Political Parties and their affect on political systems Political Party- a group of people with broad common interests who organize to win elections

Single Party system-where one party dominates the government and often does not allow other parties. Theocratic rule in Iran of the Islamic Republic Party Authoritarian ruling family of N. Korea ? China’s Communist Party

Multi-Party System- where many parties exist and no one party can gain control. A “coalition” of parties sometimes form to gain control of the gov’t, but eventually these break down.

Italy’s Chamber of deputies: The red is a coalition called Italy Common Good made up of five different parties; Democratic Party, Left Ecology Freedom, Italian Socialist Party, and Democratic Centre. The coalition formed in 2013. There have been many such coalitions.

Single-member districts vs. Proportional Representation Nearly all U.S. elected officials come from single-member districts, which means there is only one winner, who can fill gov’t offices with his supporters (patronage). Many other nations use proportional representation, which means gov’t offices will be filled by members of a party in proportion to the % of votes a candidate receives.

Two Party System in America Our system began with two competing philosophies concerning what would have greater power; states or the national government.

Ross Perot: Reform Party-Republican ideology of economics caused Bill Clinton to win in 1992. Theodore Roosevelt: Bull Moose Party (Progressive)-Caused Taft, the man he hand picked to take his place as president to loose to Woodrow Wilson in 1912. Ralph Nader: Green Party- draws votes away from democrats While no third party candidate for president has ever won the presidency, they have great influence on the elections. But usually not the influence they hope for.

Third Party candidates have a hard time winning an office because most elected officials come from single-member districts, which means there is only one winner, no matter how many compete. Basically a “winner takes all” situation in American politics. The opposite situation is proportional representation, where elected offices are filled based on the proportion of votes a party receives.

Churches, fire stations, schools, community centers, or county court houses may serve as the location within a precinct for people to go and vote. A Precinct Captain is one who is affiliated with a party who organizes party workers to distribute information and encourage people to get out and vote. A precinct may have just a few registered voters or over a 1000. Voting Precinct: Is another name for voting districts where you go to vote based on your home address.

Districts for the State House of Ga.

Party Leaders Precinct Captain- encourages voting at the local level and distributes information on candidates. (unpaid) Party county Chairperson- chosen from a committee of ward representatives (wards compose several precincts) who often has a lot of local political power. State reps often take their advice on judicial and administrative appointments.

Party Leaders State central committee- made of reps from county committees, raises money to assist party candidates at the state and some local levels. National Convention- held every 4 years mostly to nominate a candidate for president. Party national chairperson- chosen by the national committee to manage party operations, raise money, encourage cooperation, and promote the party’s achievements.

A Party’s Ticket Is composed of both the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees of the party. The presidential nominee is chosen by the delegates at the national convention. It is custom for a party’s presidential nominee to select his own v.p. nominee, who is then nominated and accepted by the convention. When considering a running mate, a presidential nominee usually tries to balance the ticket, which means he/she intends to attract more votes with the selection. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihpYfApBMyc

20th President: James Garfield was assassinated by Charles Guiteau, who expected the president to give him a job. The practice of the winner of an election to give his supporters positions in government is called Patronage.

Nominating Candidates Section 3

Caucuses Private meetings made of reps from the state and local levels to select candidates for office. While a caucus is a bit undemocratic, many states still have them. Iawa’s caucus is viewed as the most important because it is always 1st. http://2012election.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004594

Primaries Primary- an election to select a parties candidates for the general election. Closed Primary- only declared party members are allowed to vote in these primaries. Open Primary- voters can choose which primary to vote in. Georgia has an open primary.

Republican presidential candidates at a primary debate in 2012: L to R: Santorum, Gingrich, Bachman, Romney, Perry, Paul, Cain, Huntsman

Chapter 17: Election Campaigns

The Federal Election Campaign Act (1971) and its amendments Today, candidates for President spend hundreds of millions of dollars on campaigns. This Act requires public disclosure of campaign spending, prohibits labor unions and business organizations from making direct contributions, and puts limits on how much individuals and groups can contribute. The Federal Election Commission (1974) is an agency in the executive branch that records and monitors campaign contributions

Political Action Committees PACs are organizations set up by interest groups to raise money and provide financial support to elections. Issue advocacy advertising- PACs also get around contribution regulations to campaigns by supporting issues rather than a candidate. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act- put controls on issue advocacy ads Soft money- donations to a party rather than a campaign. Soft money is not regulated by the FEC and there are no limits on how much is given.

Chapter 17, section 2 Voting Rights Early in America’s history, only white men who owned property and paid taxes were allowed to vote. 15th Amendment- gave African Americans the right to vote. Voting Rights Act (1965)-outlawed literacy tests and gerrymandering intended to obstruct, or reduce the impact of African Americans vote.

Section 3 Cross-pressured voter- one who has conflicting elements in his/her life such as religion, income level, and peer group. One might agree with republicans on one issue and democrats on others.

Propaganda The use of ideas, information, or rumors to influence opinion towards a particular point of view.

Labeling

Videos of propaganda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQT_eNip1AY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh6aIkvgyVk&list=PLE374CD78002C08B6&index=1

Chapter 18: Interest Groups and public opinion

Interest Groups A group that shares a common goal and is organized to influence government. Interest groups tend to have narrow goals, as apposed to political parties that have broad goals intended to attract voters.

Positive affects of interest groups effective at communicating with government leaders. There is strength in numbers. Interest groups have a strong bargaining position as apposed to individuals. They inform citizens on policy issues. They Create a sense of unity among members.

Examples of Interest Groups AFL-CIO- is the largest labor organization which represents many labor unions like the teamsters and United Auto Workers. The Grange- an agricultural interest group that advocates subsidies for farmers. AMA- American Medical Association represents doctors and promotes standards for their licensing and training. The Sierra Club- concerned with environmental issues.

Section 2: Affecting public policy

Lobbyists Represent interest groups and deal directly with Senators and Congressmen. Many lawyers, public relations experts and even ex-congressmen become lobbyists for the great deal of money that they make. Lobbyists even draft (write) bills (laws) for congressmen. About half of all legislation.

Mass Media Television, newspapers, magazine, and radio are typically and universally used by interest groups and campaigns to influence our vote.

More on PACs PACs spent $579 million in the 99-00 elections. PACs can only donate $5000 directly to a campaign fund, but there is no limit on how much they can spend supporting a campaign as long as they make no direct contact with the campaign. Nor is there a limit on the number of PACs that can be created.

More on PACs Citizens United produced a film called “Hillary” that made her look bad, but were afraid to air it because of campaign financing laws. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc9FSIPGjaY Citizens argued and won the case that the laws preventing them from airing the video were unconstitutional according to the 1st amendment.

Citizens United v FEC The Court noted that §441b’s prohibition on corporate independent expenditures and electioneering communications is a ban on speech and "political speech must prevail against laws that would suppress it, whether by design or inadvertence." (FEC page) This decision has enabled corporations to spend as much as they want advocating or attacking candidates.

Citizens United v FEC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKZKETizybw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJEeKez1Jlw

Section 3 Political socialization- the influences on our beliefs and attitudes, like family, school, friends, work, church, and mass media. Ideology- a set of basic beliefs about life, culture, gov’t, and society

Section 3 Continued Liberal- believes gov’t should ACTIVELY promote health, education, and justice through taxes, but gov’t should not restrict individual freedoms. Conservatives- believe in limited gov’t, except in supporting traditional moral values Moderates- fall in the middle of conservative and liberal thinking

Section 4: Measuring Public Opinion Straw polls- unscientific polling of public opinion because the sample used is a biased sample, meaning those responding are not chosen at random. Random sample- individuals are chosen at random from the population or universe. All have an equal chance of being selected.

More polling strategies Representative sample (stratified sample)- a small group of people that accurately reflects the typical characteristics of the universe being polled. (may consider characteristics like age, race, social class, etc.) but is otherwise random. Cluster sample- organizes a sample by geography (counties, congressional districts, or census tracts)

Random Sample Representative (stratified) sample

Cluster Sampling Which cluster sample is easier to collect? Which one is more representative?