Tides of consent : how public opinion shapes American politics / James A. Stimson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stimson, James A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public opinion--United States.

Public opinion.

United States--Politics and government--Public opinion.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxii, 181 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Politics is a trial in which those in government - and those who aspire to be - make proposals, debate alternatives, and pass laws. Then the jury of public opinion decides. It likes the proposals or actions or it does not. It trusts the actors or it doesn't. It moves, always at the margin, and then those who benefit from the movement are declared winners. This book is about that public opinion response. Its most basic premise is that although pubic opinion rarely matters in a democracy, public opinion change is the exception. Public opinion rarely matters, because the public rarely cares enough to act on its concerns or preferences. Change happens only when the threshold of normal public inattention is crossed. When public opinion changes, governments rise or fall, elections are won or lost, old realities give way to new demands.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Tables and Figures; Preface: The Shutdown; Acknowledgments; 1 Opinion Flows; 2 What the Public Wants from Government; 3 Left and Right Movements in Preference; 4 The Great Horse Race; 5 Between the Campaigns; 6 On Politics at the Margin; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-280-70239-7

0-511-79102-X

0-511-23107-5

0-511-22946-1

0-511-23182-2

0-511-33158-4

0-511-23030-3

OCLC:

252528617