Political Science 1100, Introduction to American Politics, February 18, 2013
Current Events
Part 2 of the Course: The Roots of our Political Conflicts
Participation in Politics
How do Americans Participate in Politics?
A. There are
some kinds of political participation
we take for granted, such as
Voting
Contacting officials (Calling, writing, emailing)
Social Media
Petitioning
Joining political organizations
(parties, interest groups)
Lobbying
Rallies and protests
Litigation (Going to court)
A very important form of participation today: Donating money to campaigns
B. There are
some kinds of political participation
we'd like to overlook, but they occur sometimes anyway
Political Corruption and Scandals
Violence
2. Who Participates?
The People who participate more seriously are:
•More partisan and ideological than average•More advantaged (in income and jobs) than average•Older than average•Fewer racial minorities than average
Example: Campaign contributions:
.01% of donors contribute over 24% of campaign contributions
Result: partisans who are older and better off participate more, and contribute more to political divisions
3. American Government Was Designed
to Control & Mange Participation
The Fragmentation of American government
a Made it hard for anyone to build majorities and use government by y
Providing Lots of places to participate
(national and state governments;
legislatures, courts, and the executive)
and lots of Alternatives for Opponents to block each other
Voting and Elections
1. THE IDEAL FOR AMERICAN ELECTIONS: PROSPECTIVE VOTING
PROSPECTIVE VOTING
Under Ideal Circumstances,
Rational Voters Cast Prospective Votes For the Candidates That Offer Future Policies They Prefer
Assumes that Voters are well informed, we carefully consider several candidates, and votes for the candidate who will do what the voter thinks is best
2. THE
REALITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS: American Circumstances are far from idea.
Turnout tends to be Low
Those who
turnout are not perfectly representative of voting age adults.
Four Reasons that Voters Choose One Candidate Over Another
a. Party Identification
b. The Image Of The Candidates
c. Candidates' Stands On Major Issues
d. Incumbents' Past Performance in Office
In Reality, we tend to cast Retrospective Votes: We Tend To
Retrospective voting is particularly important in voting for President
2008: A Change election favors challenger Obama
2012: Obama was now the incumbent