topic

Pluralist view

the belief that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy

Logic of Collective Action

any group of individuals attempting to provide a public good has difficulty doing so efficiently.

- causes FREE RIDING PROBLEM

litigation

the process of taking legal action

Public opinion

opinions held by private individuals that governments find it prudent to heed

Attitudes

evaluations of people, objects, and ideas

ideology

set of Attitudes

Liberal

- favor using government to reduce economic inequalities

- less willing to use military force in international politics

Conservatives

- distrust government

- greater faith in private enterprise and free markets

- more willing to use government to enforce standards

Framing

explains how the media and political campaigns affect peoples political opinions

Priming

sets the agenda for what the public thinks is important by being selective of the news they cover

issue publics

groups of people who pay attention to one particular issue

Partisanship

Political attitude that shapes opinion towards political parties

Partisan

a strong supporter of a party, or parties policy

Socialization

people learn about their government and aquire beleifs attitudes about it, and confirm identity with A group

Equality of opportunity

giving people an equal chance to succeed

sampling

The process of selecting A random sample from a total population

sampling bias

members of A population are more likely to be selected in A sample than others

Information

When people tend to develop more complex informed attitudes only when the payoff is greater than the costof doing so

free riding

Benefiting off someonelses work

- we free ride of "Opinion leaders"

public opinion: Economic policy

- Americans beleive in capitalism

- almost no one beleives that private buissnes should be unregulated

support economic/social welfare policies that are "liberal"

public opinion: Morality Policy

- Politics is about the distribution of goods

- struggles to abolish slavery, get votes for woman etc, was driven by morality

the most heated political controversies are abortion,marijuana,and trangender rights

Public opinion: foreign policy

- public opinion on terrorism remains responsive to opinion leaders

- The president is the most important opinion leader on foreign policy but their influence varies according to wether other opinion leaders agree or disagree with the whote house

coalition building

the banding together of several interest groups for the purpose of lobbying