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53 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Bureaucracy
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Executive branch departments, agencies, boards, and commissions that carry out the responsibilities of the federal government
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Patronage
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Political system in which government programs and benefits are awarded based on political loyalty to a party or politician
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Pendleton Act:
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Act that established a merit and performance-based system for federal employment
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Civil Service Commission
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Created by the Pendleton Act to administer entrance exams for federal civil service and set standards for promotion based on merit
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Civil Service:
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System of employment in federal bureaucracy under which employees are chosen and promoted based on merit
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Federal Regulatory Commission
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Federal organization that has a defined number of appointed overseers to oversee a particular issue (economic or political)
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Independent Agencies
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Federal Organization that has independent authority and does not operate within a cabinet department
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Federal Corporation
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Federal organization that is similar to a private business in that it provides a service or commodity for a price to the public but that also received federal funding
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National Endowment
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Federal Organization that distributes funds to promote a public good or service
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Iron Triangle
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the relationship among interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies
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Federal Administration
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Federal organization responsible for running or administering a federal Program
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Political Party:
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A group of political activists who organize to win elections, to operate the government, and to determine public policy
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MULTI-PARTY SYSTEMS: Benefits
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More representative of the people (candidate choice = > representation)
Encourages cooperation & compromise (coalitions to form working majorities) Reduces the probability of “tyranny of the majority” |
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Multi-Party Systems: Challenges
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Less stability (splintering of coalitions)
Less accountability Increases opportunity for special interest exploitation & ignoring geographic interests |
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Winner-take–all-system
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Electoral system in which whoever wins the most votes in on election wins the election
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TWO – PARTY SYSTEMS: Strengths
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Most qualified person is selected
More political stability (reduces threat of faction) Leaders and policy trend toward the middle More responsive diverse interests |
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TWO – PARTY SYSTEMS: Weaknesses
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Not as representative of the population (small parties have no chance to win)
Less compromise Can lead to apathy when in the minority of a district |
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Three Components of Political Parties
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Party Organization, Citizens Who identify with the Party, Officeholders Elected or Appointed in the Name of the Party
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Levels of Party Organization
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Local & County level: (First levels of political participation) Grassroots participation
State level: State committee (state leadership) National level: National committee (National party leadership) |
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Caucus
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Meeting of party members in town halls, schools, and private homes to:
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Delegate
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Individual(s) selected by party voters in a primary or caucus election who is committed to supporting a particular presidential nominee at the party’s national nominating convention
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Party Platform
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Document that lays out a party’s core beliefs and policy proposals for each presidential election.
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Functions of Political Parties
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Political Organization, Influence Government, Provide Party Identification
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Political Ideology
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Set of consistent political beliefs
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Political Realignment
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Long-term shift in voter allegiance from one party to another
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Liberal
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Individuals who have faith in government to improve people’s lives, believing that private efforts are insufficient.
Tend to oppose regulation relevant to personal choice Tend to support regulation relevant to economics |
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Independent
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Individuals who do not affiliate with either of the major political parties
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Moderate
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Individuals who are in the middle
of the ideological spectrum and do not hold consistently strong views about whether government should or should not be involved in people’s lives. |
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Conservative
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Individuals who distrust government, believing that private efforts are more likely to improve people’s lives
Tend to be more supportive of the regulation of social issues Tend to be resistant to economic regulations |
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Third Parties
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Minor political parties that present a third alternative to two dominant political parties in the American political system
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The Impact of Minor Parties
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Influencing the Major Parties
Affecting the Outcome of an Election Nader, |
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Party Alignment:
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Party identification with a political party in repeated elections
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Australian vote
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Voting system in which state governments run elections and provide voters the option of choosing candidates from multiple parties
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Incumbents:
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Occupant of elected office
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Challengers
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Candidates seeking to unseat current officeholders
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Primary Elections
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Election in which voters select the candidates who will run on the party label in the general election
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Frontloading
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Moving a state primary or caucus earlier to increase its influence
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Types of Primaries
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Closed
Semi closed Open Runoff |
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Who runs for office?
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Overwhelmingly white and male
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Flip-flopping:
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Changing position on an issue for reasons of political expediency
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Position Issues
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Political issues that offer specific policy choices and often differentiate candidate’s views and plans of action
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Matching
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Campaign strategy of closely aligning one’s views to the opponent’s position, making it more difficult for the public to differentiate the two.
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Valence Issues
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Non-controversial or widely supported campaign issues that are unlikely to differ among candidates.
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Public Opinion
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Aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials
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Approval Ratings
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Performance evaluation for the President, Congress, or other public official or institution
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Polls
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Methods for measuring public opinion
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Mass Media
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New sources, including newspapers, television, radio, and the internet, whose purpose is to provide a large audience with information about the nation and world
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News Media
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Subset of mass media that provides the news of the day, gathered and reported by journalists
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Watchdog Media
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Role of the press in monitoring the government
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Not-so-minimal effects model:
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View of the media’s impact as substantial, occurring by:
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Agenda Setting
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Ability of the media to affect the way people view issues, people, or events by controlling which stories are shown and which are not
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Priming
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Process whereby the media influence how the public views politicians by emphasizing criteria that make them look good or bad
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Framing
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Ability of the media to influence public perception of issues by constructing the issue or discussion of a subject in a certain way
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