Political Beliefs & Parties

Learning Intention

I will be able to…

• Explain what the political terms liberal, conservative and moderate mean.

Political Beliefs

Liberal- The federal government should help solve problems.

*The federal government in Washington D.C. should have more power.*Change is good.

Conservative- People & states can solve problems on their own.

*Individual states should have more power.*Tradition is good.

Moderate- In some situations liberal, in other situations conservative.

Famous quote…

• “Political parties must be restrained in a popularly elected government because of their tendency to distract the government from their duties, create unfounded jealousies amongst groups and regions, raise false alarms amongst the people, promote riots and insurrection, and provide foreign nations and interests access to the government where they can impose their will upon the country.”

-President George WashingtonFarewell address to the nation (1796)

What is a political party?• A Group of people who have similar ideas about government

• Major Party- Large in number of members & supporters

Political Parties in the U.S.

• Two Party System-Two major political parties receive most of the attention and win most elections.

Advantages? Disadvantages?

Major parties in Minnesota

• Democratic Party (DFL)• Republican Party (GOP)• Independence Party Minnesota

Minor Parties (Third Parties)• Smaller number of members & supporters

• Ex: Green and Libertarian parties

• Sometimes have views that are outside of what most Americans believe

• Ideas are sometimes controversial or more extreme Ex: Legalizing marijuana, getting rid of almost all taxes, government healthcare for everyone…etc

Why do minor parties matter?• Provide voters with more options

• Sometimes minor party ideas are used by major parties later on

• Can “take away” votes from major party candidates in elections and change the outcome of an election

Independent Candidates• Run for office without belonging to a political party

• May not agree w/ party on a particular issue or just not want to be tied to a party

• It is usually a lot harder to get elected without a political party (unless you are well-known)

Political Party Scale: What do they believe in?

Liberal

-Change is good.

-The government should help solve problems.

Conservative

-Tradition is good.

-People and individual states can solve their own problems.

Democrat RepublicanIndependence

Moderate

Green Libertarian