Government Exam #2

pain and misery

Public Opinion

the attitudes citizens have about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events 

Values

are the basic principles that shape a person’s opinions about political issues and events 

Example: democracy, liberty, and equality 

Americans core political values

liberty, equality of opportunity and democracy as basic political values 

Political Ideology

Set of ideas and beliefs that we use to understand policies and interpret policies is called

What 4 major types of political ideology exist in American politics

Liberalism, Conservatism, Libertarianism, and Socialism

Classical Liberalism

referred to people that were suspicious of governments and their ability to manage economics and social affairs 

American liberalism

political and social reform 

-extensive government intervention in economy 

-expansion of social services, working on behalf of the poor, minorities, and concern for consumers and the environment 

• Generally, support abortion rights, rights for gays and lesbians, oppose state involvement in/support of religion

Political Socialization

processes through which underlying political beliefs and values are formed 

What are the agents of socialization?

Family and social networks, social groups and race, political party affiliation, education and political environment 

How does socialization work?

the lifelong process by which individuals learn and internalize the culture, values, norms, and behaviors of their society

How knowledgeable are Americans of politics?

Americans tend to be relatively uninformed 

• 71% of Americans cannot name their own member of Congress

What are the challenges for a democracy with regard to political information?

Shortcuts and Cues & Skimming and Scanning.

Shortcuts and Cues

• Becoming informed take time and effort; most Americans choose not to become deeply informed, and rely on shortcuts and cues about how to react to political issues 

• Listening to party elites and news media the most obvious way 

• Also listen to friends, relatives, colleagues, religious leaders 

• Highly partisan political environment increases the relevance of partisan elites, to the detriment of other sources of information 

Skimming and Scanning 

• More and more Americans getting information online; more likely to scan news and headlines, without reading the associated articles 

• Some argue that this has threatened depth of thought 

• Nonlinear browsing habits have undermined the capacity to immerse in longer works of writing 

Why are Shortcut and Cues & Skimming and Scanning relevant for discussing public opinion?

• Those who lack information cannot effectively defend their own political interests 

• If knowledge is power, then a lack of knowledge can contribute to growing political and economic inequality 

• Public opinion is heavily based on modern media and its representation

Polling

Polls do NOT measure large numbers of people; no way to ask hundreds of millions of Americans their political opinions all at once 

Polls take samples of the population, and use those samples to make educated guesses about the public opinion in the wider population 

Measuring public opinion

Politicians, media, and private organizations make use of public opinion polling to get a sense of American opinion on particular issues and with regard to election campaigns 

Population

A population is the total number of people, animals, or items living or located in a specific area

Sample

is a smaller subset of individuals chosen from a larger target population to represent the views and opinions of the entire group.

Representative samples

Samples of Americans are supposed to be representative

• One type would be a ‘simple random sample’, also known as a probability sample 

• These are not so simple attempting to measure public opinion in America generally 

• Polling agencies use census data and telephone numbers to try to create regional samples to approximate a simple random sample 

Sampling Error Rate

(3.1%) 

Sample Sizes

• Sample sizes matter, whether trying to measure public opinion locally or across the United States 

• Sample size of 1000 works just as appropriately for one state’s poll as it does for a poll representing US public opinion 

• Most public opinion polls organization which has access to large samples 

Traditional media

Most traditional media is privately owned 

Tv stations, newspapers, magazines and radio stations

New media

• Blogs 

• Social Media like Twitter and Facebook 

• YouTube 

Why does ownership of media matter?

• It can determine what is acceptable to report on the stations owned  

• Stations support the ‘status quo’; same elites, easier reporting 

• The lack of an outlet in traditional media for more radical, non-’status quo’ ideas has contributed to the growth of new media 

What is digital citizenship?

refers to the ability to participate in society and politics online 

treating others with respect online, protecting private information, and checking facts before sharing news

What is niche journalism?

news reporting devoted to a targeted portion of a journalism market sector or for a portion of readers of viewers based on content or ideological presentation; feeds citizen interest in politics 

What is citizen journalism?

new media often is written by average everyday citizens; before, quality of journalism was high, diversity of opinion was low; with citizen journalism, the reverse is true 

Benefits/ Drawbacks of new media

Benefits: Connivence, Currency, Depth, and Diversity

Drawbacks: RESOURCES, Misinformation, rumors, lies and some truly awful information, and propaganda:

Connivence

access is easy, from multiple locations, and often free 

Currency:

information moves rapidly to users looking for specific information 

Depth

Online new can go more in-depth than sound bit television (though not usually as much as newspapers) 

Diversity

a MUCH wider range of idea is expressed online than in the traditional media 

RESOURCES:

Citizens do not necessarily have the resources to be engaging in investigative journalism to the same standards as traditional journalists

Misinformation, rumors, lies and some truly awful information

• is passed as news on the Internet, often disguised as legitimate news 

• Sites like Reddit propagate conspiracy theories and extreme, racist views which have become harmful to the political process, and run contrary to long-standing American values 

• New media can simply serve as propaganda: consider the use of it by radical groups like ISIS, or extremists closer to home 

Agenda setting (which issues are political issues):

power of the media to bring public attention to particular issues and problems 

Selection bias (what aspect of issues deserve attention):

the tendency to focus new coverage on only one aspect of an event or issue, avoiding coverage of other aspects 

Framing (whether an issue or event is good, bad):

media’s ability to influence how the American people interpret events and policies 

 Priming (the ‘weight’ of one issue compared to another):

providing undue attention to some issues while ignoring other (especially during elections) 

Political parties:

organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to government office 

Parties are not interest groups; interest groups seek to influence policy, parties seek to control the government 

Two political parties

Republican and Democratic

Federalists

supported by New England merchants, argued for tariffs on manufacturing imports, national bank, resuming commerce with Britain 

Jeffersonian Republicans

supported by southern farmers, favored free trade, agricultural interests, and France

Whigs

Those that disagreed or were formerly part of the Federalists branched off to form

Republican

a supporter of a republic form of government, or someone who prefers elected leaders over a king

Democrats

A Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party or a person who believes in democracy.

Populist

refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of “the people” and often juxtapose this group against “the elite”

Socialist

is a person who believes that the resources, factories, and systems used to make goods should be owned or controlled by the public or the workers, rather than by private business owners.

The role of third parties in American politics

• Even though they get relatively less attention, third parties have long been around in the US 

• Sometimes they become quite influential: Populist and Socialist 
  Parties at the turn of last century, for example 

• Tended to alter existing policy regimes of the major parties, rather than completely replacing them 

Basic roles of political parties in American politcs

Political parties are organized groups of people who share similar political beliefs and work to win elections, manage government, and shape public policy

What is voter turnout?

Voter turnout in America is very low 

only 6 in 10 Americans vote in presidential elections, and only about 1 in 3 Americans vote during mid-term (non-Presidential Election years) elections 

Three categories of factors in the likehood of voters

Socioeconomic Status, Political Environment, Mobilization, and Competition, and State Electoral Laws

Election Day Barriers

• Elections on a Tuesday, a workday for most people 

• Harder for some workers to get time to go to vote than for others 

• Some states purge voter rolls if a voter does not regularly 

• States are increasingly requiring identification before voting 

Primary elections

A primary election is an election where political parties choose their candidates for the general election. In a primary election, candidates are nominated rather than elected.

Close primary

are partisan meaning Democrats and Republicans each hold a separate primary election to determine their nominees for the general election. In a closed primary system, only registered members of a political party are permitted to vote in that party's primary.

Open Primary

An open primary is a type of primary where voters do not have to affiliate with a political party in advance in order to vote in its primary and any voter can vote in the primary of their choice.

General Election

is an election in which candidates are elected to offices. This is in contrast to a primary election, which is used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given elective office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election.

Referendums

is a direct public vote in which an entire electorate is asked to accept or reject a specific law, proposed legislation, or political question.

Recall

A political recall is the process by which citizens can remove elected officials from office before their term is completed.

Electoral college

The Electoral College is the official system used in the United States to indirectly elect the president and vice president, consisting of 538 total electors who cast 270 required votes to win, based on state congressional totals.

Process of electing the President

Potential future presidents declare candidacy for party-level contests 

Campaigning/Debate while competing for nomination of their party 

Primary elections and/or Caucuses in each state

Campaigning/debate between nominees 

General Election

Electoral College votes 

Electoral College votes are read in Congress, confirming election of the President of the United States 

What is Madisonian theory?

• a good government encourages the proliferation of interests so that no single interest can dominate the others 

• References to “faction” in early American history actually discussing interest groups 

Pluralism

all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the United States (updated version of Madisonian theory) 

What is the counterpart to pluralism in American politics?

Elitism

Basic types of interest groups

• Economic 

• Labor 

• Professional Associations 

• Citizen Groups 

• Ideological Groups 

• Public- Sector Groups 

The “Free Rider” Problem

• Economist Mancur Olson came up with description of a basic problem in organizational structure: 

• Benefits of a group’s success are often broadly available, and cannot be denied to non-members: collective goods 

• Mosquito Example: several private property owners live near mosquito-infested swamp. Each owner wants swamp cleared. But clearing will take only a few of the owners. The actions of those few would not require effort of the other owners. 

• Each of the inactive owners would be called free riders, for benefiting from the work of others to clear the swamp. 

What are some benfits of interest group membership?

• Informational Benefits 

• Conferences, training programs, research, legal help, professional codes, bargaining 

• Material Benefits 

• Travel packages, insurance, discounts 

• Solidary Benefits 

• Friendship, appreciation 

• Purposive Benefits 

• Advocacy, representation before government, participation in public affairs 

What are some strategies interest groups use to have themselves heard?

• Lobbying 

• Access to key decision makers 

• Using the court system 

• Mobilizing public opinion 

• Using electoral politics