A view of the political spectrum (the left-right thing)

 Ex.) The Soviet Union  Complete government control  Ultimate goal = utopian society with no need for gov’t … this is the closest anyone came to “communism”  Extreme form of socialism Communists

 Ex.) Sweden  Govt organizes / controls more social programs in order to ensure that all have equal access = higher taxes to pay for all programs Socialists Socialism = the government owns the basic means of production, determines the use of resources, distributes the products and wages, and provides social services such as education, health care, and welfare

 Democratic Party  Believes that govt should actively promote social reform (promotes health care, education, justice, and equal opportunity)  leads to bigger federal govt Liberals

 “middle of the road”  Tolerant of others opinions (agrees with ideas / concepts from both sides)  Where a candidate ends up in order to be elected president - a way to get the most votes Moderates

Conservatives  Republican Party  Believes govt should be limited, except in supporting traditional values and promoting freedom of opportunity (laissez faire business)  Very little to no progressive change

 Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters.  Advocate a much smaller government  Embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties  Liberals: gov’t control econ  Conservatives: gov’t control social  Libertarian: gov’t control neither. Libertarian

 Favors a return to a previous state of affairs “back to the good old days” and may be willing to go to extremes to attain that goal  Political society characteristics: discipline, respect for authority, honor, etc.  Ex) The Tea Party Reactionary

 Ex.) The Nazi Party  Radical authoritarian nationalism (nationalism to the extreme to protect the state and its values)  Unify the nation (by race & culture & military) and displace weak and inferior nations Fascist

Solid Liberal strongly support the social safety net and take very liberal positions on virtually all issues, promote change, rather than its reliance on long- standing principles. diplomacy – rather than military strength – is the best way to ensure peace. SOC AND ECON LIBERAL Faith & Family Left strong support for activist government with conservative attitudes on many social issues., support social safety net but religion and family SOC CONSERVATIVE, ECON LIBERAL Next Generation Left very liberal attitudes on many issues, including homosexuality and abortion, the environment and foreign policy. They are supportive of an activist government, but wary of expanding the social safety net SOC LIBERAL, ECON LIBERAL WITH SOME CONSERVATIVE IDEAS Hard- Pressed Skeptic Deeply financially-stressed and distrustful of government, lean toward the Democratic Party but have reservations about both political parties, cynical about the ability of individuals to improve their lot through hard work, Only about a third (32%) say they work-full-time ECON LIBERAL, SOC MODERATE

Young Outsiders young, largely independent group holds a mix of conservative and liberal views, views government as wasteful and inefficient, lean more toward republican ECON CONSERVATIVE, SOC LIBERAL (BOTH MODERATE) Business Conservative traditional small-government, it is wasteful, stay out of business, immigrants strengthen the country and take a positive view of U.S. global involvement. They are less socially conservative than Steadfast Conservatives. ECON CONSERVATIVE, SOC MODERATE Steadfast Conservative overwhelmingly Republican, very conservative attitudes across most issues, including social policy and the size and scope of government, Critical of business and Wall Street, express highly negative attitudes toward immigrants and take a skeptical view of U.S. global involvement ECON AND SOC CONSERVATIVE Bystander on the sidelines of the political process, either by choice or because they are ineligible to vote. None are currently registered to vote. Most follow government and public affairs only now and then (32%) or hardly at all (32%) APATHETIC TO ISSUES

RepublicansDemocrats Red or Blue? Conservative or liberal? Right or Left Wing? More or less taxes? Poor or wealthy? For or against gun control? For or against abortion? For or against capital punishment? Quick Reference for Republicans & Democrats

Participating in Government “Half of the American people never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.” – Gore Vidal (novelist) nicki-beaman-griffin

 Suffrage: the right to vote  Enfranchisement: to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage  15 th amendment: prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Voting Basics

 19 th amendment: gave women the right to vote  24 th amendment: eliminated having to pay a poll tax in order to vote  26 th amendment: moved the voting age down to 18 years old Voting Basics

Precinct a district of a city or town as defined for police purposes such as voting In especially highly populated urban areas, voting locations are organized into precincts

 National Voter Registration Act 1993: voting registration now done when you renew or apply for a driver’s license  All government offices that offer public assistance you can register to vote at  You can register to vote my mail  All of this is enforced by federal law! Making it Easier to Vote!

Voting Ballots Australian Ballot: secret ballot Absentee Ballot: vote by mail if you cannot get to your precinct

1.Print Media: newspapers, books, magazines 2.Broadcast Media: TV, Radio, movies 3.Group Media: internet, social media Mass Media

 1 st televised debate 1960 (Nixon & JFK) Mass Media

Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

 Sensationalism & Negativism Mass Media

 Sensationalism & Negativism Mass Media m/video/2014/09/12/seinfeld_to_ maher_on_media_bias_to_bla me_it_all_on_fox_news_doesn t_seem_fair.html

 Political Action Committee (PAC)  Interest group  Lobbying / lobbyist  Partisan / bipartisan Mass Media

Two Party System vs. One Party System The political system in the US Most typically found in authoritarian govt / dictatorships

‘Merica’s Two Party System Democrats  Symbol = donkey  Founder = Andrew Jackson Republicans  Symbol = elephant  1 st Pres = Abraham Lincoln Party Platforms = statement of principles, beliefs, and positions on key issues

 Independents: don’t identify with an official political party  Single-issue party: focus on one main issue (Green Party = environment  Splinter party: break away from a party over a disagreement (Bull Moose Party of 1912 with Teddy Roosevelt, Democrats win! Why? Third Parties

 Crash Course!