US Government and Civics Unit 2 The Constitution | Eastern Kentucky University

University:
Eastern Kentucky University
Course:
POL 101 | Introduction to American Government
Academic year:

2022
Views:

96

Pages:

2
Author:

Macy Harrison

Unit 2: Ideology and Elections Political Culture and Ideology ● Key Terms: ○ Political Culture: A general set of beliefs and values within a large group of people. ○ Political Ideology: A set of specific ideas or beliefs based upon one's own beliefs/intellect. ○ Political Socialization: How you came to your ideology (parents, culture, religion, etc) Examples Of Political Participation: ● Voting ● Canvassing ● Protest ● Jury Duty The Political Spectrum and Parties Campaigns and Elections ● Types of Elections ○ Primary: Choosing between members of the same party to determine who will be the nominee for the party in the general election ○ General/Presidential: Choose among candidates of different parties ○ Midterm: Even numbered years in between the presidential election for ⅓ of Senators and all Representatives ○ Special: When a vacancy occurs in the House or Senate ● Nominating Conventions: ○ Parties organizations hold them ○ A lot of money is spent ○ Citizens form all states attend ○ Approve Party Platform ○ Nominate President and Vice President ● The Impact Of Incumbency On Elections: Current elected officials are typically more likely to get elected than new candidates. ● Polling ○ Polls gather information on public opinion ○ Public Opinion = the sum of total individual views, issues and candidates ○ Margin of error is the amount the poll might be off ○ The more people and the more diverse the sample, the more accurate the results ○ Polls can be wrong, but they give us good generalizations about the opinions of individuals. Interest Groups and the Media ● Lobbying: Trying to influence an elected official on certain issues. ● Political Action Committees: Privately raise money to influence elected officials at the federal level. ● Special Interest Groups: Doesn’t raise money to influence elected officials. ● Media Bias: The way that a reporter discusses a political candidate and policy issues.