1) individualism
2) Equality of Opportunity
3) Free Enterprise
4) Rule of Law
5) Limited govt
common american attitudes
- cherishing established institutions, seeking to preserve them for the good of society
- want smaller govt
- self-centered individualism, emphasizes the interests of the individual above the interests of society
- believe in the power of meritocracy (everyone can rise in the US with their own blood toil and sweat)
- want govt to stay out of buisnnsess offers and allow the free market to determine what’s best
- law= equality
- want to define strong boundaries of federalism (less govt intervention in people’s lives)
conservative ideology
- push for new reforms to make society more just & equitable
- value enlightened individualism, interests of society prioritized over interests of the individual
- agree with idea of meritocracy with tradition but believe that not all groups start that climb in tthe same place
- want the government to intervene with appropriate regulations to ensure safety and equality in the workplace
- law= equality with advantages
- embrace need for government intervention in society (for the greater good)
liberal ideology
- born before 1945
- young adults during age of conformity
- generally conservative
- opposed counterculture
- grew up admist cold war
- consistently vote being touch on criminals and terrorists
- highest amount of votes
silent generation
- appreciate changes, more liberal but still often vote conservative
- (1945-1960)
Baby Boomers
- 1960s-1980s
- lots of divorce, first to internet
- slightly more liberal and more ethnically diverse
Generation X
-1981-1996
- more ethnically diverse
- very liberal, BLM
- big on racial discrimination, socialist policy, and immigration
- most liberal (the older you are, the more conservative, the younger, more liberal)
Millenials
dependent on stage in your life affects how you vote
ex. 2020 election, new voters and different priorities can change as you progress through life
ex. college tuition, social security, etc
effect of life cycle
- any event significant in our political nation
- ex. silent generation –> great depression, new deal program
- millenials –> 9/11 attacks, so people wanted to rebuild bridges instead of aggressive policy
- many opposed policies made on both and the events had lasting effects but this does not ALWAYS shift widespread opinion
the influence of political events on ideology
Purpose= measure public opinion
- polls, if created with scientific rigor, then it is the best tool for measuring public opinion (increasing accuracy)
- process: writing equations that are as free from bias as possible, presenting questions to small randomized group of people, then generalize results to a larger opinion
Measuring public opinion
- helps get a feel for the public’s opinion on certain topics or discerning people’s ideas on certain candidates or policies
Opinion Poll
- taken at the beginning of candidate’s run and gives the campaign a benchmark against which they can compare future polls to see how the candidate is faring
Benchmark Poll
- conducted over time, usually with the same group of people, gives information on how the group feels about a given issue
Tracking Poll
- conducted at voting sites that ask people how they voted
Entrance/Exit Poll
- must be representative (having the same characteristics as the larger population it measures)
- must be random to ensure in a given population there is an equal chance of being included
Sampling Tactics
Goal: Increase Accuracy
- always a chance that the sample will not exactly represent the general population
- if a poll has a plus of minus 3 sampling error, it is considered a good representative poll
- neutral questions: neither confusing or leading
- ex. “should vaccines be required?” vs “should the govt violate liberty…”
Sampling errors
mass survey - as many people as possible, quantitative data, and are used because public opinions affect elections and the outcomes of policy debate
focus group- small group of people, qualiatative data, is not considered scientific polling because their statistics cannot be applied to opinions of the general public
- bandwagon effect: people are more likely to vote for someone with good polling numbers
- the relationship between public opinion polls- election and policy debates can be affected by how people view the reliability of those opinion polls
- when people filling out surveys give socially desirable answers even if they do not follow through with it
social desirability bias
certain groups are more likely to respond to public opinion polls than others, will only have data from people who say “yes”
non response bias
- political ideology- an interlocking set of ideas that form the basis for political decision-making
- conservative: emphasizes traditional social structures, existing structures, and authority, emphasized limited government in public affairs, strong stance on crime and penalty, state rights > federal power
- liberal: emphasizing civil rights for the marginalized and supports social justic movements to ensure everyone has equal access to civil liberties, emphasize government involvement in public affairs , caring for the poor, regulations on buisness, intervention in the economy
Political Parties
- GOP closely aligns with conservative ideology
- restore the american dream
- traditional marriage and family is the foundation for a free society
- welfare is a buisness, not entitlement
- tough on crime and penalty
Republican Party
set of policy goals published by the party that tells you the kind of legislation they would pursue should their candidate win the election
Party Platform
- aligns closely with liberal ideology
- break up corporate concentrations
- end poverty
- lend economic playing field
- protect women, indigenous, lgbtq, etc
- “diversity is our greatest strength”
- protest is among the highest form of patriotism
- achieve universal, affordable, quality health care which requires significant govt intevention)
Democratic Party
