United States Political Systems Final

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Why does the US basically have a two-party system?: Because of:
-Election Laws
-Single Member Districts
-Ballot requirements (hard to get a third party on the ballot)
What factors influence Interest Group strategies and tactics?: -Goals
-Resources
-Larger: Congress
-Smaller: Courts (civil rights leaders had very little power, but helped change racial discrimination through sympathetic courts)
-Incentives
Are interest groups good for Democracy?: Good:
-educate citizens about what govt. is doing/ and about what citizens want
-induce participation
-express views of public that might not otherwise be heard
-good competition for improving public policy

Bad:
-Elite dominance- there are no IG's for weaker parts of society
-weaken the party system- people often want to support only 1 issue instead of many
Who Participates in politics?: mostly the educated participate
Depends on:
Education
Socioeconomic Status
Age (older you are the more you participate--until 60's)
Race and Ethnicity(Whites more than AA's or hispanics)
Religion(jews-higher part. rate)
Region
What are the important characteristics of public opinion?: Direction: What does the majority prefer?
Stability: How often does public opinion change?
Intensity: How strong are the opinions?
Salience: How important is the issue? How much do they care about it?
How do IG's affect Policy?: The Inside Game-using a small number of people to pressure policy makers
The Outside Game- using a large number of people to pressure govt (ex: letter writing)
Why do people join Interest Groups?: *Incentives
-Material: something physical you will receive for your contribution ex: public radio sends you a mug
-Solidarity: being with like-minded people
How does socialization typically change over a person's life?: *Childhood- Look up to leaders: sympathetic view of politics, vote w/ parents
*Adolescence- politics is a matter of conflict, begin to identify issues with parties, keener sense of cynicism
*Young adults- views are set for life, generally
*Major Political Events- ex: depression, war, new deal coalition, vietnam (mistrust)
What are the major functions of the media in American Politics: -Connects citizens and the government
-Provides information
-serves as a watchdog
-Agenda setter (decides which issues are important)
-Persuasion
-expose wrong-doings in the govt.
-media can influence public officials
What factors affect interest group influence?: External Game:
*Interest groups are constitutionally protected; free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition
*Campaign Finance laws restrict their power
*Political Environment:
Fragmentation: separation of powers--- interest groups have a lot of different bodies to affect--utilize presidential veto, congressional committees
Growth of Govt-- Every new committee forms a policy that attracts Interest Groups
The larger the govt. grows-- more interest at stake

Internal Game: Membership
*Breadth- AARP (elderly members)
*Intensity- NRA (gun rights)
*location- broad is better
*prestige
*mobilization- labor unions are very strong
Internal Factors
*Resources
-contribution
-lobbyists
-legal representation
-publicity
-technology
-mobilization
*Ability to Cause trouble
-green peace is effective
*Lack of Opposition
-other groups: no one opposes research for breast cancer
-Public opinion
Who Has power??: Guys: These are all of the notes I have gathered from everyone's notes on 'who has power'

-Multiple pieces of govt. have power at different times
-constitution is the ultimate power, however it has been ignored (civil rights, abortion)
-The public has power through votes
-Interest groups have power, however, they often fight w/ each other
-Political parties are powerful in organization and motivation but weak by intl standards
What is efficacy?: If you believe that your participation matters
Is Political news biased?: Yes, it is biased.
-news ranges in opinion (conservatives vs. liberals)
-choice presentation (slant)
-comes in when determining certain issues in certain ways
What are interest groups?: Individuals that come together to influence policy
What are the impacts of the media on politics?: Media has impact on
Elections:
-Candidates- (how we percieve them)
-Issues
-Turnout
Government:
-President
-Congress
-Bureacracy
-Courts
What is Political Socialization?: The Complex process by which people acquire values, attitudes, and beliefs about politics.
What is the inevitable dillemma of journalism in a democracy?: The media's role is to inform and critique, so it must be free from governmental control.

--If the media is free, it can act in its own interest.
--Therefore, the media's interests might not serve public interest---making it less democratic
What are the three important functions of Political Conventions?: 1. Meet with donors--raise $$$

2. Television--first way the U.S. gets a look at the candidates

3. Rallying supporters
What are the major elements of socialization?: Family
Peers
School
Media, "sets the agenda"
What influences voting behavior?: Choice
Party Identification
Group Orientation- ex: christian coalition(republican), African Americans (Democrat)
Issues- gun control, abortion etc
Campaigns-mobilize your supporters, demobilize opponents supporters--negative campaigning will demobilize
Retrospective voting (looks to the past to guide what will happen in the future, they ask "am i better off now than i was 4 years ago??")
Prospective Voting- (looks to the future to see how one will help you)
What are the three main elements of Public Opinion?: Values- core of who we are and what we stand for

Attitudes- Broad orientations toward public policy; based on values

Opinions- depends on specific issues of the day (more flexible, it can change); based on attitudes
More Notes on Presidential Campaigns: *The Primary system forces candidates to pick positions that they can win in.

Presidential campaigns involve difficult strategic choices to be made-- how far right or left should they lean-- or should they stay in the middle?
Why do people participate in politics?: Interest
Efficacy
Resources
Knowledge
What are the purposes of Political Parties in the US?: *To define roles and purposes of the Govt.
*To simplify voter choice
*To win elections
*To run the government
How representative are elections?: Political equality (voting and resources)
Extent of Franchise
Ease of Voting- registration--how available and easy is it
Meaningful choice-often times voters aren't given any options that they want--- ex: VA voters were only given John Warner b/c he is so popular, democrats did not even run a challenger
*incumbents spend more on reelections, it makes it harder for challengers to win
*more money---better chance for winning--therefore making elections less representative
What are the two types of presidential campaigns?: Primary-
Announcements, fundraising, retail campaigning (personal/direct appeals to the voters), caucuses and elections

General-
Electoral strategies, voter mobilization (and demobilization) , voting and the electoral college
What are the major forms of participation?: *Voting
*Persuading others
*Community work- Change your community, young people are more skeptical of electoral politics, and more supportive of volunteerism
*Group activities- AARP, group of like-minded people working towards a common goal
- interest groups spend more than politicians on advertisements
*Personal Contact w/ officials
*Campaign Activity- 1/10 of people do this, amount of volunteers is gradually getting smaller, they rely on paid staff and the media
*Unconventional Participation- Illegal activities
*Non-Participation- People think they can't change anything, some affluent people are satisfied--see no need to change anything, felon disenfranchisement
Who votes?: Depends on:
Partisanship
Education
Income
Age
Perceptions
Competitiveness
What are the three main 'publics'?: Mass Public- The mass public is 75%-80% of the public
-they are apathetic, uninformed, unstable about opinions
Attentive Public: 15%-20% Better informed, more involved, more stable opinions
Opinion makers: actively engaged, make the opinions, newspapers

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