Analysis Of Erikson And Tedin's American Public Opinion Model

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During elections, voters support candidates by looking at how close their policy positions are to those running in office. In fact, the voters elect candidates on the basis of bridging public policy and public preferences. Therefore, policy representation not only falls on the behavior of the voters, but also the politicians themselves. In Erikson and Tedin’s American Public Opinion: Its Origins, Content and Impact, chapter 10 explores the four models the policy-makers’ behavior including, the sharing model, where representation is made possible due to the fact that politicians are drawn from the same culture as their constituents. Secondly, the parties model highlights the ideological divergence between Republican and Democrat to provide …show more content…
After being interviewed, it is noted that officeholders participate in politics for they came from politically active households (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). Additionally, some political leaders are self-starters, whose political interest and enthusiasm leads them to garner support (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). The affluent and educated are also most likely to be political leaders (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). White, male, Protestant, also disproportionately dominates it and middle-aged compared to the general population (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). Clearly, there is some sort of upper class and gender bias when looking at those who are active in politics. Yet, despite the apparent class differentiation, it has been understood that these political leaders do not exemplify their class (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). In fact, the correspondence between public and leader opinion has been examined through the CBS/New York Times polls (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). These statistics have suggested that the percentage differentiations between leaders and constituents only vary by only a few points (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). Thus, suggesting that the public and the leaders have similar opinions on the issues. In the end, the public decides who will secure political positions and by sharing similar …show more content…
Erikson, 2011). The members of the groups can depend on their group’s leaders and lobbyist to represent their interest, which again reduces the cost of time and energy (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). However, members are urged to donate money, write letters to officials, participate in demonstrations or vote for those endorsed by the group (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). Many argue that organized groups enable the representation of public opinion (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). Organized groups also have other resources, such financing politician’s campaigns, which make leaders more receptive to the interest of the group (Robert S. Erikson, 2011). This very fact that money plays a role in politics has become a hot topic for debates and demonstrations. I believe that these PACs and contributions can sway certain policy decisions, but as citizens of this nation, these contributors still have the freedom to allocate their money where they

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