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

2. 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?

4. Public Opinion
Chapter 11

5. Vocab – chapter 11 Public opinion Mass media Interest group
Prior restraint
Libel
Malice
Public interest group
Nonpartisan
Political Action Committee (PAC)
Lobbyist
Public opinion
Mass media
Interest group
Public opinion poll
Pollster
Electronic media
Public agenda
Leak

6. Public Opinion 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

7. 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?

9. Determining Public Opinion
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.

10. Presidential Approval Ratings

11. Media 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

12. Biased Media Fox – Republican biased news
MSNBC – Democratic biased news
How can you protect yourself from bias in the news?

13. Interest Groups
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:
Bring issues to the public & lawmakers
Support candidates who favor their goals

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

15. 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

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

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

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

19. Why is it important to know who lobbyists work for?

20. Propaganda 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

21. Types of Propaganda
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

22. How does name-calling differ from the other techniques?

23. Creating a Public Interest Campaign 1 - Identifying the issue -5 mins
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

24. Creating a Public Interest Campaign 2 - Speaking Out – 20 mins
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

25. Creating a Public Interest Campaign 3 - Working Together – 5 mins
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.

26. Creating a Public Interest Campaign 4 - Demonstrating Concern – 15 mins
Using the plan you made in step 3 – incorporate posters, music, and/or a skit that dramatizes your causes.

27. What is publishing false information that harms a person’s reputation?
Propaganda
Censorship
Libel
Slander

28. A disadvantage of mass campaigning is:
Its too time consuming
It takes too many people
Its too expensive
It doesn’t reach enough people

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

30. All of the following are duties except:
Attending school
Paying taxes
Voting in elections
Serving on a jury

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

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

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

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

35. Most interest groups can be described as:
Biased
Illegal
Impartial
Ineffective

36. All males must register at the age of 18 with the:
Selective Services
Draft Board
US Army
Board of Elections

37. What provides a way for citizens to approve or reject state laws?
Referendum
Proposition
Mandate
Initiative

38. When are referendums most likely used?
Daily issues
Run off elections
Recall elections
Controversial issues

39. What is the main purpose of the media in politics?
Ratings
To inform us
To influence the government
Support the government

40. What is the most common use of campaigning during elections?
Canvassing
Mail
Magazine & Newspaper Ads TV

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

42. What is a split ticket? Ballots with candidates listed on two sides
Using different ballots for national and state issues
Voting for candidates from different political parties
Voting for candidates from the same political party

43. Which President had the worst approval rating?
Harry Truman
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Richard Nixon
George Bush