Term
| Majority Leaders in the House and Senate |
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Definition
Harry Reid (D)- Senate
Eric Cantor (R) - House of Representatives |
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Term
| Minority Leaders in the House and Senate |
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Definition
Mitch McConnell (R) - Senate
Nancy Pelosi (D) - House of Representatives |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Standing committees receive bills from Senator or Representative. The committee members can add amendments, they debate it, and either pass (it goes to the floor) or it is voted down (dies in the committee) |
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Term
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Definition
-exists only in House of Representatives
-a bill goes to Rules Committee which determines specific rules for the legislation when it goes in front of the full house (Closed or Open) |
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Term
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Definition
1. Committee deliberation
2. Debate (in House, party leadership has control over debate but in Senate they have filibusters)
3. Conference Committee (if different versions of the bills are passed, members from Senate and House meet to work out the kinks)
4. Presidential Action (sign, veto, pocket veto) |
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Term
| Differences Between House and Senate |
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Definition
House:
-short term with small and homogenous constituency
-stronger party ideology
-larger more formal
-limits on debate (Rules Committee)
-Majoritarian legislature
Senate:
-longer term with and larger & heterogeneous constituency
-diverse constituencies, so seek to compromise more
-smaller and less structured
-unlimited debate (filibuster)
-unanimous consent |
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Term
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Definition
-free riders
-it is in everyone's interest collectively to provide a good but in no one's self interest to create it
-people would rather have the benefit without putting in the effort |
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Term
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Definition
Pork barrel legislation: any legislation that is paid for by all taxpayers, but only affects/benefits one specific area
Earmark- (a form of pork)- in a large spending bill, the unnecessary spending that a local representative may stick in that strictly benefits his district |
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Term
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Definition
-maintain Congress's control over spending
-national interests can be served by allowing local interests to dip into these funds
-allows for easier legislative process (we'll give your district this much money if you vote for the bill)
-pork is low percentage of spending
-not easy for a district to get an earmark |
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Term
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Definition
-unnecessary spending
-very few benefit from it
-some projects are complete waste (Bridge to Nowhere) |
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Term
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Definition
-votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency
-helps with reelection
-hinders good policy |
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Term
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Definition
-votes based on what he thinks is best for everyone else
-helps with good policy
-hinders reelection |
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Term
| Supreme Court Decision Making |
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Definition
-being aware of other branches preferences (since it doesn't have power of purse or sword, it relies on other branches to implement its decisions)
-it is, in fact, political
-case/controversy needs to come to the Supreme Court (it can't seek out and pick its cases) |
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Term
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Definition
-sticking to the the meaning of the Constitution and what the framer's original intent was (look at Federalist papers and Constitutional convention notes)
-Scalia |
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Term
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Definition
-idea that the Constitution should evolve with society
-Breyer |
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Term
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Definition
-the Court should see beyond the text of the Constitution or statute to consider broader societal implications of decisions
-willing to insert themselves into political process to declare laws/executive actions unconstitutional
-Breyer |
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Term
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Definition
-refuses to go beyond the text of the constitution in interpreting its meaning
-stays out of political process unless clear mistake has been made
-Scalia |
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Term
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Definition
-dispute resolution
-coordination
-rule interpretation
-function in a constitutional system
-the power of judicial review
-disputes over constitutional interpretation
-the court as a political institution
-criminal trials (for federal crimes) |
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Term
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Definition
| -groups of individuals who associate for the purpose of influencing government, generally to promote some value or interest |
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Term
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Definition
-a good everyone can use
-no way to restrict
-clean environment, national defense, etc |
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Term
| Private (Particularized) Good |
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Definition
-a good that is only for group members
-distribution can be controlled
-tax breaks, insurance discounts |
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Term
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Definition
-time
-money
-energy
-"free riders" |
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Term
| Political Party Functions |
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Definition
-accountability function: mechanism of collective responsibility
-Recruit candidates
-nominate candidates (convention or primary)
-get out the vote
-makes it easier for voters to make a semi-informed choice |
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Term
| Role that Political Organizations Play in a Democratic System |
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Definition
-solution to several problems that arise in democratic systems
---collective action in the electorate and facilitate mass mobilization
---collective choice problems in government
---regulate "ambition" among political leaders
-parties also moderate political competition, tending to move policy toward the median |
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Term
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Definition
-Federalist 10 (Madison) and Truman
-allowing factions to proliferate will minimize negative effects
-groups organize competitively to influence government policy
-most people are represented by one or more groups
-individual interests as expressed by groups approximates the "collective good"
-outcome is compromise and moderation |
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Term
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Definition
-leads to hyperpluralism (Rauch)
-nothing gets done
-money is wasted
-counter organizations don't always form
-some interest groups are more able to organize than others (those with more money and resources)
-Mancur: higher tendency of free rider problem
Schattschneider: pluralism ignores the majority and weaken political parties |
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Term
| Interest Group Strategies |
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Definition
-lobby (insider or outsider)
-communicate
-mobilize
-support candidates
-internal maintenance and growth
-goal: move policy in a preferred direction |
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Term
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Definition
-keeps politicians close to the preferences of a majority of the people
-process for voters to express their preferences
-holds politicians accountable |
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Term
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Definition
People who tend to vote:
-higher education and income
-older
-states with easier registration
Voters rely on cues, or information shortcuts
-party, issues, and candidates act together to shape vote choice |
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Term
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Definition
| -shortcut that allows people to make an informed decision without getting the full information |
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Term
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Definition
-political party
-candidate characteristics (trust)
-affect (things that strike you as positive and negative)
-familiarity
-retrospective evaluations
-gaffes (Rick Perry) |
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Term
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Definition
-very low compared to other industrialized democracies
-averages ~ 50% of the voting age population
-costs outweigh benefits |
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Term
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Definition
-predictable
-highest voter turnout since 1960s
-especially high turnout among Blacks and Young People
-election basically decided in October with financial crisis |
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Term
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Definition
-prevent voter fraud
-can actually increase voter turn out
-easier to detect fraud
-need ID for a lot of other things so its not a huge inconvenience |
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Term
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Definition
-costs of acquiring ID is too high
-poor/minorities/elderly/students are mostly affected
-voter fraud isn't actually that common |
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Term
| Formation of Political Attitudes |
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Definition
-self interest (especially economic)
-political socialization
-agents of socialization: family, social groups, education, prevailing political conditions, political ideology |
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Term
| Relationship Between Public Opinion and Policy |
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Definition
-average American knows very little about politics
-inattentive/ignorant voters are more easily manipulated |
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Term
| Problems in Measuring (Public Opinion Polls) |
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Definition
-priming
-framing
-bias
-difficulty in getting a diverse group to anser |
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Term
| Different Dimension of Public Opinion |
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Definition
-Intensity: depth/strength of views
-Salience: likelihood of taking action based on amount of importance
-Volatility: possibility of changing opinions
-Direction: agree or disagree |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| -left and right say it exist |
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Term
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Definition
-major media are losing traditional area of interest because of the internet
-decline in viewer/readership
-alternative sources |
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