(Note: these learning modules encompass the actual class lectures, and are designed for those students who have to miss class through no fault of their own, and also as a refresher for all students. Bold print in the notes are what the professor writes on the board.)

LEARNING MODULE: WEEKS 15-16, Bureaucracy, Public Opinion, Media, Interest Groups

The Federal Bureaucracy. Well, we are at the point where we only have time for student book reports, so let me just hit some of the high points. The President under the federal Constitution is the Chief Executive, and he appoints the heads of the federal departments (which must be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate). There are 15 federal departments, such as State, Treasury, Justice, with the last one created Homeland Security after the 9-11 terrorist attack. There are millions of federal employees who work for those departments. There are also independent regulatory agencies (such as EEOC, FDA, OSHA, EPA) that the President historically has had less control over. A good source of information about federal jobs is the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) website. There are also White House staff members, also called the Executive Office of the President, which includes the National Security Council and its advisors, the OMB (Office of Management and Budget), the White House Counsel (lawyer), the press secretary, and domestic advisors and public liaison staff members. MSU’s first lady Rhonda Keenum, for example, served as President Bush’s Deputy Assistant and headed his Public Liaison Office. So there is a lot of opportunity for you students to serve the public in a governmental position, and to pursue summer internships. We have had many students in summer internships for Congress members, but some have also served as interns for a Congress member’s committee (such MSU Truman Scholar Alicia Brown, an engineering major who took some political science classes), and a few have even served as White House interns. Make sure that you try to intern once or twice in your college career, as you can really get a jump on landing a desirable position after graduation. Some pointers when you do intern, or are in your first government job: work hard, outwork your colleagues, and do so well that you can even help your boss with her job. One problem that I see with some government workers today is a certain amount of ignorance, laziness, and arrogance. When some top FBI agents were testifying before Congress regarding their Trump Russian collusion investigation, some young agents were smirking while Republican Congress members were asking questions, showing that they disagreed with those Congress members. Hey, Congress appropriates your budget, you know! Also, don’t be such a know it all. Two of your agents were exposed for carrying on an adulterous relationship while they were denouncing candidate Trump and investigating his campaign, not a very politically neutral and fair image for your agency. Some agents screwed up the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) application to a federal court that got them their permission to spy on the Trump campaign (17 material errors or omissions), causing the federal court to force a review of all submissions made by those agents for all cases that they had worked on. And that’s only one federal agency! Most recently, two cabinet secretaries toured the offices of two federal departments that had many empty cubicles, as their workers were still “working at home” 4 years after Covid!! Yet most Americans appreciate the public service work of our professionalized bureaucracy, and even after Elon Musk boasted about taking a chain saw to the federal bureaucracy, the number of federal workers declined by only about 1%.

Public Opinion. Obviously in a democracy, the opinion of the public on public issues should be and is important. Since World War 2, we have had a very scientific methodology to accurately measure public opinion- polling. One advantage of polling is that it does indeed show what everything thinks, so our society doesn’t have to depend on our “leaders” just telling us what they think and what we should think. We do not live in the People’s Republic of China. The American South used to have this kind of Closed Society (as one book is named) where white plantation owners seemed to dominate public policy, and they kept taxes low and public education underfunded. When I came to MSU from Ohio State, my students and I started a statewide public opinion poll called the Mississippi Poll. While white conservatives from the Delta dominated key state legislative leadership positions and resisted Governor Winter’s 1982 Education Reform Act, our 1981 and 1982 Mississippi Polls showed public support for public kindergartens, a compulsory school attendance law, and increased funding and higher taxes for education. The Governor highlighted our poll in lobbying legislators, our study was cited in a national news program, and the Act was finally passed in a special legislative session. In short, the public opinion of all Mississippians had finally triumphed over the views of a small group of leaders. Today, there are many sources of Mississippi public opinion, and our state legislature is very diverse in terms of the ideology, race, and sex of its members. The biggest problem with polling, however, is that of the socially desirable response. Some people are reluctant to express their true opinions, as they “don’t want anyone to get the wrong opinion” of them. We stopped polling in 2014, after we underestimated support for a conservative opponent of Senator Cochran’s (in the GOP primary), Chris McDaniel, probably because disillusioned conservatives distrusted polls and just hung up on us; in 2016 and more recent years, many polls across the nation underestimated Trump’s support, as some of his supporters weren’t afraid of being branded as bigots for expressing their support for him.

My class notes talk about what Americans actually think about a diverse range of issues. We already talked about ideology in the first week of class, and we have talked about issues throughout this course, so no need to spend any more time. Just check out my class notes for my Public Opinion class if you wish more information.

The Mass Media. The media are essential to our democracy, as they not only inform us, but they also serve as a check on governmental abuse of power. Prior to cable TV and the internet, there were only three television networks, and the only televised news was the nightly 30-minute network broadcasts. Since each network had such a broad audience, each network had very objective and credible news anchors. One example was Walter Cronkite on CBS; when he reported on the Apollo 13 disaster everyone was glued to their television sets for his informative and accurate reports (see the movie Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks for his actual reporting). Two reporters, Woodward and Bernstein, for the Washington Post conducted an extensive investigation of the Watergate crime and coverup, which ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation (see the movie, All the President’s Men). The media served as an important Adversary Role to elected officials. American Presidents throughout history have loved to give press briefings where they tell us about the great job that they are doing; it is up to the White House press corps to ask tough questions, and try to inform the public about what the truth really is. The rise of cable TV news networks and of the internet has fragmented our society, however, as networks and websites can appeal to only one ideological group of viewers. FOX emerged as a conservative alternative to the Mainstream Media, and CNN over the past few decades has become a liberal network. MSNBC has always been pretty liberal in their reports, and recently One American News has risen as a conservative network. These networks seem to get their aging and partisan audiences to watch by screaming and yelling, having guests that say outrageous and inflammatory things, and basically serve to divide our nation. As such, I myself spend two hours each day reviewing a few newspapers, surfing the cable network websites, reading England language foreign newspapers, and then watching the cable news programs at night (especially the new NewsNation network, which is more impartial). At least that comprehensive review of the media gives me a more complete and accurate image of American government and public policy issues. Reviewing foreign on-line newspapers is helpful in following our own foreign policy. Unfortunately, most Americans will only tune in to the media outlets that are consistent with their pre-existing political values, so conservatives only watch FOX and liberals only watch CNN. As such, our society is increasingly dividing itself into like-minded ideological groups; indeed, people are even moving into like-minded neighborhoods and even marrying people who think like they do. It is no wonder that our society is so divided that I have joked that it’s kind of like living in the 1850’s! Like many problems facing our society, I believe that our nation’s hope rests with you all. On more than one occasion, I have found the student reporters and editors of the Reflector to provide more comprehensive and objective information about politics than do other media outlets. For more information about the media, check out my Public Opinion class notes, which have an entire week on the subject.

Interest Groups. Many Americans think of interest groups as being selfish and self-centered pressure groups, which exert too much influence over our government. It is true that some interest groups (like large business groups) have more financial resources for lobbying than their population size and societal importance may deserve, while other groups (often representing poor people) have far less power over the government. Indeed, many interest groups have PACs (Political Action Committees) that make large campaign donations to political candidates, and even run their own campaigns supporting or opposing candidates. There is a lot of money in politics! But interest groups also have a very important role in our society, which is to make public officials aware of important issues and concerns facing our country. An MSU student and Truman Finalist, for example, took the lead in getting the Starkville Board of Alderman to grant a permit for a Starkville Pride (LGBTQ group) parade, and that event was highly successful and is now held annually; in a sense, she became the leader of this interest group. A few summers ago, the Starkville Stand Up (racial equality) group organized a successful and peaceful march and demonstration in town and on campus, another example of a student-led event; it helped produce the change in the state’s flag. Conservative MSU students started a group, Young Americans for Freedom, generated publicity by holding a Build the Wall event, and successfully stood up under an attack by a liberal professor and editor; those students ended up being praised for offering MSU students a conservative point of view that is often drowned out by the dominant liberal academic culture shaped by Ivy League schools. So, interest groups can be very important in informing public officials and the public about important issues that are often overlooked in our busy society. Another misconception is that interest group lobbyists try to bribe or intimidate public officials. They seldom do. Bribery is illegal, and intimidation tactics anger many public officials. Lobbyists often help public officials to make good public policy by testifying before legislative committees about the problems that their group members face, and suggesting laws and programs to help their members. Lobbyists do the same thing in meeting with executive branch officials. Summer internships are available for college students for many of these groups. One of my students got an internship with the National Cotton Council, and now travels around the world as she promotes the industry as a top executive. Another interned with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies group, writing articles for their newsletter sent to their members across the nation about legal issues. When you seek out summer internships, check out the websites of groups that you may wish to work for.