Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Chapters 4,7 & 8

• What is culture?

• Where do we learn our culture?

• Generalization: A statement, based on facts, that is true most of the time.

Chapter 4 American Political Culture

American Political Culture

• Political Culture: A patterned and sustained way of thinking about how political and economic life out to be carried out

Five key elements of American political culture

• Liberty: free to do pretty much as we please

• Equality: Equal vote and equal chance to participate and succeed

• Democracy: Government officials should be accountable to the people

• Civic Duty: Take community affairs seriously and help out where they can

• Individual Responsibility: Individuals are responsible for their actions and well being.

• Do you disagree with any of those five?

• Do we always follow them? Give some examples.

• Sometimes there is a difference between what we believe and how we act.

“Americanism” or “American Way of Life”

• On a piece of paper jot down some examples of the “American way of life”.

• Now jot down some things that are “Un American”

• Other countries don’t use these types of phrases.

• We use “Un American” too but the French don’t use the term “Un French”

• This is part of American Political Culture.

The Economic System

• American’s judge the economic system using many of the same standards.

• Liberty: Free enterprise and competition.– However, people support government

regulation to prevent business from becoming too powerful and to correct abuses.

– American’s are more willing to tolerate economic inequality than political inequality.

– Believe in “equality of opportunity” not “equality of results”

– Americans are willing to help those who are truly in need (elderly, handicapped) but not those deemed “able to care for themselves”

Comparing US to other Nations

• Table 4.2 on page 83

• Figure 4.1 on page 85

I’m very proud of my country

USA 71%

Canada 66%

Britain 45%

France 38%

Germany 21%

Italy 38%

Success is determined by forces outside our control

USA 32

Canada 35

Britain 48

France 54

Germany 68

Italy 66

Children should be taught the value of hard work

USA 60

Canada 51

Britain 38

France 50

Germany 22

Italy na

It is necessary to believe in God to be moral

USA 58

Canada 30

Britain 25

France 13

Germany 33

Italy 27

Religion

• Because the Constitution forbids an official church or religious tests, and because migration to the country brought many different religious background, religious diversity is inevitable

• America has always been one of the most religious countries in the world.

• The average American is more likely than the average European to – Believe in God– Pray on a daily basis– Acknowledge a clear standard of right and

wrong

• In most democracies religion is rarely mentioned when running for national office.

• In American politics religion is often mentioned.

CBS News Poll. June 26-28, 2007. N=750 registered voters nationwide.

"Do you think it is appropriate for political candidates to talk about their religious beliefs as part of their political campaigns, or do you think this is not appropriate?"

AppropriateNot

Appropriate

% %

ALL reg. voters

50 48

  Republicans 65 32

  Democrats 41 57

  Independents 48 51

"How important is it for a candidate to have STRONG religious beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are the same as yours? Is it very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?"

.

VeryImportant

Somewhat

Important

Not VeryImportant

Not at AllImportant Unsure

% % % % %

ALL reg. voters

27 36 16 20 1

  Republicans 43 35 12 7 3

  Democrats 23 35 19 23 0

  Independents

20 36 17 27 0

.Not

Appropriate

% % %ALL reg. voters 27 70 3  Republicans 41 58 1  Democrats 21 77 2  Independents 22 72 6

"Do you think it is appropriate for religious leaders to urge people to vote for or against a political candidate, or is that not appropriate?"

Appropriate Unsure

• Class Consciousness: thinking oneself as a worker whose interest are in the opposition of those in management, or vice versa

• In the United States most people think of themselves as “middle class”

• We don’t have a lot of class conflict in the USA

Culture War

• Instead of two economic classes engaged in a bitter struggle over wealth, We have two cultural classes that battle over we other political issues.

• Money is not at stake and compromise is almost impossible. The conflict is more profound.

– Abortion

– Same sex marriage

– Drug use

– School prayer

– Pornography

– Death penalty

Orthodox Progressive

• Morality is more important than self expression

• Moral rules derive from the commands of God and are clear and unchanging.

• Personal freedom is more important than certain traditional moral rules and those rules must be evaluated in light of circumstances of modern life.

Orthodox Progressive

• Many people who hold these views are not deeply religious or part of the “religious right”. They simply have strong views about drugs, sexual morality, etc.

• Many who hold these views are not “anti religion”

• Sometimes there are people within the same religious community with different views.

Why the cultural war today?

• There has been a great shift in the number of people who consider themselves progressive. Once almost everyone was orthodox, today there are fewer.

• The rise of the media has made it easier to wage a cultural war on a large scale. A small number of people can reach a vast audience. i.e. “War on Christmas”

Mistrust of Government

• Since the late 1950’s there has been a steady decline in the number of Americans who say they trust Washington to do the right thing.– Vietnam– Watergate– Clinton Impeachment – War in Iraq

Mistrust of Government

• However, people may not trust political officials, they are still much more supportive of our political institution and country than most Europeans.

Gallup Poll. Sept. 14-16, 2007. N=1,010 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"On the whole, would you say you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed?"

Satisfied Dissatisfied Unsure

% % %

9/14-16/07

31 67 2

9/7-10/06

41 57 2

9/12-15/05

44 55 1

9/13-15/04

49 49 2

9/8-10/03

56 43 1

9/5-8/02

59 39 2

USA Today/Gallup Poll. Jan. 10-13, 2008. N=2,010 adults

nationwide. MoE ± 2.

"Do you think that quite a few of the people running the government are crooked, not very many are, or do you think hardly any of them are crooked?"

.

Quite a Few

Not VeryMany

Hardly Any

All (vol.) Unsure

% % % % %

1/10-13/08 52 28 10 5 4

7/6-9/00 49 38 8 3 2

• Even though Americans seem to have lost faith in how the country is run, 95% say there are not “countries better than the United States”

Political Tolerance• In order for democracy to last…

• People must be reasonably tolerant of the opinions of others. (don’t shout down others)

• Public won’t support censorship of newspapers

• Mobs can’t break up peaceful demonstrations

• We have peaceful transitions of power.

• Americans seem to be becoming more tolerant.

• People are more likely today to say they will vote for a qualified person for office even if the candidate was a Catholic, a Jew, a woman, African American or a homosexual.

• Even though Americans may be willing to deny some groups their rights we can’t agree on which group. When we do agree that group is in trouble – Communists in 1919-1920, 1950’s– Japanese Americans in WWII

• Courts also have protected the rights of the minority by enforcing Constitutional protections.

• In recent history there has not been a group universally reviled to put that groups rights in jeopardy.

Chapter 7 Public Opinion

• Should the government always do what the people want?

• When we elect someone should they consult their constituents before they vote or do we trust them to use their own judgment?

• The Constitution was not set up to always give the people what they want, but to achieve the goals set forth in the preamble to the Constitution

Preamble to the Constitution

• Form a more perfect union

• Establish justice

• Ensure domestic tranquility

• Provide for the common defense

• Promote the general welfare

• Secure blessings of liberty

• Goals of the preamble can be achieved through popular rule (electing HR and Senate and Presidential electors) but also need – Representative government– Federalism– Independent judiciary– Separation of powers– Bill of Rights

• All are checks on public opinion

Other checks on public opinion

• Electoral College

• How Supreme Court Justices are chosen

• Terms of Supreme Court

• The original method of choosing Senators (changed to popular vote in 1913 with 17th amendment)

• It is difficult to know what the people want.

• Sometimes there is a “Silent Majority”

How Polling Works

CBS News/New York Times Poll. Sept. 21-24,

2008. N=844 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 4

• "In deciding who you would like to see elected president this year, which one of the following issues will be most important to you:

• Pollingreport.com

Keys to a good poll

• 1. asking questions about things the people have some basis for forming an opinion

• 2. Wording questions fairly– No loaded questions

• Example “Support abortion vs Support the right to have an abortion”

– Comprehensible questions: People have some basis for forming opinions on the topic.

Keys to a good poll• 3. Random sample

– Meaning that any given voter has an equal chance of being interviewed.

4. Representative Sample

A fair representation of the district or country being polled

5. Sample SizeSampling error: % difference two exact same polls

conducted in the same manner.

Origins of Political Attitude

• Family– About half of our political views come from

our family . The other half comes from our life experiences, friends, school, and what happens to us as adults

– When it comes to choosing a political party, the majority of young Americans identify with their parent’s political party.

– This decreases over time, but still 60% of adults share the same political party as their parents.

• Religion– Religious differences can make for political

differences– Religion influences public opinion on social

issues like abortion and gay rights, but matter much less on most issues.

– Jews are more consistently supportive of the Democratic party.

– Jews are liberal on both economic and social issues.

– Exit Polls

• Gender Gap– The difference in political views between men

and women– Women are more likely to support a

Democratic candidate.– Democratic advantage among women,

especially women ages 18-29 has increased in recent years.

– Men identify with the Republican Party more and women with the Democratic

– For whatever reason men and women don’t share identical political ideas

– Table 7.3 page 161

Cleavage in Public Opinion

Social Class

• Social class Doesn’t appear to make a huge difference.

• Most “blue collar” workers in America think of themselves as “Middle Class”, whereas in Britain and France they would describe themselves as “Working Class”

Race and Ethnicity

• African Americans are overwhelmingly Democratic.

• Younger African Americans are a bit more likely to identify with the Republican Party than older African Americans.

• Latinos identify themselves as Democrats too, but not as much as African American.

Political Ideology

• A consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue.

Liberal

• Active national government would intervene in the economy, create social welfare programs, and help labor unions gain bargaining power.

Conservative

• Favor free market, states rights, and greater reliance on individual choice in economic affairs.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2013…

• 38% said they were conservative

• 34% said they were moderate

• 23% said they were liberal

• The poll

• Change…

• Highest % of liberals since this type of poll has been taken (1992)

According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2013…

• Political Party Identification

• 42% said they are independents

• 31% said they are Democrats

• 25% said they are Republicans

• The Poll

Economy

• Liberal– Favor government

efforts to ensure all have jobs, spend more money on medical and social programs and increase taxes on well-to-do persons

• Conservative– Favor less government

tinkering with the economy, less spending on social programs and less taxes.

Civil Rights

• Liberal – Traditionally favored

civil rights laws to desegregate schools, increase hiring opportunities and enforce civil rights laws strictly

– Today same sex issues, or affirmative actions

• Conservative– Traditionally didn’t

support most civil rights laws and actions.

– Less likely to support an issue based on civil rights.

Political Conduct• Liberal

– More tolerant of protest demonstrations and freedom of speech and expression (flag burning)

– More likely to support legalization of “victimless crimes”

– Fight crime by eliminate the causes of crime. Also support rights of the accused

• Conservative– Less tolerant of protests

and more likely to limit some forms of freedom of expression.

– Stricter on crime

– Fight crime with tougher punishments.

Moderate

• Share both liberal and conservative views.

• Moderates make up the largest group of American voters (40%), followed by conservatives (30%) and then liberals (20%).

• Libertarian: conservative on economic issues but liberal on social issues.

• Populist: Liberal on economic issues and conservative on social issues.

Grode’s Political Ideology Test

Created 2008

Updated 2010

1 2

3 4

For question 1

• Yes then put mark in area 4

• No then put mark in area 3

Question 2

• Yes = 2

• No =1

Question 3

• Yes = 2

• No = 1

Question 4

• Yes = 3

• No = 4

Question 5

• Yes = 3

• No = 4

Question 6

• Yes = 4

• No = 3

Question 7

• Yes = 2

• No = 1

Question 8

• Yes = 1

• No = 2

Question 9

• Yes = 1

• No = 2

Question 10

• Yes = 2

• No = 1

Question 11

• Yes = 3

• No = 4

Question 12

• Yes = 3

• No = 4

Question 13

• Yes = 3

• No = 4

Question 14

• Yes = 2

• No = 1

1 2

3 4

If most of your marks are in…

• 2 and 4 = Pure liberal

• 1 and 3 = Pure Conservative

• 1 and 4 = Libertarian

• 3 and 2 = Populist

Mark where you fit in from the political compass test.

Political Typology

Page 167

Political Elites

• Those who are politically active• Political elites are people who hold office,

run for office, work in campaigns or newspapers, lead interest groups and social movements, and speak out on public issues.

• Political elites tend to be more liberal or more conservative that the general public

• Elected officials tend to be more liberal or conservative than the average voter.

Political elites…

• Are the ones in office, so they make public policy.

• They are also the ones who set the tones for public debate. (hold rallies, get on TV, etc.)

• If they are more liberal or conservative then so is the debate, policy, etc.

Chapter 8Political Participation

• What is the difference between voting age population (VAP) and voting eligible population voters (VEP)?

• What about registered voters?• How can the results differ if we use them?• 2006

– 44% of voting aged people voted– 70% Registered voters voted

Turnout as % of VAP (1996-01)Belgium 83%

Denmark 83

Australia 82

Sweden 78

Finland 77

Germany 75

France 72

Netherlands 70

Great Britain 58

Canada 55

USA 47

• Even though US citizens vote at a lesser rate than Europeans, we participate in politics more.

What flaws are there with voter registration?

• 70% of all registered voters actually vote

• It is the responsibility of the voter to register. (Some countries people are automatically registered.

• Must learn how and where to register.

• Must take the time to register.

• Must register every time they move.

• How did the Motor Voter Law (1993) effect voter registration?

• Allows people in all 50 states to register to vote when applying for driver’s licenses. It also allows for registration through the mail

• It seems as though voter registration has increased, voter turnout has not.

The following information from the US Census Bureau

November 2008 Election

  Registered Voted

.Total 18 years and over 71.0 63.6

.18 to 24 years 58.5 48.5

.25 to 44 years 68.2 60.0

.45 to 64 years 74.9 69.2

.65 to 74 years 78.1 72.4

.75 years and over 76.6 67.8

 Education level Registered Voted

.Less than 9th grade 49.1 38.1

.9th to 12th grade, no diploma 51.1 39.9

.High school graduate 64.1 54.9

.Some college or associate's degree 75.3 68.0

.Bachelor's degree 81.2 77.0

.Advanced degree 85.8 82.7

Income level Registered Voted

.Less than $10,000 61.8 49.0

.$10,000 to $14,999 63.1 51.2

.$15,000 to $19,999 66.4 55.9

.$20,000 to $29,999 67.1 56.3

.$30,000 to $39,999 71.1 62.2

.$40,000 to $49,999 72.6 64.7

.$50,000 to $74,999 78.2 70.9

.$75,000 to $99,999 81.9 76.4

.$100,000 to $149,999 84.0 78.4

.$150,000 and over 86.0 81.6

Things get more complicated when more factors are introduced, such as…

• Would an 60 year old who makes $25,000 a year vote more than a 30 year old who makes $100,000

• Would a highly educated young person vote more than an less educated older person?

Religion and voting

• A resent study concluded that religion is a significant factor in determining who votes but not and who doesn’t.

• But not as significant as education and age and no more important than income.

Voter turnout (table 8.3 pg 183)

Year VAP % VEP %

2008 56.8 61.7

2004 55 60

2000 51.2 55.6

1996 48.9 52.6

1992 55 60.6

1988 50.3 54.2

In a study of 161 nations comparing voter turnout by registered voters.

Data from 1945-2001

• Australia ranked #1 with 94.5%

• USA ranked #120 with 66.5

Rafael López PintorMaria GratschewwithJamal Adimi, Julie Ballington, Craig Brians,Sergei Lounev, Dieter Nohlen,Pippa Norris, Smita Notosusanto, Kate Sullivan,Edmundo Urrutia

Would more people vote if…

• Automatic registration

• Make voting compulsory by having a penalty if a person fails to vote (fine, tax)

• Voting holiday

• Vote on weekends

• Vote online

Would it be better if ALL eligible voters actually voted?

State to Federal control on voting

• At first voting was left completely up to state control.

15Th Amendment (1870)

• “The Right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

• “The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation”

15Th Amendment (1870)

• What was used to keep blacks from voting after the 15th Amendment was passed?

• Literacy tests• Poll tax• Grandfather clause (declared unconstitutional in

1915)• Intimidation, threats and harassment • What did the Voting Rights Act (1965)

accomplish?

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Eliminated literacy tests

• Appointed federal examiners to register blacks in states and counties

• In Mississippi the number of registered black voters rose from 5 to 70% from 1960 to 1970

19th Amendment (1920)

• “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 sex”

• “The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation”

19th Amendment (1920)

• Gave women the right to vote.

• How did the passing of the 19th Amendment change the voting population?

• Voting population almost doubled

• No dramatic change occurred. Women voted similarly to men, at least at first.

26th Amendment (1971)

• “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on the account of age”

• “The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation”

26th Amendment (1971)

• How did the passing of the 26th amendment change voting in the United States?

• Didn’t vote at a high rate and didn’t flock to a particular candidate or party.

Voter ID Laws

• According to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at NY University, voter ID laws would disenfranchise:– 25% of Black voters– 16% of Latino voters– 9% of white voters

States ID laws would have disenfranchised the following:

• Pennsylvania: about 40,000 voters

• Florida: 100,000 voters

Voter Turnout

• In the 1860’s and 70’s voter turnout was 80%. Today about 55% vote in Presidential elections and 37% in Congressional elections.

• 57.5% VAP (2012)

• 62.3 of VAP (2008)

National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960–2004

YearVoting-agepopulation

Voterregistration Voter turnout

Turnout %

2004 221,256,931 174,800,000 122,294,978 55.3%

2002 215,473,000 150,990,598 79,830,119 37.0

2000 205,815,000 156,421,311 105,586,274 51.3

1998 200,929,000 141,850,558 73,117,022 36.4

1996 196,511,000 146,211,960 96,456,345 49.1

1994 193,650,000 130,292,822 75,105,860 38.8

1992 189,529,000 133,821,178 104,405,155 55.1

1990 185,812,000 121,105,630 67,859,189 36.5

1988 182,778,000 126,379,628 91,594,693 50.1

1986 178,566,000 118,399,984 64,991,128 36.4

1984 174,466,000 124,150,614 92,652,680 53.1

1982 169,938,000 110,671,225 67,615,576 39.8

1980 164,597,000 113,043,734 86,515,221 52.6

Why has the number gone down?

• Voter fraud

• Registration is harder

• Australian ballot – Government printed ballot of uniform size and

shape

6 Kinds of U.S. Citizens

Completely Inactive

• 22%

• Don’t vote, get involved, or even talk politics much

• Low education, low income,

• Young

• Many are African American

Voting Specialists

• Vote but do little else

• Not much education, or income

• Older than average

Campaigners

• Vote and get involved in campaign activities

• Better educated

• Clear identification with a party

Communalists

• Don’t like conflict of political campaigns

• Tend to use energy for community activities (more non-partisan)

Parochial Participants

• Don’t vote and stay out of election campaigns

• Willing to contact local officials about specific, often personal problems

Activists

• 11%

• Participate in all forms of politics

• Highly educated, high income

• Middle aged

Cause of Participation• Participation is higher among those with a

college education.

• Religious involvement also seems to increases political involvement.

• Men and women participate at the same rate

• Whites participate more than African Americans.– However, if they have the same education level

then African Americans participate more.

Possible Reasons for the decline in voting rates.

• Younger population

• Growing number of African Americans and other minorities.

• Political parties aren’t as effective at motivating voters.

• Registration

• Voting isn’t mandatory

• Voting goes down if people don’t feel elections matter

• Lots of elections

• American’s may vote less but participate more.

• Deleted Slides

• Schooling– College has a big impact on political attitudes.– Generally, college students are more liberal

than the population as a whole– The longer a person stays in college the more

liberal they become (seniors are more liberal than freshman)

– Also those with a Masters degree or a PhD are more liberal than those with only a bachelors degree.

Why does more education lead to more liberal beliefs?

– Theories on why:1. May have nothing to do with college. It may be

that people who are liberal are more likely to go to college.

2. College expose people to more information about politics from all sources. College grads compared to high school grads read more newspapers and periodicals, join more organizations and social movements, and participate in more campaigns and social movements.

3. Colleges may somehow teach liberalism. More professors are liberal so maybe that view is being pushed to students.