Public Opinion and Political Action

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Public Opinion and Political Action

• We are what we were when we were

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Learning Objectives

• Understand the implications for political change
  of the movement toward a new minority-majority.
• Contrast the relative positions of African
  Americans, Hispanics Americans, Asian Americas,
  and Native Americans in the American political
  and economic spheres.
• Describe the process of political socialization
  and identify the primary agents of socialization.
• Explain why an understanding of the content and
  dynamics of public opinion is important in
  evaluating the extent to which the people rule in
  a democracy.
• Evaluate the role of polls in American democracy.
• Explain how the American political system works
  as it does given the lack of public knowledge
  about politics.

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Learning Objectives - 2

• Identify the political beliefs that are likely to
  be preferred by liberals and conservatives.
• Identify the activities that encompass political
  participation in the US.
• Show how nonviolent civil disobedience was one of
  the most effective techniques of the civil rights
  movement in the American South.
• Explain what political scientists mean when they
  conclude that Americans are ideological
  conservatives but operational liberals!

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What are we anyway?

• "My fellow immigrants..." This was how FDR once
  began a speech to the Daughters of the American
  Revolution. "My fellow immigrants" is a
  salutation we could all use to address one
  another. For in the United States, we all came
  from somewhere else. The only distinction we can
  make is with regard to a relatively brief
  difference in how long ago we, or our ancestors,
  left some other place to take up residence here.
  diogenes4_18.html

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Introduction

• Public Opinion
• The distribution of the populations beliefs
  about politics and policy issues.
• Demography
• The science of population changes.
• Census
• A valuable tool for understanding population
  changes- required every 10 years.

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The American People

• The Immigrant Society
• Wave 1 Before the late 19th century-
  northwestern Europeans.
• Wave 2 During the late 19th century- southern
  and eastern Europeans.
• Wave 3 Recent decades- Hispanics from Central
  America Mexico. Asians from Vietnam, Korea, etc.

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The American People
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The American People

• The American Melting Pot
• Melting Pot The mixing of cultures, ideas and
  peoples that has changed the American nation.
• Minority Majority
• Illegal immigration
• Political Culture An overall set of values
  widely shared within a society.

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The American People

• The Regional Shift
• Reapportionment The process of reallocating
  seats in the House of Representatives every 10
  years on the basis of the results of the census.

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The American People

• The Graying of America
• Fastest growing group is over 65
• Potential drain on Social Security by 2020
• Gray Power
• One advantage that no other group has- we are all
  going to get older

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How Americans Learn About Politics Political
Socialization

• Political Socialization
• the process through which and individual
  acquires their particular political
  orientation
• The Process of Political Socialization
• The Family
• Time emotional commitment
• Political leanings of children often mirror their
  parents leanings

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How Americans Learn About Politics Political
Socialization

• The Process of Political Socialization
• The Mass Media
• Generation gap in TV news viewing
• School / Education
• Used by government to socialize the young into
  the culture and they have better jobs and a more
  positive view of government
• Political Learning Over a Lifetime

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• How Polls Are Conducted
• 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.

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• The Role of Polls in American Democracy
• Polls help politicians figure out public
  preferences.
• Does it make politicians think more about
  following the polls?
• Exit Polls- used by the media to predict election
  day winners.
• Question wording makes a difference.

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• What Polls Reveal About Americans Political
  Information
• Americans dont know much about politics.
• Americans may know their basic beliefs, but not
  how that affects policies of the government.
• The Decline of Trust in Government
• Now only about 25 of the public trust the
  government most of the time or always.

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What Americans Value Political Ideologies

• Political Ideology
• A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public
  policy, and public purpose.
• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?
• Views change over time
• Currently about 42 conservative, 25 liberal,
  34 moderate

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What Americans Value Political Ideologies

• Liberals
• Less military spending
• Opposed to prayer in schools
• Favor affirmative action
• Tax the rich more
• Solve the problems that cause crime

• Conservatives
• More military spending
• Support prayer in schools
• Oppose affirmative action
• Keep taxes low
• Should stop coddling criminals

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What Americans Value Political Ideologies

• Do People Think in Ideological Terms?
• Ideologues think in ideological terms- 12 of
  the population
• Group Benefits rely on party labels- 42 of the
  population
• Nature of the Times current times are good or
  bad- 24 of the population
• No issue content based on personalities- 22 of
  the population

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What Americans Value Political Ideologies

• Has There Been a Turn Toward Conservatism?
• Ronald Reagan was most conservative president
  since the New Deal.
• People liked Reagan, but not his policies.
• Nature of the Times voters swing the elections.
• Clinton couldnt pass the universal health care
  policy.

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Political Participation
• All the activities used by citizens to influence
  the selection of political leaders or the
  policies they pursue.
• Conventional Participation
• Voting in elections
• Working in campaigns / running for office
• Contacting elected officials

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Protest as Participation
• Protest A form of political participation
  designed to achieve policy changes through
  dramatic and unconventional tactics.
• 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.

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Class, Inequality, and Participation

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Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government
• Many people havent thought about it.
• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action
• We select our leaders, not policies.
• We protest for specific policies, not against the
  government.

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Internet Resources

• Census Bureau
• Gallup Organization
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
• American Demographics magazine