Fiscal: having to do with spending Conservative: in politics, prefers low spending and low taxes, balanced budgets Unabashed: not ashamed Centrist: in the middle Tenure: period serving in a position Crusading: fighting for a cause Progressive: liberal, strong democrat in favor of change Deficit: Budget shortage Revenue: Money coming in Prescient: able to predict the future Moratorium: suspension, stop until further notice Mortgage: Payment plan for a house Scorn: Criticism Pension: Retirement Plan Liberal: Very Democratic Conservative: Very Republican Post-partisan: Not really a Democrat or a Republican; some of both. Innovative: Creative

Elected Officials Representatives in government Examples: In Maryland, the Governor, State Senators, Delegates, Comptroller, Attorney General, etc.

Primary Election First round of voting where parties pick their candidates. For example, who will run for the democrats?

General Election Voting deciding who will actually take office. For example, will the democrat or republican win?

Candidate Someone running for office as an elected official.

Campaign An effort by a candidate to be elected

Political Party Political Party- An organization that brings together people with similar views to elect candidates that will represent them

America has two MAJOR political parties

Democrat Symbolism COLOR BLUE

Famous Democratic Presidents John F. KennedyBill Clinton Franklin D. RooseveltLyndon B. Johnson

Base of a Political Party Base A demographic group that reliably votes for a particular party

DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographics Demographics provide statistical data about specific population groups Examples: race, age, income, gender

Democrat’s Base Majority of Minority Populations

Democrat’s Base Gay Population

Democrat’s Base - College Students

Democrats on the Issues

Republican Symbolism COLOR RED “G.O.P” (Grand Old Party) Elephant

Famous Republican Presidents Dwight D. EisenhowerAbraham Lincoln Theodore RooseveltRonald Reagan

Republican Base Wealthy Business Owners

Republican Base Gun Owners

Republican Base Christians against abortion

Republicans Support Heavy Military Spending

Republicans Want harsher policies for illegal immigrants

General Stances of Republican Party

Political Party?

REPUBLICAN Political Party? DEMOCRATIC

What do political parties do?

Political Parties provide their candidate with the funding to compete for office and expose their candidate to the public.

Third Party Political parties that represent people who do not share the beliefs of the democrats or republicans

Cynthia McKinney; Green Party

Little guy vs. Big Guy

Demographics

Where do the numbers come from? U.S. Census - a survey of the American population taken every 10 years

If running for a public office (like mayor) in Atlanta... Whose votes do you need to win?

Unemployment Demographics in America If you are speaking to teenagers, you might want to mention the job training program you will pass once elected.

Religious Demographics in U.S. What do religious demographics look in each state? In each city? In each small town?

Politicians USE demographic data to understand voting trends/patterns

Demographics and Politicians

The following graphs will show Americans’ voting trends by… Gender Race Age Income Level Level of Education

Voting Age Population of States by Level of Education

Politicians pay attention to people who VOTE

Initiatives

Referendum

CFU: Can you tell the difference?

Interest Group an organization with a very specific legislative goal and that lobbies members of Congress to get their way

Looser and less strict gun laws; more protection for Second Amendment

What do interest groups do? They LOBBY. Lobbying - the use of different strategies to influence lawmakers to get what you want What are some examples of lobbying? 1. Meeting with legislators 2. Organizing letter campaigns on an issue 3. Calling legislators to praise or complain 4. Making donations to campaigns 5. Produce adds on candidates’ behalf

Mass Media Organizations that provide news and information to the general public (citizens)

Newspapers, Magazines, Radio

Power of Mass Media

What causes different media sources to focus some issues more than others?

Mr. Kennedy is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers So, when asked who is the best QB in the league, he is biased when he says it’s Big Ben.

This reporter is listing the number of dead soldiers in Iraq, but is he really saying something else? Media can send messages through what it chooses to report