APGOV Unit 4

politicla culture

beliefs, customs, traditions

individualism

individuals responsible for themselves/their own decisions

dec of ind

philisophical declaration of natural rights; gov is supposed to protect

fed 51

3 branches

fed 78

9 justices

economic political values

equality of opportunity = everyobe should have a chance ot succeed based on their own effort; free enterprise/laissez-faire framework (limited gov intrusion, gov not setting wages/prices/production)

rule of law

nobody (even public officials) is above the rule of law; emphasis on free trials, impartial justices, decisions based on precedent, transparency of government operations + oversight

limited goverment

only the powers in the constiution (checks and balances, constitution, fedearlism, bill of rights)

political socialization

experiences/factors to shape political values, attitudes, behaviors

political ideology

coherent set of beliefs regarding government/politics

religious orgs

churches influential (social interaction); civic engagement thru clubs, church, public speaking/fundraising/interacting w/ gov officials. 2016 = white catholics vs. hispanic catholics; evangelicals most conservative

political views change over time

generational effect = impact of historical events experienced by each generation on their political views. life cycle = impact of persons age/stage of life on political views (ex: starting college v. retirement); milenials shaped by terrorism, baby boomers shaped by vietnam/watergate; younger people less politically engaged

globalization

increasing interconnectedness of people, businesses, and countries across the world; blurs line of international/domestic politics

multinational corps

make, transport, market goods in 2+ countries

NGOs

independent groups outside of gov, working toward a public cause; expansion of american ideologies

IGO (intergovernmental organizations)

challenges the soverignty of countries, european union + world trade org

globalized econ

free trade (few restrictions on goods/services across national borders); established by NAFTA (north american free trade) @ us, canada, mexico. criticized by trump for cost of american manufacturing

globalization implies democracy

have to meet a threshold of democacy by international organizations; through free enterprise, leader election, etc; watchdog NGOS hold authoritarian regimes accountable, citizens in these countries have access to technologies to better question their governments

global outsourcing/inequity

when a company moves its businesses to a place where labor costs are cheaper/production is more efficient (workers work longer hours); loss of domestic jobs, lower enviro/labor standards in foreign countries

globalization decline

countries rethink outsourcing after pandemic; election of dictators (putin, trump), global economy guided by geopolitics (fracturing); connector economies = not choosing sides (taking advantage of nuetrality to get benefits from two sides, like US and China)

public opinion

sum of individual attitudes about government/politics; these preferences blend into a large concept. even if not ifnormed about a complex political subject, people carry opinions on it. tied to party ideology (philosophy about the role of government in major issues + party identification (individual attachment to party)

scientific polling

representative sample of selected respondents; sample = group of individuals from larger population, sample must represent larger population. random selection = choosing poll respondents to not over/under-represent a population groups. representative sample = reflects demographics of population (weighting adjusts results based on diff percentages and groups particiapting in survey + demographics);

sampling error

(margin of error in poll, + or _ 3%)

types of surveys

straw polls = conducted w/ non-random population (doesnt represent cross demographics, however); entrance survey (people who are coming into an event), exit polls (following event), benchmark polls (taken at beginning of politicla campaign, gaining support for candidate), tracking polls (levels of support for candidate or issue over campaign length)

survey techniques

random digit dialing (generates numbers), question order (sequencing of questions in public opinion polls), question wording (may affect answers), push polls (negative campaign tactics meant to skew respondents impression of candidate), focus group (individuals for specific issues

polls for mass opinion

innacurate; low income less-educated citizens less likely to answer polls (explains why trump won despite polls)

public opinion/party identification

divided along racial, ethnic, gender, socioecon, age lines; gender gap = diff in how men and women vote

keynesian econ

democrat-focused; gov spends more money in a recession

supply side/trickle down econ

reagan; too much income goes to taxes, we must cut taxes for everone and return purchasing power to consumers

federal influence on econ through…

fiscal policy/congress (taxation, spending to lower unemployment/support econ growth/stabilize econ); monetary policy/fed reserve (banks achieve policy through price stability, interest rates, full employment, stable econ growth; appointed governers, less political)

monetary policy

central bank action for stability, employment, econ growth, interest rates + money supply.

federal reserve

(7 member panel of governers/14 yr terms, 12 regional banks, 6k member banks, appointed by pres/confirmed by senate, governers cant be removed except for cause. buys and sells treasury securities. gov pays people back when treasury is cashed. sets interset rates)

fluid political parties

republican party (conservatism, control of social behavior, fewer business regulations, less government intervention in economy); democratic party (liberalism, less government control over social behavior, more regulation of businessess and economy); libertarianism (little government regulation/intervention beyond private property + individual liberty)

political particiatpion

the way individuals take action to shape laws/ideologies; most americans dont vote

citizens united vs FEC case

money IS a factor in electoral success; political action committees/ PACS (FEC creates limits on donations, but no limits on support that isnt directly linked to candidate)

BCRA (bipartisan campaign reform act)

attempted to close soft money loopholes, ads made by PACS about candidates; soft money loopholes = allowed unlimited spneding on ads, flyers, hiring for campaigns.

forms of political particiapation

linkage institution = channels that connect individuals w/ government; social movement = joining of individuals seeking social/political change; goal = placing issues on policy agenda (protesting, political meetings, contacting elected officials, reaching out to other citizens)

expansion of voting rights

17, 19, 26, 24 (no poll tax, jim crow era)

voting- what are states in charge of?

where polling happens, preregistration, how many stations, what kinds of IDS are allowed

factors shaping electoral participation

vote based on institutional/demograpic factors (> SES = more devoted to system, donations to campaigns, interest groups)

political efficacy

belief that THEY can make effective political change; lower efficacy = the less individuals feel that they make a difference. factors = vietnam, watergate, slow policy-making, partisanship, scandals

older americans vote more

higher political efficacy, social security/medicaid worries, more money + more time; younger generation w/ college, job, family, dating etc

candidate characteristics/voter turnout

hispanic turnout lower, women > men, elderly > youth, obama effect = > african american voters

legal/institutional factors to influence voter turnout

political mobilization (efforts to encourage members to vote), registration requirements (laws that govern who can vote/how + when + where they vote; fed gov sets age/dates for voting, limits homeless, college students, minorities)

absentee ballot

completed/submitted by voter before going to polls

same-day voter registration

endorsed by liberal, pro-voting states

citizen voting decision- structural barriers

voting rules, registration, ID laws, felony disenfranchisement

types of voting

rational, retrospective, prospective, party-line

nomination process

candidates from same party compete for nomination; many states w/ primary elections (voters choose delegates), open = regardless of party affiliation, eligible voters participate. closed = only those registered w/ party can participate. caucus = party members discuss candidates/select delegates; same w/ primary elections)

electoral college

house of reps decides if no majority reached. candidates dont need to win popular vote; candidate w/ most votes @ state level wins all electoral votes for that state (except nebraska/maine, where electoral votes are proportional parties representing sub-groups). helps with checking majority passions, state influence @ federal system; against undemocratic principles/will of majority.

faithless electorals

votes opposite the popular vote

money buys elections

media time sways votes; professional consultants can strategize campaign stops, message, appearances, voter mobilization (GOTV get out the vote)

Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission

BCRA (bipartisan campaign reform act) = corporations/nonprofits not allowed to run ads 30 days before primary or 60 days before general election. Citizens United made a film about hillary, challenging BCRA (claimed violation of 1st amendment freedom of speech; restrictions apply to corporations, so ruled for citizens united). Money = speech; is it fair for money to have loudest voice? scotus says yes

PAC

political arm of interest group, involved in election season activities. interest groups/corporations, forbidden from direct donations to candidates (PAC arm can); soft money = spent to influence election, not direct candidate

Super PAC

post- ctizens united; spend unlimited amount, raise unlimited amount; spending cant be coordinated w/ campaign (ads, social media, prints); 8/10 didnt agree w/ this case

influence of generation on voting behavior

silent generation = great depression/ww2/ rigid gender roles → generally conservative, cold war. baby boomers = after ww2, more liberal. gen x = more liberal, more ethnically diverse, internet. millenials = ethncially diverse, not believing in racial discrimination, socialist policy

characteristics of mass survey (survey methodology)

given to as many people as possible; quantiative data (how MANY), qualitative data = how do people feel/think; focus groups = nonscientific measure of opinions

bandwagon

people will get behind winners

biases in public opinion polls

social desirability (candidates offer socially-acceptable response), non-response (certain groups more likely to respond to surveys than others), non-scientific (support for their own interest, not public opinion assessment

party associations w/ econ styles

liberal = gov intervention, keynesian econ; conservative = free market determining choices

impact of Citizens United/FEC

corporations/labor unions can spend as miuch money as they want, so long as they dont directly coordinate w/ candidate. corporate funding of ads broadcast cant be limited. political spending by corporations, associations, labor unions is a form of protected speech

connected pacs

founded by labor unions, money directly donated to candidates (can raise unlimited amounts of money, so long as individual limits are obeyed)

nonconnected pacs

formed independently of organization, around public interest; donations to non connected pacs are limited by law

super pacs- can they coordinate w/ candidate directly?

NO! although they can be formed by anyone and function by unlimited donation