Review: Political Opinions, Beliefs, and Behaviors AP Government Kelly Walker

Political Culture A set of widely shared beliefs, values, and norms concerning the ways that political and economic life ought to be carried out. Defines the relationship between the citizens to government Conflictual Political Culture: different groups or subcultures clash Consensual Political Culture: experiences less conflict

Alex Tocqueville Early observer of American Political Culture (1830s) Democracy in America: America is successful: Abundant and fertile land Countless opportunities for people to acquire land and make a living Lack of feudal aristocracy that blocked others’ ambitions An independent spirit encouraged by frontier living Still shape our basic values of liberty, individualism, equal opportunity, democracy, rule of law, and civic duty

Shared Values Grounded in 18th century enlightenment philosophy American beliefs and reflect an accumulation of values through time.

Core Values Liberty Individualism- Rugged Individualism Equal opportunity Democracy Rule of law Civic duty * equality of opportunity v. equality of results ?

Changing American values Enlightenment values changed by the Industrial revolution Capitalism: wealth based on money Free Enterprise: economic competition without restraint from government Added the idea that government has the responsibility for the general welfare.

Value Changes since the 1930s Second Bill of Rights- Speech by FDR that reflected a commitment to economic security and independence- everyone has a right to a job, food, clothing, a decent home and adequate medical care and a good education. Created civil rights movement of the 60s.

Political Tolerance Democracy depends on citizens being reasonably tolerant of the opinions and actions of others. Americans agree with: Freedom of speech, religion, and right to petition in the abstract Freedom of speech, religion, and right to petition and many people are not as politically tolerant as they proclaim to be Freedom of speech, religion, and right to petition and many Americans are willing to support those with whom they disagree with to do a great deal politically Freedom of speech, religion, and right to petition: Americans have become more tolerant in the past few decades

Mistrust of the Government Growing Trend Vietnam, Watergate started the trend and it continues Political Efficacy Internal Efficacy: the ability to understand and take part in political affairs External Efficacy: the belief of the individual that government will respond to his or her personal needs or beliefs

Culture Wars 2 cultural camps in constant conflict The US is guided by unchanging standards: Belief in God, laws of nature, and the US as a force for good in the world Emphasis that legitimate alternatives to these standards do exist and that the US has at times had a negative or neutral effect on the world.

Public Opinion The distribution of individual attitudes about a particular issue, candidate or political institution. Complex topic to study In order for a democracy to operate, the opinions of the public must become part of the political process

Measuring Public Opinion George Gallup: father of public opinion polls (1932) Representative sample- random sampling- the most common type used- gives everyone in the population an equal probability of being selected Respondents Knowledge: people must have some knowledge of the issue Careful and objective wording- can change the outcome of the poll Cost efficiency v accuracy: straw poll- may not be accurate Variances between samples: sampling errors (usually 3%)

Factors that influence political attitudes Political Socialization: a lifelong process through which an individual acquires opinions through contact with family, friends, coworkers, and other group associations. Family- most important source of socialization Gender- women tend to vote D Married v unmarried-married have more at stake Education: higher the education, the more likely to vote- Social Class: Unions support D- Upper class R Race and ethnicity: minorities vote D Geographic region: Coast- more liberal, south/west conservative Age- elderly vote- 2008 young voted D

Political Ideology A coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy. Liberal and Conservative How ideological are Americans? Ideologues: 12% of the people connected their opinions and beliefs to policy positions by candidates and parties (voted party line) Group Benefit voters: 42% voted for parties based on which one they thought would benefit groups they belonged to or supported Nature of the times voters: 24% linked good times or bad times (economics) to one party No issue content: 22% could give no issue-based or ideological reasons for voting for a part or candidate

Liberalism v Conservatism Meanings have changed over time Liberals: originally did not believe in a strong central govt- today they do Conservatives: believed govt was best left to political elites but did not deny rights to individuals 1930s- trend reversed

Neo Cons Conservative- main goal is to counter global terrorism, especially carried out by radical Islamists Election of 2008- no ideological shift

Political Participation and Voter Behavior Encompasses the various activities that citizens employ in their efforts to influence policy making and the selection of leaders.

Types of Participation 86% watched the campaign on TV 77% voted in the election 48% tried to influence others how to vote 21% put a sticker on their car or wore a button 13% gave money to help a campaign 7% attended a political meeting 3% worked on a campaign

Who Participates Education: single most important characteristic Religious involvement: greater involvement by regular church goers Race and ethnicity: whites have larger voter rates Age: elderly vote the most- young the least Gender: Women exceed men in voter turnout Two-Party competition: competitive elections foster participation- who will win mentality

Cross-Cutting Cleavages An individual is affected by many factors when voting: Educated White female from California- high school graduate from Alabama that works in the auto industry, etc

Voting Expanding Suffrage Lifting of Property restrictions: universal manhood suffrage (1830s) Suffrage for black Americans and former slaves: 15th amendment- Jim Crow Women’s Suffrage: 1920 19th Amendment 24th Amendment- no poll taxes 26th Amendment- 18-20 year olds may vote

Voter Turnout Measured in 2 ways: Show the proportion of registered voters that actually voted – (75 to 80% vote) Showing the percentage of the eligible voters that voted (only 50% vote)

Voter Registration Laws vary according to state 1993- motor voter bill allows people to register to vote while applying for or renewing a driver’s license- Can no longer remove names for not voting from voter rolls Help America Vote Act 2002 improve state voting systems and voter access by creating state-wide voter registration databases.

Other Reasons for Low Turnout Difficulty of absentee voting The number of offices to elect- ballot fatigue Weekday, non-holiday voting Weak political parties New laws require formal ID to vote?

Impact of the 2000 Presidential Election Devolution of election responsibility to the states for a federal office Voter machine malfunctions Help America Vote Act (2002) in response The Election Assistance Commission

New Ways to Vote Provisional Ballots: Used when it is not clear that a voter is officially registered Early Voting Same-day voter registration On-line voting?

Any Questions?