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Influence of Public Opinion in American Government

Explore how public opinion impacts governmental policies, the origins of political attitudes, and cleavages in public opinion in the U.S. Learn about ideology, political elites, and topics for exam review.

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Influence of Public Opinion in American Government

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  1. Aim: How does Public Opinion influence American Government? DEMOCRACY AND PUBLIC OPINION Why is government policy often at odds with public opinion? • Framer’s intent • Many “publics” • limit to polling • Government attends toelites

  2. Aim: How does Public Opinion influence American Government? • Is there really such a thing as “Public Opinion” if…the “public” suffers from ignorance, instability, and sensitivity to wording? • Examples of problems? • “Monetary Control Bill” • Wording • stability

  3. Aim: How does Public Opinion influence American Government? DO NOW: • Why is governmental policy often at odds with public opinion? • Why might someone argue that there is no such thing as “public opinion? • What is the single most important factor in your political socialization? Why has it declined in importance in recent years?

  4. ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES Family • Party ID • Only 9% of high school seniors identify with the party opposite of their parents • Even as adults, 60% share party ID of parents • Influence of family on party ID has been decreasing

  5. ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES RELIGION • Catholics more liberal on economic issues than white protestants • Jews much more liberal on economic and social issues • Why? • Social status • Religious tradition • See table (text)

  6. ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES GENDER GAP • Since 1960s women have tended to ID more strongly than men with Democratic party • Why? • “SHE” issues • See chart (text)

  7. Gender Gap

  8. ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES SCHOOLING/INFORMATION • College students more liberal than general population • Longer stay in college, more liberal you become • Why? • Individual traits • Expose to more information about politics • Liberalism – professors • Does the liberalism last?

  9. Changing College Student

  10. ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES DO NOW: • What is the single most important factor in your political socialization? • How does religion influence your political identification? (Protestant, Catholic, Jew) • Does gender influence your views on the issues?(Is there a gender gap?) • How does schooling influence one’s ideology?

  11. Cleavages in Public Opinion What are your CATS? • Race/ethnicity • Gender • Social Class • Religion • Region • Age • Education *In the U.S. there is no one cleavage that makes somebody a liberal or conservative…NOT THAT SIMPLE!

  12. Cleavages in Public Opinion • No single cleavage between liberals and conservatives • Social class less important in U.S.than Europe • Race/ethnicity – becoming more important • Blacks most consistently liberal group – little cleavage • See table – White v. Black opinions • See table – Party ID/Political attitude ethnic groups (Ca.) • Southerners v. Northerners • Southerners and Democratic party

  13. African American and White Opinion

  14. Changes in Racial Opinion

  15. White Southerners and the Democratic Party

  16. Cleavages in Public Opinion DO NOW: • Is there any single cleavage (category) that makes somebody a liberal or a conservative? • How does socio-economic status affect one’s political ideology? • Can the region that an individual is from (within the U.S.) play a role in influencing party ID and ideology? • Why have white southerners left the Democratic party? (no longer the solid south for Democrats) • What other factors influence the political ideology that an individual is likely to possess?

  17. IDEOLOGY : You vs. Your Enemy • Box (text) • Do you know the difference between a “bleeding heart, knee-jerk, pinko, tree-hugger” (aka. Liberal) and a “right-wing, reactionary, cold-hearted, fascist” (aka. Conservative)?(charts p. 121 and 123) • Ideology Quiz

  18. IDEOLOGY • Pure Liberals (Economic, Personal Conduct) • Libertarians (Economic, Personal Conduct) • Populists (Economic, Personal Conduct) • Pure Conservatives (Economic, Personal Conduct)

  19. Ideological Self-Identification

  20. Political Ideology and Public Opinion • Why do more Americans (Over 40%) view themselves as Moderate rather than Liberal or Conservative? • What is the difference between the Traditional Middle Class and the New (Liberal) Middle Class?

  21. Political Ideology and Public Opinion POLITICAL ELITES • Who are the “elites”? • Why do elites display greater ideological consistency? • What role do they play in American politics? -raise and frame the issues -establish the norms by which issues should be settled • Are Democratic elites and Republican elites more liberal/conservative than rank and file Democrats and Republicans?

  22. Topics for Exam Review • Articles of Confederation (weaknesses and remedies) • Federal grants-in-aid (types, define, trends) • Trust in Government (trends, explanation) • Political Efficacy (define, trends, explanation) • Factors influencing political socialization

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