GOV essays – Flashcards
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Describe the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college
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the majority winner of a state gets all the electoral votes for that state
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Explain one way in which the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college affects how presidential candidates from the two major parties run their campaigns
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1. presidential candidates tend to focus their campaign (media and money) on "swing states" where voters are not known to always vote Democrat or Republican 2. Presidential candidates also tend to pick Vice Presidents who "balance the ticket" regionally
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Explain one way in which the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college hinders third party candidates
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1. third party candidates may get a large percentage of the popular votes, but no electoral votes if they don't carry a state 2. Because it's difficult to win electoral votes, it makes it harder for third party candidates to raise funds and gain resources
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Explain two reasons why the electoral college has not been abolished
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1. The electoral college has been part of the US's history and tradition and to abolish it would require a constitutional amendment 2. It favors small states because each elector actually represents fewer people than the electors in larger states
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Proposal, favor/unfavor arguments of eliminating soft money
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Purpose: to prohibit or regulate unlimited campaign contributions to political parties Favor: soft money is often used to avoid limits on hard money. By eliminating soft money, they would level the playing field and decrease the overall cost of campaigns Unfavor: you should be able to give as much money as you want. It is unconstitutional to limit someone's free speech
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Proposal, favor/unfavor arguments of limiting independent expenditures
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proposal: limiting money spend by individuals and groups not directly affiliated with the candidate or the party Favor: limiting independent expenditures would limit the influence of Superpacs and level the playing field Unfavor: Unconstitutional to limit a citizen's free speech. They should spend how ever much they want
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Proposal, favor/unfavor arguments of raising limits on individual contributions
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proposal: increasing the amount individuals can give to a campaign, political part or PAC (political action committee) Favor: this would decrease the influence of PACs and less-regulated forms of fundraising and candidates could spend less time fundraising b/c they would get more donations Unfavor: This would allow the rich to have more of an influence and drive up the already high cost of campaigns
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Describe the point of view expressed about minor parties in the political cartoon
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The political cartoon implies that voting for a third party is "throwing away" a vote because a candidate for a main political party will most likely win
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Identify and explain how two rules of the US electoral system act as obstacles to minor party candidates
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1. The winner-take-all feature of the electoral college hurts minor parties because even if the third candidate is popular, it is close to impossible for them to win a state 2. Third party candidates cannot participate in presidential debates and therefore get less exposure to the general public
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Describe two contributions of minor parties
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1. They tend to offer a voice that is not expressed in the Democratic or Republican party. These parties often tend to absorb the third party opinions 2. they enhance voter participation because there may be many people who identify with their party and not the Democratic or Republican party
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Definition of divided government and how it has contributed to a decline in trust/confidence in government
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A divided government is a situation in which one party controls the White House and another party controls the two houses of Congress This can lead to decline because a divided government means more partisanship and often prevents quick action by the government, also reduces influence of moderates b/c extremes from each party drive legislation
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Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns have contributed to the decline in trust/ confidence in government
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People have the perception that there is wasteful spending and money/ interest groups, corporations and wealthy donors have too much of an influence in politics and that government officials will act for the financial benefit, not for the people
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Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and government for individual political behavior
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1. When there is a decline in trust and confidence in government there is often an increase in independents or third party identifiers 2. There is a decline in voting
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Identify two characteristics of a valid, scientific, public opinion poll
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1. randomized sample 2. unbiased and unambiguous question wording
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Definition of open primary
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a primary election in which any voter can cast a ballot in any party's primary
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Describe consequence of the winner-take-all Republican primaries
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1. Shortens the primary process. In a "proportional" system, second-place candidates are picking up delegates every time they come in second. This does not apply in a winner-take-all system 2. The system gives an advantage to those with more prominence or is more well-known
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Describe why the use of super delegates increases the influence of party leaders in the Democratic nomination process
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Party leaders have a guaranteed role in the nomination process and can potentially case the deciding vot in close nomination contests b/c of this super delegate system. They can also change their minds on candidates throughout the process because they are not pledged as a delegate to one candidate
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Explain why a candidate's strategy to win the nomination is often different from the strategy developed to win a general election
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the electorate in the primary election is different from the electorate in the general election In the primary, the candidate must appeal to voters of their own party, but in the general election the candidate must appeal to voters of the other party, moderates, and swing voters
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Define policy agenda / how the national news media engages in agenda setting
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a set of issues, problems or subjects that are viewed as important by government officials or decision makers the national news media draws attention to particular issues they think are important by providing more information, raising awareness
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Explain the primary reason the president tends to have an advantage over Congress in gaining media attention
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The president is one person, while Congress is made up of members of the House and the Senate; Congress may have different views and positions, while the president has his own views. The president also represents the entire nation, while members of Congress represent states and districts
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(Table) Describe the difference in viewing patters of older and younger age groups
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Younger people typically watch TV less than older people
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(Table) Describe the change from 1974 to 2002 in viewing habits that exist for all age categories
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People of all ages viewed less TV in 2002 than they did in 1974. This may be because with the growth of the Internet, there are many new ways for people to view the news, rather than just through the TV
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(Table) Describe one implication for presidents n their use of media to promote their political and policy objectives to the American public
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TV news is no longer as effective in promoting
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Identify two factors that decrease presidential approval ratings, and explain why each factor has that effect
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1. When the county continually suffers from a bad economy, presidential approval ratings tend to decrease. 2. A scandal decreases presidential approval ratings because the public feels betrayed
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Identify two factors that increase presidential approval ratings and explain why each factor has that effect
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1. when a tragic event happens presidential approval ratings increase (rally around the president effect) 2. when troops return from prolonged wars, presidential approval ratings increase
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Identify two forms of participation in the political process other than voting/ explain two advantages of each form of political participation
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1. citizens can protest which allows anyone to participate in the political process regardless if they are of the voting age / let's citizens 2. citizens can join an interest group which allows them to lobby for certain issues or support a candidate with funds
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Identify and explain two reasons why voter turnout has been higher in presidential elections than midterm elections
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1. There is more media coverage of presidential elections than midterm elections. Therefore, Americans have more information about presidential candidates and issues / feel more inclined to vote 2. More money is spent on presidential elections than midterm elections, which creates the perception that presidential elections are of greater importance
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Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states
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Congressional reapportionment is the allocation of the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives It is important to states because more representatives mean that a state has more influence in the electoral college
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Define congressional redistricting
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the redrawing of House and congressional, but not Senate, district lines
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Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting
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1. to increase the strength of a political party and minimize the strength of the opposition party 2. to increase or decrease minority representation, depending on which helps the party
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Describe two limits that the US Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting
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1. Districts must be equally populated 2. District lines cannot be drawn in a way that violates civil rights
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Explain two reasons why the electoral college has not been abolished
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1. The electoral college has been part of the US's history and tradition and abolishing the system would require a constitutional amendment. 2. Favors small states because small states are over-represented in the Electoral College with a greater percent of electoral votes than they are in the overall population.
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Explain why strong public opinion as expressed in polling results and competitive re-elections enhances the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress
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Strong public opinion as expressed in polling results: Members of Congress may be influenced by the public's opinion expressed in polling results. They may support an issue because the general public supports it, or visaversa. On their year of re-election, members of Congress may vote one way to appeal to their base voters or even "swing" voters.
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Explain why legislators' voting records and party leadership limits the influence of public opinion on voting decisions of members of Congress
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Legislators' voting records are important because candidates do not want to be perceived as indecisive by voters. Party leaders in Congress sometimes put pressure on ordinary members of Congress to vote the way the party wants them to
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Identify two factors that have contributed to the overall decline in turnout in federal elections and explain how each factor has contributed to the overall decline.
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1.TV and negative TV ads makes people want to vote less 2. Political parties used to have more influence than they do now.
