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Chapter 11
Influencing Government
Influences on Personal Opinion
1) Personal background
Age, gender, race, religion, occupation,
hometown, education, and financial
status all affect how we think
Influences on Personal Opinion
2)
Mass media
TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and
internet
They choose what information is covered
How they cover info is important
Do we get the whole story?
Influences on Personal Opinion
3) Public officials
We listen to the leaders that we trust
They tell us info through ads, press
conferences and debates
Their job is to persuade us they are right
Influences on Personal Opinion
4)
Interest groups
Groups of people who unite around a common
goal
Work to convince America that their view is
right
Spend millions on ads (Got milk?)
Components of Public Opinion
1) Direction
Do people view a topic as positive or
negative?
Usually a mix of ideas
Components of Public Opinion
2) Intensity
How strongly do you feel about an issue?
The stronger the feeling, the more willing
people will be to act on that
Components of Public Opinion
3) Stability
How long do they hold that view?
Stability of the issue itself: is it something
that people will continue to care about?
Measuring Public opinion
Election results
Winner’s views may be the same as the public
May be inaccurate as people vote for different
reasons (how they look, straight ticket, vote
against another candidate)
Measuring Public opinion
Public opinion polls
Attempt to use science
to judge opinion
Takes a sample of at
least 1,500 to be
considered accurate
This gives us a cross
section of America
(race, religion, income)
Must be careful to avoid
adding bias to the
questions
Public Opinion Polls
ProsHelps support democracy
Keeps leaders in touch with the people
Don’t have to wait till an election to see
how the public feels
Public Opinion Polls
ConsInfluences leaders decisions (being
popular v. being right)
Influences election (why vote if polls show
who will win)
Results can be inaccurate due to biases
Types of Media
1) Print
magazines, newspapers, books
2) Electronicradio, TV, internet
98% of people have TV in this country,
but it only provides a quick hit of info
70% read newspapers for at least 3 ½
hours a week, much more in depth than
TV
Media’s Impact
1) Setting public agenda:
Decide what to cover
Decide how to cover it
2) On Candidates and elections:
Must be media friendly today
Good looking? Image is everything
Actors and sports figures are entering politics in
big numbers
Media’s Impact
3) On elected officials:
Politicians try to control the flow of info to
the media
Stage events for the media’s benefit
May leak info that will help them to the
media
May leak ideas to see the public’s
reaction
Media’s Impact
4)
As a watchdog
Love to expose scandals
May drive good people out of office
Blurring the line between personal life and professional
life
Media’s Impact
5)
On National security
Balance between need to know and national
security
Government tries to limit access to security
information
Leads to censorship by the government
Regulating the Media
1st Amendment protects media from prior
restraint
Must be careful of libel
FCC can censor public TV EX: Janet
Jackson at the Super Bowl
Types of Interest Groups
1) Economic
Largest and most powerful
Try to influence government action for
their industry
Often an extension of labor unions
Types of Interest Groups
2) Social Groups
Promote race, age , or gender
NAACP, NOW, AARP
Types of Interest Groups
3) Special Causes
Pick some cause of interest to them
NRA, Sierra Club
Types of Interest Groups
4) Public
Work to benefit all of society
EX: League of Women Voters work to
increase voter turnout
Lobbyists
Represent groups
that try to influence
the government
Must have a good
understanding of the
government
Must know who to
see and where to go
Lobbyists
Track laws to make sure they are enforced
Do research and offer alternatives
Great public relations experts
Lobbyists
Publicly support candidates that share the
same views
Form PACs to give money to candidates
campaigns
Will go to court to challenge laws they
don’t like
 They give legal advice and $ to others who
support their views in court
Propaganda Techniques of Interest
Groups
1) Endorsements
Get famous people to
support the campaign
If people like the
celebrity, they will listen
to your point of view
Propaganda Techniques of
Interest Groups
2) Stacked cards
Presents only one side of the issue
Leaves out info or distorts info to support
view
Propaganda Techniques of Interest
Groups
3) Name-calling
Turn public against your opponent
Try to attach an unpleasant label or
description to an opponent
Propaganda Techniques of Interest
Groups
4) Glittering Generality
A statement that sounds good but means
nothing
“I am the candidate for world peace”
Propaganda Techniques of Interest
Groups
5) Symbols
Try to use images that people feel good
about in commercials
Hope that people associate feelings of
the symbol to your issue
Propaganda Techniques of Interest
Groups
6) Just plain folks
Try to look like the “common man”
If you think they are like you, you will like
their issues
Propaganda Techniques of Interest
Groups
7) The bandwagon
Everybody else is doing it, you should
too
Appeals to the fact we like winners in this
country
Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act
All lobbyist must be registered with the
government
Must disclose who hired them
Must publicly list salary and spending
There is a waiting period for former
government employees before they can
become a lobbyists
Why Lobbying Regulation Does
Not Work
Only full time lobbyists must register (only
1/5th of all lobbyists)
No enforcement provided by the
government
Get around laws by using PACs
Lawmakers don’t want stronger laws