HERBERT MCCLOSKY AND FRIENDS REVISITED: 1980 DEMOCRACTIC AND REPUBLICAN PARTY ELITES COMPARED TO THE MASS PUBLIC

In: American politics quarterly, Band 10, Heft 2, S. 158-180

Abstract

MCCLOSKY'S CLASSIC STUDY OF PARTY LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS IS REPLICATED AND EXTENDED USING 1980 DATA ON PARTY ELITES, PARTY FOLLOWERS, AND THE MASS PUBLIC. DRAMATIC INTERPARTY DIFFERENCES EMERGE IN TERMS OF LIBERALISM-CONSERVATISM AND VIEWS ON PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES. AS IN THE MCCLOSKY STUDY, PARTY ELITES TEND TO TAKE RELATIVELY EXTREME ISSUE POSITIONS, WHILE THE MASS PUBLIC CONTINUES TO OCCUPY A CENTRIST POSITION.