3. * What is public opinion and how does it influence the political process and affect government actions? * What are interest groups, and how do they try to influence public opinion and government leaders? * What are political parties and how do they work?

4. Chapter 9: The Political Process Section 1: Public Opinion -Process by which people acquire political beliefs is called political socialization -People’s opinions are influenced by... Family School and work Personal factors (age, race, gender, religion) Mass media or means of communication that provide information to a large audience Monitors, shapes, and determines the public agenda Covers electoral politics Growth of mass media: newspapers/magazines  radio  TV  Internet Criticisms of mass media: bias in reporting, bias in story selection, factual inaccuracy, and media consolidation Using multiple sources will help you get accurate info and avoid propaganda

5. Measuring Public Opinion -poll: survey of people scientifically selected to provide opinions about something -the accuracy of a poll depends on… 1. the number of people answering the questions (~1,500/230 million) -sample: group of people who take part in the poll -sample error: indicates a poll’s accuracy and is given as a percentage above and below the poll’s results 2. how those people are chosen 3. how the questions are asked 4. the absence of bias -bias: errors introduced by polling methods that lead to one outcome over others -objectivity: freedom from bias and outside factors -exit poll: surveys a randomly selected fraction of voters after they have voted and tells pollsters how people voted before the official vote count http://youtu.be/Hw8mvyTta8Y

11. Section 2: Interest Groups -An interest group is an association of people who hold similar views or goals (try to influence public policy/agenda)…Interest groups… Organize people who share concerns Provide members with a means of political participation Supply information to the public and to policy makers -interest groups have political action committees (PACs); an organization created to raise and contribute money legally to the campaigns of political candidates…Colbert SuperPACColbert SuperPAC *Types of interest groups:*How interest groups work: -agricultural groups (NPC)-endorsing candidates -business groups (NFIB)-lobbying -labor groups (SEIU)-inform public opinion—grassroots politics -cause-based groups (MADD)-filing lawsuits -societal groups (NOW), (AARP) -professional groups (AMA)

12. U.S. constitutional lawU.S. constitutional law case dealing with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations. The United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations.United States Supreme CourtFirst Amendment independent political expenditures nonprofit corporation corporationslabor unions associations

23. Section 3: Political Parties Political party: an organization that tries to elect its members to public office so that its views can become public policy -each political party has its own set of ideas, theories, and aims about society and government that its members/supporters generally share (ideology) -ideology determines a party’s place on the political spectrum, or continuum of general political beliefs Parties 3 Main Roles 1. Nominating candidates for political office 2. Assisting the electoral process 3. Helping to operate the government DemocratRepublican Liberal Conservative Support govt action to change social, political, or economic policies that are believed to be unfair Support limited govt, lower taxes, and traditional social values

24. Party Systems One-party system Two-party system (U.S.) Multiparty system (most common) Four Eras of Political Parties: 1800-1860: Democrats 1860-1932: Republicans 1932-1968: Democrats 1968-present: Divided government -third party: any political party in a two-party system besides the two major ones -independent candidate: candidate who is not associated with any party local precinct/ward Party Organizationstate national Major Parties Federalist Democrat-Republican National Republican Democratic* Whig Republican**have dominated for 150 years

25. Benefits of Political Parties *filter out extreme or unconventional ideas *broad base of people/supporters represented *party loyalty promotes stability *provide a political “brand name” (i.e. Coca-Cola) Criticisms of Political Parties *majority parties lack unity, discipline, loyalty *interest groups unfairly influence parties *office seekers more interested in personal success than serving public good *parties more interested in winning public opinion than solving issues Section 4: The Electoral Process So why do people bother to run for office?

26. 1. Political campaigns 2. Money and campaigns -hard money: donated to an individual campaign -soft money: given to a party rather than specific candidate 3. Choosing candidates a. self-announcement (petitions) b. caucuses/primary elections -a meeting of party members who select the candidates to run for election c. conventions d. primary elections -party’s candidate for office is chosen directly by voters 1. closed primary-only party members vote 2. open primary-any registered voters can vote Voting & Voter Behavior -Why don’t people vote? 60 Minutes: Profitable PACs

27. Requirements: -18 years old -U.S. citizen/resident of state in which you want to vote -a registered voter (except North Dakota) Four main factors influence why people vote the way they do: 1. Party Identification 2. Issues 3. A candidate’s background 4. The voter’s background More about elections… *General elections  end of a campaign; candidate wins by plurality *Special elections *holding an election--absentee ballot *Elections and the public good: allow citizens to express their opinion *Criticism of campaigns: TV advertising, voter-registration requirements, reduced role of political parties