The Enduring Debate Exam 3 – Flashcards

-polling improves democracy (gives officals a clear view of the will of the people) -makes distinction between loud minority vs. silent minority -For polls -For polls to be accurate, they need a sample based on demographic. Sample, wording, order (large sample, different wording for each question, good order) -Negatives of polling: might lose trustee model, inrebuttle: people don't have opinions on everything, polls might depress turnout, in rebuttle: they still turnout for losing side -Town meeting: people's opinions were directly turned into public policy. Now: opinion > elections > public policy

-Poll results depend on question wording

-Internet is becoming increasingly important for political campaigns -TV ads are having less of effect and more poeple are going to the internet for news

-Pro of blogging: covers news that the traditional media doesn't -Con: less reliable, low or no standards -People are directly linked to the news -Stories can get blown up because of blogging

-Increased choice = political knowledge -"knowledge gap" (interested / informed, people's knowledge goes up for people that are uninterested, their knowledge goes down) (don't have to watch the news, only if interested, can watch disney) -Internet widens the knowledge gap a way to fix this is accidental exposure

-Voters are easily manipulated by campaign tactics or vote according to the social group they are in. -People don't agree on all winning candidates' policies -Usually canidadtes image, style, or campaign stragety wins

-We live in a republic not a democracy -He is for direct participation (populus) -Contemporary politics minimizes direct participation -He wants to encourage third parties, impose term limits, and support ballot initiatives to increase voter turnout -He thinks that political process should be less friendly to incumbents -Three Steps (1. Mass political participation 2. One person, one vote 3. Rock the vote -Get people directly involved

-Three theories to explain America's faliure to behave as ideal citizens -1. Electoral outcomes are arbitrary 2. Voters beliefs and preferences are dictated by elite opinion 3. People use short cuts (heuristic) to judge political candidates -Informed voters vote based on issues -Uninformed voters choose the name that is most memorable -People think they know and use political terms, but they actually are pretty much ignorant -Voting for the political party -People vote for candidates that have views closet to their own -Man may not be a political animal but is a social animal

-We need voter I.D.

-There is a lot of human error in counting votes -We should use vote by mail (VBM) -Voter I.D. will supress turnout -Fraud will happen no matter what -The biggest thing that supresses turnout is the polling booth itself

-Voter I.D. decreases voter turnout -If we do get into voter I.D. what is excatly and I.D.? Cosco card?

-Since the 1950's there has been a more commonly divided government -In unified government, people have to work together, it facilitates cooperation -Divided government produces stalemate policy paraylasis (the parties just want to obstruct each other) -Consequences: Divided party causes inability to reduce deficit -Unified government is good, divided government is bad

-Polarization is exaggerated -Political elites are polarized, not the people themselves -Argue polarization is a problem but it is just with politicans

-Voters and politicans are polarized for three reasons -1. Congress (people who vote in primaries are more informed) -2. Media competition -3. Changing interest groups -He thinks that polarization is a problem with politicians and the people -Less moderates in congress in the past