Public Opinion

LEFT PAGE- PAGE 49 Response to Political Ideology Survey What political party affiliation did your answer results indicate? What 3 issues from the survey are most important to you and why? What issue is least important to you and why? How do you support your position on each issue- are you interpreting the constitution, supporting legislation, using moral judgment, etc.?

Why Doesn't Government Always do What We Want? Framers created a constitution to achieve goals, not necessarily do what the people want Framers knew that there would be many "public opinons" and not just one Public Opinion isn't always that clear Government tends to listen more to elite views rather than popular views, since these elite know and understand more about politics and government

What is Public Opinion? Pollsters want to know what Americans are thinking Can we trust American public opinion if Americans don't necessarily know about the issues? Opinions can change relatively quickly Most Americans don't spend that much time thinking about politics Politicians use public opinion to gauge voter interest/opinion on specific issues Public opinion will influence voting patterns- which politicians care about

How is it Assessed? Straw polls- informal survey conducted by show of hands or other means of counting preferences Tracking polls- polls conducted during a campaign to measure support for a candidate on a day by day basis Exit polls- surveys asked when people exit polling stations to predict the winners Professional survey- more formal survey (i.e. Gallup) Keys to good surveys: Phrasing of statements extremely important and can yield different results Sampling of people must be representative or results will be off

Origins of Political Attitudes Family Religion Gender Education Media

Family Political Party identification o Most children identify with the same political party as their parents o If children change parties it is most often to independent Overall, there has been a decline in partisanship Though children may get a party identification from their parents they may not agree on all aspects/policies of that party Parents who have very strong political views and regularly discuss them, often have children who also do the same

Religion Social Status of Religious Groups When many religious groups first immigrated to America they identified with whatever group helped them the most Religious Tradition Views/teachings of the religion lead its adherents to identify more with one party over another (i.e. Jews are often Democrats because of social justice, while evangelical Protestant denominations are often Republicans) Political Differences strong on social and foreign policy issues and not as much on economic issues Power of the Christian Coalition (esp. in South, Midwest, West)

Gender Traditionally, men have identified more with the Republican party while women have identified more with the Democrats Since the 1960s men have become increasingly Republican, while women have remained largely the same Gap is due to issues like: size of government, gun control, spending programs aimed at the poor, and gay rights This gender gap is not an American phenomenon. It occurs in most places in the world

Education and Information Many studies show that attending college impacts political views- usually making them more liberal. The longer in school, the more liberal Students in social sciences tend to be more liberal than those in engineering or physical sciences Possible reasons for this: o type of people who study a lot o exposure to information, esp. to a liberal media o college professors are often liberals, thus teaching liberalism

Media Media provides citizens with information Media is selective in what they show, thereby influencing public opinion People tend to gravitate to media they agree with, thus strengthening their opinion and party identification

Cleavages in Public Opinion the opinions of some are more influential than the opinions of others class is too difficult to assume one opinion (i.e. differences between poor blacks and poor whites) class ( working class vs. upper class) doesn't play as big of a role in voting in U.S. as it does in Europe voting patterns of different social classes have become more similar over time social class, defined along income lines, has become less important o more education= higher paying job and more education = more liberal views- thus, there is a higher percentage of democrats now many issues people vote on now don't have to do with economics, but social issues

Race and Ethnicity Some differences between blacks and whites: o Blacks tend to be Democrats o Whites tend to be Republicans o Differences on the criminal justice system, affirmative action Similarities in views between black and whites: o abortion, racial quotas, how courts treat criminals Facts: o Differences in views may be narrowing Big Opinion Gap between leaders of African American orgs. and African Americans in general Latinos tend to lean Democrat, while Asians lean Republican Of course, there are differences within these groups

Region North and South Will it ever change..?? Southern members of Congress tend to vote more conservatively At one time Southerners tended to be more conservative on social issues but held similar views on the economy to other regions of the country= southern Democratic party coalition Today political views of white southerners similar to whites in other parts of the country White southerners have become less attached to the Democratic party

Liberalism vs. Conservatism Meaning of these terms has changed over time o 19th c. liberals favored personal and economic liberty and conservatives were nervous about the French Revolution and wanted to restore the power of the state, church, and aristocracy Change with FDR and the New Deal o Liberal= active national government who would intervene in the economy and create social welfare programs o Conservative= opponents of this concept, favored free market, states' rights over national supremacy Ultimately the issues that divide the two groups end up being economic and personal conduct (social) issues

4 Groups..... Pure Liberals Pure Conservatives Libertarians Populists

Political Elite In the U.S. these are people who hold office, run for ffoice, work in campaigns, lead interest groups, speak out on public issues The elite show greater consistency in their views o information- the get more of it o peers- more active you are, the more you like being with like-minded people This is displayed in Congress where Republicans and Democrats tend to be consistently so Affluent people not as conservative as they were in the 1950s Spread of higher education has "created" more liberals Liberal Middle Class vs. the Middle Class This split in the middle class has been hard for the Democrats

How do the Elite Influence Public Policy? Elites (esp. those with media access) raise political issues (i.e. environomental movement) Elites decide how issues are settled- they set the standards (i.e. racism, sexism, AIDS and homosexuality)