Standard 12.6 Political Parties

POLITICAL PARTIES

MR. ARCHEYAMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Quick write

Write a complete sentence responding to your feelings on the following subjects:

1. The rich should pay higher taxes than then currently pay.

2. What are your feelings about the death penalty.

3. Should we increase gun control laws restricting the types of guns allowed?

4. We need more environmental restrictions for cleaner air and water.

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

CALIFORNIA FRAMEWORK 12.6

STUDENT EVALUATE ISSUES REGARDING CAMPAIGNS FOR NATIONAL STATE, AND LOCAL ELECTED OFFICES.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

Presidential Stats Years as

President...1789-1797 Annual Salary as

President...$25,000 Presidential Elector Votes...69 out of 69 Population of United

States during Presidency...3,929,214

States in Union when he retired...16 Terms as

President...2

                                                                     

                  

His journey turned into a parade across the mid-Atlantic states. Washington was greeted by political leaders, Revolutionary War veterans, and citizens in every town. Escorts, gun salutes, ringing of church bells, parades, speeches and ceremonial dinners marked every day of the journey. The people drew together in their trust and support of George Washington, and his journey came to symbolize their hopes for a transition to a new, unified government. He was inaugurated first president in New York City on April 30, 1789

                                                                                                                                              

WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL SPEECH

In his Farewell Address of Sept. 17, 1796, he summarized the results of his varied experience, offering a guide both for that time and for the future. He urged his countrymen to cherish the Union, to support the public credit, to be alert to "the insidious wiles of foreign influence," to respect the Constitution and the nation's laws, to abide by the results of elections, and to eschew political parties of a sectional cast. Asserting that America and Europe had different interests, he declared that it "is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world," trusting to temporary alliances for emergencies. He also warned against indulging in either habitual favoritism or habitual hostility toward particular nations, lest such attitudes should provoke or involve the country in needless wars.

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

Political Parties

DEMOCRATIC SYMBOL

When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank. The first time the donkey was used in a political cartoon to represent the Democratic party, it was again in conjunction with Jackson. Although in 1837 Jackson was retired, he still thought of himself as the Party's leader and was shown trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. The cartoon was titled "A Modern Baalim and his Ass."

Democratic Party

Poll 2005Poll 2005

Democrat economic composition

Thomas Nast, Stranger Things Have Happened, Harper's Weekly (1879)

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

Political Make up of the population

Recent polls have indicated that 41% of women identify as Democrats while only 25% of women identify as Republicans and 26% as independents, while 32% of men identify as Democrats, 28% as Republicans and 34% as independents.

African-American

Prominent modern-day African-American Democratic politicians include Jim Clyburn, Ed Towns, Maxine Waters, John Lewis, Deval Patrick, Charles Rangel, John Conyers, and the current President of the United States, Barack Obama, who managed to net over 95% of the African American vote in the 2008 election

Hispanic

Republican Party's support among Hispanics eroded in the 2006 midterm elections, dropping from 44 to 30 percent, with the Democrats gaining in the Hispanic vote from 55% in 2004 to 69% in 2006

Jewish

A 2010 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 60% of self-described Jews identified as Democratic or leaning towards the party, compared to 33% with those feelings towards Republicans.

THE DEMOCRAT PARTY

- Democrats control a narrow 50-49-1 advantage in the US Senate, several key governorships (including California, Georgia, North Carolina and Washington) and state legislatures -- but occupy minority status in the US House and lost control of the White House in the 2000 elections.

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

Democrat Issues

Minimum Wage

Democrats favor a higher minimum wage, and more regular increases. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was an early component of the Democrats' agenda during the 110th Congress. In 2006, the Democrats supported six state ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wage; all six initiatives passed

Tax

Democrats generally support a more progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce economic inequality. Currently they have proposed allowing those tax cuts the Bush administration gave to the wealthiest Americans to expire as written in the original legislation while wishing to keep in place those given to the middle class. Democrats generally support more government spending on social services while spending less on the military.

Democrats call for "affordable and quality health care," and many advocate an expansion of government intervention in this area. Many Democrats favor national health insurance or universal health care in a variety of forms to address the rising costs of modern health insurance

Energy and oil

Democrats have opposed tax cuts and incentives to oil companies, favoring a policy of developing domestic renewable energy, such as Montana's state-supported wind farm and "clean coal" programs as well as setting in place a cap and trade policy in hopes of reducing carbon emissions and creating incentives for clean-energy innovations.

Environment

Democrats believe that the government should protect the environment and have a history of environmentalism. In more recent years, this stance has had as its emphasis alternative energy generation as the basis for an improved economy, greater national security, and general environmental benefits

Gun Control

With a stated goal of reducing crime and homicide, the Democratic Party has introduced various gun control measures, most notably the Gun Control Act of 1968, the Brady Bill of 1993, and Crime Control Act of 1994Southern Democrats oppose gun control

Death Penalty

The Democratic Party supports the death penalty far less than the Republican Party. Though most Democrats in Congress have never seriously moved to overturn the rarely used federal death penalty,

Reproduction

Most members of the Democratic Party believe that all women should have access to birth control, and support public funding of contraception for poor women. The Democratic Party, in its national platforms from 1992 to 2004, has called for abortion to be "safe, legal and rare" — namely, keeping it legal by rejecting laws that allow governmental interference in abortion decisions, and reducing the number of abortions by promoting both knowledge of reproduction and contraception, and incentives for adoption. The wording changed in the 2008 platform. When Congress voted on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003, Congressional Democrats were split, with a minority (including current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) supporting the ban, and the majority of Democrats opposing the legislation.

REPUBLICAN SYMBOL

Can you name these famous Republicans?

Economic Policies

Republicans emphasize the role of free markets and individual achievement as the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they favor laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism, and the promotion of personal responsibility over welfare programs.Supply-Side: This theory holds that reduced income tax rates increase GDP growth and thereby generate the same or more revenue for the government from the smaller tax on the extra growth. This belief is reflected, in part, by the party's long-term advocacy of tax cuts.Most Republicans agree there should be a "safety net" to assist the less fortunate; however, they tend to believe the private sector is more effective in helping the poor than government

Capital Punishment

Most of the GOP's membership favors capital punishment and stricter punishments as a means to prevent crime.

Gun Rights

Republicans generally support gun ownership rights and oppose laws regulating guns, although some Republicans in urban areas sometimes favor limited restrictions on the grounds that they are necessary to protect safety in large cities.

Affirmative Action

Defined: Giving preferential treatment to specified minorities and women in employment and/or education.Republican define this as a quota system and merit should be the only basis

Education Rights

Most Republicans support school choice through charter schools and school vouchers for private schools; many have denounced the performance of the public school system and the teachers' unions. The party has insisted on a system of greater accountability for public schools, most prominently in recent years with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Many Republicans, however, opposed the creation of the United States Department of Education when it was initially created in 1979.

Pro-life

A majority of the GOP's national and state candidates are pro-life and oppose elective abortion on religious or moral grounds.Although the GOP has voted for increases in government funding of scientific research, some members actively oppose the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research beyond the original lines because it involves the destruction of human embryos (which many consider ethically equivalent to abortion), while arguing for applying research money into adult stem cell or amniotic stem cell research

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

EnvironmentThe Republican Party has long supported the protection of the environment. For example, Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was a prominent conservationist whose policies eventually led to the creation of the modern National Park Service.

Republican President Richard Nixon was responsible for establishing the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

Voter Base

Business

The GOP is usually seen as the traditionally pro-business party and it garners major support from a wide variety of industries from the financial sector to small businesses. Republicans are about 50 percent more likely to be self-employed, and are more likely to work in management

Gender

Since 1980, a "gender gap" has seen slightly stronger support for the GOP among men than among women. In the 2006 House races, 43% of women voted for GOP, while 47% of men did so. In the 2010 midterms, the "gender gap" was reduced with women supporting GOP and Democratic candidates equally 49% to 49%

RaceWhile historically the party had been supporters of rights for blacks since the 1860s, it lost its leadership position; the GOP has been winning under 15% of the black vote in recent national elections (1980 to 2008). The party has recently nominated African American candidates for senator or governor in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland, though none were successful. In the 2010 elections, two African American Republicans were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.64 The Republican Party abolished slavery under Abraham Lincoln, defeated the Slave Power, and gave blacks the vote during Reconstruction in the late 1860s. Until the New Deal of the 1930s, blacks supported the GOP by large margins.65 Most black voters switched to the Democratic Party in the 1930s when the New Deal offered them employment opportunities, and major figures, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, began to support civil rights.

Race Continued

In the 2008 presidential election, John McCain won 55% of white votes, and 31% of Hispanic votes, compared to just 4% of African American votes.70 In the 2010 House election, the GOP won 60% of the white votes, 38% of Hispanic votes, while winning only 9% of the African American vote.71For decades, a greater percentage of white voters identified themselves as Democrats, rather than Republicans. However, since the mid-1990s whites have been more likely to self-identify as Republicans than Democrats.72

Income

Low-income voters tend to favor the Democratic Party while high-income voters tend to support the Republican Party. President George W. Bush won 41% of the poorest 20% of voters in 2004, 55% of the richest twenty percent, and 53% of those in between. In the 2006 House races, the voters with incomes over $50,000 were 49% Republican, while those under were 38%

Military

Republicans hold a large majority in the armed services, with 57% of active military personnel and 66% of officers identified as Republican in 2003

Age

The Democrats do better among younger Americans and Republicans among older Americans. In 2006, the GOP won 38% of the voters aged 18–29

This map shows the vote in the 2004 presidential election by county. All major Republican geographic constituencies are visible: red dominates the map, showing Republican strength in the rural areas, while the denser areas (i.e., cities) are blue. Notable exceptions include the Pacific coast, New England, the Black Belt, and the heavily Hispanic parts of the Southwest.

COMPARISON

DEMOCRATDONKEYLEFTLIBERALPRO-CHOICEGUN CONTROLAGAINST DEATH PENALTYNO ZERO TOLERENCEHIGHER TAXESDECREASE MILITARYPRISON REFORMNO PRAYER IN SCHOOLMORE GOV’T CONTROLSENVIORNMENTUNIONSBLUE COLLARMINORITYPOOR

REPUBLICANELEPHANTRIGHTCONSERVATIVEPRO-LIFEPRO-GUNSPRO DEATH PENALTYZERO TOLERENCELOWER TAXESINCREASE MILITARYLONGER PRISON SENTENCESPRAYER IN SCHOOLSMALLER GOV’T/STATES RIGHTSBIG BUSINESSFARMERSWHITE COLLARRICH

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

Third Parties

Over 100,000 voters

Libertarian PartyLibertarian PartyConservativeConservative

The Libertarian Party is the third The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-laissez-fairefaire markets, strong civil liberties, markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy, i.e., avoiding foreign foreign policy, i.e., avoiding foreign military or economic entanglements military or economic entanglements with other nations and respect for with other nations and respect for freedom of trade and travel to all freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.foreign countries.

Green Party (Ralph Nader)Liberal

The Green Party of the United States of America emphasizes environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence. Their "Ten Key Values,"6 which are described as non-authoritative guiding principles, are as follows:Grassroots democracy Social justice and equal opportunity Ecological wisdom Nonviolence Decentralization Community-based economics Feminism and gender equality Respect for diversity Personal and global responsibility Future focus and sustainability The Green Party does not accept donations from corporations. Thus, the party's platforms and rhetoric critiques any corporate influence and control over government, media, and American society at large.

Constitution PartyThe Constitution Party supports reducing the role of the United States federal government through cutting bureaucratic regulation, reducing spending, and replacing the income tax with a tariff-based revenue system supplemented by excise taxes The Constitution Party favors a noninterventionist foreign policy. The party opposes illegal immigration and also seeks stricter controls on legal immigration The party opposes euthanasia and abortion including in cases of rape and incest.3031The party supports the ability of states to administer the death penalty to those convicted of "capital crimes":The party supports the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allows Congress to tax income,

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

Minor Parties

Under 100,000 voters

AMERICAN PARTY

- The AP is a very small, very conservative, Christian splinter party formed after a break from the American Independent Party in 1972. The party's 1996 Presidential candidate -- anti-gay rights Beyond the pro-life, pro-gun and anti-tax views that you'd expect to find, the American Party also advocates an end to farm price supports/subsidies, privatization of the US Postal Service, opposes federal involvement in education, supports abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency, supports repeal of NAFTA, opposes minimum wage laws, opposes land use zoning regulations and opposes convening a Constitutional convention. Of course, the AP also opposes the United Nations, the New World Order, communism, socialism and the Trilateral Commission.

AMERICAN HERITAGE PARTY

The AHP, formerly the Washington State affiliate of the USTP/Constitution Party, broke away from that group in 2000 because of religious grounds (i.e., while the CP is clearly a Religious Right party, it is not explicitly a Christian party). Thus, the AHP describes itself as "a political party that adopts the Bible as its political textbook and is unashamed to be explicitly Christian ... [and] whose principles are drawn from Scripture." The AHP plans to become a national conservative party, with the ultimate goal of fielding candidates around the nation in coming years. The party previously fielded some candidate for Congress, Governor and local offices in Washington in 1998 -- and ran just one local candidate in 2000. Party officials plan to run a larger slate of candidates in 2002.

AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY

The sanctity of innocent human life, including the lives of the unborn; Protection of American jobs from unfair foreign competition; repeal of NAFTA, GATT/WTO; Limits on legal immigration, and an end to illegal immigration; no tax funded benefits to illegals; Excellence in education, and right of parents to choose public schools, private schools, or home schooling; Control of crime; capital punishment for the most aggravated offenses; Right of Citizens to keep and bear arms as provided by the Bill of Rights; Ending the personal income tax, and abolition of the IRS; A debt free money system; A non-interventionist foreign policy, and a strong national defense free of waste; Protection of consumers' rights in utility rates, insurance, health care, and housing; Consideration of human needs in environmental concerns; We oppose any revision of the California Constitution to limit the right to vote, impair the people's right of initiative, overturn voter approved term limits, make it easier for government to tax and spend, or create bureaucratic regional governments. We oppose both government speculation with Social Security funds, and affirmative action programs which substitute racial favoritism for individual ability.

AMERICAN NAZIS PARTYExactly what the name implies ... these are a bunch of uniformed, swastika-wearing Nazis! This party is a combination of fascists, Aryan Nations-type folks, racist skinheads and others on the ultra-radical political fringe. As a political party, the American Nazi Party has not fielded a Presidential candidate since Lincoln Rockwell ran as a write-in candidate in 1964 (he was murdered in 1967 by a disgruntled ANP member) -- nor any other candidate for other offices since the mid-1970s (although a loosely affiliated candidate ran for Congress in Illinois in a Democratic primary in 2000). The ANP believes in establishing an Aryan Republic where only "White persons of unmixed, non-Semitic, European descent" can hold citizenship. They support the immediate removal of "Jews and non-whites out of all positions of government and civil service -- and eventually out of the country altogether." This miniscule party -- while purportedly denouncing violence and illegal acts -- blends left-wing economic socialism, right-wing social fascism and strong totalitarian sentiments.

NATURAL LAW PARTY-

1992 The Natural Law Party was founded in April 1992 to “bring the light of science into politics.” Its founders, a group of a dozen educators, businessmen, and lawyers, knew that field-tested solutions to America’s problems already existed but were being ignored by government, due primarily to the pervasive influence of special interests. The Party quickly qualified for the ballot in 32 states, fielded 128 candidates, and became the first party in history (after the Republicans and Democrats) to be granted “national party” status by the Federal Election Commission and to have its presidential candidate, Dr. John Hagelin, qualify for federal matching funds.

REFORM PARTY

SET HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDSBALANCE THE BUDGETCAMPAIGN REFORMTERM LIMITSCREATE US JOBSNEW TAX SYSTEMLOBBYING REFORM

SOCIALIST PARTY

The Socialist Party strives to establish a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control -- a non-racist, classless, feminist, socialist society in which people cooperate at work, at home, and in the community.  Socialism is not mere government ownership, a welfare state, or a repressive bureaucracy. Socialism is a new social and economic order in which workers and consumers control production and community residents control their neighborhoods, homes, and schools. The produ ction of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. Socialism produces a constantly renewed future by not plundering the resources of the earth. 

Standard 12.6 Political Parties

CALIFORNIA STANDARD 12.8

STUDENTS ECVALUATE AND TAKE AND DEFEND POSITIONS ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE MEDIA ON AMERICAN POLITICAL LIFE.

IMPORTANCE OF A FREE AND INDEPENDENT PRESS

The agenda-setting function has multiple components:1. Media agenda are issues discussed in the media, such as

newspapers, television, and radio. 2. Public agenda are issues discussed among members of

the public. 3. Policy agenda are issues that policy makers consider

important, such as legislators. 4. Corporate agenda are issues that big corporations

consider important These four agendas are interrelated. The two basic assumptions that underlie most research on agenda-setting are that the press and the media do not reflect reality, they filter and shape it, and the media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues.

DIFFERENT MEDIA ROLES

BROADCASTPRINTINTERNET

HOW DO OFFICIALS USE THE MEDIA TO COMMUNICATE?

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