Sabato
- Chapter 1 - The Political Landscape
- Practice Quiz
- Chapter 11 - Public Opinion and Political Socialization
- Practice Quiz
Woll
Other
II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors
A. Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders
B. Processes by which citizens learn about politics
C. The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion
D. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life
E. Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors
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Political Beliefs and Behaviors (10-20%)
- Beliefs that Citizens Hold About Their Government and its Leaders
- Political Culture
- Shared Values-Grounded in Classical liberalism
- Liberty
- Equality
- Opportunity
- Under the Law
- Not Economic
- Individualism
- Respect for the dignity of each person
- Democratic Consensus
- Majority Rule
- Two Party System and Regular Elections
- Popular Sovereignty
- The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
- Support rights in the abstract
- Disagreement over meaning and original intent
- Justice and the Rule of Law
- Nationalism, Optimism and Idealism
- The American Dream
- Complex set of ideas about economy and the individual
- Belief in capitalism and right to private property essential
- Conflict in values between a competitive economy and egalitarian society
- Political and Economic Change
- Industrial Revolution
- Monopolies and vast inequalities in distribution of wealth
- Antitrust legislation
- Belief in ability of government to regulate excesses of capitalism
- Teddy Roosevelt and the Progressives
- Rejection of laissez faire
- The Great Depression, the New Deal and World War II
- Americans turned to government to improve conditions in failing economy
- Use of government to ensure economic opportunity and social justice
- FDR’s Second Bill of Rights
- Civil and voting rights legislation of the 1960s
- LBJ’s War on Poverty
- Much political disagreement occurs over the proper role for government in the economy, but most accept a semi-regulated or mixed free enterprise system
- U.S. becomes a world super power
- End of isolationism
- Increased power of national government
- Particularly the president
- Role of U.S. in the world a source of political conflict
- Vietnam
- Iraq
- Vietnam and Watergate
- Loss of trust in government
- Honesty
- Ability to get things done
- Reagan Revolution of the 1980s
- Conservative backlash against government
- Not a return to laissez faire
- Loss of trust in government
- Industrial Revolution
- Shared Values-Grounded in Classical liberalism
- Political Ideology-World’s Smallest political Quiz
- Liberalism
- History
- Contrast with classical liberalism
- John Locke
- Democratic-Republicans
- Thomas Jefferson
- Limited government
- Strong belief in individual rights
- Progressive Movement
- T. Roosevelt, Wilson
- Use of government to bring about justice and equality of opportunity and promote the general welfare of society
- Strong foreign policy and presence in the world
- Anti-isolationist
- FDR and the New Deal
- Use of government to ensure economic opportunity and social justice
- Democratic Coalition
- Civil Rights Movement and Support of Other Controversial Social Policies
- Loss of Solid South
- Losses in presidential elections
- Bill Clinton
- Southerner
- Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America(see Decline and Fall)
- 1994 Elections
- Republicans win Congress
- Triangulation
- Work with Moderates in both parties in Congress in order pass significant legislation and balance the budget
- Contrast with classical liberalism
- Criticisms
- Too much reliance on government
- Higher taxes
- Bureaucracy
- Big government can become a dictatorial government
- History
- Conservatism
- History
- Edmund Burke
- Traditional Conservatives
- Pro business
- Low taxes
- Reliance on markets not government
- Few, if any, government regulations on economy
- Decentralist
- More powers for the states
- Distrust of national government
- Should be small except in area of defense
- Government needs to ensure order
- Less optimistic about human nature
- Pro business
- Social Conservatives or the New Right
- History
- Emerged in late 1970’s
- Driven in part by opposition to Roe v Wade abortion decision of 1973
- Moral Majority
- Jerry Falwell
- 1980s
- Christian Coalition
- Pat Robertson
- 1990s
- Focus on Family
- James Dobson
- 2000s
- Belief in use of government to promote religious beliefs
- Recent conflict with traditional conservatives
- John Danforth
- History
- Neocons
- Economics: Cutting tax rates in order to stimulate steady, wide-spread economic growth and acceptance of the necessity of risks in that growth, such as budget deficits
- Domestic Affairs: Preferring strong government but not intrusive government, slight acceptance of the welfare state, adherence to social conservatism, and disapproval of counterculture
- Foreign Policy: Patriotism is a necessity, world government is a terrible idea, the ability to distinguish friend from foe, protecting national interest both at home and abroad, and the necessity of a strong military
- Criticisms
- Selective opposition to government
- Deficits have grown during periods of conservative control
- Reagan
- George W. Bush
- Insensitive to needs of the poor
- Too much faith in the economy
- Failure to aggressively support various groups’ struggles for freedom and equality
- History
- Socialism
- American socialists favor a greatly expanded role for the government, greater equality in property rights and would cut defense spending.
- Environmentalism
- Green Movement in Europe
- Good agriculture, energy efficiency, and protecting the integrity of nature
- Libertarianism
- Cherishes individual liberty and insists on a sharply limited government
- Opposition to government and almost all of its programs
- Liberalism
- Ideology and the American People
- Tend to be more moderate than extreme
- Most are a combination of parts of the ideologies listed above.
- Political Culture
- Processes by Which Citizens Learn About Politics
- Political Socialization
- Sources
- Family
- Main source of partisan identification
- Schools
- Religious and Civic Organizations
- Mass Media
- Family
- Sources
- Political Socialization
- Factors that Influence Citizens to Differ From One Another in Terms of Political Beliefs and Behaviors
- Socioeconomic
- Based on occupation, income and education
- Not as important as in many countries with more distinct social class systems
- Most Americans describe themselves as middle class
- Geographic or Sectional
- The South
- Traditionally Democratic since before Civil War
- Solid South
- Roosevelt Coalition
- Republican base since Civil Rights Movement
- Traditionally Democratic since before Civil War
- New England
- Democratic Base
- The West
- Hostility to government intervention
- Republican base
- Recent erosion?
- California
- Big electoral prize has gone to Democrats recently in presidential contests
- Republican governor
- The South
- State and Local Identity
- Where We Live
- Urban
- Democratic
- Poor, Black, Young
- Suburban
- Republican
- Soccer Moms
- Division over Religious Right
- Rural
- Conservative socially
- Liberal economically
- Urban
- Race and Ethnicity
- African American
- Traditionally Democratic
- Some Republican gains as socioeconomic status increases
- Asian Americans
- High income, high education
- Growing political force
- Hispanic
- Broad group
- Variation of political beliefs
- Cubans traditionally Republican
- Opposition to Castro
- Anticommunist
- Immigration issue
- African American
- Gender
- Politics traditionally controlled by men
- 19th Amendment
- Growing Political power
- Gender Gap
- Slightly favors Democrats
- Abortion and other issues of particular concern to women
- Sexual Orientation
- Anti marriage laws and amendments in over 25 states
- Mostly Democratic due to Republican association with religious right
- Log Cabin Republicans
- Family Structure
- Increasing numbers raising families outside of traditional marriage
- Homosexuals
- Legal issues
- Divorce
- Single moms and dads
- Cohabitation
- Homosexuals
- Increasing numbers raising families outside of traditional marriage
- Religion
- No Official Church
- Very Diverse
- Religious Right
- Strongly Republican
- Wealth and Income
- Aside from race, the most important factor in explaining political views
- Most rich are Republican
- Most poor are Democrat
- Both African Americans and Hispanics are poorer than whites
- Aside from race, the most important factor in explaining political views
- Occupation
- Changing American Labor Force
- Growth in service and white collar jobs
- Loss of Union jobs
- Traditional Democratic supporters
- Changing American Labor Force
- Age
- Young are more liberal but don’t vote
- Old have political agenda and vote in large numbers
- Life Cycle Effects
- Generational Effects
- Education
- Higher education often leads to higher income
- College seems to have temporary liberalizing effect
- Impact of Events
- Key political events play a very important role in a person’s socialization.
- Nixon’s resignation in 1974
- Impression on young people
- Government not always right or honest
- Survey in 2006 (18-20)
- Failed to report a single political event that affected them during their early school years
- Many of the major studies conducted in the aftermath of Watergate and the Vietnam War
- Trust in government
- Relationship of differences in demographic factors
- Political Predispositions
- Reinforcing Cleavages
- Cross-cutting Cleavages
- Socioeconomic
- Public Opinion and Polling
- What the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time
- Public opinion polls
- Interviews or surveys with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feelings and beliefs of the entire population
- The History of Public Opinion Research
- 1883 Boston Globe polled voters
- 1916 Literary Digest polling
- Predict presidential elections
- Correct from 1920 to 1932
- Public opinion polling as we know it did not begin to develop until the 1930s.
- Spurred on by Lippman’s Public Opinion (1922)
- Earlier straw polls used
- Unscientific surveys used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues and policies
- Literary Digest
- George Gallup
- Correctly predicted the results of the 1936 presidential contest
- Techniques became more sophisticated in the 1940s.
- Dewey incorrectly predicted as winner
- How Public Opinion is Measured
- Traditional public opinion polls
- Determine the content phrasing the questions
- Selecting the sample
- Random sampling: a method of poll selection that gives each person the same chance of being selected
- Stratified sampling: A variation of random sampling; census data are used to divide the country into four sampling regions. Sets of counties and standard metropolitan statistical areas are then randomly selected in proportion to the total national population
- Contacting respondents
- Traditional public opinion polls
- Political Polls
- Push Polls
- Polls taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate
- Tracking Polls
- Continuous surveys that enable a campaign to chart its daily rise or fall in support
- Exit Polls
- Polls conducted at selected polling places on Election Day
- Push Polls
- Shortcomings of Polling
- Inaccurate results can be dangerous.
- Voter News Service made errors during the presidential election of 2000 estimating Florida
- Failed to estimate the number of voters accurately
- Used an inaccurate exit poll model
- Incorrectly estimated the number of African American and Cuban voters
- Results lead to an early calling of the election
- VNS disbanded in 2003
- Major networks and Associated Press joined together to form a new polling consortium, the National Election Pool
- Sampling Error
- Sampling error or margin of error
- A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll
- Sampling error or margin of error
- Limited Respondent Options
- Lack of Information
- Difficulty Measuring Intensity
- Why We Form and Express Political Opinions
- Personal Benefits
- Most Americans more “I” centered
- Attitudes on moral issues are often based on underlying values.
- If faced with policies that do not:
- Affect us personally
- Are not moral in nature
- Personal Benefits
- …Then we have difficulty forming an opinion.
- Foreign policy is such an example.
- Political Knowledge
- Political knowledge and political participation have a reciprocal relationship.
- Level of knowledge about history and politics low
- Hurts Americans’ understanding of current political events
- Geographically illiterate
- Gender differences
- Cues from Leaders or Opinion Makers
- Low levels of knowledge can lead to rapid opinion shifts on issues.
- Political leaders may move these shifts.
- President is in an important position to mold public opinion
- But who is truly leading-- the public or the president?
- Political Ideology
- An individual’s coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government
- Can prompt citizens to form a certain set of policy programs and influence view of the role of government in the policy process
- 35% say they are moderate, 30% say they are conservative, and 29% say they are liberal.
- Voting and Elections
- Voting Behavior
- Conventional v. Unconventional Political Participation
- Patterns in Voter Turnout
- 40% Regular, 25% Occasional, 35% Rarely or Never
- Demographic Factors
- Education, Income, Age, Gender, Race and Ethnicity
- Presidential v. Midterm
- Why is Turnout so Low?
- Too Busy
- Difficulty of Registration
- Difficulty of Absentee Voting
- Number of Elections
- Voter Attitudes
- Weakened Political Parties
- Compared to Other Countries
- U.S. Toward Bottom of List
- Compulsory Voting
- Infrequent Elections
- Automatic or Mandatory Registration
- Does Low Turnout Matter?
- Patterns in Voter Choice
- Party Identification
- Ticket Splitting
- Race and Ethnicity, Gender, Income, Ideology
- Issues
- Retrospective v. Prospective Judgment
- Economy
- Party Identification
- Elections in the United States
- Purposes of Elections
- Legitimacy
- Fill Government Positions
- Judge Current Officials
- Mandates for Certain Policies
- Types of Elections
- Primary Elections
- Closed v. Open Primaries
- Crossover Voting and Raiding
- Runoff Primary
- General Elections
- Initiative, Referendum, and Recall
- Primary Elections
- Purposes of Elections
- Presidential Elections
- Primaries and Caucuses
- Methods of Choosing Delegates to National Convention
- Differences
- Winner Take All v. Proportional Primaries
- Front Loading
- The Party Conventions
- Delegate Selection
- Loss of Party Control
- Democrats
- Bound by Primary Results
- Superdelegates
- More Women and Minorities
- Republicans
- Delegates Not Bound
- No Superdelegates
- More Emphasis on Strengthening State Organizations and Fundraising
- Official Naming of Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates
- No Longer a Mystery by the Convention
- Diminished Media Coverage
- Cable 24 Hour Networks
- Platform
- Delegate Selection
- The Electoral College
- 538 Total Votes, 270 to Win
- Compromise at the Convention
- Involvement of States
- No Political Parties Envisioned
- Twelfth Amendment
- How It Works
- Problems
- 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000
- Reapportionment
- Small State Benefit
- Primaries and Caucuses
- Congressional Elections
- Lower Turnout in Midterms
- Often a Referendum on the President
- Incumbency Advantage
- Staff
- Media, Travel, Visibility, and Name Recognition
- The Scare Off Effect
- Redistricting and Gerrymandering
- Anti Incumbency
- Redistricting Reform
- Scandals
- The Economy
- Presidential Popularity (Coattails)
- Lower Turnout in Midterms
- Voting Behavior
- The Campaign Process
- Modern Political Campaigns
- The Nomination Campaign
- Play to the Base
- Try to Please Party Activists Who Are More Extreme than Rank and File
- Danger in Seeming Too Extreme for General Election
- Fundraising and Sense of Inevitability
- The General Election Campaign
- Play to the Middle
- Fundraising
- Campaign Theme
- The Nomination Campaign
- The Key Players
- The Candidate
- Time, Energy, and Willingness to be Put Under Public Scrutiny
- Meet and Greet
- Mostly Symbolic but Media Coverage can be Valuable
- Exhausting Schedule and Constant Media Coverage
- Enduring Harsh Criticism
- The Campaign Staff
- Volunteer Staff
- Answer Phone Calls, Staff Candidate Booths at Events, Copy and Distribute Campaign Literature, Voter Canvass, Get Out the Vote Drives
- Professional Staff
- Campaign Manager
- Coordinates and Directs Campaign
- Closest to the Candidate
- Delivers Good and Bad News to the Candidate
- Makes Essential Day to Day Decisions
- Determines Overall Strategy
- Keeps Campaign on Message
- Some Candidates Have Personal Advisors with No Official Title
- Good Friend or Spouse
- Finance Chair
- In Charge of Contributions that Fund the Campaign
- Pollster
- Direct Mailer
- Communications Director
- Develops and Oversees Overall Media Strategy
- Press Secretary
- Interacts and Communicates with Media on a Daily Basis
- Voice of the Campaign
- Internet Team
- Manage the Candidate's Communications, Outreach and Fundraising Efforts on the Internet
- Monitor and Develop Websites and Blogs
- Political and Policy Advisors
- Karl Rove
- Campaign Manager
- Hired Guns
- Campaign Consultants
- Media Consultants
- Volunteer Staff
- The Candidate
- Coverage of the Game: The Media's Role in Defining the Playing Field
- Paid Media
- Positive v. Negative Ads
- Contrast Ads
- Spot Ads
- Inoculation Ads
- Free Media
- Considered More Reliable than Paid by the Public
- Not Controlled by Candidate
- Report on Candidate's Campaign Activities
- Investigate Past
- Cynical
- Horse Race
- Expectations
- Trivial Parts of Campaign
- New Media
- Encourages Candidate Based Campaigns
- Rapid Response
- Clinton War Room
- Robo-Calls
- Internet
- Message
- Fund Raising
- Response to Negatives
- Blogs
- Social Media
- Campaign Strategies to Control Media Coverage
- Isolate Candidate From the Press
- Sound Bites and Photo Opps
- Spin
- Appearing on More Entertainment Shows
- Debates
- Paid Media
- Campaign Finance
- History
- Pendleton Act - 1883
- Civil Service
- Prohibited solicitation of funds from federal workers
- Tillman Act - 1907
- Prohibited corporations from making direct contributions to candidates for federal office
- Recently overturned by Supreme Court
- Other Attempts to Regulate Campaign Finance
- Corrupt Practices Act - 1910, 1911, and 1925
- Hatch Act - 1939
- Taft-Hartley Act - 1947
- Pendleton Act - 1883
- Recent Acts
- Federal Elections Campaign Act (FECA) - 1974
- Disclosure
- Presidential Public Funding Program
- Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
- Individual contributions limited
- Explosion of PACs
- Soft Money
- Independent expenditures limited
- Struck down in Buckley v. Valeo 1976
- Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
- Closed Soft Money Loophole
- 527 Groups
- Federal Elections Campaign Act (FECA) - 1974
- History
- Modern Political Campaigns
- Reading Assignments
- The Journal
- My Poli Sci Lab
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