Ch. 6 – Public Opinion and Political Action In case you were wondering, this is the Goliad Flag from the Texas War for Independence

Public Opinion: – The population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues. Demography: – Science of population changes. Census: – Constitution requires “actual enumeration” of population every ten years. Used to help allocate federal $$ to states Only 72% of households responded by mail; the rest had to be counted by hand. How does diversity affect political opinion? – Cultural differences lead to political differences.

The American People The Immigrant Society – 3 waves: – Northwestern Europe: Early to mid 1800’s English, Irish, Germans, Scandinavians – Southern & Eastern Europe: Late 1800’s-Early 1900s Italians, Jews, Poles, Russians – Hispanics & Asians: Since 1960 Cuba, Central America, Mexico, Vietnam, Korea, Philippines Melting Pot: – Mixing of cultures, ideas, & peoples in USA.

– By mid 21 st century, whites will be a minority & minority groups together will be the majority. – Political Culture: Overall set of values widely shared within a society. – Changing due to changing population demographics. – Simpson-Mazzoli Act aka Immigration Reform & Control Act of Employers must document employees’ citizenship status to prevent illegal workers. Results of 2010 Census – Population growing in west & south. – Texas grew 19% from TX legislature had to draw new congressional districts. – Led to accusations of gerrymandering.

Statistics from the Census African Americans – 13% of pop. Hispanics – 15% of pop. Asians – 5% of pop. Native Americans – 1% of pop. Reapportionment: – Reallocating seats in House every 10 years because of census. – Population is moving south to “sunbelt” – Gulf Coast States. Over 65 is fastest growing age group. – The graying of America.

The graying of America greatly affects social programs like Social Security. – Started during Depression to help unemployed. – Paid into workers to help retirees today. – 1960 – 5.7 workers per retiree. – 2010 – 4.5 workers per retiree. – 2050 – 2.7 workers per retiree. What does this mean for you and your children? (Hint: It’s not good).

How Americans Learn About Politics Political Socialization: – The process through which an individual acquires his/her particular political orientation. The Process: – Informal learning picked up from others. – Family-Most political ideas occur from parents. Some rebellion in teen years, but most return to core values. – Genetics may possibly play a role, research is ongoing. – Media-Not much from news programs. But younger generations get lots of political info from news-tainment & internet. – Also, political ideas embedded in non-news tv shows.

– Schools – Socialization of American values & patriotism. Over a lifetime-Political socialization and especially political participation grows as people age.

How we find out what people are thinking Polls are conducted by taking a sample of the population. – Sample: Relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole. – Random Sampling: Everyone should have an equal chance of being selected as part of sample. – Sampling Error: Level of confidence in findings of a public opinion poll. – Usually +/- 3%. – Random Digit Dialing: Technique used to randomly place calls when conducting surveys.

What effects do polls have? – Can help candidates detect public preferences. – Can make politicians followers rather than leaders. – Distort the election process by creating a “bandwagon effect”. – Exit polls may discourage many from voting & thereby affect election outcomes. – Manipulation of the poll by altering wording. POLLS CAN SHOW BIAS BY HOW THEY WORD QUESTIONS!

Political Ideologies: What Americans Value Liberal_______________________Conservative Gender Gap: – Women are more likely to vote Democrat due to social issues. Does liberal or conservative really matter? Do Americans still trust govt? – Declining.

Political Participation Conventional Participation: – Typically voting, trying to persuade others, petitions, running for office, giving $$ to candidates. Unconventional Participation: – Protest, civil disobedience. Lower rates of participation from: – Minority groups – Low socioeconomic – Inequality in participation leads to inequality in representation. Politicians don’t care about you if you don’t vote.

Ch. 8 Political Parties

What are the difference between Republicans & Democrats? Party Competition. Helpful or Harmful? – Helpful – helps you pick sides based on your views. – Harmful – Can lead to gridlock.

The Meaning of Party Main job of a political party is to WIN ELECTIONS. Three giant roles of a party: – Party in the electorate All members who identify with party; do not have to be registered as members – Party as an organization National, state, & local offices; staff, budget, bylaws. Keep the party running between elections. – Party in government Elected officials who call themselves members of the party; personify the party.

Political Parties as Linkage Institutions Channels through which peoples’ concerns become political issues. – Pick candidates. Must have party nomination to be on national ballot. – Run campaigns. Coordinate state & national campaigns thru funding; less important today due to internet. – Give cues to voters. Candidates’ membership in party tells voters candidates’ policies. – Articulate policies. Thru platforms. – Coordinate policymaking. Party members back each other up in executive & legislative branches.

Models of Politics Political Spectrum Model FascismCommunismModerate RomneyObama

The Downs Model: – Based on idea that Politicians are competing for votes & must figure out what voters want. – Group who most closely represents that wins. Usually fairly centrist. ExtremeLiberalSlightly Liberal ModerateSlightly Cons. Cons.Extreme Perception of Democrats Perception of Republicans

The Party in the Electorate Party Identification-How do we really know how many people belong in each party? – We can’t, since formal party membership isn’t mandatory? Ways to vote: – Straight ticket: Vote for all of party’s candidates. – Split ticket: Vote for candidates of both parties.

By the Numbers 113 th Congress House of Representatives: – 232 Republicans – 200 Democrats – 3 Vacancies Senate – 45 Republicans – 55 Democrats