LOBBYINGInterest groups often perform lobbyingWhat do Lobbyist do?Lobbyist promote a particular topic to the public or someone of higher status, sometimes a topic can be a controversial issue.Represent there own company/organization and make a product sound good/better than what it isTry to persuade govt officials, & try to implement policy changeLobbyists work for interest groups and attempt to persuade Members Of Congress to support particular policies or viewsPrimarily through formal and informal argument, but they also schmooze with members of congress tooThe public doesn’t like lobbyists, BUT they do provide a valuable serviceMembers of congress usually only well-informed about a few policy areasLobbyists present arguments, often full of information (through it is their info), about policies& thus educate Members of Congress and their staffsB/c lobbyists compete with each other for Members of congress’s attention, MC’s get to judge b/t opposing argumentsThis saves MC’s time and staffNot all Lobbyists are sleazyWhat kind of people are lobbying?Must have good people skills, and must be able to argue well.Work for interest groupsNo law or advanced degree requiredSome lobbyists do have advanced degreesSome are former members of congress, who take advantage of their knowledge of how congress works and access to friends still in congressIf you’re interested in becoming a lobbyist, it can be a lucrative and satisfying careerWhat is Public Opinion?Historical:“The will of the people” (Rosseau)Sum of public opinion is greater than its partsModern:Citizen attitude about political issues, leaders, institutions, and eventsDistribution of all individual opinions on a topic4 important components of Public Opinion:1) Direction -> Which side are you on?2) Intensity -> How strongly you hold an opinionPeople who hold opinion strongly are less likely to be persuaded3) Stability -> How has opinion changed over time?4) Salience/Centrality -> How important is the issue/opinionImportant issue views may influence other issue viewsHow is Public Opinion measured?Surveys/Polls: these gather info from a subset of people in order to draw conclusions about public opinion more broadly(We’ll talk more about these in another lecture)What about Public Opinion more broadly?How does political scientists measure how liberal or conservative Americans are over time?Stimson’s (1991) POLICY MOOD (formed from public survey data)The aggregate sentiment of the mass public, at any point in time, to favor or oppose activist govt to solve societies problemsSTIMSON combined hundreds of survey items over time to form a single measure of Policy Mood. These items encompass a wide variety of policiesPolicy mood represents the collective liberalism of the mass publicProperties of Public OpinionDoes mood move randomly?NOPublic opinion moves stably and somewhat predictably over timePublic opinion responds to events and policy outputsPublic opinion is “sticky” and is a function of both external events and its past valuesPublic opinion is stickier today than it used to beStickier b/c it is slower to return to its average level after a change, and more likely to resist changeTHIS MAY BE DUE TO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE HAVE STRONGER PREFERENCES, AND IDEOLOGY AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO WANT THE SAME KINDS OF GOVT POLICIES (WHETHER LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE) REGARDLESS OF ECONOMY & POLITICAL EVENTSIt is easy to see that public opinion (as measured by POLICY MOOD) moves in meaningful ways over time, so that it influences election outcomes?YES!Policy Mood effects who gets electedSources of Public OpinionProbably the most prominent and corroborated theory of how Policy Mood changes in Wleziens (1995) “Thermostatic” TheoryWLEZIENS THERMOSTATIC THEORY:The public reacts to govt putting out liberal policies by becoming more conservative and reacts to govt putting out conservative policies by becoming more liberal“The political pendulum swings”Where do individual opinions come from?Political SocializationFamilyEducationSocioeconomic StatusSalient Political EventsLife ChangesIndividual opinions on issues also come from ideologyIdeology: A cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the role of Gov’tProper Role of Gov’t in society:Not something many people could explicitly tell youBUT thoughts are often there, though implicit and can be found on surveysEX:“its not the Gov’ts business what I do in my own home”Political Ideology:Basic meaning of Conservatism and LiberalismConservatism: Small Gov’t, Traditional Values, Strong Military; MOST REPUBLICAN POLITICIANSLiberalism: Larger Gov’t in Economy, Accepting of Non-Traditional Morality, Softer international power; MOST DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANSFrom Ideology come:General Beliefs in different issues areas (taxation, the environment, etc)& Specify Policy AttitudesLiberalism and Conservatism are not the ONLY ideologies:Libertarians:Small Gov’t in economic issues & social issuesSome Hawkish in foreign policy some dovishAlso called “classical liberals”EX: Former Representative -> Ron Paul (R-TX)Individual Liberty is the primary valueNOT THE SAME AS CONSERVATIVESBUT THEY OFTEN AGREE ON ECONOMIC AND SIZE OF GOV’T ISSUESAuthoritarians/Populists:Big gov’t in economic issues and social issuesFew or no well-known current USA politiciansEX: William Jennings Bryan, Democratic Candidate for President in 1896BUT CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEOLOGIES FOR AMERICANSAMERICAN PUBLIC:40% CONSERVATIVE, 35% MODERATE, 21% LIBERALPOLITICAL SCIENTIST USUALLY TREAT IDEOLOGY AS ONE DEMONSIONALLIBERAL <- MODERATE -> CONSERVATIVEPOLS206: 7.26 LECTURE 13LOBBYING-Interest groups often perform lobbying-What do Lobbyist do?oLobbyist promote a particular topic to the public or someone of higher status, sometimes a topic can be a controversial issue.oRepresent there own company/organization and make a product sound good/better than what it isoTry to persuade govt officials, & try to implement policy changeoLobbyists work for interest groups and attempt to persuade Members Of Congress to support particular policies or viewsPrimarily through formal and informal argument, but they also schmooze with members of congress toooThe public doesn’t like lobbyists, BUT they do provide a valuable service-Members of congress usually only well-informed about a few policy areasoLobbyists present arguments, often full of information (through it is their