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Political Beliefs and Behaviors
AP Government UNIT 2 Political Beliefs and Behaviors
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POLITICAL CULTURE Definition 10 Characteristics of American Culture
Liberty, Rugged Individualism, Equality, Democracy, Civic Duty, Distrust in Government, Efficacy (influence and understanding), tolerance, pragmatism, justice DON’T TOUCH!
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IDEOLOGY and PUBLIC POLICY
Background Ideology Definition Ideologues
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IDEOLOGY and PUBLIC POLICY
2. Liberalism Classical vs. Modern Peak Decline Neoliberals GOVERNMENT
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IDEOLOGY and PUBLIC POLICY
Conservatism A. = Classical liberalism B. Resurgence since 1970s C. Neoconservatives/ New Right 1. Social 2. Economic 3. Foreign Policy Government
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IDEOLOGY and PUBLIC POLICY
Socialism Libertarianism
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PUBLIC OPINION Types of Publics Who is paying attention?
Elite, attentive, mass
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PUBLIC OPINION II. Types of Opinions Death Penalty Military Draft
Abortion Presidential Popularity Opinion types: stable, fluid, latent, intense, nonintense, salient (personal),consensus, polarizing Building Codes Gun Control Balanced Budget ERA
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PUBLIC OPINION Measurements of Public Opinion a. Election- but why?
b. Straw polls- inaccurate c. Scientific polls 1. Construction 2. Use 3. Abuse of Polls Abuse of polls image= horserace aspects of coverage
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PUBLIC OPINION IV. Public Awareness and Interest in Politics
Little interest on the part of the public. No knowledge of things like who serves on the Supreme Court
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POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
Definition 8 Agents of socialization Family, school, religion, race, income, opinion leaders, media, gender
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VOTER TURNOUT 21 Historical qualifications for suffrage
Religion, property ownership, race, gender, money (poll tax), literacy, Age 21
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VOTER TURNOUT II. Current Qualifications (set by states)
A. Citizenship B. Residency C. Age D. Registration (except ND)
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VOTER TURNOUT III. Voter turnout in the US vs. other countries
A. Turnout in various elections… B. Why the other Western nations have higher turnouts- around 90%: 1. Penalties 2. Multi-party system 3. Registration
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VOTER TURNOUT IV. Reasons for low voter turnout
A. Institutional barriers 1. Registration - Motor Voter Registration Act 2. Long Ballot 3. Type of Election 4. Absentee Ballot 5. Ballot Fatigue - too many elections 6. Young people B. 4 Political Reasons: efficacy, candidates, no competition, mobilization efforts
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VOTER TURNOUT V. Who Votes?
A. Characteristics of likely voters- EDUCATED,older, white, wealthy B. Does low turnout matter? YES and NO
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FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER BEHAVIOR
Geography Strong Presidential candidates (coattail effect) Timing (realignment, midterms) Party Affiliation (strongest) Demographics
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FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER BEHAVIOR
Hillary ‘08 I like Cheney! Demographics Continued: A. Sex B. Race C. Social Class D. Religion Rep. Dems VS.
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FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER BEHAVIOR
6. Issues Retrospective - are you better off today than you were four years ago vs. Prospective- looking ahead at how a candidate will handle something 7. Candidate Appeal 8. Residency in Florida (in ,000 people voted for all 10 prez candidates, 700 voted for both Bush and Gore, 3600 voted for all 10 except Bush, 700 voted for all 10 except Gore
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CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
Intro Schedule Terms Term limits = No-No Single Member Districts
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CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
2. Primary Elections Progressive Reform Types Closed - registered only Open- pick party primary Blanket- free love
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CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
Frank the mailman CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS Factors Affecting Outcome of Congressional Elections A. Incumbency- the greatest influence = Permanent congress The Incumbency Advantage Franking Privilege Staff Patronage Gerrymandering = safe seats Committee Service Name recognition: Duncan Hunter vs. Whats His Name Casework Pork Barrel $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Contains work for the district
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CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
I have no chance Oh, my poor opponent! CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS Factors Affecting Outcome of Congressional Elections Continued Type of Elections Incumbent Campaign Weak Challenger Strong Challenger Open Seat- think of musical chairs House vs Senate Midterms = bad for President I can do it! Somebody fill me!
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CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
Factors Affecting Outcome of Congressional Elections Continued Coattail Effect Media Party Affiliation Issues- scandals anyone? Campaign Consultants Technology
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PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY
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PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY Pros of Nominating System
Cons of Nominating System
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE Vocab to start our discussion:
Soft money- money given to party for party building purposes Hard Money- money given to candidate for election Independent expenditure- unlimited funds spent by individual. Actions cannot be coordinated with candidate or campaign Disclosure- reporting sources of funding Contribution- bills you drop on a candidate PACs- Political Action Committee ( a group affiliated with an organization whose job is to work on campaigns and support candidates)
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE Federal Election Campaign Acts 1971-74
Main Provisions: DISCLOSURE SUBSIDIES LIMITATIONS- $1000 per candidate, per election , $5000 for PAC contributions BUCKLEY V. VALEO (1976) and its interpretation of FECA
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain- Feingold Bill)
Bans Soft Money to the National Parties Limits amount and use of soft money to the state parties ($10,000 and GOTV) Doubles individual “hard money” donations ($2000 and tied to inflation) No change for PACs Unions and Corporations banned from soft money contributions
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE Ways around McCain-Feingold
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE ANALYSIS- points to ponder
No subsidies for congressional candidates No limits on Congressional spending No limits on Independent Expenditures (527 groups like swift boat veterans) Lack of subsidies for Minor Party prez candidates Candidate-centered campaigns- whose power suffers as a result of this? Growth of PACs- their $ goes to incumbents Presidential candidates can opt out of funds and not abide by spending limits
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