Ideology in the Public's Conceptualization of the 1964 Election

This article examines two related propositions: Whether the proportion of the electorate construing politics in ideological terms remains fairly constant from one election to the next—that is, whether ideological thinking is influenced by characteristics of the voter rather than characteristics of the political environment; and whether the 1964 election, defined by Goldwater as an ideological plebiscite, was perceived by the public in these terms. The analysis, based on Survey Research Center data, suggests that, indeed, “the voters understood Goldwater only too well,” and casts doubt on the hypothesis that ideological thinking is an invariant attribute of voters.