Civics Unit 5

“Elections”

I. Funding CampaignsA. Private Funds- money from individual

contributors, large corporations, or fundraisers

1. limit of $2300 per person2. can fund own campaign w/o limit

B. Public Funds- help by matching funds raised but has limits

C. PACs and Soft Money1. Political Action Committees

(PACs)- interest groups that try to elect candidates ($5000 limit)

2. lobbyist- activist for an interest group

3. Soft money- unlimited money not for campaign but may help one sidea. Ex: Swift Boat Vets, MoveOn.org

4.01-2 Review

1. Name and explain three different types of third-parties

2. What is an advantage of a multi-party system over a two-party system?

3. Give an example of a plank for both political parties

4. What is a way for PACs or other interest groups to get around campaign contribution limits?

5. What is the purpose of primaries in the election system?

II. Nominating CandidatesA. Primaries- voting for party candidate for

general election (diff. ways of counting votes- winner take all vs. divided)

B. Caucuses- group of people meet and select candidate

C. Conventions- Party members meet and pick candidate

III. General ElectionA. Campaign

1. Labor-intensive- volunteers, rallies, events2. Media-driven- TV, radio, internet

B. Electoral College- 1. determined by number of representatives in

state 2. need 270 of 538 to win; if no 270, House

decides

C. Inauguration- swearing in

Assignment

Option 1: Pick a party Pick which of our two parties you most support.

Explain why you support this party. What positions of the party do you agree with and why? Are there other factors like people in gov’t or the culture of the party that affect your affiliation?

Option 2: Pick a candidate Who will you vote for in the 2012 election, who

would you have voted for and why? Think about party, personal qualifications, positions on issues, etc.

We will work on this in class on Friday. Length- 1-1.5 Double-spaced typed pages

Civics Unit 5

Media and Public Opinion

I. Media

A. Propaganda- technique of persuasion to influence behavior

1. create belief good or bad

2. Mass media- tv, newspaper, radio, etc.

3. canvassing- targeting a group of people personally

B. Methods of propaganda1. Glittering generalities-

values w/o explanations2. Bandwagon- everybody’s

doing it3. Stack Cards- show one side4. Just Plain Folks- show as one

of the people5. Name Calling- accusatory

generalizations6. Transfer- combine ideas to

transfer attitude toward one idea to the another

7. Endorsement-A celebrity or well-known individual advocates for a candidate

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://techbuddha.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/barack_obama_muslim1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://techbuddha.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/hacktivism-offensive-computing-and-the-rise-of-the-political-hacker/&usg=__rHxwNAKbXV1UhQSaDBFMhz2xaQs=&h=431&w=550&sz=72&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=DcMMP2G4GhJ7VM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=133&prev=/images?q=obama+muslim+picture&hl=en&safe=active&um=1

II. PUBLIC OPINIONA. Very important because reflects voting

behaviorB. Public Opinion polls- collect information

by asking questions1. straw poll- unreliable, no control over who

responds (ex: internet polls, voluntary polls)2. scientific polling- get accurate information (ex:

Gallup Organization or Harris Survey)a. sample size about 1000 peopleb. margin of error +3-5%

CIVICS 4.04“Interest Groups and Political Action”

I. INTEREST GROUPS

A. Group of citizens coming together to effect public policy

B. Protected by 1st Amendment: speech, assembly, petition

C. Public Interest Groups- support causes that affect Americans in general1. ex: League of Women’s Voters: educates

voters

II. OTHER POLITICAL ACTIONSA. Lobbying- representatives from interest

groups contacting gov’t officials to further cause

B. Litigation- using courts to further cause1. NRA stopping DC handgun law

C. Protest- ex: Bus Boycott against segregation

D. Recall- allow voters to remove an elected official from office