ANG Final

What are the different types of polls and when may they be used?

Preference poll; ask choice of candidates for future election

Opinion surgery; seeks view on policy/ political issues

Exit poll; voters after casting ballot, used by new organizations and researchers

Op

What methods are used to conduct polls?

Determine appropriate sample

• What are examples of measurement errors?

Margin or error of -/+3 points with 95% confidence

• How does the margin of error affect our interpretation of polls?

Make sure there is room for error

What are the origins of public opinion and how do they impact what polls and surveys measure?

Partisanship, political attitude and party identification

Life experiences and effect on poll; race/ ethnicity, gender, income, and level of education, religion, age, and geography

• How may we understand the concept of political culture?

Patterns of behavior between people and government

Political socialization

How political culture is communicated amongst people

Process where you acquire beliefs, attitudes, and opinions

• What are some examples of selection bias?P

Mode of interview, and methods

Origins of public opinion attitudes

An organized and consistent manner of thinking, feeling, and reacting

Opinions are expressed of underlying attitudes

Introduce bias

Vary widely

What biases exist in media

Education; learn from what we see, info is power

Agenda setting; influences subsequent debate on topics, signals importance to the public

Framing; how issues presented to the public, influences perception, defines interpretation

Filtering; selective coverage of issues

Persuasions; changes attitudes and opinions

• What does the Federal Communications Commission do?

Regulatory agency, regulates public air waves through rulemaking

How would you outline the organization of American media

Corporate ownership; private ownership, consolidation over time, uniformity of viewpoints, and corporate bias

• What are some examples of agenda setting, filtering, framing, and the other effects of media?

Only posting stuff that benefits their partisanships

What are the roles of the media

Informs public; access to information

Shapes narrative; decides what and how to report

Monitors politicians; government watchdog

Influences politics; alters debate and what public thinks

How could you define factions And Fed 10

Group of citizens working contrary to the rights of others or general warefare of the community

Madison worried about the Mischief of faction- stability of govt, and protect rights of citizens

Concerned because history demonstrates instability threatens rights

What are the disturbance and pluralism theories

Disturbances; changes in social environment prompt individuals to organize, also form in opposition to other interest groups to counteract their influence

Pluralism; politics is mainly a competition among groups, groups press their own policy preferences, groups provide a key link between people and govt. Govt as a mediator between groups

Theories of group formation

How does the collective action problem relate to interest groups

Coordination problem; how to orgianze action amongst members and non-members

Free rider- spark action when most gear benefit regardless of participation

Incentivizing action- motivate members to take action to achieve group goals

Patron support; entities assisting by providing financing an leadership

• What are some examples of the different types of interest groups?

Private; promote financial interests

• peak associations

• Trade associations

• Professional associations

• Labor union

Public; common good

• cause advocacy

• Nonprofit

• Govt entities

• How might interest groups use inside and outside strategies?

Inside- lobby govt officials, testify legislative hearings, help draft legislation, litigation against govt

Outside- have constituent s contact legislators, indirect lobbying, speak to media, advertisements on candidates, endorse candidates

• Why is lobbying important?

Attempts to influence decisions made by govt officials

Goal is persuasion, indirect and direct lobbying

Significant resources placed into lobbying

Protected by 1st amendment but regulated to promote transparency

• What are the different stages of social movements?

Emerge-coalesce-bureaucratize- success/failure/cooptation/repression- decline

• What tactics are commonly employed by social movements?

Rhetoric, and leadership at the right moment

The letter from Birmingham jail -milk used rhetoric as a strategy for justice moral responsibility

How does Duverger’s Law affect American politics

1) first-past-the-post + 2) single-member districts = two-party system

• Why is party identification important? How is it different from polarization?

Psychological, people think they know what the parties stand for -choose parties based on affinity with personal preferences

Majority of Americans self-identify with two major parties

Voters who identify with that party, reps commitment

How have American political parties evolved, Party systems

Purpose to facilitate collective action and policy making, parties formulate policies in order to win elections

Electoral college rules in US favor maintaining statues quo

Two major parties

First past the post system- win the plurality

Single member districts

Time period characterized by major parties debating sr too key issues

• Realignment in parties

Major change in dominate party, voter support, and or ideas

Voters abandon or change parties

How are American parties organized

Formal- coordinates action, supports cadiidates member and elected officials, builds party brand, recruits and screens candidates

1. Local level

2. State level

3. National level

Components of a party system

Electorate -voters

Organization- staff and offices

Government- officeholders

• What is the difference between candidate-centric and party-centric parties?

Candidate-centric; power with candidate, members each have great power, little accountability Canada

Party- centric; power with party leadership, party manifestos guide action, ability to displine members US

• How are American parties organized?

Nominated via primary elections or caucuses candidate-centered organizations, parties provide support when needed

• How would you describe the state of minor parties in the U.S.?

Parties with little chance of winning, minor party generate fail

Donor and voters want to support candidate who can win

But without resources minor parties cannot win

Electoral rules make it difficult, many barriers the two parties write the rules

• What may voters consider when deciding whether to vote, how to vote, and for whom to vote for?

Single issue voters

Fundamentals

Party identification

Issue positions

Incumbency

Elite rhetoic no longer sufficent to change minds

What affects turnout

Registration process onerous

ID requirements impose cost

Voting takes time - long ballot, Election Day is a Tuesday, early voting and vote by mail availability varies by state

How is a party's nominee chosen

Primaries- vote by secret ballot

Caucuses- in person vote by group, complex rules, time consuming procedures

What is the purpose of Political Action Committees (PACs

Raise money then donate to candidates and campaigns, donations reported and limited

Super PACs, raise money spend funds itself, donations reported anonymous and unlimited

• Why is Buckley v. Valeo (1976) notable when it comes to campaign finance?

Contribute limits to campaigns constitutional

Regulated donation limits to candidates, requires diclosure of donations

• What are apportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering, and how are they related?

Apportionment determines how many slices of the pie each state gets

Redistrcitng is the act of slicing the pie

Gerrymandering is when the person holding the knife tries to slice the pie so they get all the cherries

Apportionment

The process of dividing the 435 seats in the White of reps among the 50 states happens every 10 year s

Redistributing house seats based on population based on most recent census

Redistricting

Drawing new congressional districts

Population of districts need to be roughly equal one person one vote

Total residents not just citizens

Gerrymandering

Manipulating districts to create political advantage based on race partisanship and other factors

How is the president elected through the Electoral College

President must win 270 votes

The general election

What is democratic backsliding and why is it worrisome

Gradual decline in the quality of a democracy

Loss of individual rights

Economic instability