American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

140 CHAPTER 5|PUBLIC OPINION AND THE MEDIA

are moderates, with fewer than 40 percent saying they are liberal or conservative.

There is also no evidence that ideological polarization has increased; in fact, the

percentage of liberals and of conservatives has remained relatively constant.^52

Figure 5.2 shows decade-by-decade data about how citizens describe their

party identifi cation. Here again, there is little evidence of polarization. Since

1970 the percentage of Republicans has increased slightly, while the percentage

of Democrats has declined signifi cantly, with some increase in 2008. The number

of independents (people who have no strong attachment to either party) has also

increased. The long-term trend for party identifi cation is toward moderation and

no strong attachments to parties.

Finally, survey responses that reveal confl ict over broad principles do not indi-

cate whether these diff erences translate into confl icts over specifi c policy ques-

tions. As we have seen, opinions have many sources, some of which may lead to

consensus rather than confl ict. One such example is the reaction to well- publicized

events, as we saw earlier in widespread public approval of restricted civil liberties

following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Evaluations of Government and Offi ceholders

Another set of opinions addresses how people view the government: how well or

poorly they think it is doing, whether they trust it, and their evaluations of indi-

vidual politicians, notably their own representatives in Congress. These opinions

matter for several reasons. First, a citizen’s judgments about the government’s

overall performance may shape his evaluations of specifi c policies, especially if

he does not know much about them.^53 Also, evaluations of specifi c policies may

Source: Data from General Social Survey, http://sda.berkeley.edu/archive.htm (accessed 9/5/12).

PARTY IDENTIFICATION IN AMERICA, 1970–2010

Party identifi cation is another place to look for evidence of an increasingly polarized

America. Do these data show evidence of polarization?

FIGURE » 5.2

1970

10

20

30

40

50%

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Democrats Republicans Independents