Public Opinion Among Political Elites: The “Insiders Poll” as a Research Tool
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James A. Barnes
James A. Barnes is a contributing editor atNational Journal , as well as founding editor and long-time coordinator of the Insiders Poll. He is also a member of CNN’s decision desk for primary and general election coverage.Byron E. Shafer is Hawkins Chair of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin. He is author (with William Claggett) ofThe American Public Mind (Cambridge University Press 2010) and (with Richard Spady) ofThe American Political Landscape (forthcoming Harvard University Press).
Abstract
The linkages between political elites and their ostensible rank and files are central concerns of democratic theory, and central considerations in the empirical analysis of democratic politics. Yet in a world of burgeoning surveys of public opinion generally, there remains a desperate shortage of ways to tap the opinion of national elites. This piece (re)introduces political scientists and practicing journalists to one device for adding elite opinions to their tool-kits, by way of the Insiders Polls that were created and sustained within National Journal, a magazine of political analysis. Examples are offered of major differences between partisan elites, of concerns where experience trumps partisanship in shaping elite opinion, of the use of these Polls in following both electoral campaigns and conflicts over public policy.
About the authors
James A. Barnes is a contributing editor at National Journal, as well as founding editor and long-time coordinator of the Insiders Poll. He is also a member of CNN’s decision desk for primary and general election coverage.
Byron E. Shafer is Hawkins Chair of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin. He is author (with William Claggett) of The American Public Mind (Cambridge University Press 2010) and (with Richard Spady) of The American Political Landscape (forthcoming Harvard University Press).
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Though, alarmingly, at risk for 2014 and 2016. But that is grist for a different article.
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Many of them regularly gathered on pollster.com or on realclearpolitics.com.
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William J.M. Claggett and Philip H. Pollock, III. 2006. “The Modes of Political Participation Revisited, 1980–2004.” Political Research Quarterly 59: 593–600.
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See National Journal, Vol. 35, No. 43, October 25, 2003, 3252–3258, hereafter cited in the form of NJ 10/25/03, pp. 3232–3258.
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Aggregate totals are supplemented by anonymous quotes from individuals within the main alternative positions.
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No such distinction was present among Republican insiders.
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Respondents in both parties were likewise consensual about the aspect of politics that they personally hated most, namely fund-raising.
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We turn to the institutional politics of major policy initiatives in a focused way below, but note that the commentary of Democratic elites on the fortunes of heathcare reform in 2010 suggested that many did not vote on this particular reform as a contribution to the electoral outcome later that year, as with “The most important thing Democrats can do to help themselves is pass the bill and move on to jobs” or “Anything, anything, to end the health care debacle” (NJ 3/5/2010, p. 5).
©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Introduction
- Articles
- What Americanists Don’t Know About American Politics
- Public Opinion Among Political Elites: The “Insiders Poll” as a Research Tool
- 527 Committees, Formal Parties, and Party Adaptation
- Fundraising Consultants and the Representation of National versus Local Donors in US House Election Campaigns
- Beyond the New Deal: The Postmaterialist Divide in Pennsylvania Presidential Elections
- Compromising Partisans: Assessing Compromise in Health Care Reform
- “Life Ain’t Easy for a President Named Barack”: Party, Ideology, and Tea Party Freshman Support for the Nation’s First Black President
- The Younger, More Independent Republican Leaner
- Turnout in the 2012 Election: A Review and Call for Long-Term Solutions
- Book Reviews
- The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns
- Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World
- Coolidge
- Erratum
- Erratum
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Introduction
- Articles
- What Americanists Don’t Know About American Politics
- Public Opinion Among Political Elites: The “Insiders Poll” as a Research Tool
- 527 Committees, Formal Parties, and Party Adaptation
- Fundraising Consultants and the Representation of National versus Local Donors in US House Election Campaigns
- Beyond the New Deal: The Postmaterialist Divide in Pennsylvania Presidential Elections
- Compromising Partisans: Assessing Compromise in Health Care Reform
- “Life Ain’t Easy for a President Named Barack”: Party, Ideology, and Tea Party Freshman Support for the Nation’s First Black President
- The Younger, More Independent Republican Leaner
- Turnout in the 2012 Election: A Review and Call for Long-Term Solutions
- Book Reviews
- The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns
- Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World
- Coolidge
- Erratum
- Erratum
