Political Science

What is Fenno's Paradox?

A: People dislike Congress a whole but like their representative, so most members of Congress get re-elected

A: Congress

Which branch of the U.S. federal government is the least liked?

Why do Mann and Ornstein call Congress the "broken branch"?

A: Members are focused on partisanship which causes problems. People don't work together or get along, which hurts outcomes. Congress blind to the need to reform. Decrease in oversight and deliberation.

What media issues does Congress have?

A: Stories on Congress are fewer, shorter, less prominent. Every member of Congress has their own stories, angles, and motivations.

What are Mayhew's 3 activities for re-election to Congress?

A: Advertising, Credit-Claiming, and Position-Taking

What is Fenno's "Home Style"?

A: Members of congress have their own way of interacting with their home district and using resources (time, money, offices, and residence)

Concentric Constituencies

• Geographic

• Reelection

• Primary

• Personal

How can a member cultivate a

constituency?

A: Know who is in each circle, move people inward, keep people locked in, allocate resources to do these things, be sure you're fair to all the people in your district who may vote for you

What shapes a person's party ID (which party they support)?

A: Socialization, group ID, and running tally

Why might someone's party ID change?

A: Running tally may chance, a single issue may topple it, who leads the party may change your mind

Let's talk about independents. Dr. Johnson said independents are rising in recent data. However, many independents" actually lean toward one of the 2 main parties. Only about 10% of people claim an independent party ID without leaning towards a major party and voting that way.

What is the 30-30-40 split in party ID?

A: 30% Republican (GOP), 30% Democrat, 40% Independent

What are the 3 Cs of modern media?

A: 1. Corporate (profit), 2. Consolidated (ownership of multiple entities),

3. Conglomerated (ownership of not just media, but products too)

What are the 5 potential media biases from Lance Bennett?

A: 1. Political (partisan), 2. Personalization (focusing on people not systems),

3. Dramatization (crises/emotion coverage), 4. Fragmentation (immediate gets covered, stories fade), 5. News as a game (framing winners and losers)

What would it take for a third party candidate to have success?

A: Pre-Existing name recognition, coherent message/movement, money to spend

What researchers started studying "party ID"?

A: The Michigan School (Campbell, Converse, Miller, and Stokes)

What are Doris Graber's elements of newsworthiness?

A: 1. Strong impact 2. Exciting (conflict/scandal), 3. Familiar

4. Proximate (close to home), 5. Timely 6. Novel (original)

What are Iyengar's 3 functions of news media?

A: 1. Contribute to informed citizenship, 2. Serve as a watchdog

3. Provide a forum for politician messages

Who said "The press is no substitute for institutions. It it like the beam of a searchlight"?

A: Lippman

Why does media not cover issues that most people find boring?

A: Media allocates resources to issues that people will pay attention to.

Media is concerned with profit. Leads media to be disincentivized to cover topics like foreign affairs that may be complex (costs v. benefits).

What are psychological forces v. social forces?

A: Psychological: personal beliefs, likes, and dislikes shape choices

Social: The thoughts and expectations of others

What are roadblocks to 3rd parties winning?

A: Ballot access, media doesn't take them seriously, co-optation of ideas by major parties, must be seen by voters as credible alternative

What are the most common complaints about Congress?

A: Unable to represent diverse interests, unable to solve big problems, too focused on Washington DC, too removed from ordinary people, too heavily influenced by interest groups.

What does party ID do?

A: Serves as a screen for information, can change relationships with people in our lives, can cause selective exposure, strong predictor of issue positions, serves as a strong cue in voting for candidates As of October 2025, about how many people approve or disapprove of Congress?

A: 15% approve, 79% disapprove

Who had the idea of Congress as a "public enemy"?

A: Hibbing and Theiss-Morse. People like the concept of Congress, which is called "diffuse support." But, people dislike the reality of Congress (the people and processes), which is called "specific support"