Government Exam 2 ( HIGHLIGHTED PORTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED! MIGHT BE ON THE EXAM.

THIS WAS REVIEWED IN THE SESSION BY OUR TA. THEY ARE AT THE END OF THE DOCUMENT. THANK YOU. :) rally around the flag!!! Chapter 5 Why is public opinion important? - It can shape how politicians act, and in turn can affect how policy turns out.

1. citizens' political actions are driven by their opinions. (explain who wins an election) 2. To explain the behavior of candidates, political parties, and other political actors. (explain a legislator's vote) 3. It can shed light on the reasons for specific policy outcomes. (explain government's behavior) Explain the early theories of public opinion. - The early theories of public opinion were based on surveys completed in the 1950s. The surveys resulted in theories that the average person had no thought or opinions on politics, and the thoughts they did have were virtually unfounded. They believed citizens had a low level of conceptualization, meaning that they had no idea what they believed or why they believed it. For these reasons they believed public opinion had little effect on public policy at that time. Explain why the results of the early theories of public opinion were thought to be unfounded. - Later studies found the earlier studies used ambiguous questions which were open to interpretation. They also found that the reason a lot of people had no or little opinions on the subject were because the public is largely uninformed about the specifics of policies. If the surveyors had explained the concepts, the public would have likely been able to reach a conclusion about their beliefs on it. Another reason the studies might have been faulty was that the scholars analyzing the data were using their own rationalizations to justify a person's opinions rather than just accepting the opinions at face value. Finally, the surveys might have been accurate but just represented a small slice of time in the 1950's and not American public opinion as a whole. Explain the new theory of public opinion. - Most people form latent opinions meaning they form opinions only when asked about something and don't have their opinions decided before the question is asked. People also can't remember factors that brought them to these decisions but rely on a series of internal considerations, like things they've read/heard, their upbringing, etc. People also form opinions based on who is involved in the proposal. For

instance, they might have different opinions on identical budget proposal depending on whether a republican or democrat introduced it. Explain where people get their opinions from. - People use their political socialization, (their political beliefs derived from upbringing and culture they're involved in) to make opinions. For instance, studies show that individuals from small towns with very common set of beliefs are very civic-minded and passionate about voting. They can also get opinions from specific events, like when a college student republican receives federal funding for school for the first time they may switch their opinions to supporting democrats. If a large enough event occurs it can cause a national shift in public opinion, like when the southern democrats shifted to republicans after the civil war. People also get opinions from their group identity, which politicians sometimes use to their advantage. Barack Obama had a strong following with college-educated and blacks and so he catered to these two group identities, like republicans typically cater to the rural and religious. People sometimes get public opinions from officials themselves, like when watching a debate they'll form an opinion about a candidate depending on which candidate seems more knowledgeable about a certain issue. How is public opinion measured? - Measured through mass surveys, which use a small sample of the population to determine public opinion. Studies have shown samples to be just as useful toward determining public opinion as actually interviewing every member of the population. They also use issue scales to determine public opinion without affecting answers by leading questions. Issue scales determine how important an issue is to the public by having them rank their interest out of 7. What are some problems with measuring public opinion? - Certain methods exclude members of the population. (Calling phones randomly excludes people with cell phones, showing up door to door excludes people who work during the day). Surveys are sometimes faulty because the question wording can affect answers. If people meet face to face their presence sometimes affects how people answer because they are wary of letting their true opinion show. The answer can also vary depending on time of day and week asking. Problems measuring public opinion: 1. hard to pick a random sample. 2. Question wording. 3. Fake answers from respondents. 4. Their opinions are latent. Mass surveys are not accurate but powerful. They have more values when the questions on the surveys are easy to understand.

Explain typical public evaluation of office-holders and the government. - The public typically believes the government has too much power and is out of touch with their needs. There were all time lows recorded in the 70s with the

Watergate Scandal and in the 90s. People typically have more trust in individual members of congress but are disenchanted with the government as a whole. As a result, house members sometimes "run for congress by running against congress," or showing their disgust for how the government is run. Explain how policy moods affect the government. - America has many different policy moods depending on who's in office and external circumstances at that time. In times where America has a liberal policy mood, there's more legislation passed as America wants a more hands on government. In times of conservative policy moods, America wants less spending and fewer programs. An example would be in 2006, as the war in Iraq had gone out of favor and Americans began to crave a more democratic government. As a result of this liberal policy mood, many democrats were elected to Congress and President Obama was elected in 2008. - Policy mood on terrorism - People are willing to give up certain civil liberties, like increased screening at the airport to better fight terrorism. However, there's certain areas they remain unwilling to compromise, like tapping phones and monitoring internet usage. - Policy mood on the economy - Remains a top concern and has an effect on who's elected. Before 2008 the war was the biggest concern which led to antirepublican sentiment. However, by 2008 the economy was in free-fall and they wanted a more hands on govt. - Policy mood on healthcare - Though Americans remain largely in support of health care reform, it hasn't resulted in much support for legislation. Some believe this is because of a huge amount of conservative campaigning on the conservative side with emphasis on death panels. It could also be because Americans are unsure if health care reform will cause costs to go up. - Policy mood on immigration - the public is largely in support of immigration reform, especially guest worker programs and finding businesses that hire illegals. However, Congress itself is very heated in their division over the issue which is likely why no legislation has passed. - Policy mood on social issues - Abortion - public opinion varies depending on how questions are worded, typically very partisan issue. Gay rights - a majority of Americans believe in civil unions; few believe in gay marriage outright. Chapter 6 Give an example of media coverage directly affecting legislation. - Media coverage has given a disproportionate amount of attention to certain cases of child abduction, which has resulted in Congress passing many costly laws implementing procedures for child abduction when, in reality, cases are very few and there are many more important issues that could use the attention and money. Describe the history of news media. - News media started with newspaper publications like the Pennsylvania Gazette, edited by Ben Franklin. These early publications were very partisan, and typically picked a side on an issue and then argued passionately for it. The Gazette argued for separation from Great Britain The papers were also not widely spread, and were

mostly confined to major cities because there was no way to cheaply circulate them yet. -In 1789 the Alien and Sedition Act under John Adams made it a crime to criticize the president. -The penny press started with the New York Sun, and resulted in wide spread circulation to the mass public for the first time. -The telegraph resulted in writer's sending word, as it broke out, all over the world which led to the creation of the first wire service, the Associated Press," which gathered news and sold it to other papers. -Yellow journalism became popular, which resulted in sensationalistic headlines, and not much substance. -Muckracking led to reform and uprisings because it used investigative reporting to uncover injustices. Explain how the new technologies led to federal regulation. - In the 1920's when the radio was created it used airwaves to broadcast programs. This led to the creation of the Federal Communications Council, which argued that because airwaves were public property they were prone to regulation. They created the Communications Act of 1934 which allowed them to regulate all broadcast media, with an emphasis on preventing one company from owning a majority of the stations. In the 1940s television was created, which was also regulated under these provisions. -The Fairness Doctrine meant that tv and radio had to offer a variety of opposing viewpoints and couldn't represent just one. - The Equal Time Provision required different stations to provide politicians with equal rates and air time regardless of political affiliation. - Eventually, the FCC received a lot of pressure for deregulation of many of these laws, particularly the one preventing one company from owning many different stations. Corporations argued that the laws were created at a time when there were few channels and now there were many for a citizen to choose from if they wanted a diverse compilation of news. The FCC eventually responded with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which allowed them to revise previous laws which led to the abolishment of rules regarding how many stations a company could own as well as the Fairness Doctrine. This led to two trends: concentration - one company owning many different programs as well as cross-ownership - one company owning many different types of media sources, like a newspaper, radio station, and television channel. The deregulation led to media conglomerates, or huge companies that controlled a wide range of news sources. - However, the FCC still heavily regulates entertainment broadcasts, like fining CBS for the Janet Jackson incident. Explain why different forms of media might result in different news. - Time it takes to publish is different - newspapers can publish daily or weekly. Books can take years to publish. The internet is the fastest as it can be published instantaneously. - The depth of coverage varies from source to source. News broadcasts typically squeeze the full day's news in a 30 minute program. A publication is more in-depth but only offers a certain number of pages. The internet is unlimited.

- Money varies depending on local news services or wealthy, huge national services. Explain how the internet has affected politics. - The internet offers detailed government reports instantly for even the average citizen. The internet allows two way contact between reporters or officials and citizens. The internet allows videos taken by average citizens to be published and gain attention. Anyone can publish anything. However, despite all these advancements, the internet has not contributed to better informed citizens. Several theories why: 1. 20% of America regularly uses the internet. 2. It takes effort to wade through troughs of information to find what you want. 3. There's no requirement that citizens be informed on politics and sometimes they simply choose not to be. Confidential info becomes accessible. Easy to find political info. People can watch first-hand video clips (events of significance) E-newspapers Anyone can report what they want on blog or social networking sites. However, Internet hasnt created a better-informed citizenry. (coverage, complexity, reliability, fake info)

Explain political reporting in terms of sources, leaks and shield laws. - Political reporters sometimes receive leaks, or sensitive or damaging information about politicians. Because the information can be so sensitive, if the government feels it will lead to immediate harm they may ask a judge to intervene and have reporters use prior restraint so they don't publish it. The government has two other tactics to dissuade people from releasing leaks: laws that make disclosing information a crime, so if information is leaked they may comb through the associative department to try to find and arrest the person involved. They also might try to convince a publication to sit on a news story for long periods of time (the New York Times sat on the wire tapping story for a full year before publishing). Certain states might have shield laws that protect reporters from disclosing sources but in Federal Court a reporter is required to release names. Do Americans typically use the news to become better informed citizens? - No, news is ignored by most. In fact, most news is absorbed through second-hand information they receive while trying to receive other information, which is called ByProduct Theory. Explain some media usage trends. - Half of America watches local news, only a quarter watch cable news or receive news online. Internet news-reading has increased from 2% to a third of all new sources in recent years and newspaper reading is on its' decline. Are there any correlation between news sources and political knowledge?

- Yes, highest amount of knowledge associated with people who watch news programs like the Colbert Report, and lowest levels with people who consume local news broadcasts. Explain the four ways media influences the way citizens think about politics. - filtering: the editor's decisions about which stories to run. - slant: giving favorable coverage to one side and not the other. - priming: details and stories runown this is not true. These opinions might be a result of the hostile media phenomenon, which is when a person views fair and balanced coverage as biased if it doesn't support their previous views. Framing is the fourth. There are only four. Explain patterns of media coverage of American politics. - The media typically covers political figures in relation to each other (who's ahead and who's behind), called horse race coverage. They're also more prone to attack journalism, where they focus on negative coverage and uncovering scandals, possibly because the media goes out of their way to prove they're not biased toward politicians. They favor soft news (public interest stories) over hard news (political coverage). What are some reasons the media sometimes fall short? - Because the media is also a financial business, they which present a new argument or change public perception. - framing: description, and the way the story is presented/words used. - gatekeeping: deciding what stories are presented and which stories are not Is media coverage biased? - Though both conservatives and liberals would be in agreement that media is biased toward the opposing side, studies have sh have incentive to provide what the public wants, which is typically soft news and attack journalism, rather than what the public really needs (in depth coverage of political events). They also tend to focus solely on American problems which leads to less coverage of foreign events. Chapter 7 What makes up a political party and name some characteristics. - Political parties are organizations that run candidates for office under their banner though they have no control over how party-affiliated politicians act or the choices they make. They're composed of party organization (the structure of the party members), party in government (candidates elected to represent the party currently in office), and the party electorate (all citizens who identify with the party). A party system is a time period when a party is united to represent one stable view. Describe the first party system. - Made up of Federalists who believed in a strong central government, national banks, and the govt assuming all state war debts, and Democratic-Republicans who were for strong state government. At this time few citizens thought of themselves as

"party members" because parties themselves were still a relatively new concept. Describe the second party system. The Federalist party dissolved and many switched to Democratic-Republicans which was the only party for a while during the Era of Good Feelings. After President Jackson was elected he changed the name to simply the Democratic party, and the Whigs were formed. For the first time citizens were becoming involved with political parties at a state and local level and parties developed party principle, which meant they had meaning past their elected officials. Describe the third party system. The previous system collapsed during the slavery debates. The Democratic party either supported slavery or didn't care enough to oppose it. The Whigs were divided on the issue and anti-slavery whigs formed a new party: the Republicans. Whigs split up to join either the Republican or Democratic party, resulting in a Democratic South and Republican North, with the West and East largely undecided. Describe the fourth party system. The civil war settled the issue of slavery but the parties were still heavily divided on race-related issues. As the south was ravaged by debt following the civil war, many southern Democrats began to take the stance that the federal government should step in and help create programs for poor rural farmers. Describe the fifth party system. The fifth party system was created during the Great Depression, as many cried out for more government assistance. A democrat, Franklin Roosevelt proposed new programs and democrats elected to congress helped pass the "New Deal." The New Deal Coalition was comprised of African-Americans, Catholics, Jews, and Union Members. This party system helped set up the ideals of an emphasis on national government for Democrats, and emphasis on state governments for Republicans. Describe the sixth party system. ( On the review session we were told NOT to worry about the Party Systems, they are too long, wont be on the exam! :) White southerners shifted from Democrats to Republicans and Democrats began to pick up the support of minorities. By the late 80's all the characteristics of each party as they're known today came to be solidified. There was a shift toward parties in service, which meant that parties had a more active role in training and recruiting candidates. Describe what realignment is and give an example. - Realignment is a change in party affiliates that typically occurs with a cross-cutting issue, or issue that raises disagreement within the party. An example is the realignment between the fifth and sixth party systems that resulted in Southern Democrats becoming mostly Republicans. Explain the way a political party is structured and its' various components. - The principal body is the national committee, which is comprised of one man and

one woman from each state. They also have state and local organizations. Democrats and republicans both have groups which cater to their different demographics and try to get them to vote called constituencies groups, and teams, respectively. For example, Democrats have a minorities constituencies group who try to reach minorities about voting for democratic candidates. Most positions are unpaid and volunteer positions, besides certain national level positions. Political parties also loosely affiliated with certain groups like PACs, 527 organizations, labor unions, and interest groups. What is a PAC and a 527 organization and how are they different? - PACs stand for Political Action Committees and are limited by the amount they can receive and spend on campaigns. 527 organizations have unlimited spending and earning potential as long as they are not specifically affiliated with any one political group, which they accomplish with vague names like "Americans for Protection in Public" (supporting gun rights and giving money to Republican candidates). 527s are tax-exempt. How are party organizations limited? - Though the party in office is elected under a party name, they are under no obligation to act in any way. National party organizations are also unable to force state party organizations to do what they want, though they can recommend certain courses of action. What is a political machine and given an example. - A political machine is a party organization built to give jobs and benefits to people who vote for the machine's candidates. The best example is the Tammany Hall political machine in New York, created by Democratic politicians. They used honest grafts, which is where political figures don't reduce quality of government or increase tax for citizens but still gave supporters a disproportionate amount of money. Because these grafts weren't openly visible to the public, Tammany Hall was able to exist for much longer than it would have otherwise. Tammany Hall was busted after civil service legislation was enacted and there was an increase in nonpartisan elections. Describe the party in government and how they're affected by the party organization. - Party in government is people holding political titles with declared party names attached. The Party in Government is normally entirely separate from the party organization, meaning they don't hold titles in the party. Democrats and Republicans each have their own groups they meet with to discuss important issues: democrats caucuses, republicans - conferences. The party in government is typically very polarized, meaning there's little cross-over in viewpoints between the groups. Describe the party in the electorate and how they're affected by the party organization. - The party in the electorate are simply citizens who identify with either party, though they don't have to be formal members of the party organization or even vote. The party they choose to support is their party identification. Activists are people who

work for a political party, and people typically keep a running tally they add to of why they support certain parties. Significant events can increase party support, like 9/11 increasing the amount of Republicans. On the flip side, negative news on the war can decrease republican support. Describe the main theories for why people choose to be independents. - People choose to identify as independents when they're in the process of shifting from one party to another, and when they feel they aren't adequately represented from either side. Independents are always evidence of dealignment, and the sign of Americans being more politically savvy. Explain how party organizations can affect candidates and elections. - Parties choose which candidates to endorse based on how likely they believe their candidate is to be elected. (For example, in 2004 Republicans believed Republican candidates would have a better chance of winning if they had a strong military background and began fielding potential candidates based on this.) Parties don't control who runs but they sometimes control who is elected depending on whether states use a caucus or a primary. Running as a party nominee almost always guarantees a spot on the ballot and some states even guarantee spots for party nominees. -National parties decide how Explain the difference between caucuses and primaries. - Primaries are elections where there is a ballot vote, and citizens of any party affiliation select a partys nominee - in an open primary. Caucuses are a local meeting where only party members select the nominee. -The type of election is determined by state, and the six month process begins in January of the election year. Why are virtually all ballot-holders either Republican or Democrats? - It's much easier to get on a ballot: they automatically qualify if any of the party's candidates received 2% or more of the vote in the previous year. Independents have to get many signatures and face a lot of legal hurdles. Explain how party organizations handle campaign assistance. - Political parties are sometimes called parties in service because of how much they do for campaigns. They choose to contribute more or less to presidential campaigns depending on the individual. For example, in 2008 elections the Republican national party contributed much more than the Democratic party because McCain depended heavily on government money, whereas Obama raised 700 million through his own efforts alone. Political parties also raise money for house and senate elections, but concentrate most of their funds on presidential elections. Though political parties raise the money, the candidate can decide what to do for it. (An example is in the 2004 elections when Kerry didn't win the party wanted him to give his leftover money to go toward Republican congress elections, and he refused.) In the democratic

party, they have created a strategy called the "fifty states strategy" where they actively court nominees in all fifty states, regardless of whether the opponent seems beatable. Explain party platforms. - A party platform is the promises a candidate makes representing his party on what he'll do if elected. The most popular party platforms are those released by presidential nominees, though house and senate nominees also release platforms. Candidates are not obligated to support their platform when elected, though most try to because it boosts re-election. Explain cooperation in government. - The Conditional Party Government is the theory that the more divided the government becomes between parties, the more active people on either side become. There's been a trend in the last decades in congress for parties to resist cooperation with each other and become more and more polarized. However, both sides look for cooperation with backbenchers, legislators who don't hold leadership position within their partys caucuses and primaries. >>> Potential test questions given on the review session!!!

How does the electoral college vote? How does this work

First the popular vote is cast deciding the states vote for president, republican or democrat, then each states electorate will cast votes in the same favor as overall determination of the public (votes cast in the electorate are equal to the amount of seats in senate and the house of that state, D.C. gets three) states electorate do not have to vote the same as the states public had voted which caused Bush to Defeat Gore in 2000 (conflictual election)

Constitutional Interpretation original intent/ living constitution/ strict constitution

Original Intent: The theory that justices should surmise the intentions of the Founders when the language of the Constitution is unclear. So basically, a theory of constitutional interpretation that determines the constitutionality of a law by ascertaining the intentions of those who wrote the Constitution. Problems with this is that some of the issues addressed today were never contemplated by the Founders. Living-Constitution Theory: A theory of constitutional interpretation that places the meaning of the Constitution in light of the total history of the United States. Drawbacks to this is that it is highly subjective Strict constitutional approach: A theory of constitutional interpretation that determines the constitutionality of a law in light of what the words of the Constitution obviously seem to say. Problems with this is that the Constitution is a short

document and not all of the wording is exactly clear.

What is the Iron Triangle? Explain the relationship between the different points

term used to describe the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups. For example, within the federal government the three sides often consist of: various congressional committees, which are responsible for funding government programs and operations and then providing oversight of them; the federal agencies (often Independent agencies), which are responsible for the regulation of those affected industries; and last, the industries themselves, as well as their trade associations and lobbying groups, which benefit, or seek benefit, from these operations and programs. Pretty much each person benefits from each other. Google Iron Triangle for a picture and it helps to explain the relationships between each.

Redistricting (guest lecture)!?!!!

If anyone took notes...can they PLEASE post them? I was there the first day and all he talked about were sexy highschool cheerleaders and his little club or whatever....but seriously. Or at least can someone tell me if he said anything important, or was it basic stuff on redistricting? -cant diminish the influence of minority groups Redistricting is key to office reelection, remember officials sole purpose is reelection; technology today is so advanced that line drawers can determine the political affiliation of each household in the county. Therefore if a political official wants to get reelected he can use redistricting in his favor, gerrymandering. The guest speaker spoke of how he called out one of the districts drawn in south Texas as unconstitutional and the lines had to be redrawn. This also ties in with the following Section 5 Texas in the past has been found to discriminate against minorities so now all drawn districts are monitored very closely.

TX subject to section five. What does that mean and why?

Section 5 applies to sixteen states, either in full or in part. In those areas subject to its requirements, a change affecting voting, such as a redistricting plan, may not be used unless that jurisdiction can show that the change has neither a discriminatory purpose nor a discriminatory effect. This can be done in one of two ways. The jurisdiction can file an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Unless the court determines that the jurisdiction has established the absence of both a discriminatory purpose and effect, the change cannot be implemented. As an alternative, the change can be submitted to the Attorney General. Unless the Attorney General informs the jurisdiction that it has not met its

burden of showing the absence of both a discriminatory and effect within 60 days after receipt of a completed submission, the jurisdiction is free to use the change.

Finances

I think this is referring to the financing of campaigns so like Political Action Committees, 527 groups, etc. Basically how campaigns are funded. PACs can solicit funds from group members or others to spend on contributions to candidates or on ads in support of candidates but are strictly limited in the amounts. PACs can support a candidate directly, also. 527s are tax exempt and can not directly give money to a candidate. They can spend unlimited amounts of soft money on voter mobilization and issue advocacy, as long as their efforts do not support or oppose a particular candidate. o What they do? Explain what types of restrictions do they have? PACs can solicit funds from group members or others to spend on contributions to candidates or on ads in support of candidates but are strictly limited in the amounts.

How does media shape opinion?

o Filtering, slant, priming, framing Filtering: results from journalists and editors decisions about which of many potential news stories to report. Slant: in a story gives favorable coverage to one candidate or policy without providing balanced favorable coverage for the other side. This method of reporting has been further instilled since the FCCs elimination of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. Priming: happens when a story changes public opinion by publicizing a new argument or

U.S. Govt and Texas Govt: Comparison between the judicial review

Only thing I saw on TX in PP was this... An examination of Texas shows how party support can change with the salient issues. While Texas politics has been dominated by one party(Democrats due to slavery, states rights, and reconstruction), that party has quickly lost its support from Texans(thus resulting in a shift to Republican).<--- this answer has literally nothing to do with Judicial Review... TX COURTS Original Jurisdiction: A court may conduct hearings that deal with the matters of fact in a case. A court of original jurisdiction determines a persons guilt or innocence Appellate Jurisdiction: A court has the ability to conduct hearings that deal with matters of proper trial procedure or constitutional rights.

The court system in the TX government is something that we very rarely see today in that it is heavily influenced by the political climate of the state; it is more politics than law, whereas on a national level, we try to keep the politics as removed from the judicial system as possible. Texas bifurcated court system : Texas has a bifurcated appellate system at the

highest level.Texas Supreme Court (hears only civil cases) ; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (hears criminal cases). However, every case that involves juvenile is considered to be a civil case, even if criminal activities are involved.
Texas Supreme Court Civil jurisdiction Always hears cases en banc. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Criminal jurisdiction May sit in panels of three judges, except in capital murder cases. An examination of the Texas judicial system shows a structure that is very rare to see today. One of the biggest issues concerning the Texas judicial branch is the outside influences, which may direct the decision-making of the judges.

Differences in public opinion and voting behavior

Voting behavior like split ticket, straight ticket, and undervote? If so, Split ticket: voting for candidates outside of 1 party straight ticket: voting for candidates of all same party undervote: not completing the ballot, leaving it empty, etc. o Different opinions among different groups. Party coalitions- groups that generally identify with a particular political party; can be both social and demographic EX: Democrats- African Americans, females; Republicans- White evangelicals o Why do this differences in public opinion matter? Differences in public opinion can have several implications. It can help show the high volatility of a subject, such as abortion, where there are many people on both extremes on the issue, and it can also show issues that constituents largely agree upon. This concept can also be known as salience and can help politicians and bureaucrats determine what positions they hold and what kind of policies to make. o Comparing trends

Something that involves the U.S. that will incorporate TEXAS?

The Court System