The endorsement groups offer bribes and ask for unnecessary promises to the politicians running for office. The temptation of falling into these traps is monstrous. According to Obama, these politicians feel that if they do not accept these bribes or arguments then they will lose out on endorsement deals as well as votes. Taking endorsements are not bad in anyway. However, a company endorses a certain individual for reasons such as political similarities or to help promote their product.
Robert Dahl and Charles Lindbolm suggest a pluralist view of democracy suggesting that pressure groups are beneficial to democracy. They enable political participation in national and local politics providing a role for individuals in the system. The work of pressure groups monitors the government and holds it to account and as a result can leak and expose information. As pressure groups aim to influence public policies either by direct action or lobbying and raising awareness of an issue as groups compete to influence policies and the government may take advice from them. Furthermore pressures groups are essential to democracy as they give the opportunity for minorities such as ethnic groups and genders to express distinctive points of view, encouraging people to become involved with decision making and public life forming a link between the government and the people.
Meaning that this connects to the quantity and the kind of news coverage on the main topic of issues being presented. Then there is framing, by how they create/structure the media with a story. Framing determines the type of reaction from the government officials and the citizens. Not only that, I think also for the entertainment. This is by constructing political approaches.
Although the people had a right to be involved in the government, the author of Caesar No. 2 thought that it should be left up to people of greater intelligence to choose the government and its actions. The argument against this was that the people had the ability to choose the people that would have authority in the government. This idea helped place a foothold in the government for the people to always play a role. The last concern was that of the
Edelman believes that leaders make decisions that don’t have much effect on the country’s problems & these decisions are either glorified or attacked. However, groups such as the military make decisions that directly affect the people, and these decisions are not publicized. Leaders are part of a larger network and do not affect a society alone. Understanding this prevents people from becoming blind followers of the President. Recognizing political communication and the tensions in politics, enables receivers of the media to watch and listen with critical eyes and ears.
This is criticised because the current political party in power have the ability to make their own decisions for the UK before listening to what the people want. This then becomes a problem because they may make changes that the majority of the population will not agree with. However, near to the next election they may decide to listen to people as they want them to vote for them (the current political party in power) during the next election. Secondly, the UK has a hereditary monarchy and a house of lords, both which are not elected. This contradicts a democratic society and is seen as a dictatorship because elections are the cornerstone of a democracy.
To what extent should leaders rely on polling results to guide them in voting on legislation? Partially it will depend on how well the pollster informs the public on the Leader’s issues. It is not important to correct the prevailing opinion on popular questions as much as correcting the inaccuracies of polling results. Eighty-one percent say when making "an important decision" government leaders "should pay attention to public opinion polls because this will help them get a sense of the public's views." Only 18 percent of the public said "leaders should not pay attention to public opinion polls because this will distract them from deciding what they think is right."
Assignment One In Miles Benson article, Political consultants tailor candidates’ message to what the voters want to hear, he has several opinions and views on how political consultants, opinion polls and negative advertising affect how politicians want us to feel, react and ultimately vote. It seems that research has discovered that if a politician talks in platitudes he has a better chance of getting himself or herself elected. Being specific seems to detrimental because too many questions are asked. Bill Hillsman, a media expert said that, “obviously, a candidate seeking votes is going to emphasize shared concerns and issues that are popular. But all too often political leadership simply means finding out what the people want and telling them you’ll give it to them” (Benson A3).
Referendums offer the general public a choice, they are not only good for helping the public feel more involved but they are good for deciding important decisions such as changes to the constitution. Referendums help the politicians to know what the public wants and they help the public to voice their opinions on major issues. Referendums also stop the government from having so much power, and therefore maintains a democratic system as there is less chance of having a dictatorship. If there is an issue which divides parties’ on key issues which affect the public the public can have their say. If this is “a government of the people” then there should have been a referendum on tuition fees as this was a controversial subject that affected a lot of people.
In presidential elections people vote for or against a president and this vote is formed from a variety of influences specifically the words of other people. Peers debate amongst one another when making a large decision like determining the nation’s next president. Their choice of words must be persuasive and supported with factual information, otherwise the opposing side will not be persuaded. The candidates work hard to build up a strong influential appearance, yet a slip of words or a minor reaction to an incident can destroy their reputation in seconds. It is easy for society to slander another person’s name; these same words have the potential to influence the outcome of a future generation.