FED GOVERNMENT - Lecture
Wednesday,
13 Apr 2016
Unit Four:
Political Groups, and Elections
Apr 13 Public
Opinion p. 266-268; 271-284
Apr 18 Political
Interest Groups p. 294-297; 299; 300-301;
303-310
Apr 20 Political
Parties p. 348-354
Apr 25 Political Parties (cont.) p.
354-355; 361-365
Apr 27 Voting p.
365-371; 374-376
Apr 29 … Block B discussion board essays due not later
than 12:00pm (noon)
May 2 Elections p.
390-399; 404-406
May 4 Campaign
Funding p.
409-413 (if
time permits)
May 5 … Block A
discussion board responses due not later than 12:00pm (noon)
May 11 Final Exam From 10:00 – 12:00
_____________________________________________________________
Discussion Board – Block B
•
While not mentioned in the Constitution (but protected by
certain First Amendment provisions), political parties play an instrumental
role in our elections. Explain whether you believe political parties serve an
important, perhaps even inevitable, role in the election process, or whether
voters are hampered by parties during the elections process. Overall, do you
perceive political parties as beneficial or harmful to the election process?
•
In the United States, political organizations actively
engage government and allow for the general population to be politically active
during and in-between election periods. Explain whether (and why) you
believe political organizations are beneficial or harmful to our democracy.
Non-government
institutions that are relevant in society. What are the benefits and/or
consequences of these entities.
_____________________________________________________________
PUBLIC OPINION
·
Definition: The aggregate of individual opinions on a specific issue.
·
Determining Public
Opinion: how?
o Write letters to our
representatives / emails
o Town Hall meetings /
Forums (these days they can be conducted online)
o Through election
results
o Public Opinion
Polling (Survey Research)
§ Started in the early
19th Century
§ Define: Questioning a sample of people that are
representative of the population;
§ Sample: A portion of the whole
§ Population:
§ Straw
Poll: Drawn from people at
a specific location (like the CPAC straw poll) – NON SCIENTIFIC
·
Scientific Based
Polling: This is more accurate and preferable to the straw poll
o Random Sample: Only random samples give you the most mathematically
accurate results that you can claim are representative of a large
population; NO OTHER TYPE OF POLLING WILL DO THIS
o Sampling Error: (Only with Random Sample) – also known as
“Margin of Error”; the difference between your sampling results and the polling
data for EVERYONE in the area
·
Factors that affect
polling data
o Snapshot of opinion
at a particular time (look at date, date range) and in response to a specific
question
§ Ask if the polling data is still relevant;
time changes, opinions change; a poll that is a year old is probably not
relevant
§ Based on the wording
of a question, the response may
change
·
Based on knowledge levels: “Yes”, “No”, “Don’t know /
haven’t heard about the issue”
o Sometimes based on
“For” or “Against”; with follow-up questions (1-5, no more than that)
o Policy issues are the
most difficult (as policies are generally not black and white)
·
Inconsistencies: On issues that
people do not hold strong opinions, or are uninformed about.
·
Salience: Opposite of
inconsistencies; issues which people KNOW their opinions. Strongly held
beliefs.
·
“Halo Effect”: When there is a socially accepted answer /
sensitive topic to non-sensitive topic (i.e. marijuana use, abortion, etc). So,
in the 1980s under the War on Drugs / Just Say No era, the Halo Effect may have
tainted opinions at that time.
_____________________________________________________________
TO DO: Complete board discussion
topic
Outline book chapters
_____________________________________________________________
FED GOVERNMENT - Lecture
Monday,
18 Apr 2016
Political Organizations:
Non-governmental
organizations created in order to influence the decision making process.
Government:
Makes rules for society
Politics:
Leads to decisions being made for society
Interest Group:
Political and non-political (aka a “Lobby”)
·
Descriptions:
o Political Organizations: Nothing in the constitution that mention
them, but they are protected in the Bill of Rights.
o Lobbying: Interacting with a government official in
order to influence their decisions.
o Issue: Interest groups
usually align on opposite sides of issues. Usually a pro and an anti issue
lobby group.
§ “Non-Partisan” vs
Partisan interest groups
o 
Iron Triangle: The iron
triangle is a unique relationship between the bureaucracy, congressmen, and
lobbyists that results in the mutual benefit of all three of them.
Iron Triangle: The iron
triangle is a unique relationship between the bureaucracy, congressmen, and
lobbyists that results in the mutual benefit of all three of them.
·
NOTE: Ex-military generals on the boards of
companies or lobby groups
·
Categories of
Interest Groups: (p.308)
o Economic Groups: Work towards an economic benefit for their
members, or who they are representing. Categories include:
§ Business Groups –
i.e. General Motors; types of lobby issues may include: Pay, tariffs,
emissions, fuel, etc.
§ Trade Associations –
lobbies on behalf of all the particular groups (airlines, auto, etc)
§ Labor Unions –skilled
and unskilled labor; AFL/CIO
§ Professional
Associations – professional work, like lawyers (American Bar Association),
doctors (American Medical Association).
o Non-economic
Groups: More of a non-economic interest.
Sometimes thought of as Citizen Interest groups.
§ Environmental
§ Race and Gender
o Governmental Interest
Groups
·
Functions / Roles of
Interest Groups:
o Provide information
and expertise to government
o Provide campaign
funding through a Political Action Committee (PAC); there are limits to how
much they can contribute, but it is higher than what an individual can
contribute.
·
Incentives for
joining interest groups
o Purpose: Joining to
advance political goals
o Success of group
defined as:
§ Success rate of
legislation outcomes
§ Money
§ Management of group
o Incentives:
§ Material incentives:
“card”, especially if it provides discounts at certain stores
o Solidary Incentive:
§ Association with
others; events and activities where you can network.
_____________________________________________________________
Next Class:
Political Parties
_____________________________________________________________
FED GOVERNMENT - Lecture
Wednesday,
20 Apr 2016
POLITICAL PARTIES
Description:
·
Political Organizations:
·
Electioneering:
·
Issues – Platform: Those bedrock
issues that are important to the party
·
Factions: All political parties are factions; not all factions are
political
·
Coalitions: An alliance of factions
Think of Political Parties
in terms of:
·
Platform
History of Major US Party
System (p. 353)
·
Currently have a two-party system
·
1789 – Washington
·
1792 – Washington
·
1796 – Adams (Federalist)
·
1800 – Jefferson (Democratic-Republicans)
·
First Party System (1796)
o Federalists (Adams,
Hamilton) – Strong National Government
o Democratic-Republican Party
(Jefferson, Madison, Monroe) – Strong state governments
§ aka “Jeffersonian-Republican
Party” (roots of the current Democratic Party)
o Divided was over the basic
powers of the government, National Bank
·
Second Party System (1828 –
1856)
o Democratic-Republican party
split into factions in 1824
§ Four factions nominate
different president
§ No majority in Electoral
College, House selects J.Q. Adams
§ 1828 – Jackson pissed;
leaves Democratic-Republican Party and forms -
o Democratic Party (1828)
§ 1828 – Jackson elected
president (how convenient)
§ Small farmer, frontier,
foreign-born, catholic
o Whig Party (1828) –
Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, Filmore
§ Middle/Upper Class, Native
born or British, evangelical protestant
·
Third Party System (1856 –
1894)
o Post Civil War party system
o Democratic Party remains as
part of the major party system (Southern Democrats)
o Republican Party (1856) –
Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison (Northern industrial)
§ Ideology – Still under
Classic Liberalism
§ Republicans were liberal,
national focus; Democrats were conservative, state rights
o Establishment of the
two-party system; Republicans born
·
Fourth Party System (1896 –
1928)
o Shift in ideology – from Classic Liberalism to Progressive Liberalism for BOTH
parties.
·
Fifth Party System (1932 –
1960)
o Democratic: The New Deal,
·
Sixth Party System (since
1960s)
o 1980: Republican Party – New
Conservative Party
o Realignment
o Dealignment – shift away
from Party affiliation
§ Independent of a particular
party
o Third Parties – any
political party outside of the Republicans or Democrats
§ Often take votes away from
party with closest party platform
§ Libertarian
§ Ross Perot in 1992
o Responsible Party Theory
§ Adopt platform
§ Nominate Candidate
§ Mobilize voters
§ Hold Officials Accountable
FED GOVERNMENT - Lecture
Wednesday,
27 Apr 2016
Primary Elections: Held by political parties to
select a candidate
·
40 of 50 states (10 hold caucuses)
·
Held in Spring of even numbered years
·
Super Tuesday: Used to be the majority of States
·
Iowa and NH
General Election:
·
State elections
·
Voters determine office holders
·
November of even numbered years
Special Elections:
·
To fill vacancies in elected offices
o If a seat becomes vacant in
the House, the only way to fill the seat is to hold an election
o With Senate seats, the
governor can select
·
For voters to approve proposals to amend the state constitution
o November of odd-numbered years
·
Local elections
o School boards and
municipalities
Presidential Elections
·
Nomination Phase: Narrow down the candidates
o Caucus:
(Old Way) Party leadership that sat in Congress; you didn’t run for office, you
were selected.
o Convention: Under Andrew Jackson, elections became something everyone could take
part in. Delegates in each state played a part in the election. Party
delegates.
o Primary election: Party members take part. Statewide election to decide the candidates
for office.
§ Open Primaries:
§ Closed Primaries: You are on the rolls of one party or the other
Nomination Convention: National party convention,
attended by delegates from all of the state parties, for purposes of nominating
a single candidate as the party’s nominee to run for president.
General Election Phase:
·
Nominees from each party run campaign for presidential election
·
Each state holds a general election for purposes of determining how to
cast electoral college votes
·
Voters in general election are voting for slate of delegates that will
cast votes in the Electoral College election
Electoral College Election
Phase – December
·
Electors (selected by the parties and chosen by the voters in the
General Election) cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President
·
Each state has a number of electors equal to the number of seats it has
in Congress (in addition, DC has three)
·
A candidate must receive a majority of the electoral college votes in
order to be elected president (270 of the 538 electoral college votes)
·
If no one wins, the House votes for the president; if there is a tie,
they have to choose from the top 2
FED GOVERNMENT – Lecture
Monday,
2 May 2016
Nomination Phase – Leads to National Convention
General Election Phase – Competition for your
vote; choses
delegates for electoral college
Election Campaigns:
·
Period: Primary (Spring), General (Fall)
·
Resources: Money and People
o Money: Two classifications; hard money (regulated), soft money (unregulated). Generally there is legislation that will
change how money is classified.
o People: Volunteers, Paid
Staff. Campaign staff and political staff must be separate.
Regulation of Campaign
Finances – Specifically to prevent corruption
·
Corrupt Practices
Act of 1925
·
Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (and Amendments of 1974)
o Establishment of the FEC in
1974 (executive branch agency): Campaign watchdog
o Public funding/financing for
presidential elections
o Limited campaign
contributions per election; $1000 per indiv, $5000 per PAC
o Buckley v Valeo (1976)
·
Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform
Act (2002)
– McCain/Feingold
Act
o Increased individual limit
to $2000, and tied to inflation; $15,000 limit for PAC contributions to
political parties
o McConnell v FEC (2003) –
Supreme Court upholds earlier law
o Citizens United v Federal
Election Commission (2010) -
Soft money – generally goes to
interest groups
·
Interest groups may run ads
There should be no
coordination between a PAC and a Campaign
CAMPAIGN POLITICAL PARTY
1971/1974 Hard Soft
2002
(McCain/Feingold Act) Hard Hard
VOTING
Definition: A governmental franchise that
has been extended; a governmental grant. Suffrage – right to vote.
·
Majority:
o Simple
o Designated (super majority)
o Unanimous
·
Plurality: You can have a majority
AND a plurality; plurality is just the highest percentage
·
Voter Turnout: percentage of eligible
voters that vote.
FED GOVERNMENT - Lecture
Wednesday,
4 May 2016
May 11 Final
Exam From 10:00
– 12:00
VOTING
Review
– Terms and definitions
·
Voting is not a fundamental right, it is a right that government
grants. Up to the states to determine who has the right to vote.
·
Voting Framework
2010 Census: 25m in Texas
·
Texas voters lower turnout (10% less) than the National average
National
average of voter turnout is 45%; near lowest in World
·
Subgroups:
o Eligible: 60% of population (15,000,000)
o Registered: 50% of
Eligible
o Voters: Presidential:
30% Mid-Term: 20%
o Voter Turnout: % of eligible
voters that actually vote; 50% in Pres, 30% in mid-term
·
Expanding Suffrage:
o Eligibility:
§ Originally: Reserved power (State power); originally
reserved for white, land-owning men, probably no more than 5% of the state
population.
§ 15th Amendment (1870) – issue of voting; not a
fundamental right, a right that government grants. 15th Amendment
(1870) – issue of voting; Race, Color, Previous condition of servitude
§ 19th Amendment (1920) – Government cannot base the
right to vote based on sex.
§ 26th Amendment (1971) – States cannot deny the
right to vote as long as voter is 18 or older.
·
Registration:
o Poll Tax: A fee collected to register to vote
o 24th Amendment
prohibits the charging of a fee to vote
o Literacy Tests – Voting
Rights Act (1965)
o White Primaries
o Motor Vehicle Law
·
Voting Trends:
o Age: as age increases, voting increases
o Education: Level of
education increases, level of voting increasing
o Income: Higher the income the higher the voter
turnout
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