Day 12

understanding the context of the law, both in it's original state and in the current time
the power of the constitution is such that it can suit the needs and problems of the time
the idea of liberalism is that we use the laws for our own purposes
are guns necessary in the modern age?
humanity's fallibility

public opinion

define public opinion
it's always difficult to define, because you have so many different gradations of community and opinion

a significant number of society
the significant portion is referred to as the attentive public
people who take place in politics, read newspapers
teachers, engage in arguments and debates
watch news, listen to the radio, read books and discuss

combination of viewpoints of a significant number of people in society on issues
an issue would be a problem or an important event that affects our lives

they become part of the public agenda, the list of things that most of the people want representatives to affect a change
people want representatives to make decisions and pass laws

the agreement of almost all the people in a society; consensus
if the people are split, into opposing factions in society, a polarized society
same number (roughly) for and against
divisive public opinion
public opinion might be intense and lead people to demonstrate
in the 1960s they demanded that things be done
18 year olds to vote, the constitution had to be amendment, and with the authority of the 5th article

informed public opinion backed up by knowledge
constitutional knowledge was required to prove their point and affect a change
knowledge of the system and it's control points
the vietnamese modeled their struggle for independence on the united states
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
we decided to protect the vietnamese from communism in support of the french
all the colonized groups should be entitled to their freedoms

the young decided that we were fighting the wrong war, fighting against the independent spirit of of the vietnamese
fluid, stable public opinion

how do we determine public opinion
we derive or values through the way we were socialized
entering into society
1. training - acquiring the skills
2. socialization
3. awareness, enlightenment and consciousness

revolutionaries (u.s.) were aware enough to decide between monarchy and republican democracy
pages 193-194

all of the social institutions, schools, clubs, religion, are important in our socialization
media is another important channel of communication
print media was the origin of popular media
we have extended into television, radio, internet

we have our heroes, or our role models in society

how is public opinion measured?
it is measured by public opinion polls or public opinion surveys
using a random sample of the people we wish to poll
random selection is the sample selected on the basis of every member of the sample being given equal chance of being selected
sample: a small number randomly selected from a large population to represent the population
the sample must be representative
the pollsters (gallup poll, roper poll) work as businesses
select about 1500-2000 people to represent the 300 million people in the united states
different qualifications; women, men, poor, education level, religion
they are not required any certain number of the different ideologies, however they strive to be representative of the united states
polls are used to provide an idea of consumer satisfaction and problems
some of the questions are yes/no, but the more difficult ones are open-ended
sampling error, the difference between what you would get if you asked anyone and the viewpoints of your sample
they make allowances for the error factor to get to a more accurate count
based on statistical science

close to the election people change their minds quite a bit, so pollsters engage in what is known as tracking polls, daily surveys on how you change your mind
getting an accurate cross-section of the community will help candidates to determine how to package their message and information to address the locals
informed voters are important because of their ability to determine what is the packaging and what is the message

political culture
demographic: background and status of the population polled

political culture
a collection of values, beliefs, and attitudes of the people in a society regarding or about the nature of the society, the problems, the needs, politics and government
our political culture emphasizes:

liberty
equality - free enterprise that will lead to equal opportunity
property

polls indicate
1. framework of how we share power
2. candidates or campaigners can determine or be guided on what people want
3. source of the political ideology
4. bureaucrats' responsibilities

The Media
the means by which journalists gather, organize, write and spread information among the people
especially the kind of information that is "news"
news: the information that is significant and current
journalists determine what is significant and noteworthy
journalists set the public agenda
journalism is the profession that trains people to gather and organize information for communication either in print or broadcast
kinds of media: print media (leaflets, newspapers, magazines) ; broadcast/electronic media (radio, television) ; internet (blogs, broadcast, cell phones, news sources)
the functions of the media in politics
1. the gathering and reporting of events
2. media acts as gatekeepers; the means by which information is sent to people
3. agenda setters by their function as gatekeepers; they determine what is important
4. entertainers; through movies, dramatizations; entertainment is a way of slipping ideas and information into our head
entertainment redirects our attention, making us focus on what they want
5. the media are spin doctors/meisters; they interpret the information in a particular way; usually to suit what their particular agenda calls for
used to embellish or change its meaning
6. they are profit-makers, they must be paid, they must sell things
with critical analysis, we can use the information provided, as long as we examine it closely

the problem of the media
1. Bias
2. Control
if all control was under one management, could we trust the message? would there be an alternative voice

political action committee (PAC)
formed to collect money and channel this money to candidates
at the federal level, they cannot grant money

soft money; the money that organizations would give to political parties, didn't have to be reported
hard money/cash is the money given directly to candidates

527s, a section in the IRS regulation, allowing companies to collect money for advertising, but not for ay particular candidate, perhaps for propositions, but not at the federal level
advertising must be recorded so as to keep candidates honest
not mentioning the candidate by name, only explaining the issues and advocating their imlpementation
federal election committee makes sure people are following the rules

gender gap: the difference between the views of women and he views of men and the candidates they vote for
platform is the list of promises, a document

pg 202; election-specific factors
1. candidate
2. party
3. issue

interest groups
1. constitutional institutions
- legislature
- executive
- judiciary
- electoral college
2. extra-constitutional institutions; institutions that have evolved outside the constitution because of the needs or circumstances of the people
- interest groups; seen as faction
- political parties; seen as faction
- bureaucracies - the people who do the work behind the scenes, public servants and civil servants, employed for their expertise in the legal or extra legal systems
- media (provided for under the freedom of assembly clause)

the revolutionaries were against interest groups and political parties because they saw them as working against the common good
interest groups: associations or government organizations of people with common beliefs, values and goals working in the political system to influence or shape the government policies
formed in 1967 the common case, working to organize people
environmental groups, sierra, audobon
aarp, nra, afl, ico
how are they different from political parties?
political parties are associations of people with common beliefs, ideologies, and objectives organized to win elections and put the people they want into political offices to formulate policies, make policies
the main differences between the two groups is the control of power, direct power versus indirect power
interest groups are not interested in making policies directly; interest groups cannot be blamed; political parties can and are set up to

bureaucracies are organized groups of civil/public servants (do not like the name bureaucrats), sometimes called government officials, appointed ones and life workers

media - already have gone over these