Political Parties
What is a political party?
What is a group of people who seek to control the government through winning elections
How many votes are needed to win?
What is 270
What is mass media sometimes referred to as?
What is the 4th branch of the government
What is an interest group?
What is an organization of people who have policy goals and try to influence policymakers to accomplish these goals.
What are the factors of a super PAC?
What is a PAC that uses soft money, has no limits, the money goes to the party, and is run by independent groups
What are 2 things political parties do?
In the event of a tie, who is the tiebreaker?
What is the house of representatives
What are the three roles of free press?
What is watchdog, set public agenda, and support the free exchange of ideas, info, and opinions
What is the largest interest group at the moment?
What is the National Rifle Association (NRA)
What is the difference between hard and soft money?
What is
-hard money is given directly to the candidate and has limits
-soft money is political donations given to the party while avoiding regulations
What is naming candidates, informing and activating supporters, bonding agent, governing, or watch dog.
How many elections, up til now, has the winner of the popular vote lost the election?
What is 5
What is spinning?
What is politicians granting interviews on and off the record and allows the candidate and politician to report what they want reported
What are three things interest groups do?
What is lobbying, electioneering, litigation, and gaining public support
What are two ways money influences democracy?
What is grants an unfair advantage to wealthy people when electing candidates, impacts who votes and who runs, impacts the info voters get, and impacts the public perception on ethics of buying a candidate
Why is bonding important?
What is they ensure a good performance of the candidate and provide background checks
What are the three proposed reforms to the electoral college?
What is the district plan, the proportional plan, and the direct popular plan
Why is media powerful?
What is they choose what the public sees and when they see it
What interest group spent the most money?
What is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
What are the three things the FEC must do?
What is disclose campaign finance info, enforce laws on spending, and oversee public funds given to candidates
Why are political parties necessary (2 reasons)?
What is they help compromise take place (on important issues) and they help display the true opinions of the public
What are 2 flaws of the electoral college?
What is
-the winner of the popular election isn't guaranteed a win
- the constitution doesn't force electors to vote the way of the popular vote
- if no candidate receives 270 votes, the house of reps. makes the decision
What are two benefits of free press?
What is allows the society to be responsible and powerful, ensures we have constant access to information, and keeps the government and people in check
What is the difference between political parties and interest groups?
What is
- political parties work to elect candidates and have a wide array of topics to attract people
- interest groups get laws passed with their timeline and their very specific topic
What was one impact of Buckley vs. Valeo?
What is struck down spending limits, allowed spending limits only in compelling gov. cases, and discovered that candidates who accept funds have limits while candidates who don't accept don't have limits