Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs

1. Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs Maniacs, Morons, and Moderates

2. Explain the relationship between core beliefs of U.S. citizens and attitudes about the role of government. There are 326 million Americans. Amazingly, they don’t agree on some things. • Individualism (welfare) • Equality of opportunity (race and gender) • Free enterprise (Capitalism- Satan or Jesus?) • Rule of law (Fascism vs. anarchy) • Limited government (Help me! But also, leave me alone…) These differences often define who we like and who we don’t.

3. Explain how cultural factors influence political attitudes and socialization. • Political Socialization via FAMILY, schools, peers, and the media • Globalization- Half the country worries that America becomes less like America each passing year. The other half worries that the world becomes more like America with each passing year.

4. Attitudes and Socialization (continued) • Aging impacts our political outlook and our self-concept • Generational effect- What does it mean to be a Millennial ? • Lifecycle effect- You get old, you b**** a lot more. It happens. • Major events can permanently alter our outlook • 9/11, terrorism, and Islam in America • Barack Obama and persons of color in politics • Donald Trump and the validity of the Electoral College

5. Describe the elements of a scientific poll. • We put lots (and lots [and lots]) of emphasis on polling, especially during elections. • Many Americans don’t think twice about these factors: • Opinion vs. tracking vs. benchmark vs. entrance/exit polls • Sample size and sampling errors • Mass survey vs. focus group • Question type/format • The new framework seems to stress the idea of scientific polling. Basically it is valid, professional polling. The opposite of “junk polling” (which is basically what you do on Instagram Stories)

6. Explain the quality and credibility of claims based on public opinion data. • Polls said DJT would get wrecked in 2016. And then, well, ya know… • Questions arose about polling and the faith we place in it. • Are politicians leaders or followers? Should polls guide their behavior? • Does polling adversely affect voter turnout and voter behavior? • Most importantly: can you even trust the damned things in the first place? • Margins of error • The false infallibility of numbers

7. Explain how the ideologies of the two major parties shape policy debates. LET’S GET THIS CLEAR! THE EXAM WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE (ALWAYS AND FOREVER, IT SEEMS) THAT… Democrat/DEM/D = Liberal Republican/GOP/R = Conservative Nevermind that Republicans currently push for a massive public spending project along the southern border or that Democrats think the government shouldn’t regulate weed or that Republicans want to reexamine the barriers between church and state or that Democrats are worried about government surveillance or that Republicans want to regulate social issues like sex and drinking or that Democrats are suddenly paranoid about the power of the President or… Ya, anyway, DEMOCRATS are LIBERALS and REPUBLICANS are CONSERVATIVES

8. Explain how U.S. political culture influences the formation, goals, and implementation of public policy over time. • In a democracy, the only people who “count” are those who show up. • We can whine about the “fairness” of this all we want, but it is a fact. • 2016: Dems assume that black voters will show up and vote for Hillary because they always have. Black voters don’t show up, Trump voters do. Here we are. • 2017: Republicans run a very sketchy candidate for Senate in Alabama, assuming a strong GOP base will carry the day. Black women show up in record numbers. Alabama gets its first Democratic senator in 25 years. • Modern debates often center on stability/security vs. liberty • Dems: Increase government regulation (and restrictions) to supposedly ward of economic crises and environmental concerns. • GOP: Use surveillance and ICE raids to locate and isolate terrorists, drug dealers, and other threats

9. Describe different political ideologies regarding the role of government in regulating the marketplace. This is ANOTHER instance in which the College Board wants you to oversimplify American politics. So, in order to make them happy… LIBERALS favor economic REGULATION CONSERVATIVES favor economic DEREGULATION LIBERTARIANS favor A FREE-FOR-ALL CAPITALIST-A-PALOOZA (ok, only kind of, Libertarians want government to ensure the safety of your life and your property, but that’s it) This may be more complex than this on the exam. Expect to have to interpret passages (Is the author conservative or libertarian?) and/or explain these outlooks as part of an FRQ.

10. Explain how political ideologies vary on the government’s role in regulating the marketplace. • Skkkrrrrrt… hold it. Look at the last slide title/Learning Objective. Yes, they are nearly the same. • As always, word choice is key when it comes the the CB. The last one wanted you to merely DESCRIBE the ideologies, this one wants you to EXPLAIN how they work. • Dems/Libs favor a Keynesian approach • Gov’t is actively involved in the economy, spending more to offset recessions, cutting back during economic booms. • Reps/Cons favor a supply-side approach • Gov’t stays out of business whenever possible (hence “supply-side”) and lets the free market run things

11. Regulating the marketplace (cont.) • Both approaches have their upsides, but neither ever works fully according to plan • Government growth takes forever to get underway (funding, etc.) and the idea that the government would ever SHRINK borders on myth (Keynesian) • Equally mythological is the idea that businesses would regulate themselves out of public interest. Economic collapse from irresponsible behavior is a real possibility (supply-side) • Be sure you know the difference between monetary and fiscal policy • Keynesians say to regulate the money supply in the manner that best suits the people. Government budgets should grow and contract likewise. • Supply-siders say monetary policy should focus on keeping inflation as low as possible and that government spending should be limited whenever possible. • The Federal Reserve handles monetary policy, Congress/POTUS take fiscal

12. Explain how political ideologies vary on the role of the government in addressing social issues. • TBH, this is one of the oddest points in the entire framework. It rambles, is poorly worded, and full of overgeneralizations. • Let’s try to focus on the world that the College Board wants you to believe in: • Liberals are more pro-privacy (drugs, abortion, marriage) and believe the government should at to ensure equal opportunity (callback to Affirmative Action). • Conservatives are less pro-privacy (inverse of liberal positions, Bush-era surveillance programs) and believe equality of opportunity must come about “naturally” • Libertarians, again, are interested in protecting property rights and personal liberty. All else can go. • This is a gross oversimplification, esp. when it comes to conservatives and privacy. But… we’re here to pass a test, not be right.

13. Explain how different ideologies impact policy on social issues. • You can generally tell which party is dominating a particular time period based on the policies that are passed. • Ideological influence can even be strong enough to pull a president from one party over to the views of another. • Richard Nixon (R) did more to help protect the environment than any president since Teddy Roosevelt. • Bill Clinton (D) signed bills massively restructuring and limiting the total benefits paid out through welfare programs.