AP US Gov Media Notes

Chapter 10

3/27/12

I.               Roles of the Media

A.             Gatekeeper

1.             Decide what stories are important

2.             Just because they bring up certain stories, doesn’t mean they shape our opinions

B.             Scorekeeper

1.             Track political reputations

2.             Keep score during an election

3.             Leads to a lack of substance in debates

4.             Focus on small things that happen in the competition and not on policy to the point that we don’t get enough of the substance or international news

C.            Watchdog

1.             Watch over the government

2.             Expose scandals

3.             Investigate personalities

II.              Influence of Mass Media (growth of TV and 24 hour cable news cycle)

A.             Weakening of political parties

1.             Candidates can connect with us directly through the media and therefore do not need the parties

B.             Access to more information

1.             We can learn on our own without a filter

2.             People can communicate with us directly

3.             Dangers- information overload and information that is not factual or properly sourced

C.            Made our political system more divisive

1.             Cable news networks are either liberal or conservative, and have polarized us further.  A conservative will only watch a conservative channel and reinforce his/her views, and the same for liberals

2.             It is important to read/ watch both sides to get both points of view

D.             Furthered the idea that the presidency is about celebrity and not policy

E.             More grassroots involvement in politics (this is a positive because people have more participation in politics)

III.             

AP US Gov Interest Groups Notes

Chapter 9

3/16/12

I.               Mission/ Role

A.             Educate on the issues

B.             Can become political

C.            Advice

D.            Sharing of ideas

E.             Influence the political process to get the government to adopt their ideas

F.             Lobbying, raising money

G.            Not all driven on politics; it’s a way of educating people on what’s going on

H.            The most important role interest groups play is providing information to members of Congress

1.             Oftentimes, that information ends up in bills that are passed

II.              Why does the US have so many interest groups?

A.             Parties here are weak and we have fewer parties, so interest groups fill the role.  In Europe, the parties are strong and interest groups work through the parties

B.             There are a lot of divisions in our society; we live in a very diverse nation, so views vary and different types of people with common beliefs form different groups

C.            There are so many different ways of accessing our government (separation of powers and federalism) allows people to feel like they can have an impact and form interest groups

III.            Birth of Interest Groups- What leads to the creation of interest groups?

A.             War

1.             Groups form to represent veterans from war

2.             Veterans get benefits

B.             Economy

1.             Crises

2.             Economic changes

a)             After New Deal, organizations formed to fight what FDR did

b)             New jobs form unions, which are interest groups (during the industrial revolution, factory jobs were created and these people formed unions to ensure their rights)

c)             Farming groups

d)             Trade organizations that resulted from the industrialization and overseas trade

C.            Real dramatic growth of interest groups was in the 1960s

1.             Great Society

a)             Groups were created to protect government benefits

2.             Culture Wars

a)             Civil rights- black organizations

b)             Feminist organizations

c)             Birth of environmental movement

d)             Gay rights groups

3.             Vietnam war- veterans groups

4.             More liberal people and divide in values à groups formed around values issues

D.            A great leader who can motivate people and make a cause appealing can lead to the birth of an interest group

3/19/12

IV.            Types of Interest Groups

A.             Institutional Interest Groups

1.             Representing organizations (not individual people)

2.             Example: Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of businesses around the country

3.             They are very big because they protect powerful corporations

B.             Membership Interest Groups

1.             Represent individual people

2.             We tend to join religious and political membership groups the most

3.             Why do we join organizations?

a)             Political Efficacy- we take part in these organizations to produce a positive result and get good things done

b)             Material- you get direct benefits by joining (discounts, plans, etc.)

c)             Solidary- to be with people who share common interests

d)             Purposive- specific purpose/ goal that you want to accomplish

C.            Ideological Interest Groups

1.             Unified set of goals that you want to achieve

D.            Public Interest Groups

1.             Benefit nonmembers

2.             Many were set up by Ralph Nader

a)             Nader got his start fighting for seat belts in cars.  He went before Congress testifying for seat belts, sued GM, got a lot of money, and set up groups to help people (mainly to protect consumer rights)

3/20/12

V.             Regulating Interest Groups

A.             Many people think that powerful corporation lobbyists meet with Congressmen and dictate what they do, and therefore strongly influence government

B.             First regulation- 1946

1.             This law was a failure

2.             It was too vague and didn’t clearly define a lobbyist

3.             No agency to enforce it

C.            1995

1.             Gave a broader definition of lobbying- more people were considered lobbyists, so they could be regulated

2.             Paperwork- lobbyists have to give reports to the government about who you’re working for and who you are lobbying

3.             Regulations are different for grassroots organizations (coming from the people- the rules are more flexible

4.             95’ was more effective in regulating lobbying than 46’

VI.            Revolving Door

A.             Refers to people working in government (mostly members of Congress) who leave and work for a lobbying firm, and sometimes go back into government in the executive branch

B.             People fear that once someone goes from the private sector back into government, he/she will act to benefit the private corporation he/she worked for, which is corrupt and should be limited

3/21/12

VII.          PACs

A.             PACs try to get candidates elected by raising money and running ads

B.             The populous view PACs as bad, corrupting government, buying votes, and having too much influence

C.            Most scholars say that PACs are not that bad and do not have as much influence and power as we think

1.             PACs educate people.  It is important for the people to be informed

2.             Individuals and political parties donate 3/5 of the money going to candidates, so PACs aren’t really dominating the system

3.             All the money given is tracked and regulate.  So now matter how much money is given, at least we know who is giving, how much, and where it’s going

4.             The general trend is that PACs give to incumbents, but individuals also give to incumbents, and incumbents will most likely win anyway

5.             PACs also support strong challengers, and give money to both people in an election (which is bad)

6.             But in the end, PACs don’t buy votes because people still go out and vote, and politicians tend to listen to their party and constituents more before they listen to PACs

7.             The main problem is money in politics, not only PACs

D.            Checking PACs

1.             Media

2.             Watchdog groups

3.             PACs have influence in our society, but there are still many programs in our society that do not have PACs defending them yet they still exist because people vote for them

4.             Political parties check PACs

VIII.          

AP US Gov Elections and Campaigns Notes

3/6/12

How has campaign finance reform evolved over the years?

I.               Money

A.             Money is used for ads, TV time, paying staff, PR people, people to write speeches, people who buy them things, travel expenses, direct mail appeals, etc

B.             The party can also raise money for its candidates, and candidates can use as much of their own money as they want (freedom of speech)

C.            Money is speech.  Case that determined this was Buckley vs. Valeo.  You could have restrictions but you can’t outright ban the giving of money to candidates

D.            Differences between congressional and presidential elections

1.             Money in congressional elections is completely private- it’s only from the people, not taxpayer money and no money from gov’t

2.             Presidential is a combination of private and public funds- a person can give money and the government can give money. The government money takes 2 forms- for every private donation less than $250 the government gives matching funds

3.             The govt. money takes two forms. For primaries  candidates can get matching funds from govt. for every donation that is $250 or less which encourages people to donate. For the general election, the govt gives a huge sum to each major candidate and if minor parties got more than 5% of the vote in a previous general election to receive some money

a)             If the candidates take the 80 million from the govt. they are then limited in the amount of money they can raise on their own. So the trend has been to not take that public money since they can raise more on their own

E.             Independent Expenditure

1.             An organization that is not connected to a campaign spends money to influence and election

2.             Run adds to support a certain candidate or issue

3.             Cannot coordinate with a campaign

4.             How were their actions limited before citizens united?

a)             Restrictions came from McCain-Feingold, which was a campaign finance reform act in 2002

(1)           The act said that independent expenditures cannot run ads that clearly endorse a candidate 60 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary.  Citizens United overturned that using judicial review

(2)           No soft money (unlimited funds that you can give to a political organization) to political parties

(3)           Raised individual contributions from $1,000 to $2,000 and can be adjusted

b)             The loophole in McCain-Feingold was 527’s (independent expenditure groups that were created to deal with McCain-Feingold).   You could give as much money to a 527, which would run ads attacking a candidate or discussing a specific issue

F.             Reviewing Money in Campaigns/ Elections

1.             1971/1974 Campaign Finance Laws

a)             What led to it?

(1)           Corruption- Nixon took huge donations in exchange for political appointments

(2)           There was a law saying that corporations and unions could not give money from their general treasuries, but they were doing so anyway because there was no way to track and regulate the money

b)             Key provisions

(1)           $1,000 limit for individual contributions to prevent rich people from buying elections

(2)           Created rules that there would be a paper trail- had to fill out paperwork to give a donation so the government knows who is giving and how much

(3)           Created a government agency, the FEC, so supervise the money in campaigns

(4)           Corporations and unions could set up a PAC, which anyone could donate money to up to $5,000, and the PAC could give $5,000 to candidates, run ads, educate people, etc.  PACs can coordinate with candidates (which is why they have a hard money limit)

(5)           Candidates could spend as much of their own money as they want

c)             In what way did this reform fail and what was the loophole?

(1)           It made it very hard for challengers to raise money because an incumbent already has a base support

(2)           Rich candidates could spend as much of their own money, so it benefited the rich people

(3)           Loophole- soft money to political parties for “party building activities”

2.             McCain-Feingold (2002)

a)             What led to it?

(1)           Independent expenditures spending a lot of money and therefore calling the shots in the elections

(2)           Too much unregulated money in our campaigns

b)             Key provisions

(1)           Limits on independent expenditures

(2)           Raised the limit on individual contributions from $1,000 to $2,000

(3)           No soft money

c)             Loophole

(1)           527’s

3.             Citizens United decision and its effect on Independent Expenditures (2010)

a)             Led to the creation of Super PACs, which can spend unlimited funds endorsing candidates even in the 60 days before an election (unlike 527’s which could not endorse a specific candidate)

b)             Independent expenditures cannot coordinate with candidates and have soft money (today they are Super PACs).  PACs specifically raise money for candidates, can coordinate with candidates, and have hard money.

3/13/12

II.              Deconstructing Mitt Romney’s Campaign

A.             How is he attacking President Obama?

1.             Economy (which tends to be a key theme in elections.  A bad economy hurts the incumbent)

2.             Obama doesn’t represent American values and is soft on foreign policy (he shouldn’t be apologizing for who we are)

B.             How is he attacking his Republican opponents?  What advantages does he have over them?

1.             Attacks

a)             Attacking Santorum saying that Santorum doesn’t have electability and cannot win the general election

b)             Attacking Newt’s multiple wives

2.             Advantages

a)             The economy is a major issue, and that is his expertise

b)             Closest to the center

c)             Money- raised the most and has a lot of his own

d)             Better organized

C.            Is he being positive or negative?

1.             Leaning negative- he has a hard time making a positive image for himself, so he is attacking the other candidates

D.            What is Romney’s “theme”?

1.             Economy

E.             What voters is he targeting?

1.             Independents- blue collar workers

III.            The general election

A.             Will this election be based on position issues or valence issues?  What would be examples of each?

1.             Position issue- issues that divide the country and therefore politicians take different views (abortion, gay marriage, taxes, foreign policy, healthcare, etc.)

2.             Valence issue- everyone agrees on these issues, and people vote for whoever is more apt to deal with the issue (strong economy, low crime rate, etc.).  Within valence issues are position issues (we want a better economy, and there are different opinions on how to fix it)

B.             Do you feel people will vote “prospectively” or “retrospectively”?

1.             Prospective- voting based on looking towards the future.  Prospective voters tend to be more knowledgeable about the issues

2.             Retrospective- voting based on what happened in the past

3.             Most elections are a combination of both

C.            What’s the coalition that Romney will need to win?

1.             Democratic coalition needed to win

a)             Base- blacks and Jews (however Jewish support is slipping)

b)             Union workers and Catholics (but they are slipping too and becoming swing voters)

c)             Southern support (but this has disappeared)

d)             Hispanics (but Cubans vote Republican because they fled Communism and dislike government intervention in economics)

2.             Republican coalition

a)             Base= South

b)             Asians lean right

c)             White males

d)             Evangelical Christians and social conservatives

e)             Professional/ business people

f)               Farmers (but they are not loyal)

g)             Poor people (which is surprising)

3.             Romney’s coalition

a)             Independents

b)             Republican base

c)             A base based on economic concerns

D.            Will there be any “coattails”?

1.             Coattails- (learn on your own)

2.             If a president from a party wins, it will help congressmen from that party be elected for Congress as well

3.             We don’t see this so much anymore because the parties don’t mobilize us and we vote for individuals

IV.             

AP US Gov Political Parties Notes

I.               What is a political party?

A.             Political party- trying to gain control over government by running candidates and getting them elected (an organization that runs candidates for office; it seeks to gain control over the government)

B.             Interest groups advocate for a certain issue and try to influence government policy; they educate people in the process

C.            We have 2 main parties, but many “3^rd Parties” or minor parties

D.            These parties have changed over the years

E.             Democratic party has always existed (Was Democratic Republican, then starting with Andrew Jackson it became the Democratic party)

II.              Why we have a two party system/ 3^rd Parties

A.             Public Opinion

1.             We only have two major parties because public opinion on key issues is pretty consistent (economy, governmental system)- we all share a common view and believe in a certain view of capitalism, democracy, freedom of speech. This concept is called The American Ideological Consensus, which means that we agree on ideology.  We don’t have the same class systems- we have social mobility- we have people who could be born into the working class and become rich.  Everyone is part of the “middle” the two parties try to appeal to these middle people

B.             Our election system makes it hard for 3^rd parties to win

1.             Plurality voting- the person who gets the most votes wins- this hurts third parties because if you have a system where you need more than 50% the third party can use its votes as a bargaining chip, but we don’t have this, so the third parties have nothing over the bigger parties. In America, no one needs 50%, so this does nothing for the third parties

2.             Single Member Districts/Winner Takes all- Only one person wins- this is no true in other countries, they have proportional representation. You wouldn’t have to win an election to get seats. In America, plurality wins, and whoever gets the most votes wins. The biggest most dramatic example of the winner take all is the electoral college. Only one person wins, we don’t take percentages and carve it up to divide it all up

III.            Third Parties

A.             Why do these 3^rd parties run in America?

1.             They play the role of innovator: They force the major parties to adopt certain ideas. They raise awareness of ideas, or they come up with new ideas. Force other parties to take clear cut stands on issues. They are a voice for the people that feel alienated from govt/have ideas that aren't popular. They are a safety valve for discontent.  

B.             FRQ on Minor parties

1.             The people voting for the third parties are wasting their votes by voting for them

2.             Winner Take All System (No proportional System) and Single Member Districts. One is for president one is for congress. Campaign finance laws hurt minor parties more than major parties. They are excluded from presidential debate because a person has to have over a certain percentage of the population to debate. Federal funding for candidates don’t help them because they don’t have a big enough percent of the population

3.             Pushes new ideas and educate people about them, and try to push the major parties to adopts these ideas

C.            Four Types of Minor Parties

1.             Ideological

a)             Have lasted the longest

b)             Want to make big changes

c)             Socialist, Communist, Green, Libertarian

2.             Single Issue Political Parties

a)             Bring up new ideas and issues

b)             Focus on one issue, and often times the issue is brand new

c)             Prohibition Party, Marijuana Party

3.             Economic Protest Parties

a)             Want to move the economy in a different direction

b)             Usually based on region

c)             Populist party

4.             Factional parties

a)             Breakoff from one of the 2 major parties

b)             1948 2 different parties broke off from the Democratic party (one broke of for states rights, the other was a progressive organization that wanted change and wanted more radical changes)

2/28/12

IV.            Realignment Elections

A.             A period of time when one party gains control of the government and solidifies that control for a long period of time.  It operates under unified government, because you need control of Congress and the President to change the direction of the country both socially and economically

1.             Some argue that Reagan’s election in 1980 was a realigning election, but he never had control over the House.  There was still divided government, and the Republicans did not control the presidency and Congress.  Reagan still moved the country in a conservative direction, and many people moved to vote in Reagan’s direction (Reagan Democrats)

B.             Five Realignments

1.             1800- Jefferson became president and the Democratic-Republicans defeated the Federalists and took over, and there was a peacefully transfer of power

2.             1828- Jackson became president.  There was a shift in support because there were no more property restrictions on voting, so the common people voted for Jackson who advocated for the common man.  This election put the Democrats on course to become a major party

3.             1860- Whig Party collapsed and Republicans came to power with Lincoln.  The two parties (Democrats and Whigs) were struggled over the issue of slavery- neither party addressed the issue directly, so the Republicans (who were a 3^rd party at the time) came to power because they had a clear view on slavery.  It was an issue that led to realignment (slavery).

4.             1896- Republicans defeated William Jennings Bryan.  The Populist Party supported suffering farmers and broke off from the Democrats.  Bryan got the Democratic nomination and adopted the Populist platform, and the Republicans won because the Democrats who were against the Populists voted for the Republican candidate (key issue- economics).  The country was not divided between the North and South, now it was East vs. West (urban vs. rural).

5.             1932- FDR and the New Deal.  Before this most blacks were Republicans, and FDR brought them into the Democratic Party.  FDR got everyone in his coalition- blacks, Jews, minorities.  He took the government in a totally different direction with social programs and protecting the lower classes.  (key issue- Great Depression and a new role for government playing a bigger role in our lives)

C.            Lanahan- Was 2008 a realignment election?

1.             No

a)             More Democrats turned out than Republicans.  Democrats were more enthusiastic about Obama, while Republicans weren’t enthusiastic about McCain and Palin.  This represents a lack of enthusiasm, but not a shift form one party to another

b)             Enthusiasm for the Democratic party was not based on ideas, it could have just been a one time thing because people like Obama’s personality

c)             People were not thinking about foreign policy as much (Republican strength) and were more focused on the economy, so they looked toward a Democrat.  Hypothetically, if there was a national security crisis, people may support a Republican candidate

d)             In hindsight (not in Lanahan)

(1)           We don’t have unified government anymore- Republicans took control of the House

(2)           Tea Party Movement

2.             Yes

a)             The white population is going down and the Hispanic population is going up, and Republicans don’t do well with minorities.  Proportionally fewer white people voted in 2008, which signifies a long term trend of the decline in whites

b)             Young voters voted for Obama and can be lifelong Democrats

c)             Shift in attitude- we now believe in an activist government, which fits in to the ideology of the Democrats

3.             It’s too early to tell whether 2008 was a realigning election or not

V.             Learn on your own- political machines and differences between political parties in US and Europe

VI.