University of California Irvine Political Science Analytical Essay In an essay of 4 to 6 pages (1,000 to 1,500 words), please answer the following prompt.

University of California Irvine Political Science Analytical Essay In an essay of 4 to 6 pages (1,000 to 1,500 words), please answer the following prompt. I expect you to write your essay based on the assigned readings, on class forums, and on lectures and other video materials presented on the web site. I do not expect you to supplement these sources with outside research.I also expect you to provide appropriate citations to your sources. If this is the text, you should use parenthetical endnoting with specific page references (e.g. Ginsberg, et. al. 2019: 41). If you are citing a lecture, you should provide the lecture number. Videos should be named using the title from the web page. Analytical Essay PromptThe results of the 2016 and 2018 national elections raise significant questions about the future of America’s political parties and the viability of America’s electoral processes. In an essay, describe the roles that political parties and candidate characteristics play in mobilizing electoral participation in contemporary U.S. elections and analyze how individual characteristics of voters (such as socioeconomic status), political socialization, electoral laws, and electoral practices influence voting likelihood. Where possible use examples from recent national campaigns for national office discussed in the assigned text and in the lectures/video supplements.I will provide necessary chapters of the textbook, and also selective lecture power points. DIBQUFS
05
Public
Opinion
WHAT GOVERNMENT DOES AND WHY IT MATTERS
Americans can have quite different opinions on important issues, even citizens
who have had similarly vivid, harrowing experiences. In 1991, Suzanna Hupp
was eating lunch in a Texas restaurant when a man drove his truck through the
window and began shooting people. Hupp had often carried a handgun in her
purse, but had recently taken it out because Texas did not allow concealed carry
at the time, and she was afraid she would lose her license as a chiropractor if
caught. “Could I have hit the guy? He was fifteen feet from me. . . . Could I have
missed? Yeah, it’s possible. But the one thing nobody can argue with is that
it would have changed the odds.” The gunman killed 23 people, including her
parents. She has become a strong proponent of gun rights since then. “One of
my bugaboos is gun laws. Anytime we list a place where you can’t carry guns, to
me, that’s like a shopping list for a madman. . . . If you think about nearly every
one of these mass shootings, they have occurred at places where guns weren’t
allowed. That’s frustrating to me, particularly when you talk about schools.
Where do these madmen go? They go to schools and slaughter people.”1
Suzanna Hupp (left) and Justin Gruber (right) were both
present during episodes of gun violence. These events
pushed Hupp to advocate for more gun rights, and Gruber
to speak out for more restrictive gun laws. How do political
opinions form? And how do government officials respond
to shifts in public opinion?
Fifteen-year-old Justin Gruber also survived a terrible shooting incident,
in a school: the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, in February 2018. The incident left seventeen students and
teachers dead. But Gruber and many of his schoolmates reached the opposite view of Suzanna Hupp, arguing for greater gun control, such as assault
weapons bans and increased age limits for purchase. Objecting to one
suggestion raised after the shooting, Gruber said that arming teachers is a
“terrible idea.” “Adding guns to solve a gun problem will increase the possible
negative outcomes,” he said. “Teachers shouldn’t have to be trained to carry
weapons. They are supposed to mold the minds of the next generation.”2
Some students formed a group, Never Again MSD, known by the hashtag
#NeverAgain, to advocate for tighter gun control.
The “consent of the governed”—demanded in the Declaration of
Independence—is critical for the functioning of a democracy. We expect
government to pay attention to the people. But whose opinion gets represented in public policy, particularly on issues such as gun rights and gun
145
control where there are strong divides among the public? What is the role of
public opinion compared to that of other political actors, such as organized
interests? How well informed are people, and by what channels can individuals have their voices heard? As we will see in this chapter, research shows
that public opinion does indeed have a significant impact on public policy. But
there are debates among scholars about whether the public is sufficiently
informed about politics, as well as whether elected officials represent the
interests of all Americans or only some Americans.
CHAPTER GOALS
★
Define public opinion, and identify broad types of values and beliefs
Americans have about politics (pp. 147–52)
★
Explain the major factors that shape specific individual opinions
(pp. 152–57)
★
Explore when and why public opinion changes and the role that
political knowledge plays (pp. 157–60)
★
★
Describe the major forces that shape public opinion (pp. 160–63)
146
Describe basic survey methods and other techniques researchers use
to measure public opinion (pp. 163–69)
CHAPTER 5
PUBLIC OPINION
Public Opinion Represents
Attitudes about Politics
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P U B L I C O P I N I O N R E P R E S E N T S AT T I T U D E S A B O U T P O L I T I C S
147
Dramatic events, and the emotions they stir, can alter public opinion. In the aftermath of the violence
erupting at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, seemingly everyone had an
opinion of the state of race relations in America.
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148
CHAPTER 5
PUBLIC OPINION
FIGURE 5.1
Americans Agree on Many Core
Democratic Values
SOURCE: Pew Research Center, “Broad Public Agreement on Importance of Many Aspects of a Strong Democracy,”
March 2, 2017, www.people-press.org/2017/03/02/large-majorities-see-checks-and-balances-right-to-protest-as
-essential-for-democracy/democracy_11/ (accessed 1/23/18).
Very
Somewhat
Not too/Not at all
PERCENTAGE WHO SAY EACH IS VERY, SOMEWHAT, OR NOT TOO/NOT AT ALL
IMPORTANT TO MAINTAINING A STRONG DEMOCRACY IN THE UNITED STATES:
National elections
are open and fair
A system of checks and balances
dividing power between the
president, Congress, and the courts
89%
6
3
83%
11
4
79%
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to nonviolent protest
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unpopular views are protected
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free to criticize political leaders
12
7
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18
5
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P U B L I C O P I N I O N R E P R E S E N T S AT T I T U D E S A B O U T P O L I T I C S
149
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150
CHAPTER 5
PUBLIC OPINION
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FIGURE 5.2
Americans’ Ideology
More Americans identify themselves as “conservatives” than “liberals.” During the period
shown in this figure, however, Americans have had two Democratic presidents and have
several times elected Democratic majorities to a house of Congress. What might account
for this apparent discrepancy? What role do moderates play in the electorate? How stable
is Americans’ ideology over time?
SOURCE: Lydia Saad, “Conservative Lead in U.S. Ideology Down to Single Digits,” Gallup, January 11, 2018,
https://news.gallup.com/poll/225074/conservative-lead-ideology-down-single-digits.aspx (accessed 10/10/18).
50%
Moderate
40
Conservative
30
20
Liberal
10
0
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014 2016
P U B L I C O P I N I O N R E P R E S E N T S AT T I T U D E S A B O U T P O L I T I C S
151
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