Public Opinion and Political Action

The American People Demography- science of human populations Census- required every 10 years, used for funding and allocation of house seats Important to understand population and wear more money needs to go like hospitals and schools Only about 72% end up participating

The Immigrant society Federal law allows for 1 million new immigrants each year For first century US had open door policy 1882 Chinese Exclusionary Act

The American Melting Pot Melting pot- cultures, ideas, and people blend into one Minority majority- white majority will end due to Hispanic immigration 63% white 2010 16% Hispanic 13% African American 6% Asian 2% native American Political Culture- overall set of values widely shared within society “racial animosity an enduring American Phenomenon

Regional Shift Reappointment- reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives, based on state population shift People moved westward in WWII Population in southwest growing the fastest

The Graying of America Florida has grown largely due to attractiveness to senior citizens Citizens over 65 is fastest growing group Big impacts on social security

Process of Political Socialization Family Monopoly on time and emotional commitment Interests pass on, also political leanings Rebellion is only in a small group, most vote the same way as parents The Mass Media Children watch more tv than time they have at school But nowadays fewer watch the news School Promote national loyalty, national anthem Creates those who are less disenchanted by the system Educated individuals more likely to vote and be knowledgeable

Political Leaning over a lifetime Growing older changes political opinion and action Aging increase political participation Strengthen party attachment Politics is a learned behavior

How Polls are conducted Sample of the population Random sampling- everyone has the equal probability of being selected Sampling error- level of confidence, more people in poll more confident random digit dialing- calls placed to phone numbers within randomly chosen exchanges around the country

The Roll of Polls in American Democracy Help candidates detect public preference Can tell importance of issue and not make politician wait till elections to change course Bandwagon effect Exit polls- taken at polling stations, used to help project races Wording can manipulate responses to be skewed

What polls reveal about Americans Political Information Asked about factual statements to reveal knowledge or whither a message is getting through Show ill informed people Some blame schools for not teaching cultural literacy Some rely on simple facts or care only about one subject Some just vote against incumbent

The Decline of Trust in Government 1960 nearly ¾ of Americans trusted government 1980 only ¼ Only trust was after 9/11

Who are liberals and conservatives Most Americans use label conservative over liberal More liberals in the under 30 group The younger the more likely to be liberal Young people are less likely to vote African Americans, Hispanics more Liberal Gender gap- regular pattern where women are more likely to support democratic candidates Family income, and religion less likely to influence politics in recent yrs

Do people think in Ideological Terms? 12% Ideologues- connect policy and belief with policy by party and candidate 42% Group benefits- thought of politics in terms of groups they liked or disliked 24% Nature of the Times- handle on politics was limited to whether the times seemed good or bad to them 22% no issue content- no ideological or issue content in making political evaluations

Do people think in Ideological Terms? Political culture war Sounds like liberal vs conservatives Those account for small portion of population at war with each other, not the majorities just the loudest Gay rights led to culture war? No attitudes just changed

Conventional participation Political participation- encompasses many activities which engage to influence selection of political leaders or policies Conventional participation- voting, persuading, ringing doorbells running for office Unconventional participation- dramatic activities, protesting, civil disobedience, and even violence

Protest as Participation Protest- form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic unconventional tactics, often gets media coverage Occupy wall street Conservative Tea Party Civil disobedience- consciously broken law they thought was unjust Sit ins

Class, Inequality, and participation Citizens of higher social economic status participate more in politics Same of more education African Americans participate more compared to whites of equal status

Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government Americans are ideologically conservative by operational liberals Most Americans oppose big government in idea but favor it in practice

Democracy, Public Opinion, and political Action Americans take ability to vote for leaders for granted publics task to choose who will lead Most choose performance over policy criteria when voting