How much are politicians influenced by public opinion? Is public opinion itself even reliable?

[YoungDemCA]

On the one hand, there really does seem to be a profound disconnect between what the majority of Americans want, and what we end up getting from Washington, D.C.

On the other hand, I do think that politicians are influenced by public opinion at a basic level, in the sense that Presidents regularly looks at the national polls, Senators look at their state's polls, Congresspeople look at their district's polls...etc.

The question, though is: Can we even rely on public opinion? Which public are we talking about-the public that votes for a Republican Congressperson or Senator in a particular district or state, or the national public that elected the Democratic President?

Furthermore, public opinion can very easily be manipulated, because most Americans simply don't know or understand the nuances of government even at a basic level (To name one example, "Obamacare" is a lot less popular than the "Affordable Care Act." ) Most people don't have the time, knowledge, inclination, and analytical skills to seed through all the bullshit that is out there to find reliable and credible sources of information-let alone, to interpret and analyze that information.

People who lack that basic knowledge base, that level of education and critical thinking/skepticism toward agenda-driven narratives, can be more manipulated by the corporate-mass media propaganda complex that we are all subject to on a daily basis. Misinformation, disinformation, and simple social prejudice masquerades as "common sense" for a lot of politically-involved Americans (The Tea Party movement is an great case study of this phenomenon). And not only do many of these people vote, they have been going into politics themselves as activists and even candidates-with predictably disastrous results.

So, in light of all of this-does public opinion matter to American politicians? Does it also matter how we define "public opinion"? And finally-do the American people-broadly and individually-have the ability to make informed, educated political decisions? This last question, I believe is critical to consider for those of us who believe in democracy, and democratic legitimacy.

Just a few questions that I am pondering. As always, curious to read people's responses!

[tazkcmo]

1. None and sometimes n/t

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. My response?

Furthermore, public opinion can very easily be manipulated

You nailed the problem right there. The media pushes the propaganda, and the polls follow. War weary America turns on a dime to endorse more war thanks to neocon and neoliberal owned media giving major coverage of ISIS propaganda videos and US government propaganda about how dangerous they are.

Do you go to a poll of public opinions on cancer when you've found a suspicious lump, or to a doctor? Public opinions on fixing your car? 'Public opinion' matters if and when the goal has already been determined, and the propaganda put forward to get the desired poll results.