Study Sheet for Test 3


 

Chapter 6The Politics of Public Opinion

 

6.1 The Nature of Public Opinion

What is Public Opinion

Political Socialization

    Polarization

Socialization Agents

    Diffuse Support

    Family

    Schools

    Peers

    Religion

    Media

        Overt v. Covert

Socialization and Ideology

    The Ideological Spectrum

        Communist

        Socialist

        Liberal

        Center

        Conservative

        Authoritarian

        Fascist

 

 

Possibly better political compass (see image above)

 

 

 

6.2 How is Public Opinion Measured?

Taking a Poll

        Straw Polls

        Scientific Polls

            **universe v. sample**

            **size of sample, known as the "n"**

            **weighting of poll data**

            Random Sample

            Representative Sample

            Margin of error

        Technology of Polling

            Face-to-Face

            Phone

                Issues with phone polling

                "Robo-polls" vs. actual humans

                Shift to cell phones

            Internet polls

                Are they ever accurate?

        Problems in Polling

            Framing of a question

                Leading questions

                The Bradley Effect

        Push Polls

 

6.3 What does the Public Think?

Experiences that Affect Public Opinion

    Heuristics

    Demographic Influence on Voting

    Political Cultures

    Political Elites

Opinions About Politics and Policies

    This section has a lot of extraneous filler--don't worry about it

Public Opinion and Political Institutions

    The Presidency

    Congress

    The Supreme Court

 

6.4 The Effects of Public Opinion

Delegate vs. **Trustee**

    Theory of delegate representation

Public Opinion and Elections

    Favorability Polls

    Bandwagon Effect

    Horserace Coverage

Public Opinion and Government

    Need for politicians and policy makers to keep abreast of public opinion

    Power of a popular president

    The House and public opinion

    The Senate and public opinion

    The Supreme Court and public opinion

        

 

Chapter 7Voting and Elections

 

7.1 Voter Registration

The 24th Amendment

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

How Does someone Register to Vote?

    Residency Requirement

    Registration
        Motor Voter Law (1993)

        Help America Vote Act (2002)

Who is Allowed to Register?

    Age, Citizenship, Resident

    Mentally competent?

    In Jail?

               

7.2 Voter Turnout

Counting voters

    Total Population

    Voting Age Population (VAP)

    Voting Eligible Population (VEP)

    Total Registered Voters

What Factors Drive Turnout?

    Targeting of Likely Voters

    Age

    Socioeconomic Status (SES)

    Race

    Gender

What Factors Decrease Turnout?

    Not Mandated

    Voter ID Laws

    Lack of Early Voting

    Apathy

    Voter Fatigue

 

7.3 Elections

Deciding to Run

    Types of people who run

    Female participation

    Incumbent

    War Chest

Campaign Finance Law

    **Hard Money v. Soft Money**

    **Tillman Act**

    Rise of Political Action Committees (PACs)

    Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971

        Individual Limits on Giving ($2700 x 2)

    Creation of the Federal Election Commission (1974)

        Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

    Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold)

    Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

        Rise of Super-PACs

    Important: know the difference between a PAC and a Super PAC

Nomination Stage

    Closed Primary

    Open Primary

    Jungle (Top-Two) Primary

    Caucus (and whether they are A Bad Thing)

    Primary (and the controversy over the dates of presidential primaries)

    Delegates

Convention Season

    No surprises

    **Brokered Convention**

    Planks

    Platform

General Elections and Election Day

    Debates

The Electoral College

    **Traditional System--electors chosen to exercise discretion with two votes, both for president**

        **End of this system due to parties and the crazy election of 1800**

    **Passage of the 12th Amendment, rise of Presidential Tickets**

    Faithless Electors

    Winner-Take-All (except for Maine and Nebraska)

Midterm Elections

    No coattail effect

 

7.4 Campaigns and Voting

Fundraising

    Dialing for Dollars

Primary v. General Elections

    Primaries are harder for voters

    Importance of Name recognition

    Political Ads

    "Shadow Campaigns"

Technology

    Rise of Radio (FDR)

    Television (JFK)

    "Strand By Your Ad" Provision

    Websites

    **Social Media and Donald Trump**

Voter Decision Making

    Party Affiliation

    Straight-Ticket Voting

    **Split-Ticket Voting**

    Ballot fatigue

    Retrospective Voting

    Pocketbook Voting

    Prospective Voting

    Incumbency Advantage

        Franking

        Gerrymandering       

      

7.5 Direct Democracy

Direct Democracy Defined

    Referendum

    Initiative

    Recall

Policymaking Through Direct Democracy

 

 

Chapter 8The Media

 

8.1 What is the Media?

Media Basics

    Mass Media

    Public Relations

Media Types

    Television

    Cable/Satellite

    Online News

    Conglomerate Control

        **But how many people still get their news from broadcast today?**

Functions of the Media

    Agenda Setting

    **Gatekeeping and its decline with the proliferation of new media**

 

8.2 Evolution of the Media

Print Media

    Party Press Era

    Yellow Journalism

    The Informational Model

    Muckraking

    Financial Weakness Today

        Paywalls

Radio

    FDR and his Fireside Chats

    Communications Act of 1934

        Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Television

    Power of the medium

New Media Trends

    Rise of the Internet

    Youtube

    Citizen Journalism

    "Infotainment"

    **Social Media, Twitter, Polarization and Trump**

 

8.3 Regulating the Media

Media and the First Amendment

    The Zenger Case (1735)

    Slander and Libel

        You should already know this from the last test!

    Classified Material

        You should already know this from the last test!

Media and FCC Regulations

    Equal-Time Rule

    Death of the Fairness Doctrine

    Indecency Regulations

    Telecommunications Act of 1996

Media and Transparency

    Sunshine Laws

    Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of 1966

    Journalists in War

    "Reporter's Privilege"

        Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)

            **Shield Laws**

 

8.4 Impact of the Media

Media Effects and Bias

    Hypodermic Theory

    Minimal Effects Theory

    Cultivation Theory

    Framing

        Episodic v. Thematic

Coverage Effects on Governance and Campaigns

    Less Air Time for Public Officials

    Bypassing the Media (Donald Trump)

    Relationship with the Press

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9Political Parties

 

9.1 What are Parties and How Did They Form?

Political Parties as Unique Organizations

    Difference Between Parties and Interest Groups

    Party Platform

How Parties Formed

    Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans

    Democrats v. Whigs

    Republicans v. Democrats

Third Parties

 

9.2 The Two-Party System

Election Rules and the Two-Party System

    **Duverger's Law**

    Plurality Voting--"First Past the Post"

    Proportional Representation and Multiparty States

    Majoritarian Voting

        NOTE: We have neither PR nor Majoritarian elections in general elections in the USA!

    **Third Parties Sting and Die**

Critical Elections and Realignment

 

9.3 The Shape of Modern Political Parties

The Party-in-the-Electorate

    Party Identifiers

    Identification v. Membership

Party Organization

    Local Organization

        Precinct

        County

    State Organizations

    National Party Organization

        Political Conventions

        Decline in importance and media coverage

The Party-in-Government

    Need to achieve policy goals

    Party Conferences/Caucuses

    Role of Whips

    Separation of Powers as an Impediment

    Majority Party

    Minority Party

 

9.4 Divided Government and Political Parties

The Problem of Divided Government

    **Is it necessarily a problem?**

    Bipartisanship

Implications of Polarization

    Dissimilarity between Democrats and Republicans

    Rise of the Tea Party

    Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter

    Fewer Laws Passed

    Government Shutdowns

Causes of Polarization

    Sorting

    Gerrymandering

        Reapportionment

        Redistricting

        Safe Seats

    **Geographic movement**

    **Collapse of the Manufacturing Sector**

    **Rise of the Meritocratic Elite**

 

 

 

NOTE: Double asterisks indicate items not covered in the text that I still want you to know.