Government

Political Socialization - lifelong process by which people form their ideas about politics and acquire political values. Basically WHY?

  1. Education
  1. Social Groups/Peers
  1. Family
  1. Other Factors

Agents of Political Socialization (ranked)

  1. Media

Values

Priorities

Rules

Exposure

Patriotism

Respect

Rallies

Like-minded people

Activism

Public opinion

Statistics/Research

Mass media

Social media

Gender

Marital Status

Religion

Social Class

Race

Ethnicity

Education level

Political Spectrum - where an individual lies pertaining to ideology within a political scope

Radical - favor rapid change. may use violence to press agendas and produce as much change

Conservative - less government and whatnot. Think Government IS the problem of equality

Liberal - favors change. government actively promote social reform to increase well-being. Government IS the solution for equality

Moderate - between the two wings. where most of the population will lie in two-party dominant system

Reactionary - stick to the Constitution by all costs. may use violence to keep original laws in place

Social & Cultural Issues

Social & Cultural Issues. I don't even want to write this because it's just the opposite of liberal views

favor affirmative action

pro-choice on abortion

oppose death penalty, favor gun control

favor gay marriage and progressive gender stances

favor social change

Economic & Fiscal Policy

Foreign Policy

regulate businesses

favor high taxes

government control

Economic & Fiscal Policy

free market

gov -- inefficiency

favor lower taxes, less spending

Foreign Policy

less defense spending. more tax dollars at home for social welfare programs

prefer multi-lateral diplomacy

more defense spending. larger budgets

prefer uni-lateral diplomacy (not conferring w others)

Public Opinion and Polling - the aggregate of attitudes or beliefs as to the political climate. The combination of all Political Socialization

Political Efficacy

One's own influence or effectiveness on politics, faith in government, usually measured by surveys

Political Culture

moral judgments, political myths, beliefs on society

sets of attitudes and practices that shapes behavior

Voting Polls

Media

Campaigns

Gallup

Pew

Rasmussen

opinions on candidates

opinions on issues

opinions on current policy

healthcare

taxes

Types

Exit Poll - as people leave polling place

Push pulls - ones that influence or alter views

Tracking polls - campaigns to see demographics

Political Party - a group of people who work to control government through WINNING ELECTIONS and holding public office

  1. Connect citizens to the government
  1. Nominate candidates. present, debate
  1. Inform and activate supporters
  1. Run campaigns at all levels of government
  1. Govern. control public office and money
  1. Act as a Watchdog. usually when party is out of power. criticized party that is in power on the job

Two-Party System

Why?

Tradition

Electoral System (winner take all) Plurality

Minor Parties

Ideological Parties

particular set of beliefs

example: libertarian party

emphasizes individualism

reducing governmental roles

Single Issue Parties

concentrate on only one public policy matter

most important thing is to put issue into spotlight

example: right to life party, free soil party

Economic Protest Parties

dissatisfied about current economic conditions

example: greenback party for protecting farmers

Splinter Party

ones that broke off from major parties

form around strong personality - example is green party

Roles Minor Parties Play

Spoiler role

Innovator role

foreign policy

5 jobs of political parties

Create Balance

Unite levels of Government

Influence law and policy

Influence voters

Support candidate

Elections

Qualifications

Executive

Legislative

35 years old

natural born citizen

14 years resident

Senate

House

30 years old

9 years resident

25 years old

9 years resident

Primary Season

Primaries

delegate selection process

or candidate preference election

open (any), closed (registered)

Caucuses

National Conventions

ceremonial affair for parties to elect candidates

where the vice president is chosen

delegates attend the conventions according to the primary outcome

superdelegates (only dems) are free agent delegates who usually decide

General Election

Debates

Campaign Finance

Federal Election Commission (FEC) created by FE Campaign Act 1974

partial funding for primaries (major)

full funding for generals (major)

5k in 20 states

matches conts. up to 250

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Buckley v Valeo means that money = free speech

Finance Reform

hard money - given specifically to candidates to fund their campaigns

soft money - given for party-building activities to help out the party

McCain-Feingold Act - banned soft money, inc ind cont., limit issue ads

Political Action Committees

PAC's

labor unions, interest groups

over 4,600, can't "buy" candidates

Super PAC's

can't be sponsored by candidate or party

CAN give directly to campaigns

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