Political Beliefs and Behaviors

1. Political Beliefs and Behaviors American political ideology Ch. 4,5, and 8

2. What’s your political belief? • Survey given to 10-14 year olds • One day the President was driving his car to a meeting. Because he was late, he was driving very fast. The police stopped the car. (Finish the story) • Different countries answer differently • England – Queen would be released • France – President would be excused • US – President would get a ticket like everyone else

3. Types of Participation 2000 Election participation • 82% watched the campaign on television • 73% voted in the election • 34% tried to influence others how to vote • 10% put a sticker on their car • 9% gave money to help a campaign • 5% attended a political meeting • 3% worked for a party or candidate • Is this true? 73% of people vote? – No

4. Who REALLY participates? Different factors can tell us who votes • Education – MOST IMPORTANT, more education=more voting • Religious involvement • Race and Ethnicity – Whites higher than minorities (might be economic based) • Age – 18-24 is the lowest, and 45 and up is the highest • Gender – men traditionally voted more, now it is more equal • Two-party competition – more competitive elections have higher turnout

5. Terms to Know Demography – characteristics of diff. groups Cross-cutting cleavages – individuals influenced by many factors across demographic groups Reinforcing cleavages – Reinforce a division between groups (Civil Rights) Socioeconomic status – Based on population, income, and education

6. Political Culture • Widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to government • Elements of: • Suffrage • Social Capital • Natural Rights • Democratic Consensus • Majority Rule • Popular Sovereignty • Nationalism • Capitalism

7. Expanding Suffrage • Lifting of property restrictions (1830) – “universal manhood suffrage” gave voting rights to all white males • Suffrage for African-Americans (1863-1964) • 1865 - 15th Amendment – Voting Rights to all • 1954 - Brown v. Board – separate but equal is illegal, killed Jim Crow laws • 1964 24th Amendment – banned poll tax • 1965 – Voting Rights Act of 1965 – federal law prohibited (no literacy tests, fair elections etc.) • Women’s Suffrage (1920) – 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote • 18-21 year-olds (1971) – 26th Amendment, sparked by Vietnam

8. Political Socialization • Process that influences and develops a person’s opinion • People in different social “groups” tend to share certain opinions: group identification

9. Agents of Political Socialization • The Family • Gender and Age • Race/Ethnicity • School • Adult Socialization • marriage, divorce, unemployment, new jobs, or moves to new locations. • Mass Media • Religion/Groups • Social Class

10. Family • #1 influence of political attitude • Very strong correlation for Political Party support

11. Gender Examples • More men support military • More women consider sexual harassment a serious problem • Since ’60s, women vote Democratic more than men, and vice versa • Gender Gap • Women tend to make less money than men • Glass Ceiling

12. Age • Older Americans tend to vote more than younger Americans • 18-29 Year Olds Vote Turnout • 48% 2004 • 52% 2008

13. Education Example • Higher Education = more conservative or • College education = liberal views Conflicting results, not always a correlation

14. Social Class • “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat • Men hold most blue collar jobs • “White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican Relationship is becoming less clear

15. Race and Ethnicity Examples • African Americans (39 M) 13% • 90% Democrats • Hispanic Americans (46.9 M) 15% • tend to affiliate with Democrats, but less likely than African Americans • Asian Americans • less liberal than Hispanic Americans or African Americans, but still consistently vote Democrat • Minorities tend to vote more Democratic • White, more divided, fluctuates by election • Native Americans = Lower incomes than any other race in America

16. Religion (Groups) Example • Protestants are more conservative on economic matters than Catholics or Jews • Jews (73%) tend to be more liberal on economic and social issues than Catholics or Protestants • Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues than they are on social issues (Catholics becoming more conservative) • Fundamentalists: Last twenty years these Conservative Christians have made an impact on the Republican Party (GOP)

18. Other Groups • Interest groups • Labor unions • Professional organizations

19. Voting • Trend of low voter turnout • 1964 – 69.3% (Voting Age Population %) • 1980 – 41.3% • 1984 – 60.9% • 1988 – 40.5% • 1992 – 55.2% • 1996 – 49.1% • 2000 – 51.3% • 2004 – 55.3% • 2008 – 56.8%

21. Voter Turnout • Registered Voter vs. Eligible Voter • Voter Registration – Increase in eligible voters has decreased turnout • Presidential elections higher than midterm • “Motor-Voter” (1993) – National Voter Registration Act – allowed people to register to vote while they get license

22. Other reasons for low turnout • Difficulty of Absentee Voting (have to vote in person) • Increase in eligible voters has decreased turnout • Citizenship • Disfranchisement of certain groups (felons, the mentally incompetent) • Residency • Limited opportunities to vote (midweek, limited hours, single day) • Need to show identification (gov’t sanctioned ID cards in some states) • Closed primaries • Process of obtaining absentee ballots

23. Characteristics of Non-Voters • Age: 18-29 year-olds (22%) • Ethnicity: Minorities (African American/Hispanic) lower than white • Education: 28% of adults who are high school graduates or have less education • 46% of all college graduates are regular voters • Religion: People who attend religious services (39%) tend to be regular voters compared to non-church goers (31%) • Socioeconomic Status: Upper class typically votes more than any other class.

24. Voter Choices Based on • Party Identification • Candidates • Issues • Prospective voting – what a candidate may do in the future about an issue • Retrospective – President’s past performance on issues

25. Voting • Virginia 11th in Turnout (2008) • The South lowest in voter turnout • Mainly due to the fact that many African Americans are still unregistered • Northerners vote more than Southerners

27. Public Opinion • The distribution of individual attitudes about a particular issue, candidate, political institution, etc. • The Family • Most influential • The Schools: • Patriotism and customs • The Church • Shapes morality • Molders of Public Opinion • Mass Media • Educate the masses

28. Opinion Polls • Measures: • How intense the people are in beliefs • Real wants and needs of the people • Whether opinions are constant or changing • Polarization or consensus • Most accurate when the sample that is polled has a diverse population (aka universe)

29. Good Polls Have… • Representative sample – must mirror population you want answer about • Random poll – give everyone an equal possibility of being sampled • Wording – carefully worded to avoid confusion • Planning – Must be properly planned • Accurate Analysis • Straw poll – poor polling technique; unofficial and hastily put together (Not a Good Poll)

30. Downsides to Polls • Margin of Error • Range of % points in which the sample accurately reflects the population • + or – 3% points • Anything over 3-5% runs the risk of invalid conclusions • Polls are close but not 100% • 1948 Election • Dewey vs. Truman

31. Gallup Polls George Gallup Developed “Gallup Polls” • Started in 1932 • 1st “pollster” • Since 1936, agency has picked one general election result incorrect

32. Exit Polls • Polling after voting

33. Political Ideology • Coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy • Changes over time for all people • Liberal and conservative mean different things at different time periods

34. How ideological are Americans? • Ideologues – 12% of people connect their opinions to party lines • Group Benefits Voter – 42% of people connect their opinion to their “group”. (labor union, interest group, class, race) 3. Nature of the times voter – 24% of the people linked good or bad times to the party in control and vote the opposite (usually based on economics). 4. No Issue Content – 22% of the people could give no reason

35. Liberalism • Favors: Equal wealth, regulation of business, more federal spending on social programs, Pro-choice, legislation for social justices for minorities • Opposes: Increase in defense spending, prayer in schools, tax breaks for upper class

36. Conservatives • Pessimistic about human nature believing that gov’t should be small. • Gov’t should focus on keeping order. • Favors: • Military spending, • free market economy, • prayer in school, • tax breaks on wealthy • Opposes: • Abortion • affirmative action • spending on social programs • Wealthy tends to be conservative but this is changing MVP Award

37. Libertarians • Individual liberty • Minimal government involvement • Free Market Economy • Neutrality Foreign Policy • Absence of regulation on matters of morality, economy, and social life

38. “Neo-Cons” • Neo-Conservatives • Low tax, pro-economic growth • Ordered approach to domestic issues • Traditional values – pro-life, against gay marriage, support death penalty • Expansive foreign policy • Counter global terrorism – “war on terror” • expensive

39. Socialism • Ownership of the economy by the government or a collective. • Characteristics • Economic and Social Equality • Gov’t ownership of land and production • Social Welfare • Classless Society • China, Vietnam, and Cuba

40. Extremists vs. Centrists • Most Americans tend to be more moderate or Centrists rather than Extremists 6%

41. Geographic Region Example • East and West Coasts – more liberal • Mid-West – more conservative • Urban - liberal • South – 1870-1950s - Democrat “Solid South” but today they are primarily social conservatives • White Southerner always less liberal

42. Trust in the Government • Public trust of government has declined significantly in the last forty years