The roles of interest groups:

Where do most Americans fall in an ideological spectrum b/w conservative and liberal?

Somewhere in the middle

Common goal of interest groups:

Influence policy to influence government

Why interest groups are formed:

To address a disturbance in the political, social, or economic environment that threatens the members of a group

What's a PAC?

Political Action Committee: The fund-raising arm of an interest group

The move of southern conservative Democrats to the Republican Party, why and what effect has this had on parties?

- Democratic Party has become MORE liberal

- Republican Party has become MORE conservative

The different types of interest groups (4):

1.      Public

2.      Economic

3.      Government

4.      Equal Opportunity

What are the two major roles of political parties?

1.      Governing- controlling/setting agenda for government

2.      Electioneering- process of nominating candidates/getting them elected

Which one is the largest group, what

problems do others face?

-Economic interest group is the largest group

-FRP-most commonly faced by public interest groups

Retrospective voting

basing voting decisions on reactions to past performance; approving the status quo or signaling a desire for change

What is it and why does the ‘revolving door’ between representatives and lobbyists exist?

-        the tendency of public officials, journalists, and lobbyists to move between public and private sector (media, lobbying) jobs

-        Representatives make the best lobbyists

Valence issue

issues on which most voters and candidates share the same position (ex. : education)

What is the difference between indirect

and direct lobbying?

-Indirect lobbying: attempts to influence government policymakers by encouraging the general public to put pressure on them
direct lobbying

-direct lobbying: direct interaction with public officials for the purpose of influencing policy decisions

Cooperative federalism

national and state governments share responsibilities for most domestic policy areas

“Marble cake” model of federalism

 What is Astroturf lobbying?

-Indirect lobbying efforts that manipulate or create public sentiment, “Astroturf” being artificial grassroots; indicates that it’s not really genuine

Categorical grants

   federal funds provided for a specific purpose, restricted by detailed instructions, regulations and compliance standards.

Block grants

federal funds provided for a broad purpose, unrestricted by detailed requirements and regulations.

Unfunded mandates

a federal order mandating that states operate and pay for a program created at the national level.  

The spoils-system (patronage) vs. merit-based system reforms:

Spoils-system- where a party candidate comes out and rewards their voters with jobs and favors

Professional legislature versus a citizen (part-time) legislature

The Texas legislature is citizen/part time (meets once or twice a year), they have other jobs. Professional legislatures meet every week/day/year.

What is partisanship?

a strong supporter of a single party

What is super legislation?

interest groups that get state constitutions amended

What is bipartisanship?

of or involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies

Do local governments have constitutional rights? Who creates them and directs them?

- Local governments enjoy no special status. They are created by the State governments to serve them and they can be changed, destroyed, expanded by State governments.

Why people identify with a political party

and how that effects their voting:

Because of their parents and they vote according to their party. 

What is a plural executive? Does Texas have one?

Power is shared, YES

What problem created by the US constitution have parties helped overcome?

Fragmented government (they act as glue)

How many years was Texas independent and what was it called?

-9 years, Republic of Texas

The difference between American parties and parties in other countries (ideological, disciple, structure, etc.)

-    American parties have recently increased their party discipline and ideological stance
-    American party organizations are less organized and more decentralized than other countries

Is the Texas legislature professional or citizen?  What are the two houses of the bicameral legislature called? How many members do they have?

Citizen, 150-HOUSE, 31-SENATE

What is a two-party system? Why do third parties not do so well in US elections?

-    Where two major political parties dominated voting in nearly all elections, at every level (we have a 2 party system)
-    3rd parties don’t do well because the 2 parties in control write the election laws

How long and how often does the legislature meet for?

- Texas legislature meets bi-annually (every 2 years)  (for 140 days)

What is hard money?

campaign contributions made directly to candidates for specific elections; amounts are regulated by federal election laws

What is a special session? Who calls it? Who sets the agenda?

-Governor calls, governor sets agenda

- Governor calls a special session if business is not taken care of after 140 days

What is soft money?

unregulated campaign contributions by individuals, groups, or parties that promote general election activities but do not directly support individual candidates

How are State judges chosen in Texas?

Elected

The Telecommunications Act of 1996:

Bill Clinton passed law removing barrier saying big corporations can own whatever they want; abolished limits on station ownership—led to media monopoly

How are all members of Executive branch chosen? (except for the Secretary of State)

-Members of executive branch are appointed by president but reviewed by the senate to confirm appointment

Partisan bias

when the media strongly supported only one political party

What is driving population growth in Texas?

-Legal immigration/illegal immigration

-low unemployment rate

-friendly business climate

-no income tax

Commercial bias

the tendency of the media to make coverage and programming decisions based on what will attract a large audience and maximize profits

The 2002, Texas elections, Republicans and the House

First time in 130 years

Early newspapers compared to modern media (bias):

media in early America was extremely political partisan bias—they use a commercial bias now

The 2003 redistricting fight in the Texas legislature

Republicans tried to redistrict mid decade and results were that republicans gained more seats in the US and State governments and more power

Where does the word media come from?

Plural form of medium

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) vs. Perry 2006, what did it say

Case saying that he was responsible for racial gerrymandering, state can redistrict anytime.

Legal obstacles to voting in the US:

1.      you have to register

2.      elections being held on Tuesday

3.      frequency of elections

Why people vote the way they do?

-    most voters who identify with a party identify with the same party as their parents
-    most people who identify with a party regularly vote for that party in elections
-    the percentage of voters identifying with the democratic party has dropped significantly from its high in the 1950s

Why do politicians pay more attention to the middle and upper classes?

Because they vote more

Proportional representation

a type of voting system aimed at securing a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections, and the percentage of seats they

Single member district representation

winner takes all

Prospective voting

basing voting decisions on well informed opinions and consideration of the future consequences of a given vote

Wedge issue

a controversial issue that one party uses to split the voters in the other party

Position issue

issues on which the parties differ in their perspectives and proposed solutions

The Electoral College, how does it work? What does the US Constitution say about it?

-the electoral college is made up of 538 electors (each state gets to pick an elector based for every member they have in the senate/house and Washington dc gets 3)
these electors are chosen by the state legislature and can in theory vote for which ever candidate they want to although all of them vote according to popular votes.
This method was added because most founders didn't trust the common person and wanted educated people to cast final vote.

Who do the highest number of employees work for? Federal or state and local?

state and local government have more employment than federal government

Dual federalism

national and state governments responsible for separate policy areas

“Layer cake” model of federalism

Model prior to the New Deal era (1930s)

What do all fifty states have their own versions of that the US also has?

All 50 states have their own constitutions just like the US constitution

How does population growth affect state government?

- population growth every 10 years reapportionment happens, more funding, categorical grants and block grants – how much money they get is calculated by the state’s population, more people = more expense for budget , more people paying for sales tax more goods paid for by government

Is there an expectations gap with governors as well as presidents? What is an expectations gap?

-YES, there is an expectations gap with governors as well as presidents.

-Expectations gap- we as the people have high expectations of these people but our constitution restricts them from so much

Where does the word Texas come from?

Origin of name: Texas, or Tejas, was the Spanish pronunciation of a Caddo Indian word meaning "friends" or "allies."

Can the state of Texas run a deficit (go into debt).  Why or why not?

NO, it is unconstitutional

How many times has the Texas Constitution been amended?

Over 400 times

How long is the Texas Constitution? When was it written?

-2^nd longest, 1876

What is the population of Texas?

25 million

What are the six flags of Texas?

Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, United States of America, Confederate States of America

Killer D's

The Killer Ds are a group of Texas House Democrats who left the state of Texas for Ardmore, Oklahoma during the week of May 12, 2003. The Killer Ds left to prevent House consideration of the redistricting legislation that would have benefited Texas Republicans

Served in the house

Texas Eleven

served in the Senate

What is quorum-busting?

- A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly

The tactic of quorum-busting—causing a quorum to be prevented from meeting—has been used in legislative bodies by minorities seeking to block the adoption of some measure they appose. Rules to discourage quorum-busting have been adopted by legislative bodies, such as the call of the house