Download Political Parties - Effingham County Schools

Political Parties
Ch. 16
GPS Standards
• SSCG7: The student will describe how
thoughtful and effective participation in
civic life is characterized by obeying
the law, paying taxes, serving on a
jury, participating in the political
process, performing public services,
registering for military duty, being
informed about current issues, and
respecting differing opinions.
GPS Standards
•
SSCG8: The student will demonstrate
knowledge of local, state, and national
elections.
A. Describe the organization, role, and
constituencies of political parties.
B. Describe the nomination and election process.
C. Examine campaign funding and spending.
D. Analyze the influence of media coverage,
campaign advertising, and public opinion polls.
E. Identify how amendments extend the right to
vote.
Did You Know
• The first political parties held beliefs
comparable to today’s parties. Like many
conservatives today, Jefferson held that the
purpose of government was to protect the
freedom of individuals to pursue their
personal goals without government
interference. Like many liberals today,
Hamilton insisted that government should
have a strong role in carrying out programs
needed to benefit the people. Like
moderates today, Washington’s beliefs fell
somewhere between these two.
Political Parties
• Political party - a group of people with
broad common interests who organize
to win elections, control government,
and thereby influence government
policies.
• The two major political parties in the
United States are the Democrats and
the Republicans.
Party Systems
• One-party System- authoritarian, common in
communist governments and in some
Islamic nations.
• Theocracy- a government dominated by religion.
• Multiparty Systems- France has 5 and Italy
has 10. They represent different ideologies,
basic beliefs about government.
• Two-party System- two parties dominate
while minor parties exist. Ex: United States.
• Third Party- any party other than one of the two
major parties.
Third parties
• Third parties believe that neither party is
meeting certain needs.
• Types include
• Single-issue party- focuses on one single issue.
• Ideological party- focuses on overall change in
society.
• Splinter party- splits from a major party because
of disagreement.
• While seldom victorious, they have a major
impact on elections and political issues.
• They often take votes away from one of the
two major parties.
• They have difficulty gaining broad support
and have difficulty getting on ballots.
Early American Parties
• The first two parties were Federalists
and Antifederalists.
• After Washington’s presidency, the
Democratic Republicans and the
Federalists.
• The 1828 election of Andrew Jackson
led to the creation of the Democrats
and the Whigs.
• The Civil War saw the rise of the
Republicans vs. the Democrats.
Functions of Political Parties
• Recruiting Candidates
• Educating the Public
• Operating the Government
• Dispensing Patronage
• Loyal Opposition
• Reduction of Conflict
Nominating Candidates – 4 ways
• Caucuses- early form where private meetings of
party leaders chose candidates.
• Nominating Convention- official public meeting of
party to choose candidates for office.
• Primary elections are the most common form of
nominating used today.
• Closed Primary- only members of a political party
can vote.
• Open Primary- Open to all voters regardless of
party affiliation. They can still only vote in one
party’s primary.
• Petition- A candidate announces his candidacy and a
certain number of people must sign a petition for
him to be on the ballot.
National Conventions
• Conventions select a ticket, a
candidate for president and vice
president.
• The Convention also sets the party’s
platform and planks.
• Platform – statement of principles, beliefs,
and positions on vital issues.
• Plank – stance on a single issue.
Parties influence voters
• Split ticket – when a voter chooses
candidates for different offices from
multiple parties.
• Straight-party ticket- selection of
candidates from only one party.
Elections and Voting
Ch. 17
Election Campaigns
• A strong organization, headed by an
experienced campaign manager, is
essential in running a campaign.
• Television and the Internet are
important tools for candidates;
• television conveys the candidate’s image,
• web sites are used to raise money and
inform the public about the candidate.
Financing Campaigns
• Running for office is very expensive.
• The majority of campaign funding
comes from individual citizens, party
organizations, corporations, and
special-interest groups.
• Political Action Committees, or PACs,
are established by interest groups to
support candidates, but they are
limited in the donations they can
make.
Financing Campaigns
• Two methods are used to get around
campaign spending limits:
1. soft-money donations, which are
contributions given directly to a
political party for general purposes
such as voter registration drives;
2. issue-advocacy advertisements,
which support an issue rather than a
particular candidate.
Voting Rights
• During the early 1800s, states
gradually abolished property and
religious requirements for voting, and
by the mid-1800s, the nation had
achieved universal white male
suffrage.
• The Fifteenth Amendment, passed
after the Civil War, granted the vote to
African American men in both state
and national elections.
Voting Rights
• The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in
1920, granted women in all states the
right to vote.
• The Voting Rights Acts of 1965 and
1970 outlawed literacy tests.
• The Twenty fourth Amendment banned
poll taxes
• The Twenty sixth Amendment lowered
the voting age from 21 to 18.
Influences on Voters
• Age, education, religion, and racial or
ethnic background affect voters’
attitudes, but voters do not always
vote with their backgrounds.
• Cross-pressured voters, those caught
between conflicting elements in their
lives, may vote based on the issues
and candidates.
Loyalty to Political Parties
• The majority of American voters
consider themselves Republicans or
Democrats, most vote for the party’s
candidates.
• Independent voters, who have
increased in numbers, do not belong to
either major party but are an
important element in presidential
elections.
The Candidates Image
• Americans want someone they can
trust as a national leader.
• Voters often select candidates for the
image they project.
Propaganda
• Political parties and candidates use ideas,
information, and rumors to influence voters with
propaganda techniques.
Who Votes?
• List some reasons why someone would
choose to vote:
• List some reasons who someone would
choose not to vote:
Interest Groups and Public Opinion
Ch. 18
The Power of Interest Groups
• Members of interest groups share
common goals and organize to
influence government.
• Interest groups draw their strength
from the financial resources, numbers,
and expertise of their members.
Interest Groups and Lobbyists
• Most interest groups use lobbying, or
making direct contact with lawmakers
or other government leaders, to
influence government policy.
• Many lobbyists formerly worked for the
government and know its politics and
people; other lobbyists are lawyers or
public relations experts.
The Work of Lobbyists
• Lobbyists can:
• provide lawmakers with useful information
supporting an interest group’s position;
• give testimony before congressional
committees; and
• help draft bills.
Public Opinion
• Public opinion includes the ideas and
attitudes of diverse citizens.
• Interest groups and polls help inform
government officials of public opinion.
• Significant numbers must hold an
opinion to influence public officials.
Political Socialization
• Political socialization involves learned
political beliefs and attitudes.
• The parents’ political party often becomes
the party of their children.
• Schools, close friends, religious groups,
clubs, work groups, and economic and social
status influence political socialization.
• The mass media, especially television, can
directly affect political attitudes.
• The president, members of Congress, and
interest groups try to influence opinions.
Political Culture
• A political culture is a set of shared
values and beliefs about the nation.
• Belief in liberty and freedom, the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights,
equality, private property, and
individual achievement are part of the
U.S. political culture.
Ideology vs. Public Policy
• Ideology is a set of beliefs about life,
culture, government, and society.
• A liberal believes the national
government should be active in helping
individuals and communities promote
health, justice, and equal opportunity.
• A conservative believes the role of
government in society should be limited
and that individuals should be
responsible for their own well-being.
• Since the 1970s most Americans
consider themselves political moderates.
Measuring Public Opinion
• During the presidential election in
1948, public opinion polls heavily
favored Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S
Truman. The news editors at the
Chicago Tribune had been so confident
of a Dewey victory that they had
printed a “Dewey Defeats Truman”
headline and distributed their early
edition before the election results were
fully tabulated.
Measuring Public Opinion
• Political parties inform party leaders about
voters’ attitudes.
• Members of interest groups contact public
officials about specific issues, such as gun
control, health care, auto safety, and so
forth.
• The mass media measure program ratings to
gauge public interest.
• Politicians use newspapers, magazine cover
stories, editorials, letters to the editor, talk
shows, and television newscasts to keep
track of public interests.
Measuring Public Opinion
• Relying solely on mass media sources can
distort information.
• Letter writing campaigns to public officials
by mail, fax, and E-mail indicate levels of
support and opposition for specific issues.
• Straw polls organized by media provide
responses to specific questions.
• Pollsters may weight their results for race,
age, gender, or education.
• The way a question is phrased can greatly
influence people’s responses.
The President and the Media
• The president is an important source of
news; 80% of all media coverage of national
government focuses on the president.
• The White House uses news releases,
briefings, and press conferences, to make
announcements, explain policies, decisions,
or actions.
• The president or another top official
sometimes gives reporters important pieces
of information in a backgrounder, which they
report without naming the source.
• Top government officials also provide the
media with information “off the record” and
through news leaks.
The President and the Media
• Modern presidents stage news events
to reinforce their positions on issues.
Media and Presidential Campaigns
•
Television impacts presidential campaigns
by:
1. requiring that candidates be telegenic
2. making it possible for unknowns to become
serious candidates
3. encouraging celebrities from other fields to
enter politics.
• Media coverage of nominations, especially
primaries presented in horse-race terms,
has changed the presidential nominating
process.
Media and Presidential Campaigns
• Early primaries establish the frontrunners even though the states
involved represent only fraction of the
national electorate.
• The front-running candidates are the
only ones able to attract the funds to
succeed in the long nominating
process, and the candidates of each
party are identified months before the
nominating conventions.
Media and Presidential Campaigns
• Television advertising campaigns cost
candidates huge sums of money.
• Television has weakened the role of
political parties as the key link between
politicians and the voters in national
politics and has made candidates less
dependent on their political party
organization.
Congress and the Media
• Congressional coverage in the media focuses
on individual members and tends to report
on the controversial aspects of Congress,
such as confirmation hearings, oversight
activities, and the personal business of
members.
• The media tries to create big stories by
looking for scandal in the personal activities
of members of Congress.
• Both House and Senate allow television
coverage of floor proceedings.
Setting the Public Agenda
• The public agenda is a list of the problems that both
political leaders and citizens agree need government
attention.
• The news media play a role in setting the public
agenda by highlighting some issues and ignoring
others.
• Competition between media networks influences
which decisions they cover; networks try to attract
an audience by focusing on stories that will interest
the largest number of viewers.
• The media also has an impact on opinion toward
government and issues by influencing people’s
attitudes and values.
Who to Trust?
• When watching news, you should be on the
look out for bias. This is an intentional slant
of information to make one candidate or
party look better or worse than the other.
Members of the press and news media often
want to influence rather than inform you.
• For example, CNN, NBC, CBS tend to favor a
liberal stance while FOX news tends to favor
a conservative stance.
The Internet
• The Internet supports interactive
communications among many people
at once, which allows political activists
to quickly mobilize huge numbers of
supporters.
• Internet organizations and activities
are spread around the world; as a
result, it is often not clear which
national laws govern Internet
activities.
The Internet
• Thousands of Web sites devoted to
politics and government are sponsored
by government agencies, Congress,
political parties, universities, and
interest groups; some sites may be
partisan, meaning that they support
only their own point of view.
• Legislation can be tracked online
through a government database called
THOMAS.
The Internet
• Citizens use e-mail to communicate
with government officials.
• Election candidate websites supply
information on how to volunteer for an
election campaign or political cause;
cyber volunteering is a class of
volunteer activities that can only be
done on the Internet.
Who to Trust?
• Much of what’s on the Internet and in
emails should not be taken seriously.
Rumors and lies are abundant on the
Internet. You should only trust a
reputable new agency or government
site for political information.
• Candidates personal campaign sites
often twist facts in that candidates
favor.