Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action – Flashcards

The distrubution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues

The science of population changes

An "actual enumeration" of the population, which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 years. The census is a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes

A term used to characterize the United States, with its history of immigration and mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples

The situation, likely beginning in the mid-twenty-first century, in which the non-Hispanic whites will represent a minority of the US population and minority groups together will represent a majority

An overall set of values widely shared within a society

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census

The process through which individuals in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and others

A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole

The key technique employed by survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample

The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results

A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey

Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision

A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events

The regular pattern in which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates, in part because they tend to be less conservative than men and more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending

All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common means of political participation in a democracy is voting; other means include protest and civil disobedience

A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change thought dramatic and unconventional tactics

A form of political participation based on a conscious decision to break the law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences

~ Obama's healthcare reform problems - guarantee health insurance coverage for almost all Americans ~ Public Opinion - creation of a gov-administered health insurance program that would be available to individuals and small companies at competitive market rates ~ faced problems: getting the public to understand the essences of public opinion (lost details) ~ Public Opinion polling has grown: media; journalists & public policy and debate elements ~ Democracy = people guide public policy, but people know little about policy issues ~ US = diverse with no right or wrong opinion - tolerates diversity and individualism ~ Public Opinion - complex, involves interviews and careful wording of questions ~ For US gov to work efficiently and effectively, the diversity of the US public and its opinions must be faithfully channeled thought the political process 6.1 The American People 6.2 How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization 6.3 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information 6.4 What Americans Value: Political Ideologies 6.5 How Americans Participate in Politics 6.6 Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

~ Democracy and Census ~ Census Bureau trues to conduct the most accurate population count to properly allocate its billions of federal dollars (2010 - 72% of households responded, so door-to-door was employed) ~ Participation is important! It determines how much federal funding is spend on infrastructure and services: hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, bridges, tunnels, and other public works projects, and emergency services ~ Undercounted communities do not get the funding they deserve/need ~ Changes in US population impacts culture and political system ~ The Immigrant Society ~ The American Melting Pot ~ The Regional Shift ~ The Graying of America

~ US = nation of immigrants; "nation of nations" ~ All Americans are descended from immigrants or are immigrants themselves ~ 1 million new legal immigrants per year and 500,000 illegal immigrants per year (12% of nation are immigrants) ~ 3 great waves of immigration to the US 1) early-mid 1800s - northwestern Europeans (English, Irish, Germans, Scandinavian) 2) late 1800s - early 1900s - Southern and Eastern Europeans (Italians, Jews, Poles, Russians) - came through Ellis Island, NY 3) Recent - 1960s on - Hispanics (Cuba, Central American, Mexico) and Asians (Vietnam, Korea, Philippines) ~ 1st century - US was an "open door" for anyone to fill up territory ~ 1875 - 1st restrictions on immigrants - limited criminals and prostitutes from staying in US; later lunatics and people with serious diseases were banned too ~ 1882 - 1st geographically based restrictions - Chinese Exclusion Act ~ 1924 - Johnson - Reid Immigration Act - (concern over flood of new immigrants from S or E Europe) established official quotas for immigrants based on national origins - based on # of people from each particular country living in the US at the time of the 1890 census (tied quotas to a time when NW Europeans came, law greatly cut down on the flow of migrants from elsewhere) ~ 1965 - Hart - Celler Immigration and Nationality Act - abolished quotas; made family integration the prevailing goal for US immigration policy (family unification) ~ Today, many politicians = US competitiveness in the globalized economy would be better served by reducing the emphasis on family unification in immigration policy and reallocating a substantial percentage of immigrant visas to people with special talents

~ Melting Pot and Minority Majority ~ 2010 whites = 63%; Hispanics = 16%; African Americans = 13%; Asian = 6%; Native = 2% ~ Minority populations are growing at faster rates ~ Mid 21st Century = Whites = 48% ~ Immigration into US will continue to be mostly Hispanics and Asian Americans & Birth rates are higher among minorities ~ Most of US history = African Americans were the largest minority group ~ Reluctant immigrants - slaves ~ Legacy of racism = African Americans are economically disadvantaged ~ 2011 - 26% lived under poverty line (Whites = 6%) ~ still economically disadvantaged but they exercise more political power and the # of elected black officials has increased by 600% since 1970 ~ 2000 census - Hispanics outnumbered African Americans for the first time (cities, gaining political power) ~ issue = illegal immigration (to escape poverty) ~ 2010 - 10.8 million illegal immigrants living in the US (75% from Mexico and Central America) ~ 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Act - law requires that employers document the citizenship of their employees (Us citizens and legal immigrants are allowed to work) or they will be subjected to civil and criminal penalties (if they knowingly employ illegal immigrants - hard to prove) ~ Asian motives = professional workers looking for greater opportunity (most highly skilled immigrant group and super achievers of emerging minority groups) ~ 53% over 25 have college degrees and median income has surpassed whites ~ political successes ~ Americans live in a multilingual and multicultural society ~ Political Culture ~ integration fo immigrants into American identity = growing diversity ~ Concerns: racial animosity is enduring - conflict and hostility; inhabitants of diverse communities tend to withdraw from collective life and distrust neighbors (e pluribus unum) ~ Major democratic changes: minority majority, moving and aging

~ Most of US history = most populated states = N of Mason-Dixon Line and E of Mississippi River ~ Much of US growth now is centered in W and S ~ People have moved to Sun Belt (pop growth: 29% AZ, 19% TX, 16% FL, 3% NE) ~ Demographic changes influence political changes (states lose/gain congressional representation as their population changes - power shifts) ~ Reapportionment ~ 435 seats - reflect each state's proportion of the population (TX ^, NY )

Fl - 4th most populous state - Attractive to senior citizens ~ 65+ year olds are the fastest growing age group in the US ~ living longer due to medical advantages and fertility rate has dropped ~ Aging = impact on Social Security (pay-as-you-go system - today's workers pay for today's retirees) ~ 1960 - 5.7 workers per retiree ~ 2012 - 3 workers per retiree ~ 2040 - 2 workers per retiree ~ (Tremendous pressure on Social Security system - 2nd most costly public policy) ~ Promised benefits are expected - trillions of $ ~ Both parties believe that SS is important

~ Political Socialization ~ People become more socialized and political presentations grow firmer as they age ~ Govs aim socialization efforts at the youth ~ The Process of Political Socialization ~ Political Learning over a Lifetime

~ small portion of US political learning is formal (civics/gov classes) ~ informal learning = more imprint - accidental -pick up and absorb ----- The Family ~ central = monopoly of time and emotional commitment ~ parents into politics = you are exposed to politics ~ pick up political leanings from parent attitudes ~ Usually, young people vote by parents' party identification ~ Sometimes, rebellions occur - 60s and 70s generation gap opening - radical youth condemned backward thinking parents but found more agreement than disagreement in the end ~ Genetics - identical twin agreements (same environment) ----- The Mass Media ~ "new parent" - chief source of info ~ young adults are less likely to watch/read news than elders ~ Lack of political knowledge of youth is due to media consumption ~ 1965 - Gallup found no difference between age groups in frequency of following politics though media ~ Recently, age gap has opened - older people pay the most attention to the news and young people the least ~ media age of news watcher is 62... ----- School ~ Govs use schools to promote national loyalty and support for basic values (Pledge - free enterprise and democracy) ~ Want students to learn about the positive features of democracy and this helps ensure that the youth become supportive citizens ~ + child feelings = + adult feelings) ~ not always the case = well socialized youths in the 60s led the opposition to the Vietnam War - goal of most activists was to make the system more democratically response rather than change the US gov radically ~ most are public schools - financed by US gov (certified textbooks) ~ schooling is the most obvious intrusion of gov into US socialization ~ education influences political attitudes and behaviors ~ better educated citizens are more likely to vote, exhibit more knowledge about politics and public policy, and are more tolerant of opposing (radical) opinions. ~ Educated citizens = democratic citizens

~ Politics is a lifelong activity ~ Aging increases political participation and strength of party attachments (young adults lack experience with politics; political behavior is learned behavior) ~ Politics is a learned behavior (learn to vote, pick a political policy, evaluate political events in the surrounding world) ~ One of the products of learning is public opinion

~ Polls provide skeptical answers (accuracy?) ~ How Polls Are Conducted ~ The Rolls of Polls in American Democracy ~ What Polls Reveal About Americans' Political Information ~ The Decline of Trust in Government

~ George Gallup developed public opinion polling (mother-in-law fro ace of state) ~ Sample - blood tests, 1,000-1,500 people represent the "universe" of potential voters ~ Key to accuracy is Random Sampling - chances are as good as anyone else (race, gender, age) ~ Polling = estimation - sample = certain degree of confidence ~ Sampling Error - 1,500 - 2,000 respondents = +/- 3% ~ Infamous 1936 Literary Digest survey - underestimated TR's vote by 19% - predicted a landslide victory for Alf Landon ~ 2,376,000 people but badly flawed - found names form the biggest lists they could find: telephone books and motor vehicle records (Great Depression = wealthy people had these items and were more likely to vote Republican) ~ Accurate representation, not # of respondents ~ computers and technology = cheaper and easier polls ~ Before = door-to-door; Now = telephone ~ Random - Digit Dialing ~ Disadvantages to RDD - 2% of population does not have a telephone and people are less willing to participate over the phone (hang up) ~ 1/4 households only use cell phones (federal law prohibits the use of automated dialing programs to cell phones, so pollsters have to manually and expensively (5-15x more expensive than interviewing landlines) dial cell phone numbers) ~ costs have increased been though poll firms have adapted ~ Internet - Knowledge Networks - contact people on phone to complete web-based polls/surveys via emails ~ paid a small sum to participate ~ quickly and economically - reduces burden - Web = more interesting ~ Polling = big business

~ Polls help candidates detect public differences and a tool for democracy ~ provides a way for public desires to be heard at times other than elections (people without voices get voices and power) ~ Critics: ~ Makes politicians concerned with following then leading ~ Discourages bold leadership (Buying Alaska, Louisiana Purchase, Declaration of Independence) ~ Political leaders track public opinion to craft public presentations and win support for policies and supporters (key words and phrases to promote policy) ~ Avoid compromise by strengthening message and persuade people ~ Polls weaken democracy - distort election by bandwagon effect - support candidates because others are; polls play to media's interest in who's ahead ~ Exit Poll (Election Day - 1/10 asked to project outcomes of close races before the votes are even counted and sometimes before the West Coast has even voted ~ Discourages people from voting & affects the outcome of races ~ Altering wording of questions manipulate results ~ Polls results are not solid fact ~ Informed consumers of polls = questions fair and unbiased? ~ good or harm of polls depends on how well data is collected and how thoughtfully the data is interpreted

~ Jefferson = people have good sense and education would create serious citizenship ~ Hamilton = lacked confidence in people's capacity for self-government ~ Level of public knowledge about politics is low!! - not well informed (young people!!) ~ unaware of detailed policy platforms and candidates' stances ~ <1/2 of public can name their House Representative ~ lack of geographically knowledge (lack basic awareness of the world) ~ 74% can name 3 stooges but only 42% can name the 3 branches of US gov ~ Schools fail to reach cultural literacy (lack basic contextual knowledge necessary to understand and use info from news or listening to political candidates) ~ Americans to not remember much about what they are exposed to (news) through media - fails to provide meaningful info ~ Paradox of mass politics - US political system works well even with the lack of public knowledge about politics (vote for one issue; rely on simple info regarding which groups are known for or against a proposal; siding with group they trust the most) ~ Vote for or against incumbent officeholders based on satisfaction of the job the gov is doing

~ US public = dissatisfied with gov (1950s = 3/4 trusted gov, late 60s = drops - Vietnam War, Watergate, economic struggles and Tran hostage Crisis) ~ 1980s = 1/4 trusted gov, then ^, after 9/11 ~ democracy = consent of governed - lack of public trust= reflection that system is not doing well ~ questions if cynical populations would unite (cynicism will not stop Americans from rallying behind their gov in times of national crisis; has not eroded the US faith in democracy) ~ impact of trust = drain public support for policies that address poverty and rail inequality ~people need trust to pay costs and do not receive benefits ~ Caused many people to believe that "big gov" solutions to social problems are wasteful and impractical - draining public support from then ~ Goal = convince public to put trust in gov's ability to carry out reforms ~ Deficit of trust = doubts about how DC works

~ Political Ideology 1) Liberal - supports wide scope for central gov, policies that promote equality 2) Conservative - supports a less active scope of gov, freer rein to the private sector ~ Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives? ~ Do People Think in Ideological Terms?

Foreign Policy: Military Spending: L: spend less C: maintain peace through strength Use of Force: L: less willing to commit troops to action C: more likely to support military intervention Social Policy: Abortion: L: "freedom of choice" C: "right to life" Prayer in Schools: L: opposed C: supportive Affirmative Action: L: favor C: oppose Economic Policy: Scope of Gov: L: gov = regulator in public interests C: favor free-market solutions Taxes: L: tax rich more C: keep taxes low Spending: L: spend more on poor C: keep spending low Crime: How to Cut Crime: L: solve problems that cause crime C: stop "coddling criminals" Defendants' Rights: L: guard them carefully C: stop letting criminals hide behind laws

~ More labelled conservative than liberal ~ 41% conservatives, 36% moderates, 21% liberals ~ Conservative thinking =restrained scope of gov ~ 30- slightly more liberal (younger = less likely to be conservative) ALSO they are less likely to vote = liberals are underrepresented at polls ~ Groups with political clout tend to be conservative ~ Excluded groups look to gov to fix inequalities they've faced ~ Ex. Civil Rights Bill in 1960s (Today, African Americans leaders have high priorities for social welfare and affirmative action programs (more liberal than national average) ~ Hispanics tend to be more liberal too ~ Women are not minorities (54%) bu they have been politically and economically disadvantaged ~ Gender Gap ~ More traditional course of division = financial status/social class (relationship between family income and ideology now = weak!; less predictive) ~ Role of religion influencing political ideology has changed (Catholics and Jews who struggled for equality tend to be more liberal than Protestants) ~ Jews remain the most liberal demographic group (ideological gap between Protestants and Catholics is now smaller than gender gap) ~ Ideology is now determine more by religiosity - degree to which religion is important in one's life than by religious denomination ~ New Christian Right - born-again Catholics and Protestants who believe in morality and traditional family values; the most conservative group ~ People with no religious affiliation (15%) are more liberal ~ Political Ideology doesn't guide political behavior ~ NOT EVERYONE THINKS IN IDEOLOGICAL TERMS

~ The American Voter study - 12% showed ideological thinking ~ ideologues - connect opinions and beliefs with broad policy positions taken by parties or candidates ~ 42% = group benefits voters - thought of politics mainly in terms of the groups they liked and disliked ~ 24% = nature of the times voters - handle on politics was limited to whether the times seem good or bad to them and vaguely link the party in power with the country's fortune or misfortune ~ 22% = no issue content group - no ideological or issue content in making political evaluations or vote routinely for a party or judge candidates by personality ~ Americans seemed to care little about the differences between liberal and conservative politics in the 50s. ~ People seem more informed and ideological now because question wording has changed ~ The American Voter Revisited - survey data from 2000 election (20% ideologues) ~ problematic to attribute ideological meaning to aggregate voting patterns when most of the individuals making their decisions about the candidates are not motivated by ideological concepts ~ Does not mean no political ideologies = terms liberal and conservative are not important as they are for political elite (few people have clear/exact ideologies) Voters don't think in such terms ~ US in midst of political cultural war???? ~ NOPE (Media = America is divide on issues - 2 different nations liberal blue vs conservative red) Morris Florin concludes that US = moderate not extreme and NOT AT WAR ~ 1 issue that has led to culture war = gay rights (but growing acceptance over the years in all ideologies) ~ All ideological groups have changed with the changing school mores of the times

~ Many ways to politically participate (voting, demonstrations, lawsuits, writing letters) ~ Political Participation (Overt, subtel, violent, peaceful, organized, individual, casual, consuming) ~ US culture values political participation - pride (80%) ~ only 59% voted in 2012 election... 40% in midterm 2010... Local level is even worse 10% ~ Conventional Participation ~ Protest as Participation ~ Class, Inequality and Participation

~ 2 types: conventional and unconventional ~ Conventional: includes many widely accepted modes of influencing gov -* voting*, persuading others, ringing doorbells, petition, running for office ~ Voting, working in campaigns, contacting gov officials, signing petitions, working on community issues and participating in political protests ~ Unconventional: includes activities hat tare often dramatic, such as protesting, civil disobedience, and violence ~ Voting = only aspect of political participation that a majority of the population engage in. ALSO the only political activity with evidence of a decline in participation in recent years ~ increase in giving $ to candidates and contacting public officials ~ disappointing voter turnouts (concern) but + developments for participatory democracy

~ Protest - Boston Tea Party and burning draft cards (Media's coverage makes protests worthwhile - draws attention to point - 89 year old walker- campaign finance reform & Occupy Wall Street - economic inequality) ~ Civil Disobedience ~ 1840s - Henry David Thoreau refused to pay taxes as protest against the Mexican War and went to jail for a day - Emerson paid taxes ~ MLK - civil rights movement in 50s and 60s to bring an end to segregationist laws (Letter from a Birmingham Jail) Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 ~ Sometimes it can become violent -- nation born in rebellion ~ 1960s outbreaks of violence - college campuses -protestors of Vietnam War vs National Guard at Kent State and Jackson State - students were killed ~ Violence was resorted to as a means of pressuring gov to change policies ~ Not many Americans have protested (Americans are more likely to employ conventional political participation than to engage in protests)

~ Rates of political participation among Americans is unequal (high economic statuses participate more in politics as well as high incomes, high education levels and occupations - participate in other ways $$ = America ruled by small wealthy elite) ~ race affects participation to a point (voter turnouts are similar in LA even though gov was slow to help African Americans after Katrina - lower 9th Ward has normal turnout rates too!) ~Small participation gap in minorities is due to minorities having a group consciousness that gives them the incentive to vote (Same education = African Americans tend to vote (11%) more than Whites) ~ Inequalities of political participation - concerning (participators are easy to listen to and nonparticipators are easy to ignore) ~ Many politicians don't concern themselves much with the views of groups with low participation rates (young people and poor) ~ Who gets what in politics depends on who participates

~3rd world countries call for democracy - rising countries want American gov systems so that ordinary people's opinions determine how gov is run ~ Limits on role public opinion plays in US political system - average person is not well informed about political issues including the crucial issue of the scope of gov ~ Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government ~ Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action

~ Republicans = scope fo gov is too wide ~ gov = problem - "get off backs of American people" ~ limited gov (52% gov does too much; 40% gov should do more; 8% don't know, don't care AKA me right now) ~ 50% people said gov should do more, after 9/11 ~ Public opinion on the scope of gov is complex and inconsistent (plurality has called for more spending on programs) ~ Americans are ideological conservatives but operational liberals (oppose the idea of big gov, but favor it in practice) ~ Contradictory public opinon = policy gridlock - both liberal and conservative politicians can make a plausible case that the public is on their side

~ Democracy is representative not direct (elect leaders -- say in choosing leaders) ~ Citizens take advantage on being able tot vote against candidates ~ Protest is directed at making gov listen to specific demands (not overthrowing) ~ Americans generally know little about politics ~ Choose performance criteria over policy criteria ~ Hold politicians accountable for their actions

Immigration--both the legal and illegal--has accelerated in American in recent decades. Largely as a consequence, the size of the minority population has increased greatly. If current trends continue, by the middle of the twenty-first century non-Hispanic whites will represent less than half of the population. The American population has also been aging and moving to Sunbelt states such as California, Texas, and Florida

Much of the process of political socialization in informal. People pick up and absorb political orientations for major actors in their everyday environment. The principal actors int eh socialization process are the family, the media, and schools. As people age, the firmness with which they hold political attitudes, such as party identification, tends to increase.

Polls are conducted through the technique of random sampling, in which every member of the population has an equal probability of being selected for an interview. A random sample of about 1,000 Americans will yield results that are normally within plus or minus three percentage points of what would be found if everyone were interviewed. The responses from such samples can be important tools for democracy, measuring what the public thinks about political matters between election. Polls also help analysts assess the age-old question of how well informed people are about political issues.

A political ideology is a coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy. The two most prominent ideologies in American politics are conservatism and liberalism. These ideologies guide people's thinking on policy issues. Although roughly 60 percent of the American public call themselves either conservatives or liberals, even many of these individuals are not necessarily ideologically consistent in their political attitudes. Often they are conservative in principle but liberal in practice; that is, they are against big government but favor more spending on a wide variety of programs.

Conventional forms of political participation include voting, writing letters or e-mails to public officials, attending political meetings, signing petitions, and donating money to campaigns and political groups. Unconventional participation involves activities such as attending protest demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience. Many studies have found that citizens of higher social economic status participate more in American politics.

Conservatives typically believe that the scope of American government has become too wide in recent decades. They look to Ronald Reagan's pledge to get the government "off the backs of the American people" as inspiration. In contrast, liberals believe the scope of government should be further increased, and they support policies like the Obama administration's health care reform law.

~ RANDOM SAMPLING ~ SAMPLE ~ UNBIASED QUESTIONS ~ RDD ~ SAMPLING ERROR