Facing the Challenge of Democracy

Citizens are political simpletons--that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. Paul Sniderman and Benjamin Highton bring together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent. Facing the Challenge of Democracy features contributions by John Aldrich, Stephen Ansolabehere, Edward Carmines, Jack Citrin, Susanna Dilliplane, Christopher Ellis, Michael Ensley, Melanie Freeze, Donald Green, Eitan Hersh, Simon Jackman, Gary Jacobson, Matthew Knee, Jonathan Krasno, Arthur Lupia, David Magleby, Eric McGhee, Diana Mutz, Candice Nelson, Benjamin Page, Kathryn Pearson, Eric Schickler, John Sides, James Stimson, Lynn Vavreck, Michael Wagner, Mark Westlye, and Tao Xie.

Citizens are political simpletons--that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. Paul Sniderman and Benjamin Highton bring together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent. Facing the Challenge of Democracy features contributions by John Aldrich, Stephen Ansolabehere, Edward Carmines, Jack Citrin, Susanna Dilliplane, Christopher Ellis, Michael Ensley, Melanie Freeze, Donald Green, Eitan Hersh, Simon Jackman, Gary Jacobson, Matthew Knee, Jonathan Krasno, Arthur Lupia, David Magleby, Eric McGhee, Diana Mutz, Candice Nelson, Benjamin Page, Kathryn Pearson, Eric Schickler, John Sides, James Stimson, Lynn Vavreck, Michael Wagner, Mark Westlye, and Tao Xie.

Preface ixAcknowledgments xiList of Contributors xiiiIntroduction: Facing the Challenge of Democracy by Paul M. Sniderman and Benjamin Highton 1Part I: The Political Logic of Preference ConsistencyChapter I. How Do Political Scientists Know What Citizens Want? An Essay on Theory and Measurement by Arthur Lupia 23Chapter II. Purposive Mass Belief Systems concerning Foreign Policy Benjamin I. Page and Tao Xie 47Chapter III. Cosmopolitanism by Simon Jackman and Lynn Vavreck 70Chapter IV. Running to the Right: Effects of Campaign Strategy on Mass Opinion and Behavior by Diana Mutz and Susanna Dilliplane 97Chapter V. Pathways to Conservative Identification: The Politics of Ideological Contradiction in the United States by Christopher Ellis and James A. Stimson 120Part II: Polarization and the Party SystemChapter VI. Partisan Differences in Job Approval Ratings of George W. Bush and U.S. Senators in the States: An Exploration by Gary C. Jacobson 153Chapter VII. Political Participation, Polarization, and Public Opinion: Activism and the Merging of Partisan and Ideological Polarization by John H. Aldrich and Melanie Freeze 185Chapter VIII. Political Parties in the Capital Economy of Modern Campaigns by Jonathan Krasno 207Chapter IX. Candidates and Parties in Congressional Elections: Revisiting Candidate-Centered Conclusions in a Partisan Era by Eric McGhee and Kathryn Pearson 224Chapter X. The Myth of the Independent Voter Revisited by David B. Magleby, Candice J. Nelson, and Mark C. Westlye 238Part III: Participation and RepresentationChapter XI. Who Really Votes? By Stephen Ansolabehere and Eitan Hersh 267Chapter XII. Who Governs if Everyone Votes? By John Sides, Eric Schickler, and Jack Citrin 292Chapter XIII. T he Effects of Registration Laws on Voter Turnout: An Updated Assessment by Matthew R. Knee and Donald P. Green 312Chapter XIV. I ssue Preferences, Civic Engagement, and the Transformation of American Politics by Edward G. Carmines, Michael J. Ensley, and Michael W. Wagner 329References 355Index 379