Review for Midterm

Topics to Know

• Majoritarian: Actions of elected officials must follow the preferences of citizens very closely– Issues that are clear and are of great concern to most

people• Elite: Representatives act without knowing or

necessarily caring about the public’s opinion on certain issues.– A small but unrepresentative minority constitute the

elites• Power Elite: government is dominated by a few

top leaders, most of whom are outside of government– C. Wright Mills: corporate leaders, top military

officials, and a handful of elected officials– Today, some have added communications media

chiefs, labor union officials, heads of various special interest groups

• Marxist: government is dominated by capitalists• Bureaucratic View: government is dominated

by appointed officials. – They are career government workers who exercise

vast power by deciding how to translate public laws into administrative actions.

– Based on the ideas of Max Weber (1864-1920)

• Pluralist View: political haggling and compromise among competing groups allows for political resources to be sufficiently divided

• Hyperpluralist View: There are so many groups competing for attention that no meaningful policies can be passed.

Establishing the Constitution• The Enlightenment:

– Locke– Rousseau– Montesquieu

• English Tradition – English Bill of Rights, common law, Magna Carta

• Declaration of Independence • Shay’s Rebellion

Articles of Confederation• Central govt. not strong enough

• too much power to states

• Central govt. could not raise an army

• No power of taxation – depended on states

• Could not pay off Revolutionary War debts

• No control over interstate trade

• No Supreme Court

• No chief executive

• No national currency – both states and Congress could coin money

• Some good points: established method by which states could enter Union, established principle of Federalism, negotiated Treaty of Paris

The Constitution• Principles:

– Popular Sovereignty– Federalism– Checks and Balances- – Examples: vetoes and pocket vetoes by pres.,

overriding pres. vetoes by congress, judicial review by Supreme Court

• Pocket veto – president refuses to sign bill before session of Congress ends

– Separation of Powers– Judicial Review– Limited Government

Ratification• Federalists v. Antifederalists

• The Bill of Rights

• The Federalist Papers: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay– #10: factions are problematic and must be

controlled – #47 – Separation of Powers and Checks and

Balances prevent one branch from becoming too powerful

– #51: tyranny of the majority must be prevented– #78: judicial review is important in interpreting the

Constitution

Basic Outline of the Constitution• Know each section and amendment• Important Clauses:

– “Necessary and Proper Clause,” Article I, Section 8– Supremacy Clause, Article VI– Commerce Clause, Article I, Section 8– Equal Protection Clause, Amendment 14– Establishment Clause, Amendment 1– Free Exercise Clause, Amendment 1– Full Faith and Credit Clause, Article IV, Section 1

• “Living Constitution”• Compromises – 3/5, Great (Virginia plan, NJ plan, CT

compromise)• Amendment Process• The Bill of Rights• Informal Amendments • Unwritten Constitution

Keeping Direct Control Out of the Hands of the Majority

• Only the House of Representatives is directly elected – serve two year terms

• The Senate was elected by state legislatures – serve six year terms

• Electoral College

• President nominates judges – serve for life

A. Federalism – Division of power between states and national govt.

1. Delegated powers-

a. held by federal govt.

2. Reserved Powers-

a. held by states only

3. Concurrent powers-

a. held by both states and federal govt.

Grants

• Mandates – can be funded or unfunded

• Grants in Aid – money given to states– Block Grants – very general– Categorical Grants – very specific– Revenue Sharing- the most general

– Devolution – shifting power back to states through the use of block grants and revenue sharing

Voter Behavior• More likely to vote – older, more educated, wealthier• Less likely to vote – younger, less educated, poorer• Minorities vote less often, but when education is equal, they

vote as much or more often than whites• About 2/3 of Americans are registered, but only about half

actually vote• Turnout is high among registered voters, but low if all eligible

voters are considered • Turnout is highest in presidential elections• Lower in midterms, lowest in local and municipal elections• Gender Gap – in recent election, women have slightly favored

Democrats and voted based on sets of issues different from male voters

Ideology

• Upbringing (socialization) determines ideology• Party activists are the elites – they vote most

often, especially in primaries and local elections

• They are at the extremes – liberal if democrat, conservative if republican

• Candidates in primaries need to play to the extremes to get nominated, then move toward the center in general election

Public Opinion• Consists of “many publics”• Difficult to measure• Must have representative sample• Valence issues v. position issues• Accuracy of polls affected by:

– Bandwagon effect – Leading questions– Poorly phrased questions– Incorrect methods (sample size, unrepresentative, etc.)

Parties• Power is decentralized• Party identification is weaker today than in the

past• More independents and split ticket voting• Voter behavior can be linked to the way ballot

is written (ballots were printed by parties in the 19th century – less split ticket voting)

• Coattail effect can help if president is popular, but it is not as important as it once was

Third Parties

• Address an idea or cause that the two major parties are ignoring• B. Often have a specific ideology that differs from the two major

parties• Obstacles to their success:

– People do not donate money because they do not think the third party will win

– B. People will not “waste their vote” on a third-party because they do not think the third party will win

– One or both of the major parties address the issue or cause promoted by the third-party making the third-party unnecessary

– The issue being addressed is obscure or unimportant to most Americans

– Electoral obstacles – “winner take all system” and ballot access

Party Realignment and Dealignment: :

• Critical or Realignment Period: Periods when a major, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties.

• The issues that separate the parties change• The kinds of voters supporting each party

change• Occurs when a new issue (slavery, the

economy) cuts across existing party divisions and replaces old issues that were formerly the basis for party identification

Realignment Elections: • Some political scientists believe there is a 30-36

year span in between realigning periods. • These are some elections regarded as realigning

or critical election, although not all political scientists agree on them.

• 1800: Jefferson• 1828: Jackson• 1860: Lincoln• 1896: McKinley• 1932: Franklin Roosevelt• 1964/1968: Johnson/Nixon• 1980: Reagan• 2008: Obama???

• Interest Group: Any organization that seeks to influence public policy. They are a linkage institution: They help link citizens to government

Functions of the Media

• Entertainment

• News

• Agenda setting – ability of the media to draw public attention to certain issues and to ignore other issues

• Political forum – place to make announcements or advertise government

How much power does the National Press have?

1. Gatekeeper: the media choose which stories to cover, how extensively, and for how long

2. Scorekeeper: the media keep track of and help make political reputations, note who is being “mentioned,” and analyze who is winning or losing

• Focus on Presidential elections like a horse race (Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary)3. Watchdog: Investigate politicians and

expose scandals

How much do the media influence how people think?

• Selective Attention: paying attention only to those stories with which one already agrees.– Remembering and believing what one wants.

• Studies show that media attention or bias can affect how a person votes, but the influence is often limited

• Media attention can make a candidate more well known, and thus more likely to win.