Knowt
U2-Q1 Key Vocabulary Terms
1.1 POLITICAL CULTURE
I. The widely-shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government.
II. Characteristics
A. Liberty
B. Individualism/rugged individualism, as opposed to collectivism/states. (Yet, Americans often turn to the government when it suits their needs.)
C. Equality
1. Equality of opportunity more than equality of result.
2. Political equality more than economic equality.
3. American Dream…reverence for property/capitalism/chance to acquire wealth.
-- Conflict between liberty associated with capitalism and equality associated with democracy → Federal action.
A. In Progressive Era to bring corporations under control
B. In 1930’s to smooth out ill effects of capitalism
C. In 1960’s with Great Society programs
D. Democracy
E. Civic Duty - How do we participate in politics?
F. This is huge…Distrust of government, especially since the 1960’s. Significant with the impact of the Vietnam War & Watergate. Certainly clear with the election of 2016
G. Political Efficacy: capacity to understand and influence political events.
1. Internal political efficacy: one’s personal competence in understanding political affairs – has remained stable since the 1950’s.
2. External political efficacy: belief that one can have an impact upon government – has declined since the 1960’s.
I. Political tolerance – in theory we believe in this, do we practice this?
J. Pragmatism – Americans tend to be less ideological.
K. Justice: belief in the rule of law.
1.2 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
/
I. Background
A. Ideology is a set of beliefs and values that shape a person’s views…usually relating to the role of the government.
B. United States two-party system (or one-party system in Mr. Dowdy’s mind) encourages less ideologue as opposed to Europe’s multi-party system. To be able to play a part in our system you must have access → Republican/Democratic parties.
II. Liberalism (Favor PROGRESS)
A. Classical liberalism of the 18th Century
1. Limited role of the government
2. Government seen as the chief threat of liberty.
3. Role of the government is to protect property rights. (in the mold of Locke)
B. Modern liberalism of the 20th century (New Deal Liberalism)
1. Expanded role of government → primarily in economic issues (Bernie Sanders)
2. Corporations seen as a threat to liberty
3. Need for a stronger central government to “smooth out the rough edges of capitalism”
4. Role of government is to protect people’s well-being. Freedom from government control rings hollow when one is poor, unemployed, or discriminated against.
C. Discrediting of liberalism in the 1980’s and 1990’s → a feeling that liberalism had “gone too far”. Need to get back to more individualism and less reliance on big government.
D. “Neoliberals”
1. Less likely to rely upon government as solutions to problems
2. Government certainly has some role to play, but not as big a role as desired by New Deal liberals.
3. Rise of Democratic Leadership Council, with members like Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and “Blue Dog” Democrats
III. Conservatism (Favor TRADITION)
A. Essentially classical liberalism
B. Resurgence since the late 1970’s
1. Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43
2. Republican Congresses – 1990’s
3. Strength in the formally “solid south”
4. Reversal of the trend since the 1930’s to automatically look to government as the solution to our problems.
5. Emphasis today on the private sector and faith-based organizations to solve problems
6. Strong support for large tax cuts, which occurred under both Clinton and Bush 43
C. “Neoconservatives”
1. Social policy: (Cruz, Santorum, Carson) emphasize issues like prayer in schools, anti- abortion, anti-homosexuality. Often considered the “religious right”
2. Economic: (Paul, Bush, Trump) want to “unleash” market forces to attack various ills in society.
3. Foreign policy:
a. Some like Rand Paul are neo-isolationists who shy away from intervention. They are not “big fans” of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, etc.
b. Others like Donald Trump are more aggressive in dealing with foreign threats such as terrorism, and more supportive of intervention, as in fighting ISIS.
c. “Compassionate conservatism” of Bush 43 is considered a more moderate conservatism.
V. Libertarianism
A. Extreme emphasis on individual liberty (Rand Paul)
B. Extreme cutback on the role of government – essentially government should only provide defense or protection.
1.3 MANAGING THE ECONOMY
I. Two type of economic policies
A. Fiscal: taxes and spending considerations = budget matters. Fiscal policy is conducted by Congress and the President. Primarily takes the form of budgetary spending, tax cuts, etc.
B. Monetary: regulation of money supply by the Federal Reserve Board (“the Fed”). Primarily takes the form of adjusting the interest rates to increase or decrease inflation. Can make the borrowing of money hard or easier.
II. History of economic policy
A. Constitution gave Congress the power to “regulate” interstate and foreign policy. This is historically one of the easier ways in which the federal government has delved into state matters; historically a lot of cases have been received by the court in this manner.
B. Industrial revolution’s excesses led to Congress making greater use of economic regulatory powers, e.g., breaking up trusts, regulating meat and drugs, and regulating the rail roads.
C. Great Depression of the 1930’s led to even greater regulation of economy by Congress. Unemployment rate of 25%, bank failures, farm crisis, and deflation demanded aggressive action.
D. Keynesian economics
1. During the depression the New Deal was influenced by British economist John Maynard Keynes.
2. Keynes suggested that government could manipulate the economic health of the economy through its level of spending. In hard times, the government should increase spending (even if it means running large deficits) to stimulate economic health. In inflationary “boom” times, government should decrease spending to “cool down” the economy.
3. Keynes influenced passage of the Employment Act of 1946 which made the government responsible for maintaining high employment rates.
4. Difficulty posed by Keynesian economics: once government spending rises, it is politically difficult to cut it (consider the fights in recent years over entitlement reform). This helps to explain why we have had such high budget deficits.
E. Supply-side economics
1. Definition – cuts in taxes will produce business investment that will compensate for the loss of money due to the lower tax rates. Tax rates will be lower, but business will boom, unemployment will go down, incomes will go up, and more money will come into the treasury.
2. Most associated with the Reagan Administration (1981-1989).
3. Unfortunately, the Reagan tax cuts were not accompanied by spending cuts, and the national debt tripled from $1 trillion to $3 trillion.
4. Tax cuts under Bush 43 have prompted concern that they have contributed to a rising national debt (~10.7 trillion in 2008).
F. Monetarism
1. Whereas Keynesians suggest that the level of government spending (i.e. fiscal policy) is most important for determining the economic health of the nation, monetarists believe that the money supply (monetary policy) is the most important factor.
2. Thus “the Fed” can tighten up money supply (through adjusting interest rates) to reduce inflation or it can loosen up money supply to stimulate the economy.
1.4 POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
I. Definition: process in which people acquire their political beliefs
II. Agents
A. Family
1. Strongest agent
2. Correlation between parent’s party affiliation and child’s party affiliation.
3. Less of a correlation on civil liberties and racial issues
4. Fairly equal influence of mother and father
5. When parents differ, child tends to associate with the beliefs of parent he/she more closely identifies.
B. Schools
1. Impacts most in basic values such as civic duty, patriotism, etc.
2. High school government classes apparently do not change the political orientation of students.
3. College students tend to be more liberal than the general population.
4. College students at most prestigious schools tend to be the most liberal.
C. Religion
1. Protestant
a. Generally more conservative.
b. Evangelicals are especially more conservative on social issues.
2. Catholic
a. Traditionally more liberal
b. With greater acceptance of Catholics, greater inclusion into mainstream of society, and increasing importance of various social issues (such as abortion, gay rights) this has brought about a greater degree of conservatism. However, the election of 2004 was the first in which Catholics voted more for the Republican candidate.
3. Jewish
a. Strong liberal influence; strong support of the Democratic Party (~ 80%).
D. Race
1. Whites: more conservative, greater support for Republicans
2. African Americans: more liberal, strongest supporter of the Democratic Party (typically > 90% in recent presidential elections).
3. Hispanics: Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans more liberal and supportive of Democrats; whereas Cubans are more conservative and supportive of the Republicans. (Bush 43 made significant gains winning 44% of the Hispanic vote in 2004).
4. Asians: lean liberal; won by the Democrats in the 2000 and 2004 elections.
E. Income: those with higher incomes → more conservative and supportive of Republicans, those with lower incomes → more liberal and supportive of Democrats
F. Mass Media
G. Gender
1. “Year of the Woman” in 1992: many more women elected to Congress
2. Gender-sensitive issues (abortion, pornography, gun control etc.) may provoke different views amongst the sexes.
3. Significant gender gap in recent years, but narrowed in 2004. (Bush won 48% of the female vote to Kerry’s 51%, Clinton won close to 60% in 1996) Bush’s stronger showing may be due to “security moms” who were concerned about terrorism and national security.
III. Cross pressure: conflicting elements within one’s own political socialization (i.e. an African American Woman who is protestant…)
1.5 PUBLIC OPINION
I. Types of “public”
A. Elites
1. Those with a disproportionate amount of political resources.
2. Often raise issues and help set the national agenda.
3. Influence the resolution of issues.
B. Attentive – those with an active interest in government and politics.
C. Mass – Those with little interest in government and politics.
II. Types of opinions
A. Stable – Changes very little (abortion, death penalty)
B. Fluid – Changes frequently (presidential popularity)
C. Latent – dormant, but may be aroused (military draft)
D. Salient – has some personal importance to an individual (gun control and a hunter)
E. Consensus – Shared by 75% of the people or more (balanced budget)
F. Polarized – Shared by less than 75% (gun control, gay marriage)
III. Measurement of public opinion
A. By elections – can be deceiving because it doesn’t tell us WHY people voted the way they did (Obama in 2012 claims a voter mandate).
B. Scientific polls
1. Construction
a. Definition of universe – population to be measured.
b. Selection of sampling
1) Through random means – where each person in the universe has an equal chance of being selected.
2) National polls typically require ~ 1500-2000 respondents
3) Sampling error – expressed in +/- terms.
4) Can reduce sampling error by adding more respondents, but at some point diminishing returns set in.
c. Writing of the question – avoiding bias
d. Selection of means of polling
2. Uses of polls
a. Informing the public
b. Informing the candidate
c. Informing office-holders
d. Making election night projections through the use of exit polls.
3. Abuses of polls
a. “Horse race” mentality emphasized during campaigns at the expense of issues.
b. Pandering to whims of public by candidates and office-holders.
c. Early projections from exit polls may discourage voter turnout, especially in the West.
1) Election of 2000 demonstrated problems of exit polls
A) Early projection in Florida may have discouraged turnout in the panhandle part of the state.
B) Flawed data from the company with which all major networks had contracted led to flawed projections.
VI. Public awareness and interest in politics
A. Secondary in importance to most, especially mass public.
B. Surveys show substantial lack of political knowledge on the part of the public:
1. Identifying public figures (members of Congress, Senators, Chief Justice)
2. Identifying key issues – In 1982, after years of debate 1/3 of adults indicated that they had never heard of the ERA. In 1993 after extensive debate 60% of Americans indicated that they were not following the NAFTA story.
1.6 VOTER TURNOUT
I. Historical qualifications for voting
A. Race – eliminated by the 15th Amendment
B. Sex – eliminated by the 19th Amendment
C. Income – eliminated by the 24th Amendment banning the poll tax
D. Literacy – eliminated by the Voters Rights Act of 1965
E. Minimum age of 21 – eliminated by the 26th Amendment
II. Current qualifications (set by the states)
A. Citizenship
B. Residency
C. Age
D. Registration (in all states but North Dakota)
E. Photo ID Laws
III. Voter turnout in the United States as compared to foreign countries
A. United States - ~ 55% in presidential elections, 30 – 40 % in midterm, or congressional elections. (Even lower in state/local elections) A decline in voter turnout since 1960.
B. Comparable industrialized nations in the West have much higher voter turnout: as high as 80%. This statistic is deceiving because:
1. The U.S. does not impose penalties (fines, government papers stamped “DID NOT VOTE”) for not voting, as other countries do.
2. Other nations have multi-party systems that allow for more choice, and perhaps a more meaningful vote.
3. Other nations have same day/automatic registration.
IV. Reasons for low voter turnout in the United States
A. Institutional barriers
1. Registration: (assumption that easing or eliminating it would add ~ 10% to turnout). National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (“Motor Voter Bill”) was designed to increase voter turnout.
a. Allows people to register when renewing license or car.
b. Various public offices also offer registration forms as well as online.
c. Requires states to allow registration by mail.
→ Reality: has not increased turnout significantly since induction
2. Type of election:
a. General election turnout > primary election turnout
b. Chief executive (presidential) turnout > legislative (congressional) election turnout
c. National election turnout > state election turnout
3. Voter ID Laws - New Trend
4. Young people tend to have the lowest turnout → when the 26th Amendment was ratified turnout actually declined (due to increase of voter pool but disproportionately lower increase in 18 – 20 demographic turnout).
5. Restrictive absentee voting requirements
6. Disenfranchisement of institutionalized populations (felons)
B. Political (Personal) Reasons
1. Lack of political efficacy.
2. Dissatisfaction with candidates, parties, and politics in general (Foley effect?).
3. Lack of strong two-party competition.
4. Weaknesses of parties in mobilizing voters.
V. Historical decline in voting over the past 60 years
A. Reasons
1. Increases in the electorate
a. Young People
b. Minorities
→ As minority groups and young people increase proportionally in the population voting turnout declines.
2. De-alignment – Less party identification
3. Rising cynicism – People don’t vote because they don’t see a difference between candidates and have a declining trust in government.
4. Apathy – just don’t care about politics/too busy
5. Loss of Efficacy – sense that your vote doesn’t matter; doesn’t have an affect on elections.
VI. Who votes? Who doesn’t? Who cares?
A. Characteristics of those likely to vote
1. Level of educational achievement – the greatest predictor of voting that cuts across all other factors. Those with high levels of educational achievement (regardless of race, sex, or income) are more likely to vote than those with low levels.
2. Income – those with higher levels of income are more likely to vote.
3. Age – older voters (except for the really, really, really oldies) are more likely to vote.
4. Race – whites are more likely to vote than blacks, who are more likely to vote than Hispanics.
1.7 FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER BEHAVIOR
I. Geography
A. Solid South – traditionally Democratic, but increasingly more Republican now. Why?
B. Great Plains – Republican trend.
C. Rocky Mountain – Republican trend.
D. New England – increasingly Democratic in recent years
E. Great Lakes – Democratic trend, heavy populated with “swing” states (Ohio, Indiana, etc.)
F. Republicans have built on the “L” – Rocky Mountains – South
G. Far West – Democratic trend
II. Presence of an especially strong presidential candidate – coattail effect
III. Time
A. Maintaining elections – political alignment remains the same (1960, 1964).
B. Realigning (“critical”) elections – long-term change in political alignment
Democratic Rule via Roosevelt v. Hoover – 1932
C. Midterm elections – party in power has lost seats in Congress every midterm election since 1938 (except 1998 and 2002…huge in 2006…Iraq War factor?).
IV. Political party affiliation (PARTISANSHIP)
A. Probably the strongest predictor of voting behavior.
B. However, more people probably are “vote the man/woman, not the party” than in the past.
C. Straight ticket voting – decline in recent years. Facilitated by party-column ballots.
D. Split ticket voting – increase in recent years. Facilitated by office-column ballots.
E. Some party members are classified as “strong” and others as “weak”
F. Independents
1. Rising number (~ 1/3 of the electorate) → decline in Republican and Democratic members.
2. Some are “leaners”: independent Republican or independent Democrats
3. Others are pure independents, with no pattern of voting behavior. (~ 13 %)
4. Many tend to be young, college educated, with above average incomes.
V. Demographic factors
A. Sex
1. Males – more likely than females to vote Republican.
2. Females – more likely than males to vote Democratic.
B. Race
1. White – more likely than non-whites to vote Republican.
2. Non-white – more likely than whites to vote Democratic. Blacks are the most loyal Democratic voters.
3. Hispanics will overtake Caucasians as the majority in America by 2050…certainly could affect electoral
C. Social Class
1. Lower – more likely to than upper to vote Democratic.
2. Upper – more likely than lower to vote Republican.
D. Religion
1. Protestant – more likely to vote Republican.
2. Catholic – more likely to vote Democratic, although Bush 43 won this demographic in 2004.
3. Jewish – more likely to vote Democratic.
F. Issues
1. Retrospective voting – looking back on whether or not things have gotten better or worse since the last election.
2. Prospective voting – looking at the candidates’ views on the issues, and who they will accordingly handle the office if elected.
a. The economy – “It’s the economy stupid!” in 1992, Bush 41 promised tax cuts to pull the economy out of recession.
b. War – Elections during war-time can increase turnout.
c. Social issues – played a significant role in recent elections.
G. Candidate appeal
1. Masters of candidate appeal – JFK, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama, Clinton?
2. Disasters of candidate appeal – Dukakis, Dole, Kerry, Romney, Trump?
