Warm up
1. Who is eligible to vote in the U.S.?
2. Who can’t vote?
3. What is an absentee ballot?
4. What is an exit poll?
5. Who makes up the electorate?
6. What is apathy?
7. What percentage of people vote in a Presidential election? Non Presidential elections?
8. What is the difference between an initiative and a referendum?
9. What is the most common means of campaigning?
10. Why do incumbents win most of the time?
11. What is the difference between hard money and soft money?

Warm up
• 1. List three things that influence public opinion.
• 2. What do we call individuals who share a point of view and unite to promote their beliefs?
• 3. What is the most accurate way to measure public opinion?
• 4. What term refers to ideas people hold about a particular issue?
• 5. Why are interest groups often referred to as pressure groups?
• 6. Because most media outlets are private businesses, how do media managers decide what news to run?
• 7. What is prior restraint?
• 8. What was decided about libel in New York Times vs. Sullivan?
• 9. Why would a politician leak information?
• 10. What are lobbyists?
•
• 11. What group represents doctors?
• 12. What is the largest group representing workers?
• 13. What is the most important resource for lobbyists?
•
• 14. What is the primary goal of interest groups?
•
• 15. What protects a person’s right to join an interest group?

Chapter 11

1. Public opinion
2. Mass media
3. Interest group
4. Public opinion poll
5. Pollster
6. Electronic media
7. Public agenda
8. Leak
9. Prior restraint
10.Libel
11.Malice
12.Public interest group
13.Nonpartisan
14.Political Action
Committee (PAC)
15.Lobbyist

• The ideas & attitudes people have about candidates
• Influenced by age, gender, income, hobbies, race, religion & occupation
• Mass media is a strong influence
• Politicians must be responsive to public opinion if they are going to get reelected

• Understanding public opinion helps presidents make effective, timely decisions.
Successful presidents have a good sense of when the public is ready for a new idea and when it is not.
• Franklin D. Roosevilt expressed this idea when he said, “I cannot go any faster than the people will let me.”
• What exactly did President Roosevelt mean?

 Public Opinion Polls – survey – most accurate way to determine public opinion
 Pollsters – people trained to take polls & measure public opinion
 Push Polls – used to push public opinion one way or another
 Have loaded questions – biased to get a certain response
 Presidential Approval Rating
 Gallup Poll – sampling of public opinion on a particular issue by questioning a representative cross section.

• Print – newspapers, mailings, magazines
• Electronic – TV, radio, internet
• Main purpose – to keep us informed
• Independent media is most desirable
• Literacy is important
• Bias – one-sided point of view

• Fox – Republican biased news
• MSNBC – Democratic biased news
• How can you protect yourself from bias in the news?

• People attempting to influence government with their shared views
• Pressure groups – group of people who share an interest, concern, or set of opinions and who try to influence politics and the govt.
• Functions: o Bring issues to the public & lawmakers o Support candidates who favor their goals

• Economic – most common o Business organizations – interested in trade o Industrial & Trade – represent certain types of business o Labor Unions – rights of workers o Professional Associations – represent different professions o Ex. US Chamber of Congress, Tobacco Institute,
AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and
Congress of Industrial Organizations – alliance of labor unions)
• Group o Ethnicity (NAACP) o Age (AARP) o Gender (NOW)
• Public – focus on specific causes (PETA)

Ways Special Interest Groups Influence
Politics
• Election Activities – backing a candidate
• Lobbying – persuading officials
• Provide expert testimony or help write laws in committees
• Go to court to fight a cause
• Fund elections

• What assumption can we make about people in an interest group?
• What does the phrase, “strength in numbers,” tell us about interest groups?

• Lobby – try to get officials to support a group’s goals
• Responsible for getting PAC money to the right politicians
• Speak in congressional committees

• Lobbyists can’t pay a candidates living expenses
• Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act (1946) o All lobbies must register with federal & state governments & report all expenditures

• Why is it important to know who lobbyists work for?

• Attempt to influence people with biased information
• Always make sure to get both sides of a story from reliable sources
• Good way to determine what a candidate really supports is to see which PAC gives them money for campaigning

• Endorsements – famous or admirable person supports a candidate
• Stacked Cards – presenting only 1 side of the issue – distorting the facts
• Name-Calling – turning people against an opponent by giving them an unpleasant label or description
• Glittering Generality – statement that sounds good but is meaningless
• Symbols – use and misuse of symbols
• Just Plain Folks – make people think that the candidate is just like them
• Bandwagon – convincing people that everyone else agrees with a certain candidate

• How does name-calling differ from the other techniques?

• A democratic society requires the active participation of its citizens.
• Identify an issue of either school, local, or national interest.
• Prepare a short statement expressing your viewpoint about the issue selected.
• The statement should explain what your concern is, your viewpoint, and why you have this view

• Use your statement from part 1 as a basis for an editorial – 3 paragraphs
• Include at least 2 statistics and one concrete example that backs up your point of view.
• Include the sources you used to get the information

• Create a name for your interest group and plan a peaceful demonstration to promote your agenda.
• Consider who you want to communicate your concerns – the government or the public.
• Consider what activity and location would best communicate your concerns.

• Using the plan you made in step 3 – incorporate posters, music, and/or a skit that dramatizes your causes.

What is publishing false information that harms a person’s reputation?
1. Propaganda
2. Censorship
3. Libel
4. Slander

A. Its too time consuming
B. It takes too many people
C. Its too expensive
D. It doesn’t reach enough people

All of the following are reasons a person should volunteer except:
1. The community benefits
2. A person can deduct it on their tax return
3. It pays well
4. It gives a person intrinsic value

1. Attending school
2. Paying taxes
3. Voting in elections
4. Serving on a jury

Which of the following can cause a voters registration to be canceled?
1. Convicted of a felony
2. Move out of the state
3. Nothing cancels voter registration
4. Both A and B are correct

A lobbyist can do all of the following except:
A. Pay a member of congress to vote for a bill
B. Prepare a report on a bill
C. Research information about a bill
D. Testify about a bill

To learn about public opinion, pollsters usually question:
1. Americans from one particular economic group
2. Fewer than 100 people
3. A random sample of people
4. People with very strong opinions

Which one of the following is a branch of the AFL-CIO Union?
1. American Medical Association
2. American Bar Association
3. National Organization for Women
4. National Football Players Association

1. Biased
2. Illegal
3. Impartial
4. Ineffective

All males must register at the age of 18 with the:
1. Selective Services
2. Draft Board
3. US Army
4. Board of Elections

What provides a way for citizens to approve or reject state laws?
1. Referendum
2. Proposition
3. Mandate
4. Initiative

1. Daily issues
2. Run off elections
3. Recall elections
4. Controversial issues

What is the main purpose of the media in politics?
1. Ratings
2. To inform us
3. To influence the government
4. Support the government

What is the most common use of campaigning during elections?
1. Canvassing
2. Mail
3. Magazine & Newspaper Ads
4. TV

How does a person contribute to the
Presidential Election Campaign Fund?
1. By paying the sales tax
2. Checking a box on their income tax forms
3. Ordinary people can not contribute
4. Only by contributing to PAC’s

1. Ballots with candidates listed on two sides
2. Using different ballots for national and state issues
3. Voting for candidates from different political parties
4. Voting for candidates from the same political party

Which President had the worst approval
1. Harry Truman
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt
3. Richard Nixon
4. George Bush rating?