Individual citizens hold a variety of beliefs about

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II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors
  Individual citizens hold a variety of beliefs
about their government, its leaders, and the
U.S. political system in general taken
together, these beliefs form the foundation of
U.S. political culture. It is important for
students to understand how these beliefs are
formed, how they evolve, and the processes by
which they are transmitted. Students should know
why U.S. citizens hold certain beliefs about
politics, and how families, schools, and the
media act to perpetuate or change these beliefs.
Understanding the ways in which political culture
affects and informs political participation is
also critical. For example, students should know
that individuals often engage in multiple forms
of political participation, including voting,
protest, and mass movements. Students should
understand why individuals engage in various
forms of political participation and how that
participation may affect the political system.
Finally, it is essential that students
understand what leads citizens to differ from one
another in their political beliefs and behavior
and the political consequences of these
differences. To understand these differences,
students should focus on the demographic features
of the American population and the different
views that people hold of the political process.
They should be aware of group differences in
political beliefs and behavior. Students should
also understand how changes in political
participation affect the political system.
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Political Culture a particular distribution of
political attitudes, values, feelings,
information and skills that affects a political
system
Political Beliefs of Americans . . . what are the
beliefs of Americans about their government, its
leaders and the US political system in general
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American values
freedom/liberty
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Am values limited government
Which comes closer to your view Government
should do more to solve problems or government is
doing too many things better left to businesses
and individuals?
2008
2004
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American Beliefs
Conservative in theory, liberal in practice
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American values
Equality . . .
but of opportunity, not result
Political tolerance
More in abstract than in concrete
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individualism
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Mistrust in government--esp. Since the 1960's
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Remember this . . . .
Comparative Politics Made Simple
Looking at Specific Country ExamplesTo take but
one example among many A comparativist observes
that the United States' health-care system is
funded mainly by private sources, while the
United Kingdom's system is funded by government
(through an organization called the National
Health Service, or NHS). She further notices that
in the UK health care is guaranteed to all, while
in the United States more than 40 million
citizens do without. But she also notes that
those Americans with health insurance have an
easier time receiving certain medical procedures
(kidney dialysis and transplants, triple-bypass
heart surgeries) than their counterparts across
the Atlantic. All of the aforementioned
differences between the U.S. and UK health-care
systems are, in and of themselves, interesting,
but you probably want to know more, such as why
the two countries' health-care systems are
different, and which one is "better."Our
comparativist is like you. Her inquiring mind
wants to know, so she investigates. In her probe,
she is not likely to confine herself to health
care in the United States and the UK (her
dependent variable, if I may be technical) she
will focus on other issues that she thinks might
have "caused" health-care systems between the two
countries to be so different. These factors
(independent variables) would likely include U.S.
and UK history, geography, demography, economy,
political institutions, interest groups, and
citizen attitude toward government and the
private sector.
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She spends hours reading about many possible
factors the insular history of the United States
and the empire-making history of the UK (which
favored the formation of a healthy army and civil
servants who could be dispatched around the
world) the virtual absence of socialist ideology
in the mainstream of American politics and the
existence of Fabian socialist ideology in the UK
the division of policy making between separate,
if not to say competing, branches of government
in the United States and the fusion of executive
and parliamentary powers in the UK (which makes
for less contention in policy making and
implementation) and, above all, her own survey,
which indicates that Britons "trust" government
more than Americans. Our comparativist may now
feel that she "knows" why Americans and Britons
have different health-care systems. She may
conclude that, although the health-care system
differences that exist between the United States
and the UK have many "causes," one seems to be
stronger than all the others Britons trust
government more than Americans. (In some studies
comparativists are able to measure, together and
separately, the effects of each independent
variable, or cause, on the dependent variable,
the effect. Even when they cannot do this, they
can make plausible arguments about causes and
effects.)
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Another result of FREEDOM and individualism and
distrust of govt and . . .
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• Pragmatic--less ideological,

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Political Culture v. Ideology

• Political Culture
• A set of general attitudes, ideas and beliefs
• Broadly informs and shapes a regions politics

• Ideology
• A set of specific attitudes, ideas and beliefs
• Provides or advocates a coherent plan for social,
  political, or economic action

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Proud to be American
Litigious
More religious
Less class conscious
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Why do we hold these beliefs?
focus here on why as a culture we hold these
beliefs (as opposed to how an individual gets
knowledge etc--which is political socialization)
Nation of immigrants
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• History
• founding fathers who distrust human nature and
  authority
• first "new" nation--put ideas into practice
• assert our rights--make us more adversarial--not
  gradual evolution of rights like UK
• no history of aristocracy, no strong socialist or
  communist party
• Western Frontier--lots of room to expand,
  opportunity, run over others (Western states,
  especially individual, and democratic weak
  parties, more women in politics, more initiatives
  etc)
• Founders escape religious freedom (though had it
  in Holland-so escape here for economic
  opportunity)
• Religion
• Many Americans cite religion as important in life
• Religious leaders use pulpit for political
  change MLK, summer reading
• Protestant work ethic

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Family structure--more equal, kids have rights,
talk back etc Economic system capitalism depends
on individual rights, less reliance on
state Government efforts--promote capitalism,
school socialization, etc.
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How do we measure the political beliefs of
Americans?
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What type of telephone service is there in your
home that you could use or be reached on?
Among 2004 voters                               
                                                  
          
Among 2008 voters                               
                                                  
          
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Public Opinion and cleavages
Candidates have long recognized religious
affiliation as a significant factor in American
elections. In the 1940s, for example, Catholics
tended to vote Democratic and mainline
Protestants tended to vote Republican. A similar
gap now exists between white evangelical
Protestants, who are strongly Republican, and
black Protestants, who are strongly
Democratic.The difference in the votes of
evangelical Protestants and black Protestants is
an example of the affiliation gap 79 of
evangelical Protestants voted for President Bush,
compared with 14 of black Protestants -- a
difference of 65 percentage points.
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For the presidential candidates and the pundits
who write about them, one concern in the 2008
campaign is the "religion gap" -- shorthand for
the religious differences between Republican and
Democratic voters. An analysis of national exit
polls from 2004 shows there is not one but two
religion gaps -- one based on religious
affiliation and the other based on frequency of
attendance at worship services. In the 2004
presidential election, exit polling by the
National Election Pool found that religious
affiliation and frequency of attendance at
worship services had a larger impact than many
other, better-known factors, including the
"gender gap" between men and women and the "class
gap" between the most and least affluent voters.
Note the effect of Cross cutting cleavages
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The two party system and coalitions . . .
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Evangelical Protestants" refers to respondents
who described themselves as white, born-again and
Protestant as well as respondents who described
themselves as white, born-again and Other
Christian. "Mainline Protestants" refers to
respondents who described themselves as white,
non-born-again and Protestant. "Black
Protestants" refers to respondents who described
themselves as black and Protestant as well as
respondents who described themselves as black and
Other Christian. "Latino Protestants" refers to
respondents who described themselves as Hispanic
and Protestant as well as respondents who
described themselves as Hispanic and Other
Christian. "Non-Latino Catholics" refers to
respondents who described themselves as Catholic
but not Hispanic. "Latino Catholics" refers to
respondents who described themselves as Hispanic
and Catholic. "Other Christians" refers to
respondents who described themselves as Mormon as
well as respondents who described themselves as
white, non-born-again and Other Christian.
"Jews" refers to respondents who described
themselves as Jewish. "Other Faiths" refers to
respondents who described themselves as Muslim as
well as respondents who reported that they
regularly attend worship services and described
their religious affiliation as "Something Else."
"Unaffiliated" refers to respondents who claimed
no religious affiliation as well as infrequent
worship service attenders who described their
religious affiliation as "Something Else."
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Age Cleavage in public opinion
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Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and
Middle Class Nov 13, 2007
African Americans see a widening gulf between the
values of middle class and poor blacks, and
nearly four-in-ten say that because of the
diversity within their community, blacks can no
longer be thought of as a single race.
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Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes
1987-2007
Increased public support for the social safety
net, signs of growing public concern about income
inequality, and a diminished appetite for
assertive national security policies have
improved the political landscape for the
Democrats as the 2008 presidential campaign gets
underway. At the same time, many of the key
trends that nurtured the Republican resurgence in
the mid-1990s have moderated, according to Pew's
longitudinal measures of the public's basic
political, social and economic values. The
proportion of Americans who support traditional
social values has edged downward since 1994,
while the proportion of Americans expressing
strong personal religious commitment also has
declined modestly.
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the Democrats' growing advantage in party
identification is tempered by the fact that the
Democratic Party's overall standing with the
public is no better than it was when President
Bush was first inaugurated in 2001. Instead, it
is the Republican Party that has rapidly lost
public support, particularly among political
independents. Faced with an unpopular president
who is waging an increasingly unpopular war, the
proportion of Americans who hold a favorable view
of the Republican Party stands at 41, down 15
points since January 2001. But during that same
period, the proportion expressing a positive view
of Democrats has declined by six points, to 54.
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IF theres butter and white wine in your
refrigerator and Fig Newtons in the cookie jar,
youre likely to vote for Hillary Clinton. Prefer
olive oil, Bear Naked granola and a latte to go?
You probably like Barack Obama, too.
And if youre leaning toward John McCain, its
all about kicking back with a bourbon and a
stuffed crust pizza while you watch the Democrats
fight it out next week in Pennsylvania.
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If what we eat says a lot about who we are, it
also says something about how we might vote.
Although precincts and polls are being parsed,
the political advisers to the presidential
candidates are also looking closely at consumer
behavior, including how people eat, as a way to
scavenge for votes. The practice is called
microtargeting, as much political discipline as
buzzword. The idea is that in the brand-driven
United States, what we buy and how we spend our
free time is a good predictor of our
politics. Political strategists slice and dice
the electorate into small segments, starting with
traditional demographics like age and income,
then mixing consumer information like whether you
prefer casinos or cruises, hunting or cooking, a
Prius or a pickup. Once they find small groups of
like-minded people, campaigns can efficiently
send customized phone, e-mail or direct mail
messages to potential supporters, avoiding
inefficient one-size-fits-all mailings. Pockets
of support that might have gone unnoticed can be
ferreted out.
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Political Socialization

• Definition the process through which the
  individual gets political knowledge, feelings and
  evaluation regarding the political system

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Agents of socialization . . .
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Media
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Media
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• news--most important effect is on what problems
  or issues people give importance to gatekeeper
  role
• younger not as likely to watch news kids spend
  hours of time watching TV--get "knowledge" of how
  the law works through TV shows, movies etc
  (everyone knows what Miranda warnings are because
  of TV shows)
• music, MTV etc--can be a potent form of political
  expression which socializes its listeners

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School
all regimes target the youth for obvious reasons
. . . in part this is just civics also--a more
educated citizenry is more likely to be
"informed" which is a critical aspect of democracy
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Other ways governments act as agents of
socializationby promoting nationalism (the
belief that someone who occupies the same
territory has something important in common which
makes them superior) Thus they structure
citizen's beliefs about the regime, the social
and economic structure and the political process
so you feel positive about the government and at
least accept itthis gives them legitimacy
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said his
country was seeking better ways to make atomic
fuel. NYT 4/17/2006
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Propaganda Definition ideas, facts or rumors
spread deliberately to further one's cause or to
damage an opponent's cause at one level it is the
extremes of the CPI (Committee on Public
Information) associated with WWI but it is also
the "spin" all politicians put on their actions
and proposals --"spin doctors" --Clinton was a
master of PR--FDR and his fireside chats but
compare it to China or former Soviet Union where
press is controlled by government
Text books
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More governments attempts to socialize making
possible certain kinds of participation e.g. the
26th amendment (right to vote for 18 year olds)
not a coincidence that happens when youth were
participating at historic levels but in
unconventional ways--vote used to give them a
conventional channel of participation and to
justify suppressing other modes-- another example
is census debate--not a coincidence that
democrats wanted actual enumeration and
republicans wanted sampling right? Censorship
The American Library Association says that among
the most frequently challenged books of the
decade 1990-2000 were       I know Why the
Caged Bird Sings by Maya AngelouHarry Potter
(Series) by J.K. RowlingA Light in the Attic by
Shel SilversteinJulie of the Wolves by Jean
Craighead GeorgeGoosebumps (Series) by R.L.
Stein
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Importance of civil society to political
socialization
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Other agents of socialization can be based on
your experiences connected to . . . Religion
Ethnicity Gender Region Race Income Level of
education . . . cleavages
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Other Concerted Attempts to Socialize you
NYT Sept 20, 2006
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Spending by private advocacy groups
Don't just blame political candidates for all the
glossy flyers cluttering your mailbox, for the
in-your-face television and radio advertisements
and calls at home that interrupt your dinner.
Chances are, much of that electioneering is being
paid for by one of an untold number of advocacy
groups-political action committees (PACs), 527s
and other hard-to-track organizations with
millions to spend on the 2006 elections. These
groups represent a variety of positions on a
variety of issues, but they have one thing in
common they influence how you look at the
candidates. Their activities may not instruct you
to vote for or against a specific candidate, but
often they will try to shape your opinion of a
political candidate or party in the context of a
specific issue. Such "issue advocacy" won't
explicitly tell you to elect or defeat a
particular candidate, but the advocacy group's
view of the candidate's stance on their issue is
clear. http//www.opensecrets.org/527s/index.asp
Type of Funds All 527s 527s (Excluding
StateCandidates Parties) Receipts
294,934,779 Expenses 301,897,596 (this is
amount spent in 2006 race)
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Political Participation
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Hu Juntas backed political participation, not
multi-party democracy.
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Presidential Turnout Rates for Voting-Age
Population (VAP) and Eligible Population (VEP)
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Key VAP voting age populationno. number of
elections

• Compulsory voting laws can also have an effect on
  overall turnout rates. Among established
  democracies, Australia, Belgium, Greece, Italy
  and Luxembourg all have some form of compulsory
  voting, as do many South and Central American
  states, although the extent and enforcement of
  these laws varies widely.

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Finally, there does seem to be a clear link
between voter turnout and the competitiveness of
electoral politics in a political system. In the
542 elections where the largest party won less
than half of the votes turnout was a full 10
higher than the 263 elections where a single
party won over 50 of the popular vote.
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The Expanding American Electorate

• 1789 Adult, White Men, Property Owners
• 1850 literacy laws poll taxes enforced
• 1866 14th Amd. granted right to all 21 year old
  men
• 1870 15th Amd. granted right to vote to Blacks
• 1920 19th Amd. granted right to vote to women
• 1964 24th Amd. outlaws poll taxes
• 1965 Voting Rights Act fully incorporates Black
  voters
• 1971 26th Amd. granted right to vote to 18 year
  olds
• 1975 VRA Amendment to include language
  minorities (bilingual voting info)

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Nastier politics, bigger turnout2004 Voter
turnout about 60

• Nastier politics, bigger turnout

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Vote in Primarymuch less than in general
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Federalism illustrated
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Other types of Participation
The archbishop of Washington, Theodore E.
McCarrick, addressing demonstrators at an
immigration rally Monday in Washington.
Throngs of immigrants and their supporters called
for legal status and citizenship for illegal
immigrants. NYT 4/10/2006
Directed at Congress
Directed at the Sup Ct
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Thousands of immigrants and their supporters
marching for expanded rights on May 1 in Los
Angeles
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Tens of thousands of protesters march in
Manchester to demand the withdrawal of British
troops from Iraq.
LONDON, Sept. 23 For the second time in two
days, the army defended itself on Saturday
against charges by middle-ranking officers in
Afghanistan that British ground troops had
received inadequate air support and other backing
in their fight against the Taliban. British
officers in the field have traditionally tended
to keep their complaints within the military. But
with many soldiers using e-mail messages and
video technology, it is easier for complaints to
spread, possibly beyond where the officers
intended.
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November 26, 2007
Second Day of Protests Against Putin in Russia
Garry Kasparov was arrested in Moscow on Saturday
and sentenced to five days in jail
MOSCOW, Nov. 25 On a second day of rallies
against President Vladimir V. Putin, riot police
officers broke up a protest in St. Petersburg on
Sunday, detaining numerous marchers, including
two prominent politicians. The unrest came a day
after a similar event in Moscow ended with the
arrest of Garry Kasparov, the former chess
champion and opposition leader, whose coalition,
Other Russia, has declared that Mr. Putin is
turning Russia into a dictatorship. A judge
sentenced Mr. Kasparov to five days in
jail. Similar demonstrations across Russia this
weekend, a week before parliamentary elections,
were either banned or squelched by the
police. With the economy strong and the nation
stable after the turmoil of the 1990s, Mr. Putin
is widely popular here, and Mr. Kasparovs
movement has only a small following. Mr. Putins
party, United Russia, is expected to win an
overwhelming majority in the elections, aided by
the Kremlins control over government agencies
and the news media.
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• Pensioners shout "Vladimir Putin! Remember your
  compatriots" at a protest rally in central St.
  Petersburg. Some thousands Russian retirees
  protested the withdrawal of Soviet-era benefits
  such as free public transport and medicines.
  (Igor Potemkin/AFP/Getty Images)

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Mid Sept Still Mass Protests
Supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who
narrowly lost Mexico's presidential election,
held a mass rally in the capital's main square.
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Iranian women take part in a protest in front of
the Tehran University in Tehran June 12, 2005.
Morning Edition, June 13, 2005 Hundreds of
Iranian women protested against gender
discrimination, just five days before the country
holds presidential elections.
Ahwazi port workers have clashed with police in
recent days during protests at the non-payment of
wages Ocotber 9 2006
Wednesday, 23 February, 2000, BBCIran's youth
Force for change
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Do the politicians listen?
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Yeswhich is why the elderly have more programs
for them!
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Regional Cleavages Or this?
http//www-personal.umich.edu/mejn/election/
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See this site http//www-personal.umich.edu/mejn
/election/2004/
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Muslims Election Is Celebrated Here and in
Mideast NYT Nov 9, 2006
Keith Ellison, speaking in Minneapolis, said
Thursday that he would serve from a standpoint
of improving the quality of civil and human
rights for all people in America. Mr. Ellison
celebrated with his wife, Kim. first Muslim in
Congress, representing Minnesotas Fifth District
in the House of Representatives
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