Am. Gov. Final Exam Review - Week 15: Elections

GOALS:

- Analyze the consequences of the effects of the media on the outcome of political elections

- Explain the effects of election outcomes on public policy.

Key Facts:

I.                    Political Campaigns

A.      Increasingly personalized

                                                               i.      Little connection to Party organization

                                                             ii.      Party influence has decayed

1.       Result of the direct primary

2.       Increasing influence of the media

3.       Changes in campaign finance laws

B.      Candidate goals and challenges

                                                               i.      Candidates must an create an organization

1.       Temporary

2.       Can raise money from many small donors

3.       Can mobilize enthusiastic supporters

                                                             ii.      Win the nomination by

1.       Appealing to the party faithful (especially in the primary election)

2.       Keep the ability to win moderate and independent voters who wouldn’t normally vote for them (in the general election).

C.      Election Outcomes’ effects

                                                               i.      Important for public policy (i.e. laws) (Barack Obama: “Elections have consequences.” The same quote was used by Republicans after 2010.)

                                                             ii.      Especially true during critical/realigning elections

1.       When new voters come into the electorate in large numbers

2.       Old Party Loyalties weaken

3.       A major issue is splitting the majority party.

II.                  The Media

A.      Has changed over time.

                                                               i.      This change accompanies and influences changes in American politics

1.       The rise of strong national parties

a.       was influenced by the emergence of daily newspapers.

2.       Major reform movements

a.       Influenced by national magazines catering to middle class opinion.

3.       Weakening of political parties

a.       Sped-up by ability of candidates to speak directly to voters through radio and TV.

                                                             ii.      Changing role of journalists over time

1.       Poses a problem

a.       They should serve well as information gatherers, gate keepers, score keepers, and watch dogs

b.      To do this, they must be free of government controls.

                                                                                                                                       i.      This means that they can act in their own political and economic interests.

2.       Effects

a.       a wide diversity of opinion

b.      a general but not unanimous goal of fairness in reporting

B.      Political Bias of Media

                                                               i.      National Media is generally more liberal than the local media.

                                                             ii.      How much do a reporter’s beliefs affect reporting?

1.       Varies greatly based on the type of

a.       Story

b.      Routine

c.       Feature

d.      insider

Am. Gov. Final Exam Review - Week 14: Public Opinion and Political Parties

Week 13 (After Spring Break): Public Opinion and Political Parties

(Review the textbook chapters 7 and 9)

Key Terms:

a.       Gender gap

b.      Political elites

c.       Norm

d.      Public opinion

e.      Random sample

f.        Exit polls

g.       Political ideology

h.      Sampling error

i.         Ideological party

j.        Political party

k.       Caucus

l.         Party-column ballot

m.    National chairman

n.      Plurality system

o.      National convention

Four ideologies that Americans take on political issues:

1.       Pure Liberal: People liberal on both economic policy and personal conduct

2.       Pure Conservative: People conservative on both economic policy and personal conduct

3.       Libertarian: People who are conservative on economic matters and liberal on social ones

4.       Populist: These people want a government that will reduce economic inequality and control business, but they also want it to regulate personal conduct, lock up criminals, and permit school prayer (liberal on economic policy, conservative on personal conduct)

Review Questions:

1.       Which of the following is not true about public opinion in the U.S.?

a.       It is difficult to discuss, because there are many American “publics.”

b.      It is difficult to discuss, because there are many American “opinions.”

c.       The American public’s opinion has typically been consistently unified.

2.       Except for relatively small matters, most opinion in the U.S. tends to be

a.       Uninformed

b.      Stable

c.       Difficult to determine, because of sensitivity to the way poll questions are asked.

d.      A and C

3.       Which of the following is not one of the chief sources of political opinion in the U.S.?

a.       Family

b.      Friends

c.       Information media

d.      Schooling

4.       Which of the following is not a current cause of political opinion in the U.S.?

a.       Occupation/income

b.      Race/ethnicity

c.       Region

5.       True or false: Americans are divided neatly along a single liberal-conservative dimension.

a.       True

b.      False

6.       This group exerts a disproportionate influence on public policy.

a.       Libertarians

b.      Populists

c.       Political elites

7.       Which of the following is not one of the arenas in which a political party exists?

a.       Among the voters

b.      As a grassroots organization

c.       As members of the press

d.      As a group of elected officials

8.       The “national level” or party organization…

a.       Includes the “sponsored party”

b.      Is made up of weak “coalitions” of the local groups

c.       Is decreasing in influence

d.      Both C and D

9.       Which of the following has decreased the influence of political parties on the national level?

a.       The spread of primary elections

b.      The decline in primary elections

c.       The increase of media attention

10.   What effect does the “winner-take-all” feature of U.S. elections have on minor parties?

a.       It increases their influence.

b.      It has no effect on their influence.

c.       It decreases their influence.

11.   Minor parties…

a.       Rarely have much influence on national politics.

b.      Never effect elections at all.

c.       Usually have a large influence in national politics.

Am. Gov. Final Exam Review - Week 3: Civil Rights and Liberties

III. 1/17/2011 - 1/24/2011 – Civil Liberties, Civil Rights

●     Goals:

○     Distinguish the difference between civil rights and civil liberties.

○     Explain how the Patriot Act has changed and affected civil rights and civil liberties in the United States since 9/11/2001.

KEY FACTS:

I. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

A. Definition of civil liberties: What are civil liberties?

1. Freedom of expression

2. Freedom from arbitrary arrest

B. Definition of civil rights: citizenship rights

1. Right to vote

2. Freedom from discrimination

C. Bill of Rights and incorporation

1. Originally planned to protect citizens only from federal government

2. Fourteenth Amendment applied through due process and equal protection

3. Incorporation applied Bill of Rights to states through Fourteenth Amendment

D. Numbers of lawsuits indicate continuing commitment to, and preoccupation with, rights

E. Few rights are absolute, most are in conflict

How does the Patriot Act affect rights and liberties?

USA PATRIOT is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.

Key Questions:

-       What are civil rights?

-       What are civil liberties?

-       Is the USA PATRIOT Act a threat to civil liberties or a necessary strengthening of the government’s hand to stop terrorism?”

-       “Why do you think the Act was given this particular name instead of something simpler, such as The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001?

Am. Gov. Final Exam Review - Week 2: Federalism

 1/10/2011: FEDERALISM

Goals:

●     Identify the competing values at stake in federalism

●     Demonstrate understanding of the debate between state and federal powers

●     Compare American government with other nations

●     List the sources of political culture

Key information:

-       States participate actively in

a.    determining national policy

b.    administering national programs

-       States reserve to themselves or the localities within them powers over

c.    Public services like

                                          i.    Schooling

                                         ii.    Law enforcement

d.    Public decisions like

                                          i.    Land-use control

-       In unitary systems, the national govt dominates these decisions.

-       Debates about federalism

-       After the Civil War, doctrine of dual federalism emerged.

a.    The federal govt was supreme in its sphere

b.    The states are equally supreme in their spheres

-       In the 20^th c., however, changes in public law and court decisions favored national over state power

-       After the 1960s, states became more dependent on Washington to fund programs

-       Today, there is a lively debate about Federal power

                                                                                          i.    How closely the federal govt ought to regulate grants to states

                                                                                         ii.    The wisdom of devolving ever more federal responsibilities onto state and local govts.

-       Evaluating Federalism

a.    This is difficult.

                                                                                                                                          i.    Sordid history of states’ rights tied to legalized racism

                                                                                                                                         ii.    Other hand: open opportunity for political partic. Afforded by today’s 50 states and 1000s of local govts

-       Federalism permits laws/ policies on important matters to vary from state to state and town to town.

-       Questions every generation of Americans must answer anew

a.    How much they should vary on certain matters

b.    and who should decide

Key Questions:

a.    How does political sovereignty work in the American political system?

b.    How is political power divided between the national government and the states under the Constitution?

c.     What competing principles are involved with federalism?

d.    Who should determine which issues should be overseen mainly by national laws?