1. UNIT II- Political Beliefs

2. Evaluate the following quote
“…it is entirely the fault of the man himself if he cannot succeed”
How do you think Americans answer this question?

3. Key Terms Political Culture Political socialization Exit poll
Gender gap
Melting Pot
Political Ideology
Public Opinion
Random Sampling
Sample
Sampling Error
Efficacy (internal and external)
Divided Government
Conservative
Liberal
Culture War

4. Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.
For example, there is agreement among many ethnic groups about the value of equality.
Public Opinion is the distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues

6. Elements of the American view of the Political System
Liberty
Equality
Democracy
Civic duty
Individual responsibility
“American creed”- Belief in equality of opportunity

7. Political Socialization
“the process through which and individual acquires [their] particular political orientation”
Orientation grows firmer with age
The Process of Political Socialization
The Family
The Mass Media
Generation Gap
School
better-educated citizens are more likely to vote and are more knowledgeable about politics and policy.
Political Learning over a Lifetime- Aging increases political participation and strength of party attachment. (see figure 6.3)

8. Discussion…
Think about the role of political symbols in society. What are some examples?
Pledge of Allegiance
How many of you know the words to the Pledge? National Anthem?
What is the purpose of saying the Pledge?
How pervasive is our culture at instilling American values, beliefs, and principles?
Are you okay with this?

14. Consequences of the Decline in Support?
People are more likely to protest government’s policies
There is a significant decline in voting
An increased dependence on third-party identifiers who feel alienated from the two major political parties.
More non-conventional participation

15. Political Efficacy in the United States
Definition: citizen’s capacity to understand and influence political events
Political efficacy has two parts
Internal efficacy- Confidence in one’s ability to understand and influence events
External efficacy- Belief that system will respond to citizens
Not shaped by particular events
Declined steadily since the 1960s
Americans seem to believe that government is becoming too big to respond to individual preferences
Comparison: efficacy is still much higher among Americans than among Europeans

17. Public Opinion Polling
Case Study:1936 Literary Digest Poll
Predicts Alf Landon will win in 1936, 57% to 43%.
Literary Digest had been right in every previous election.
. . . but not this time!
Why did it go wrong?

18. Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
How Polls Are Conducted
Sample: a small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey to be representative of the whole
Random Sampling: the key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample
Sampling Error: the level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll

19. The Role of Polls in American Democracy
Polls help politicians detect public preferences.
But critics say polls make politicians think more about following than leading public, even though politicians do not track opinion to make policy
Polls may distort election process
Exit Polls
May discourage people from voting
2000 presidential election in Florida

20. What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information
Americans don’t know much about politics.
Americans may know their basic beliefs but not how that affects policies of the government.
Example: Citizenship Quiz

21. Political Ideologies
“a set of values a person holds that are reflected in their political views.” (economics, social and moral values)
Most Americans identify themselves as liberal or conservative.
Terms have changed over time.
Libertarian is the third ideology that is growing in popularity.

22. Review
Liberals believe…
Conservatives believe…

24. What are you?
Strong liberal
Weak liberal
Moderate
Weak conservative
Strong conservative
ASSIGNMENT: Take the Ideological Survey and find out if you are really what you say you are

25. Answers to Political Ideology Survey
C L 11. L 16. C 21. C
C L 12. L 17. C 22. L
C C 13. C 18. C 23. L
L C 14. C 19. L 24. C
C L 15. L 20. C 25. C

26. Now What are you? Strong liberal Weak liberal Moderate
Weak conservative
Strong conservative

28. Political Ideology Assignment
“In your team, create a debate between a liberal and a conservative about one of the following topics:
Health Care
Immigration
Abortion
Gun Control
Minimum Wage
National Security
Social Security
Student Choice (see me for approval first)
Be creative and have fun with this assignment. You will be graded based on how well your conversation reflects the views of a typical liberal and conservative!

29. Ideology Debate
See handout for instructions

30. Possible FRQ for Political Beliefs
Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.
a) Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response.
b) Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.
c) Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior.

31. Political Behaviors

32. Political Participation
“all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue”
Linkage institutions are the political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda.
Examples: media, interest groups, political parties

33. Forms of Participation
Conventional methods: voting, working on a campaign, contacting elected officials
Protest
Grass roots campaigns encourage citizens to get out and vote.
Civil disobedience: a form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.
Joining an interest group or political party
Donate money to a campaign
Community Service- young people’s participation in civic activities has reached all-time highs for those 30 and below.

34. How Citizens Participate

35. Electoral/Non-electoral Political Participation Among Anglo Whites, African Americans, and Latinos

37. Figure 8.3: Nonpolitical Voluntary Activity Among Citizens
Insert figure 8.3 (formerly 6.3 in 9e)
Sidney Verba et al., Voice and Equality: Civic Volunteerism in American Politics (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995),

38. Table 8.6: Participation Beyond Voting in Fourteen Democracies
Insert table 8.6 (formerly 6.6 in 9e)

39. Voter Turnout
Key Questions: What is an average turnout in a Presidential election? In a “mid term” election? Off year? Primary? Closed primary? What types of voters vote in low turnout elections?
Key Trend: Federal government taken more control of the voter process since Constitution written through registration requirements and suffrage laws.
GOOD RULE OF THUMB: “Voting is a matter of habit. The more frequently a person has voted in the past, the most likely they will in the current election.”
What are the implications of this statement?

42. Voter Participation in Presidential Elections, 1860-2004

43. Obstacles to Voting: Why Don’t People Vote?

44. Obstacles to Voting: Why Don’t People Vote?
Voter Registration
Absentee Ballots-
Single Day, Tuesday Voting
Apathy
Expansion of suffrage
Motor Voter Law (1993)
Voter Rights Act of 1965
Greater youthfulness of population and presence of growing number of minorities eligible to vote.
Political parties are not as effective as once were in mobilizing voters to get to polls
Why?
Other issues:
Citizenship
Disfranchisement of certain groups (felons, the mentally incompetent)
Residency
Need to show identification
Generally have to vote in person
Closed primaries
*Surprisingly, there is no correlation between distrust of political leaders and not voting.*

45. What causes people to vote?
Party Identification (#1 factor in determining who votes)
Provide a regular perspective through which voters can view the political world.
Candidates
Integrity
Reliability
Competence
Policy
Easier to do today than 1960’s because media forces candidates to take a stand.
High political efficacy
Those who see policy differences among voters are more likely to vote. When major differences exist, the most likely voters will turn out because they feel like they can steer policies by their choices.

46. Who is more likely to vote?
Age- older voter, more likely to vote, but drops off after getting too old.
Education: More education = more likely to vote. Most important factor
Religious
High income
Race – African American, Hispanic, and Asian (most unrepresented groups of American voters)
Gender: Female = more likely to vote
Marital Status: Married = more likely to vote
Union Membership: Union member = more likely to vote
Traits are cumulative– possessing several adds up

48. “All the African Americans who voted for Bush ended up on his Cabinet”
- Jay Leno, After the 2000 Election Returns

49. Observations from Annual Editions “Obama Buoyed by Coalition of the Ascendant” p. 141-143
Who is the new “coalition”?
Young people (under 30)
Obama beat McCain among voters under 30 by a 2-1 margin
Hispanics and other minorities
Whites cast only 74% of the vote. Down from 85% 20 years ago.
2004- Bush won 2/5 of Hispanic vote. Support for Republicans went down 29% in Hispanics preferred Obama over McCain by a 2-1 margin. Why? immigration reform.
White upper-middle-class professionals
47% of highly educated. Usually, Republicans party of “rich.”
“melting-pot suburbs” – Well-educated whites and racial minorities. Comfortable with and welcome diversity.
Who else helped?
Major urban centers (Philadelphia and Detroit)
Trimmed Republican “strongholds”: rural areas in Colorado and Virginia.
Regional/Geographical Gains:
Northeast, Midwest, Outer South, Southwest
The West and Southern regions had been firmly Republican for years. Essentially, Republicans are a “Deep South” party.
“He is building a coalition that Democrats could ride for 30 or 40 years they way they rode the FDR coalition of the 1930s” (141).
The Challenge: “Democrats won’t find it easy to construct an agenda that satisfies such a diverse alliance.” (143).

50. Observations from Annual Editions “The ’08 Campaign: Sea of Change for Politics as We Knew It”
The rules of campaigning have been rewritten. How?
Blogs (rare or non-existent in 2004)
Technology-driven voter programs
Internet (You-Tube, fundraising). Obama's use of allowed to expand in Republican areas not traditionally thought possible before.
“The great impact that this election will have for the future is that it killed public financing for all time.”
Text messaging
“The changes…reflect a cultural shift in voters, producing an audience that is at once better informed, more skeptical and, from reading blogs, sometimes trafficking in rumors or suspect information.” As a result, this new electorate tends to be more questioning of what is told by campaigns and often uses the Web to do its own fact-checking.”

51. Possible FRQ from this UNIT
In the United States political system, there are several linkage institutions that can connect citizens to government. Elections constitute one such institution. Because of lower voter turnout, elections represent an imperfect method of linking citizens to their government. Even when there is low voter turnout, however, other linkage institutions can connect citizens to government.
Describe how each of the following is related to the likelihood of voting
Age
Education
Identify one current government electoral requirement that decreased voter turnout. Explain how it decreases voter turnout
Identify one linkage institution other than elections and explain two ways it connects citizens to government.