POLS 102 Exam 2 WVU

Civil Rights

rights protected by the government for protected classes (race, sex, sexual orientation, religion)

Jim Crow Laws

State laws mandated racial separation in schools, parks, playgrounds, public transportation, restrooms, etc.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Separate but equal

School Segregation

Marshall and NAACP challenged Plessy v. Ferguson on the counts that separate could never be equal

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

College Segregation

James Meredith (an African American) applied to Ole Miss, admissions blocked his application, a federal court ordered the university to desegregate after filing suit.

Desegregation

Civil rights act (1964) threatened loss of federal funds to states that refused to desegregate.

1969- supreme court said every school district was obligated to end dual school system

Fair Housing Act

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, or national origin.

Equal Rights Amendment

constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender

political participation

Two Types:

1. Conventional (voting, letter writing, contact w/ representatives, work on campaigns, joining groups, running for office)

2. Unconventional (boycotts, sit-ins, marches, demonstrations, violence)

Voting Trends

-Initially, suffrage changes resulted in increased participation

-Recently, voter turnout steadily on the decline = the vanishing electorate vote

Voting

high of around 60% in presidential

50% in midterm

even lower in local

Why is public opinion important?

Democratic governments rest on the consent of the governed:

-shifts in PO trigger shifts in public policy

-PO is unstable

-Public officials have flexibility in dealing with public issues

public opinion

this attention to PO has created an industry in PO polling and survey research

Check List for Poll

1. random sample

2. sample size

3. sample error larger the sample size, small the errors

4. question wording

5. reliable respondents

Push Polls

Done by campaign workers posing as independent pollsters. They deliberately would questions in such a way as to elicit the right response

Exit Polls

On election days voters are personally interviewed. Exit polls are used by media for early outcome predication

Tips on reading polls

1. check margin of error

2. what is timing

3. random sample is "gold standard"

4. what is the sample size

5. compare across polls

News Media in America

Mass media

Mainstream media

News cycle

Mass Media

sources that provide information to the average citizen, such as newspapers, television networks, radio stations, and websites

Mainstream Media

Media sources that predate the Internet, such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio

News Cycle

The time between the release of information and its publication, such as the 24 hours between issues of a daily newspaper

Fake News

content, articles, videos that present made up or false information

Stanford Study

Study indicated that students have trouble judging the credibility of online news: fake accounts, articles, sources

Misleading news

news stories that misleads

Satire

Fake and ironic news stories that are intended to be funny or entertaining

Mimic Websites

fake news websites mimic the look of trusted news sources

Political Parties

a group of citizens who agree on major issues facing the nation. These groups work to create public policies that reflect their views

3 main focuses for parties

1. Represent constitutes and special interest

2. simplify choices- creating a basic party platform based easily understood ideology, the masses can participate without analyzing each candidate issue

3. making policy- once elected they turn their campaign platform into policy through legislation

Role of Political Parties

(1) select candidates, (2) mobilize voters, (3) facilitate governance, and (4) monitor the opposing party when it's in power

responsible party model

A view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates. Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises.

Problems with model

-parties generally do not offer voters clear policy alternatives

-voters decisions aren't motivated primarily by policy considerations

-American parties have no way to blind their elected officials to party positions

Candidate-centered model

Individual candidates rather than parties raise funds, create personal organizations, and rely on professional consultants to direct their campaigns

Political Action Committee (PAC)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

527 groups

Independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly advocate the election of a particular candidate.

Citizens United v. FEC

A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow)

Role of Media in Campaigns

-Identify candidates

-Emphasize selected issues

-Publish different opinions

-Broadcast different points of view

general election

election in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices

primary election

an election held to choose candidates for office

Electoral College

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

interest group

Political interest groups purse 2 objectives:

1. seek positive benefits to promote the groups interest

2. defend current benefits to protect the groups interest

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.

Hyperpluralism

a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened

Elitism

A theory of government and politics contending that an upper-class elite will hold most of the power and thus in effect run the government.

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

Types of Groups

-single issue group

-multi-purpose group

-business groups

-professional associations

-labor unions

Iron Triangle

the coordinated activities of interest groups, congress, and the bureaucracy to achieve shared policy goals, sometimes against the general interests of society or specific groups within it