Bell Ringer Not create government that would do what the people want from day to day Check Public Opinion Popular rule –Elect House of Rep’s, Senate, presidential electors –Representative Gov, Bill of Rights, independent judiciary, federalism, separation of powers –Factions “No complete Public Opinion”

What is public opinion? How is public opinion formed? Why public opinions differ.

How people think or feel about things (politics) Vast majority of people knew next to nothing about government Only vague notions of much-publicized public policy that affects us directly

1940s 21% favored the bill 25% opposed it The rest said they hadn’t thought about it or didn’t Know NO SUCH BILL

Poll – survey of public opinion Random Sample – any given voter or adult has equal chance of being interviewed. Sampling Error – difference between to identical polls

Exit Polls = interview randomly selected people at polling place on election day Quite accurate except when a very close election

Opinion saliency: some people care more about certain issues than other people do Opinion Stability: some issues or choices opinions are steady, while on others they are more volatile Opinion-policy congruence: some issues government is in sync with popular views, while on other issues it is significantly out of sync

Personal and other background traits influence one’s views about politics and government matters Your surroundings influence your political and Government beliefs

People who have a disproportionate share of some valued resource (money) Know more about politics Hold more or less a consistent set of political beliefs Government attends more to the elite views than the popular vies

60% of adults adopt the party preference of their parents There has been a decline in the ability of family to promote a partisan identification

Religious differences make for political differences Catholics – more liberal Protestants – more conservative Jewish – more liberal SOCIAL ISSUES

Men and women both ID with Democrats at the same levels in 1950s 1990s men more Republican WHY = men more conservative, Democratic female candidates

Longer in College more liberal Political participation among college students has declined

“It would be so much easier if everyone’s opinion on political affairs reflected some single feature of his or her life, such as income, occupation, age, race, or sex.”

Public Opinion and voting less determined by class than in Europe Becoming less clear- cut source of political cleavage Noneconomic (abortion, race relations, environment, etc.) issues now define liberal and conservative

African-Americans are overwhelmingly Democrat Becoming a less clear- cut source of political change The gap in opinions is narrowing between blacks and whites Tables 7.4 & 7.5

Gap between leaders of African American Organizations and African Americans in general. Gap between white leaders and white citizens Gaps within own race

Southerners & Northerners disagree significantly Southerners becoming less Democratic

Patterned set of political beliefs about who ought to rule, their principles and policies Moderates – largest group of voters. Figure 7.3 (pg 168)

Small minority take ideologically consistent views on political issues People often express opinions at odds with their ideological label Ideological thinking may be greater in some years than in others Americans do not think of politics in an ideological manner

Conservative Liberal

Favor bigger welfare state Favor smaller military establishment

Strong military Prayer should be in schools Oppose abortion on demand

Liberal: favored personal and economic liberty – freedom from the controls and powers of the state Supported free market and opposed Government regulation of trade

Conservative: opposed the excesses of the French Revolution and its emphasis on personal freedom and favored instead a restoration of the power of the state, the church, and the aristocracy

An active national government that would intervene in the economy, create social welfare programs, and help certain groups gain greater bargaining power

Barry Goldwater Free market rather than a regulated one States’ rights over national supremacy Individual choice in economic affairs US play active role in world affairs

Liberals –Favor gov. efforts to ensure everyone has a job –Spend more money on medical and educational programs –Increase rate of taxation for well-to-do persons

Liberals –Strong federal action to desegregate schools –Provide compensatory programs for minorities –Enforce Civil Rights laws strictly

–Liberals: »Tolerant of protest demonstrations »Legalizing Marijuana »Eliminate crime causes rather than getting tougher with offenders

Economy Personal Conduct Political Ideologies are Complex Liberal and Conservative in their pure form describe the views of relatively few people

Are pure liberal or pure conservative because of information and peers Activists: hold office, run for office, lead interest groups and social movements Since 1980s Congress has showed more partisan voting

Elites influence public opinion in two ways. 1.Elites raise and frame political issues: influence what issues capture public opinion and how those issues are debated and decided 2.State the norms by which issues should be settled

POLITICAL ELITES HAVE A DISPROPORTIONATE INFLUENCE ON PUBLIC POLICY AND ENVEN AND INFLUENCE ON MASS OPINION