SSCG8A: The Student will demonstrate knowledge of local, state and national elections. a. Describe the organization, role and constituencies of political parties.

 In one well-written paragraph, please explain how you can take an active role in the Political Process. (What can you do? Why is this important? How does your role relate to Democracy?)

 Political Party: A group of people that try to control and influence the government by getting people elected to political office  Major Party: Political parties that are supported by a large number of people and have significant influence the government  Minor Party: A political party that is not supported by a large number of people

 Nominate Candidates  Narrow down voters’ choices, select candidates that best represent the ideology of the party  Develop a Platform  Goals and statements that clarify the goals of the elected officials in the party  Educate the Public  Primarily about the candidates in the party, but also on key focus issues  Rally Voters  Motivate people to TURN OUT to vote  “Bonding Agent”  Makes sure candidates are qualified and stick to party ideals while in office- “gluing” the party together

 Political parties are NOT mentioned in the Constitution  But, America has a TWO PARTY SYSTEM  Benefits of a two party system:  Stability  Continuity  Why do we have a two party system?  Started with Federalists and Anti Federalists  Once two major viewpoints were established, we naturally evolved to a 2 party system- and now, its all that we know  It is difficult for a minor party to be successful in elections

 In the United States, our major parties are REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS  Political ideology:  Republicans: tend to be more conservative  Democrats: tend to be more liberal

 Liberal Support for greater government control/regulation in economic matters and less government control/regulation of individual matters.  Libertarian Support for minimal government control of both economic and social issues  Conservative Support for less government control/regulation in economic matters and greater government control/regulation of individual matters.  Totalitarian Support for complete government control of economic and social issues

Govt. Control Economic Issues Libertarian ConservativeTotalitarian Liberal Govt. Control Freedom

Extreme: Socialism, CommunismExtreme: Laissez-Faire, Monopoly  Economic liberals favor broad government involvement in economic policymaking and regulation of business.  Favor higher taxes, particularly progressive (based on income level).  Programs assisting the poor such as Medicaid and Head Start.  Redistribution of income (welfare; social security).  Anti-trust legislation.  Sympathize with labor in Labor-Management issues.  Economic conservatives favor limited government involvement in economic policymaking and regulation of business.  Favor lower taxes, particularly regressive (flat tax, sales taxes).  Fewer programs with the goal of redistributing income (private charitable assistance; invest own money for retirement).  Oppose government regulation of market choices.  Sympathize with business in Labor-Management issues.

 Over time, symbols have been associated with the political parties  Originally, the parties did not CHOOSE their symbols  Political cartoonists started using them as a way to poke fun at the parties  Thomas Nast was actually the cartoonist responsible for the creation of these animals in his political cartoons. Nast’s cartoons were published in Harper’s Weekly, and he is considered the man behind these symbols

 All value personal rights, freedoms  Educational opportunities for all  Economic opportunities for all  Government duty- to protect nation  Preserve environment  Help citizens

 Disagree on ways to meet goals  Example:  Democrats- government directly helps the poor  Republicans- government helps economy and poor get jobs

 Third parties or minor parties are OTHER parties in the United States that have a smaller support base  There are several types:  Ideological party: united by a belief in a political ideology (i.e. communist party)  Single Issue party: united by their support of ONE major issue (i.e. Green Party- the environment)  Economic Protest: United by dissatisfaction with a current economic situation  Splinter party : A group of major party supporters that have split away from the major party