Essay Number 10 Interest Groups/Political Parties

2006-1 While interest groups and political parties each play a significant role in the United States political system, they differ in their fundamental goals.
(a) Identify the fundamental goal of interest groups in the political process.
A fundamental goal in interest groups is to change the laws they are interested in.
(b) Identify the fundamental goal of major political parties in the political process
One fundamental goal is to elect people into office
(c) Describe two different ways by which interest groups support the fundamental goal of political parties in the political process
1. Political Action Committee (PAC) donations
2. Media campaigns(d) For one of the forms of support you described in (c), explain two different ways in which that form of support helps interest groups to achieve their fundamental goal in the political process.
With PAC donations, interest groups have access and influence of policymakers. They also will have like-minded people in office that will be more willing to support their views on different subjects as well.

Essay Number 9 Media in Politics

DATA for 2009_4 (below)

Viewer’s Ages and Frequency of Viewing of Network Nightly News: 1974 and 2002 Combined

1974                  frequently (%)                    rarely (%)

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18-29                  45                                                  13

30-44                  50                                                 12

45-64                  68                                                  8

65+                      71                                                  5

2002                 frequently (%)                    rarely (%)

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18-29                  19                                                  22

30-44                  22                                                17

45-64                  40                                                  11

65+                      53                                                  8

2009_4. One of the most important ways the news media influence politics is through agenda setting.

(a)  Define policy agenda.

A set of issues, problems, or subjects that gets the attention of the people involved in policy making

(b)  Explain how the national news media engage in agenda setting.

The media raises awareness, provides information, demonstrates importance, and draws attention of policymakers

(c)  Explain the primary reason the president tends to have an advantage over Congress in gaining media attention.

The president speaks with only one voice to represent the nation while Congress speaks with many voices to represent the states/districts

(d)  Consider the table above.

-Describe the difference in the viewing patterns of older and younger age-groups.

-Describe the change from 1974 to 2002 in viewing habits that exists for all age categories.

1. Younger people watch less TV news than older people

2. People in all categories watched less News in 2002 than 1974

(e)  Given the information in the table, describe one implication for presidents in their use of the media to promote their political and policy objectives to the American public.

The nightly news is not as effective in promoting the president's policy agenda as it used to be.

Essay Number 8 UNited States Congress

2009_3In the United States Congress, the majority party exerts a substantial influence over lawmaking. However, even when one party has a numerical majority in each chamber of the United States Congress, there is no guarantee that legislation supported by that majority party will be passed by both chambers. Rules of each chamber independently influence the likelihood that legislation will pass in that chamber; legislation passed by one chamber is not always passed by the other.

(a)  Describe two advantages the majority party in the United States House of Representatives has in lawmaking, above and beyond the numerical advantage that that majority party enjoys in floor voting.

(b)  Describe two differences between House and Senate rules that may make it likely that legislation may pass in one chamber but not in the other.

(c)  Explain how the differences identified in (b) can lead to the passage of a bill in one chamber but not in the other.

A)The majority Party holds more committee chairs. They also control the committee rules and the agenda

B) The Senate has Filibusters and the House does not. 
Rules Committe in the House not the Senate

C) Filibuster-even though the House may pass the bill, the Senate can kill the bill with a Filibuster
Holds-

Essay Number 7 Campaign Finance Reform Proposals

A: Raising Limits on individual contributions: the increase in money that individuals may give to a campaign, parties, or PACs
-Candidates can spend less time fundraising and more time focusing on their campaign
-This allows the rich to have too much power and can influence politics easy with their money

B: Eliminating Soft Money: Not allowing contributions to political parties and/or contributions for party building activities
-It levels the playing field and lets the campaigns be more even between different candidates
-Weakens political parties. With less money, they have little ability to have strong campaigns

Christmas Song

Republican Party
Republican Party
Republican Party
Their party platform is conservative

Democratic Party
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
Their party platform is liberal

The republicans want more tax breaks
The democrats want Obamacare passed
But we wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of our hearts

John Andrew Boehner
John Andrew Boehner
John Andrew Boehner
is the republican speaker of the house

President Obama
President Obama
President Obama
is our democratic president

The republicans want more tax breaks
The democrats want Obamacare passed
But we wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of our hearts