Party Images in the American Electorate

by Brewer; Mark D.

• ISBN13: 9780415962766
• ISBN10: 0415962765
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-12-12
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Party affiliation has long been the driving force behind electoral politics in the United States. Despite this fact, scant attention has been devoted to the American electorate's party images'”the "mental pictures" that individuals have about the parties which enable citizens to translate events in the larger political environment into terms meaningful to them as individuals. Party images are central to understanding individuals' political perceptions and, ultimately, voting behavior.Party Images in the American Electorate systematically examines the substance, evolution, and manipulation of party images within the American public over the last half century, both within the public as a whole and within important subgroups based on class, race and ethnicity, sex, and religiosity. Ultimately, this important book investigates how these party images are tied into the story of party polarization and how they affect electoral outcomes in the United States.Mark D. Brewer is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	p. viii
Preface	p. xii
Pictures of Parties	p. 1
Party Images in the Electorate as a Whole	p. 7
Party Images and the Class Cleavage	p. 20
Party Images and Race and Ethnicity	p. 33
Party Images and Sex	p. 48
Party Images and Religious Salience	p. 61
Conclusion	p. 74
The ANES 1948-2004 Cumulative Data File Party Likes and Dislikes Codes	p. 80
Notes	p. 83
Bibliography	p. 101
Index	p. 115
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