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
America has two MAJOR political parties
Democrat Symbolism
COLOR
BLUE
Famous Democratic Presidents
John F. Kennedy
Bill Clinton
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lyndon B. Johnson
Base of a Political Party
Base
A demographic
group that reliably
votes for a particular
party
DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographics
= picture of the people
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
Elephant
COLOR “G.O.P”
(Grand
RED
Old
Party)
Famous Republican Presidents
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore Roosevelt
Ronald 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?
Political Party?
Political Party?
Political Party?
REPUBLICAN
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
provide
statistical data about
specific population
groups
• Examples: race, age,
income, gender
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.
Did you think Asian Americans were just 1 group?
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
• WHO is voting?
• WHO is not voting?
• And what do these
voters WANT?
• The following graphs will show Americans’ voting trends by…
• Gender
• Race
• Age
• Income Level
• Level of Education
GENDER
RACE
AGE
INCOME
EDUCATION
Voting Age Population of States
by Level of Education
Politicians pay attention to people who VOTE
• Old people vote:
• Middle-aged parents vote:
• College educated:
Initiatives
• Citizens collect enough signatures on a petition that they can place
a new law on the ballot
people can make laws and never have to go
through the legislative branch
Referendum
a specific issue or law is voted on directly by the people.
• Occurs as a result of a petition.
http://www.elections.state.md.us/petitions/
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CFU: Can
you tell the
difference?
Interest an organization with a
very specific legislative
Group goal and that lobbies
members of Congress
to get their way
• Political Party
• Focus on many
issues at once
• Focus on 1 issue
• There are many
different kinds of
interest groups
• But they focus on 1
issue and try to get
laws passed that
favor it
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
known as the FOURTH BRANCH
Elliot Spitzer - governor who was caught in a sex scandal
Power of Mass Media
What causes different media sources to focus some issues more
than others?
• Bias = to heavily favor one group, issue or opinion over
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.
Media can send messages through what it chooses to
report
This reporter is listing the number of dead soldiers in Iraq, but is he
really saying something else?