1. Warm Up Would you call yourself a Democrat or a Republican? Why? What are three opinions you have about politics, government, society, etc.? –(About the wars, taxes, immigration, death penalty, abortion, gay marriage, education, our rights…or anything else!)

2. Political Parties I’m a Democrat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l58rj0tahjw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l58rj0tahjw I’m a Republican - http://vimeo.com/6532381 http://vimeo.com/6532381 Do these make you want to change your party affiliation? Still a Democrat or Republican? What did these videos make you think about the parties they represented? How/why did they make you think or feel this way?

3. Score your political quiz (then plot on the board) Quest. # (L)(C) 1YESNO 2 YES 3NOYES 4NOYES 5NOYES 6 NO 7YESNO 8YESNO 9 YES 10NOYES 11YESNO 12YESNO 13NOYES 14NOYES 15YESNO 16YESNO 17YESNO

4. What do liberals and conservatives believe? Look at the questions and their scores –(L = liberal, C = conservative) Make a T-chart on the “political party notes” (p 5) Who believes what?

5. Political Party Notes Liberals  Democrats Conservatives  Republicans Democrats: –Bigger gov’t –Less religious/morality based –Gov’t should help those who need it Republicans: –Smaller gov’t –More religious/morality based –Personal responsibility better than handouts

6. Political Party Notes Other parties? –Libertarians VERY little gov’t people should be free to do whatever (w/o hurting anyone) Ron Paul – Republican Candidate for President

7. Political Party Notes All the beliefs a party stands on… –Platform

8. Political Party Notes Each individual belief (what the platform is made from)? –Plank

9. Political Party Notes Partisan – Strongly associated with ONE party – excluding others. Bi-partisan? – –Including both parties Nonpartisan? –Neutral, not with either party

10. Which party would agree? 1. The death penalty should be outlawed! It’s not effective, and most European countries have gotten rid of it by now. 2. The percentage of rich people’s income that they have to pay in taxes is too high! Don’t punish them for working hard! 3. Personal responsibility is key. Giving out too much in welfare just makes people dependent on the government.

11. Which party would agree? 4. Love is love. Gay marriage actually helps strengthen the family by allowing gay couples the same legal rights as straight couples. 5. Abortion stops a beating heart. It is morally inexcusable to take a human life. 6. We should be tough on crime. People choose to commit crimes. It’s not society’s fault. Individuals should be held accountable

12. Which party would agree? 7. If the government is able to help someone, it should. The whole reason we have a government is to benefit everyone who needs it. 8. Laws designed to tell adults what to do in the bedroom should be repealed. It’s none of the government’s business who you sleep with. 9. Our nation is founded on Christian values, and our laws should reflect that.

13. Which party would agree? 10. If we need to raise taxes to get something done, we should. Rich people have plenty of money – they don’t need all of it. 11. Our military is important to keep us strong and secure. Military funding should be a top priority. 12. The government should be responsible for defense, the post office, building roads, and public education. And that’s just about it! The less government the better.