Establishment Clause Everson v.

Board of Education: uses Doctrine of Incorporation to apply the Establishment clause to the state level Classical example of judicial activism To protect State Rights form Federal government (backfired) To stop national government from forcing all the states to share one religion Leaves it to the states to make decisions about religion

Strict Separationist Letter Jefferson wrote while in office Court begins to build on a wall of separation between church and state hugely influential on jurisprudence

Accommodation 5 years after Everson case Government must be neutral between different religions but it does not need to be hostile towards religion

Does the establishment clause protect no religion? Neutrality Position Third way that the court tried to go: Neutrality (1971 Lemon v. Kurtzman) Three part test Lemon test 1. Have a secular purpose 2. Have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion 3. Foster no excessive entanglement between church and state not encourage excessive entanglement

Looks at different kinds of stances Court has struggled in a clear jurisprudence

Public Opinion An attempt to figure out what the people think Increasingly important in modern American politics Takes place primarily through polling Some say its problematic that politicians rely on polling data Not an exact science

Where it comes from

Socialization Personal experience Self-interest Education how much you have Interest group Media

Polling Data/Public Opinion General population is uninformed Public opinion tends to be non-ideological = look at it by case-by-case Inconsistent o Government is spending too much money but programs need to be funded better

Problems with Polling 1. Sampling error Margin of error 2. Selection bias 3. Measurement error 4. Over-simplify complex issues Interest Groups Join Socialize with like-minded people Material benefits Political purposes Organizations that represent people who share a similar interest AARP (over 33 million members) is largest NOW only has 300,000 members The more members you have the more influence you should have

Creates Two Problems 1. Suffer from free-rider problem benefit from their activities but dont directly support them 2. Interest groups claim to represent groups on issues where they dont actually represent these people o Claim that all of their group agrees with their stance Membership 1. Coercion: ex. Unions 2. Often grow out of social movements NAACP

3. Offering selective benefits Influence Government 1. Lobbying In house or contractors Can be mercenaries 2. Grass-roots lobbying Influencing the people who vote for politicians 3. Electioneering PAC/Political Action Committees Influence voters but work for the election of particular candidates 4. Direct Action Boycotts, protests, sit-ins 5. Litigation Interest Group Parties Middle of 20th century interest group politics are a good thing called it pluralism Balanced public policy Madison thinks factions are bad o Government should aim to control factions when they arise and public policy should form from protecting the common good Pluralism fundamental misreading of Federalist 10

Critique 1. Doesnt adequately take the common good into account 2. Not necessarily representative dont reflect the balance of public opinion 3. Interest groups distort the political process pushing the different sides of the debate to the extremes How Parties Contribute 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Organize and operate the government Focus responsibility for government action Develop issues and educate the public Synthesize interests Recruit and develop government talent Simplify the electoral system