UNIT II

PUBLIC BELIEFS & BEHAVIORS

American Political Culture

• Equality of Opportunity

• Individual Freedom

• Representative Democracy

Gender

• The Gender Gap– Differences in political

views and voting behavior of men and women• Men

– Favor Republicans– Favor Conservatives

• Women– Favor Democrats– Favor Liberals

Differences between Men and Women

• Role of Government: Doing too much?– Yes: women (50%); men (66%)

• Social Programs: Favor cuts?– Favor: women (47%) men (60%)

• Should more be done to expand good, affordable child care, or should it be left to families and individuals?– Do more women (63%); men (41%)

• Should fed government guarantee medical care?– Yes women (69%) men (58%)

• Poverty and homelessness important:– One of most impt probs: wom(63%); men 44%

• Should affirmative action be continued or abolished? Abolished wom 36%, men 52%

• Do you think women have equal job opps– No women 69% men 59%

Race/Ethnicity• Affiliations are based on

freedom-equality issues and socioeconomic conditions– White

• Favor Republican– Black

• Overwhelmingly favor Democrats

– Hispanic• Overwhelmingly favor

Democrats• Except Cubans

– Asian• Relatively Neutral

Equal Opportunity v Equal Results

• Equality of Opportunity– A view that it is wrong to

use race or sex either to discriminate against or give preferential treatment to minorities or women

• Equality of Results– A view that government

should do everything in its power to guarantee all a standard quality of life

Changing of America’s Race

• White America is on the decline– What will this mean for

politics in the United States?• Freedom• Equality• Rule of Law• Popular Sovereignty• Justice

“Minority-Majority” emerging

Progression of Race and Voting• 15th Amendment (1870)

– The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

• 24th Amendment (1964)– Prohibits a poll tax as

qualification to vote• Voting Rights Act (1965)

– Prevents states from denying citizens the right to vote based on race

– Helps enforce the 15th Amendment

Age and Voting• 26th Amendment

– The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age• What is the effect of this

Amendment?

Partisanship

• The tendency of a person to support a specific political party– People tend to have the

same political identification as their parents• Republicans have the

strongest party support– Their party members

are more loyal– Why?

Ideology

• Conservative– In general a person who favors more limited and local government, less

government regulation of markets, more social conformity to traditional norms and values, and tougher policies toward criminals

• Liberal– In general a person that values individual liberties, larger role of

government, oppose death penalty, and heavily supports equality.

Marketplace of Ideas

19th-20th centuries...• single national language• expansion of literacy– universal compulsory education

• communication & transportation– roads, rail lines, (automobiles…)– telegraph, telephone, radio, television – satellite-based networks– World Wide Web = internet

• legal protection for free expression

The Political Spectrum

Urban v. Suburban v. Rural America

• Population Density– The more people living in

your area, the more democratic your area tends to be

– Higher populated cities tend to benefit more from federal spending

– More government services are needed in densely populated areas

Family Income

• The higher one’s income, the more likely they are to…– Register to vote– Vote– Vote Republican

Education– The more

education one has the more likely they will• Register to

vote and vote• Vote

Democrat– Until

money is earned

• Participate in various methods

Region• Voting trends by region

– Northeast• Democrat

– Midwest• Republican

– South • Republican

– West• Democrat

– Swing States• Ohio, Florida,

Pennsylvania

Religion

• Voter Tendencies by Religion– Evangelicals

• Republican– Catholics

• Democrat– Protestants

• Republican– Jews

• Democrat

Type of Election• Presidential Election

– People turn out at a higher rate

– Presidency is seen as more important

• Midterm Election– Election in between

Presidential elections• Primary Election

– Nominating election– Many states restrict

participation• General Election

– Decides who will win the seat

Public Opinion• An aggregate of the individual views, attitudes, and beliefs about a

particular topic, expressed by a significant proportion of a community– 5 Core American Values

• Freedom• Equality• Democracy• majoritarianism• Individual Responsibility

• Public Opinion Polls• Conducted by news organizations, politicians, candidates,

interest groups

Poll Legitimacy• Who conducted/sponsored the poll?

– Neutral polling organizations would produce the most accurate results– Political parties or other biased organizations would not

• How many persons were interviewed?– Minimum 1,000 people– Reduces the margin of error

• Who was interviewed?– Many people choose not to participate in polls; this can scew the results

• How were the questions worded?– Pollsters must be careful how to ask the question

• When was the poll conducted?– Temporary passions can also scew the results

• How was the poll conducted?– Phone, Internet, On the street

Types of Polls• Exit Polls– Questioned right after

voting– Indicates who people

vote for• Census Tracks/Tracking Polls– Questioning specific

groups within the population

– Indicates the public’s tendencies across a specific period of time

Our questions…• Who are we as a society?

– More diverse, more spread out, and older!• How we learn about politics?

– Family, the media, and school, just to start.• How do we measure what we believe as a society?

– Through polls, which may or may not be accurate.• What do we believe as a society?

– That we’re all over the place and that sometimes labels mean more than anything else.

• How do we participate in politics?– From the inside or the outside: by trying to change the system or

protesting the system to make a change.

Trust in Government

Elections in a Representative Democracy

• Institutions of legitimacy• Safety valves for social discontent• Facilitate popular influence• Promote leadership accountability• Offer a measure of protection from the abuse

of governmental power

US v. The World

• Why does voter participation in the United States lag behind the rest of the democratic world?– Lack of homogeneity– Decreasing trust in

government– Decrease in political

efficacy– Decreasing roll of

parties

Types of Political Activity

U.S. Voter Turnout

Influences on Voters• Partisan loyalty

– stronger during 1940s-50s than today– family influence– reinforced by social & cultural ties– once formed, seldom change– more prominent in state & local races

• Issue and policy concerns– larger impact if candidates articulate & publicize very

different positions• Candidate characteristics

– shared background, views, & perspectives– race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography….

Electoral College System• Each state receives same # as membership in Congress (=

535)– subject to change every 10 years based on the

reapportionment of seats in the House of Representatives

• Washington D.C. receives 3 – minimum any state could receive

• Total electoral votes = 538• Candidate must receive at least 270 votes to become

president

• Political Parties choose people who will serve as electors

Electoral College System...continued...

• November– General state elections– Voters formally elect electors

• December– Electors meet in state capitals to cast vote for

President & Vice President

• First Week in January– Electoral votes counted by the President of the

Senate before a joint session of Congress

• January 20– Inauguration of the President

Modern Presidency: From FDR to Bill Clinton

• Franklin Roosevelt - New Deal Coalition:– Unionized labor

• labor legislation

– Members of urban ethnic groups & Northern blacks• welfare & social service programs

– Southerners• farm programs

– Middle-class liberals• expansion of white-collar employment in the public sector;

support for education and the arts

– Important sectors of business community• free trade and the expansion of industrial production

FDR’s New Deal Coalition• Dominated government & politics until the 1960s

• Shattered by conflicts over:– race relations– Vietnam War– fiscal & regulatory policies

• Segments of the business community, social & religious conservatives, upper-middle-class suburbanites, Southern whites, & many Northern blue-collar workers have been drawn to the Republican Party

The Reconstituted Right - 1980s

• Ronald Reagan– Middle-class suburbanites

• trim social programs, cut taxes & bring down inflation– Social & religious conservatives

• “pro-family,” anti-abortion, & school prayer– White Southerners

• end to federal support for affirmative action– American business community

• relaxation of regulations– Defense industry

• greatly increased rates of military spending

End of Reagan-Bush Era

• Change in two key elements:– Prosperity at home– Strength abroad

• Mired in economic downturn

• End of the Cold War Era diminished the threat of a nuclear holocaust

Return of the Democrats (?)• Move toward the center• Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)• Clinton / Gore– founding members of DLC– criticized welfare– stressed individual responsibility & private enterprise– kept away from black issues – economic message appealed to business & middle

class without alienating working-class

Clinton / Gore in 1996

• Supported “middle class bill of rights” - series of tax-cut initiatives

• Tough anti-crime measures• Embraced voluntary school prayer• Spoke out against sex & violence on television• Dropped opposition to Republican welfare reform

proposals• Advocated “family values”

Bush / Cheney 2004

• Emphasis on Foreign Policy– War on Terrorism– War in Iraq

• Tax cuts• Homeland Security• Support Constitutional Amendment to ban gay

marriage

Electoral Realignments, 1800-2008

1800 - Jeffersonian Republican dominate1828 - Democrats dominate1860 - Balance between Republicans & Democrats1896 - Republicans dominate1932 - Democrats dominate

Realignment ?1968 - Divided government1996 - Divided government2004 – Republicans dominate; not at all levels2008- Democrats dominate; not all levels