PUBLIC OPINION, PARTIES, AND
INTEREST GROUPS
AP Gov’t UNIT II
“Mile-a-Minute Mini Lecture”
Ch. 6: Public Opinion & Political Action
I. The American People pg. 178
 A. Introduction: Demography & the Census
 B. The Immigrant Society: 3 great waves of immigration
 C. The American Melting Pot:
 The Coming Minority-Majority
 The Simpson-Mazzoli Act
 D. The Regional Shift: Shift of population & political power
to the Sun Belt
 E. The Graying of America: Fasting growing age group =
over the age of 65
Ch. 6: Public Opinion & Political Action
II. How We Learn About Politics: Political Socialization pg. 184
 A. The Process of Political Socialization
 Family
 School (democracy & capitalism)
 Media
 B. Political Learning Over a Lifetime
 Political participation & strength of party attachment increase
with age
Ch. 6: Public Opinion & Political Action
III. Measuring Public Opinion & Political Information pg. 189
 A. How Polls are Conducted
 Random Sample = everyone has the same probability of being
selected
 Sampling Error = level of confidence that the sample represents
the total population (plus or minus 3% with a sample of 15002000)
 Random digit dialing
 B. The Role of Polls in American Democracy
 Bandwagon effect
 Media & “horse race” reporting
 Exit polls
Ch. 6: Public Opinion & Political Action
 C. What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information
 D. The Decline of Trust in Government
IV. What Americans Value: Political Ideologies pg. 196
 A. Who are the Liberals and Conservatives?
 Political Ideology
 Gender Gap
 B. Do People Think in Ideological Terms?
 Ideologues
 Group Benefits Voters
 Nature of the Times Voters
 No-Issue-Content Voters
Ch. 6: Public Opinion & Political Action
V. How Americans Participate in Politics pg. 200
 A. Introduction – the activities citizens use to influence the
selection of political leaders or policies
 B. Conventional Participation – voting, persuading,
contacting, donating $, running for office
 C. Protest as Participation (Civil disobedience)
 D. Class, Inequality, and Participation
Political Participation is a
“Class Based” Activity
Ch. 8: Political Parties
I. The Meaning of Party pg. 242
 A. Introduction: parties seek to control gov’t by winning
office
 B. Tasks of the Parties
 Linkage institutions
 Pick candidates & support campaigns
 Give cues to voters through party image
 Party Platform
 Coordinate policymaking across the branches
 C. Parties, Voters, and Policy: The Downs Model
Why are our parties so similar?
Ch. 8: Political Parties
II. The Party in the Electorate pg. 245
• Decline in both parties = upswing in independents
• Ticket-splitting & divided gov’t
III. The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to
Washington pg. 247
 A. Introduction:
 American parties are fragmented & decentralized
 Candidates can run on their own
 Opposite of the parliamentary system
Ch. 8: Political Parties
 B. Local Parties: party machines & patronage
 C. The Fifty State Party Systems:
 Open Primary
 Closed Primary
 Blanket Primary
 “Top Two” Primary
 D. The National Party Organizations
 Party Conventions – pick presidential ticket & write party
platform
 National Committee
 National Chairperson
Ch. 8: Political Parties
V. The Party in Government: Promises and Policy pg. 251
VI. Party Eras in American History pg. 254
 A. Introduction:
 Party Era / Critical Election / Party Realignment
 B. 1796-1824: Federalists v. Democratic Republicans
 C. 1828-1856: Jackson and the Democrats versus the Whigs
 Van Buren & the idea of the “loyal opposition”
 D. 1860-1932: The Two Republican Eras
 Election of 1896 = “Wizard of Oz” / Critical Election
 E. 1932-1968: The New Deal Coalition
 F. 1968-Present: The Era of Divided Government
Ch. 8: Political Parties
VII. Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics pg. 260
 Bring new groups and people into politics
 Bring new issues to the policy agenda
 Pioneer new methods
 Provide “Safety Valves”
 Pushed out by Winner-Take-All system & Single-Member
Congressional Districts
 Spoiler Role
Ch. 8: Political Parties
VIII. Understanding Political Parties pg. 261
 A. Democracy and Responsible Party Model
 Party have different platforms
 Each candidate committed to platform
 Majority party enacts platform & takes responsibility
 Minority party offers an alternative
 B. Individualism and Gridlock
 Candidates run on their own and the parties can’t reward or
punish them = party chaos!
 C. American Political Parties and the Scope of Government
Ch.11: Interest Groups
I. The Role and Reputation of Interest Groups pg. 324
 A. Defining Interest Groups: A group using the political
process to achieve their goals. Don’t run in elections & are
policy specialists.
 B. Why Interest Groups Get Bad Press (Factions)
II. Theories of Interest Group Politics pg. 326
 A. Pluralism and Group Theory
 B. Elites and the Denial of Pluralism
 C. Hyperpluralism and Interest Group Liberalism
The Most Powerful Groups
1. National Rifle
Association - NRA
3. National Federation of
Independent Business
5. Association of Trial
Lawyers
7. Chamber of Commerce
9. National Association of
Realtors
12. American Medical
Association -AMA
2. American Association of
Retired Persons-AARP
4. American Israel Public
Affairs Committee
6. AFL-CIO (a union of
labor unions)
8. National Beer
Wholesalers Association
10. National Association of
Manufactures
14. National Education
Association - NEA
Ch.11: Interest Groups
III. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? Pg. 329
 A. The Surprising Ineffectiveness of Large Groups
 Potential Group vs. Actual Group & the Free Rider problem
 Selective Benefits
 B. Intensity (single-issue groups)
 C. Financial Resources
IV. The Interest Group Explosion pg. 333
V. How Groups Try to Shape Policy pg. 335
 A. Lobbying
 B. Electioneering
 C. Litigation (amicus curiae & class action lawsuits)
 D. Going Public
Ch.11: Interest Groups
VI. Types of Interest Groups pg. 341
 A. Economic Interests (wages, prices & profits)
 Right-to-work vs. union shop
 B. Environmental Interests
 C. Equality Interests (NAACP & NOW)
 D. Public Interest Lobbies (seek a “common good”)
VII. Understanding Interest Groups pg. 347
 A. Interest Groups and Democracy
 B. Interest Groups and the Scope of Government