FOTOLIA
US political parties:
what’s the difference?
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Democrat values
 Liberal approach to social issues
 Tolerant of diversity — different views, religions and cultural practices
 The power of the federal government should be increased if it makes society
fairer
 Religion is a private matter, so maintain the separation of church and state
 Taxes should be used to improve education, healthcare and other social welfare
programmes
 Minority groups need protection and special help if they are disadvantaged
 Big business needs to be monitored and regulated by the federal government to
keep it under control
 Federal government should act to reduce global warming
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Republican values





Conservative approach to social issues
Aim to protect ‘traditional’ US values and way of life
Emphasises the importance of religion in national life —‘one nation under God’
States’ rights need to be protected from big government
Taxes should be kept as low as possible — individuals will spend their own
money in better ways than the federal government will
 Minority groups do not need special treatment — all Americans should be treated
equally
 Big business should be free to make money — the federal government should
stay out of its way
 Global warming is not fully understood. The federal government should not waste
money on environmental action
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Policy differences
Which party supports each policy?
1.Health insurance made mandatory to prevent millions being uninsured
2.Tough immigration controls
3.Restrictions on who can own a gun, and what kind of gun can be owned
4.Businesses have to comply with environmental regulations
5.Cut taxes as low as possible
6.Public schools should have school prayers
7.Supportive of gay marriage
8.Ban or severely limit abortion
continued…
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Policy differences (continued)
9. Big donors and big business should be able to fund political campaigns as much
as they want
10. Supportive of harsh punishments for criminals
11. Gay people allowed to openly serve in the military
12. Affirmative action should help minorities by prioritising the selection of members
of under-represented groups in government employment and higher education
The answers can be found on slide 14 of this PowerPoint.
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Demographic differences
Which party is each demographic group most likely to vote for?
1. Low income
9. Blacks
2. Middle income
10. Asians
3. High income
11. Men
4. Rural population
12. Women
5. Small town population
13. Younger voters (under 40 years)
6. Urban population
14. Older voters (over 40 years)
7. Whites
8. Hispanics
The answers can be found on slide 15 of this PowerPoint.
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Geographical differences
Democrats attract more votes in:
Republicans attract more votes in:
 The northeast and eastern seaboard
 The west
 The south (‘Bible belt’)
 Central states
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Who said what about which party?
Read each of the quotes on the next five slides and see if you can work out which
party the person speaking belongs to, and which party they are talking about.
The answers can be found on slide 16 of this PowerPoint.
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Quote A
"They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or
antipathy to people who aren't like them or antiimmigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a
way to explain their frustrations"
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Quote B
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the
president no matter what. There are 47% who are
with him, who are dependent upon government,
who believe that they are victims, who believe the
government has a responsibility to care for them,
who believe that they are entitled to healthcare,
to food, to housing, to you-name-it"
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Quote C
"We're not generating enough angry white guys
to stay in business for the long term"
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Quote D
“[Their] arrogance and audacious power-grabs have made
Americans stand up and say, ‘Enough is enough’. We
now see all too clearly that the hope and change [they]
had in mind was nothing more than a retread of the
failed and discredited socialist policies that have been the
enemy of freedom for centuries all over the world…I fear
America is teetering towards tyranny”
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Quote E
“We think the country works better with a strong
middle class, with real opportunities for poor
folks to work their way into it, with a relentless
focus on the future, with business and
government actually working together to
promote growth and broadly share prosperity”
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Answers: policy differences
Democrats
Republicans
1. Health insurance made mandatory
2. Tough immigration controls
3. Gun control
5. Cut taxes as low as possible
4. Businesses have to comply with
environmental regulations
6. Public schools should have school prayers
7. Supportive of gay marriage
8. Ban or severely limit abortion
11. Gay people allowed to serve openly in the
military
9. Unlimited political funding by big donors/big
business
12. Affirmative action
10. Supportive of harsh punishments for
criminals
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Answers: demographic differences
Democrats
Republicans
1. Low Income
2. Middle Income
6. Urban population
3. High Income
8. Hispanics
4. Rural population
9. Blacks
5. Small town population
10. Asians
7. Whites
12. Women
11. Men
13. Younger voters
14. Older voters
US political parties: what’s the difference?
Answers: who said what about which party?
A. Senator Obama talking about small-town, working-class Republican voters in 2008:
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/14/barackobama.uselections2008
B. Mitt Romney secretly recorded at a private fundraiser in the run up to the 2012
presidential election:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19631430
C. Lindsey Graham, Republican senator for South Carolina:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-29/politics/35490241_1_latino-votersconvention-stage-party-with-black-people
D. Jim DeMint, Republican senator for South Carolina and a member of the Tea Party:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/sen-demint-cpac-america-teetering-towards-tyranny
E. Bill Clinton, former US President, speaking in 2012:
www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-06/clinton-puts-poverty-back-in-the-spotlight