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Political Processes
Political Parties
• A political party is a group who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.
• There are two major political parties in the United States.–Republicans–Democrats
Political Parties
• Each political party has their own beliefs and core values.
• Also, each political party has their own symbol.
• An elephant is the Republican symbol, and the donkey is the Democrat symbol.
Political Parties
• The donkey for Democrats came from the 1828 election and critics of Andrew Jackson .
• Jackson turned the critics’ words into a strength and embraced the donkey as a symbol of intelligence and courage.
Political Parties
• The elephant symbol for Republicans first appeared in an editorial cartoon by Thomas Nast.
• In it he drew a picture of a donkey dressed in lion’s skin scaring other animals and an elephant labeled as the “Republican vote”.
• Republicans consider it strong and distinguished.
Political Parties
• Millions of American voters consider themselves either a Republican or a Democrat.
• However, there are still millions more who are called independent and have no connection to either.
Political Parties
• Democrats traditionally favor social welfare programs – or government helping those in need.
• Democrats usually favor government regulation on business and are focused on improving the status of minorities in the United States.
Political Parties
• Republicans traditionally are opposed to social welfare programs – they favor a free market place where success and failure is left to the individual.
• Republicans also believe that the Federal Government should limit their regulation on business – allow competition to determine success.
Political Parties
• People choose to join a political party for many different reasons.
• Usually it is for:–Having solidarity among friends and family.– Enjoy the excitement of debate and politics.– Ideologically motivated, or have strong
beliefs about public policy.
Political Parties
• What is the benefit of political parties – what do parties do?
• Most importantly, parties nominate candidates for election – they endorse them.
• Parties also play an important role in helping their nominations win elections.
Political Parties
• Political parties inform and activate supporters – they get people involved in their cause.
• Parties make people feel linked and connected to government.
• We see this through campaigns, advertisements, interviews, signs, buttons, etc.
Political Parties
• Political parties also help actually govern the country.
• Elected officials in government normally are affiliated with Democrats or Republicans.
• They act as their party wants – votes and shapes public policy.
Political Parties
• Political parties also serve as a “watch dog” when they don’t hold public office.
• For example – when Republican President George Bush was in office, Democrats criticized him often.
• Now that Democrat Barrack Obama is President, Republicans criticize him often.
Political Parties
• The United States has traditionally functioned around a two-party system.
• Began when the Constitution was ratified – there were Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
• Even though the founding fathers like George Washington discouraged parties they have become an American tradition and will continue.
Political Parties
• summary
Minor Parties
• There are numerous minor parties in the U.S.
• Some are limited to certain states or regions of the nation.
• Some have been successful in getting national support and have existed for decades.
Minor Parties
• Ideological Parties: are parties based on a particular set of beliefs.
• Most of these parties have been communist-natured in the past.
• Today the Libertarian Party exists as an example.
Minor Parties
• The Libertarian Party focuses on individualism.
• Calls for getting rid of most government programs and policies.
• However, they have struggled to obtain a large number of votes recently.
Minor Parties
• Single-Issue Parties: These parties focus on one public policy issue.
• Usually you can determine their platform from their name.
• Examples include the Free Soil Party which opposed the spread of slavery.
Minor Parties
• Another example is the Right to Life Party which opposes abortion.
• These parties are traditionally fickle – which means they do not last very long.
• Once the issue is resolved the party loses their platform and importance.
Minor Parties
• Economic Protest Parties: These parties have popped up when there has been bad economic times.
• These parties usually have complaints about both major parties and demand better economic times.
Minor Parties
• These parties usually call Wall Street “greedy” and “evil”.
• An example of this is the Greenback Party in the 1880s that appealed to struggling farmers.
• The Populist Party in 1890s called for public ownership of railroads and telephone Cos.
Minor Parties
• However, when the economy has climbed out of its troubles, these parties fade away.
• Splinter Parties: These parties have split away from the major parties.
• In 1912 Republican Theodore Roosevelt created the Bull Moose Party.
Minor Parties
• Other examples of splinter parties include the Dixiecrats in 1948, and the American Independent Party in 1968.
• Both of these parties emerged from the Democratic Party.
• These parties usually form around a strong leader and go away when they leader steps down.
Minor Parties
• Today, one of the more well-known minority parties is the Green Party.
• It was formed in 1996 and started as a single-issue party focused on environmental protection.
• But since then it has evolved as a more complex party.
Minor Parties
• Their greatest recognition came during the 2000 Presidential Election when Ralph Nader ran for President.
• Nader earned about 3 million national votes – accounted for 2.7% of the total votes cast.
• The winner of that election was Republican George W. Bush who beat Democrat Al Gore.
Minor Parties
• The election was extremely close and experts claim it was Nader that cost Gore the win.
• The Green Party shared some common beliefs with Democrats and without Nader – those votes would have gone to Gore.
• In 2008, there were 21 minor party candidates who ran for President.
Minor Parties
• Minor Parties play valuable roles in the U.S.
• 1. Bring important issues to the public’s attention.
• 2. Take bold stands on issues.
• 3. Give frustrated and alienated voters a place to go.
Minor Parties
• summary
The Right to Vote
• Voting qualifications are set by the states with some restrictions set by the Constitution.
• At first in 1789, voting rights were restricted to white male property owners. (Ben Franklin quote)
• Today voting rights have expanded.
The Right to Vote
• Over 230 million Americans have the right to vote.
• Anyone citizen over the age of 18.
• However, it was not always this simple, and to get to this point was a bitter struggle.
The Right to Vote
• There has been five stages of voting expansion throughout our history.
• 1. Began in early 1800s when property ownership laws ended making every adult white male eligible to vote.
The Right to Vote
• 2. Came after the Civil War with the 15th Amendment.
• It protected every citizens right to vote no matter their race or color.
• However, African-Americans were still being barred from voting through various loopholes from different states.
The Right to Vote
• 3. The 19th Amendment passed in 1920 as a result of the Suffragist Movement.
• Gave women the right to vote when they reached 18 years of age.
The Right to Vote
• 4. In the 1960s the Civil Rights Movement began trying to eliminate the loopholes states had made to prevent African-Americans from voting.
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 accomplished this.
• It made it illegal to interfere with anyone’s right to vote in any federal, state, or local election.
The Right to Vote
• 5. In 1971 the 26th Amendment made it illegal for states to raise the voting age beyond 18.
• Today, every person must be able to prove age, citizenship, and residence to vote.
The Right to Vote
• Age – must be 18, although most don’t vote.
• Citizenship – to prevent aliens, or non-citizens from voting.
• Residence – must be a legal resident of the state in which you are voting.
• Today, it takes 30 days to achieve residency.
The Right to Vote
• In order to vote, people must also register.
• Registration is not the same in every state, some states allow people to register on election day.
• Throughout history, states have tried to alter the registration process to deter some voters from voting.
The Right to Vote
• For example, up until the 1960s literacy tests were common in the south.
• Method used to prevent African-Americans from voting.
• Forced to read a complex passage from the Constitution in order to vote.
The Right to Vote
• However, idea backfired, some whites were not literate so Grandfather Clause was added.
• As of today, no state has a literacy tests to register to vote.
• Tax payment was also part of the registration process – including poll tax.
The Right to Vote
• Again, mostly in the south to prevent African-Americans from voting.
• The 24th Amendment passed in 1964 eliminated poll tax.
• Restrictions on voting today include mental hospitals, major felons, and dishonorably discharged veterans.
The Right to Vote
• summary
The Nominating Process
• The nominating process is the process of candidate selection.
• “Nomination” comes from a Latin word meaning “name”.
• The process is important because it prevents unqualified people from appearing on the ballot.
The Nominating Process
• It is also important because it pares down the number of candidates on the ballot to a reasonable number.
• With a two-party system in the United States it is important that voters are given high quality choices on election day.
The Nominating Process
• Nominations are made in five different ways.
• 1. Self-Announcement.• 2. Caucus.• 3. Convention.• 4. Direct primary.• 5. Petition.
The Nominating Process
• Self-Announcement: This type of nomination is the oldest form.
• It is simple – a person who is interested in running for a position makes an announcement that he or she is running.
• Sometimes occurs when a party does not nominate that person.
The Nominating Process
• The Caucus: A group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an election.
• Originally was a private meeting of the important people in a community.
• Later it grew into a party function open to all members – they debate the merits of candidates.
The Nominating Process
• The Convention: Replaced the caucus as the main nominating process in the 1830s.
• Local communities select delegates – or members of their party – to represent them at higher-level meetings to choose candidates.
• Conventions go from local to county to state to national levels.
The Nominating Process
• However, conventions lost their nominating power as corruption set in denying democracy the chance to choose candidates.
• By the 1900s direct primaries replaced conventions as the main nominating process.
• Direct Primary: An election held within a party to determine candidates.
The Nominating Process
• States usually control primary elections – setting dates, polling places, and results.
• There are two basic forms of direct primaries: 1. closed primary, and 2. open primary.
• In closed primaries only registered members of the party can vote.
The Nominating Process• In open primaries any registered voter can vote
on any candidate regardless of party.
• Debate between closed and open primaries.
• Closed supporters claim that open allows non-party members to “raid” their elections.
• Open supporters claim that closed prevents independents from voting.
The Nominating Process
• Benefits to direct primaries: Forces candidates to compete in many states across the country – candidates meet new voters in each state – recent primaries brought many new voters into the process.
• Drawbacks to direct primaries: Causes in-party fighting among candidates – still a low amount of voter turnout.
The Nominating Process
• Petition: Used mostly on the local level for city or county elections.
• A person must collect a certain number of signatures declaring support for their candidacy.
• Usually the larger the post, the more signatures are required.
The Nominating Process
• summary
Elections
• It is important to understand how elections work in order to understand how this may effect election results.
• Under the Constitution, Congress has the power to fix the time, places, and manner of holding elections in the United States.
Elections
• Elections are held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November on even-numbered years.
• However, there are voting options for people other than that day.
• 32 million people used the method of “early voting” in the past 2008 election.
Elections
• Most of these early voters used the absentee ballot as the means of voting.
• Absentee voting was developed in 1864 during the Civil War for Federal troops to vote on election day.
• These ballots are usually delivered through the mail.
Elections
• Voters that choose to vote on election day do so at a precinct.
• Precincts are voting districts – usually 500 to 1,000 people.
• Every precinct has a polling place where voters go to cast their vote.
Elections
• Today all voters use secret ballots – or vote in private.
• However, it was not always this way – many voting methods earlier in history were public.
• Precincts use paper ballots, or automated voting machines today.
Elections
• Since 1900 most states have been using the Australian Ballot.
• This ballot type is popular because it is printed at the public’s expense, lists all candidates names, and is given out only at polling place.
• The ballot either groups candidates by office, or party.
Elections
• Automated voting has become more and more popular over the past century.
• First voting machine created by Thomas Edison in 1868.
• Most voting machines were lever operated – difficult to use and expensive.
Elections
• Electronic vote counting was also introduced in the 1960s.
• Voters receive voting punch cards – punch a hole next to the candidate you want to vote for.
• This caused problems – voters not punching the right way causing “hanging chads”.
Elections
• After the 2000 election punch card ballots were discarded.
• Most electronic vote counting machines now are similar to “scantron” ballots like you test on, and machines similar to ATMs.
• The fear with these machines are that hackers can get to them.
Elections
• A number of states conduct their elections by mail.
• Oregon holds of all its elections by mail – they argue that it results in more total votes.
• Critics claim it leads to fraud and secret ballots can be read.
Elections
• Many speculate that online voting will be the most widely used method in the future.
• The first vote cast online happened in 1998 when astronaut David Wolf voted from space station.
• Supporters claim it will increase voter turnout having it online.
Elections
• Critics see far too many problems for online voting to be successful.
• Viruses, blocked access, hackers, plus other problems stand in the way.
• Plus, not everyone has a computer or internet which threatens equality in voting online.
Elections
• summary
Interest Groups
• An interest group is a collection of people who share certain views on public matters and work to shape public policy to their benefit.
• They meet to influence law on abortion, prayer in school, gun control, etc.
• Usually called leagues, association, union, clubs, federation, etc.
Interest Groups
• Interest groups hold an important purpose in government affairs.
• 1. They help bridge the gap between citizens and government.
• 2. They help explain their views on policies to public officials.
• 3. They help inspire public awareness and action on various issues.
Interest Groups
• Interest groups are similar to political parties in that they are made up of like minded individuals trying to affect government.
• However, political parties and interest groups are different.
• Political parties nominate candidates to win elections and control offices.
Interest Groups
• Interest groups on the other hand seek to influence public policies in areas of their common concern – they do not nominate.
• Political parties are interested in WHO wins elections.
• Interest groups are interested in WHAT public policies are made.
Interest Groups
• There has been a long debate over whether or not interest groups harm American democracy or help American democracy.
• First, they do help raise public awareness on important issues that affect the nation.
• Second, they help unite the country on issues – and people coming together is good.
Interest Groups
• Example – one mother upset about drunk driving cannot do much alone.
• However, thousands of mothers together can change drunk driving legislation – MADD.
• Third, they serve as watch dogs to the government making sure officials are doing their job.
Interest Groups
• On the other side, interest groups have many critics who believe they are harmful.
• Many interest groups have been found guilty in the past of using illegal methods to influence government policy.
• Bribery and threats have been the common illegal activity.
Interest Groups
• Interest groups also do not always represent a majority, yet get their policies passed through government which is not “majority rule”.
• The power of interest groups cannot be underestimated.
• Many critics claim that interest groups have too much control on Capitol Hill.
Interest Groups
• This has led to the belief that elected officials on Capitol Hill are virtually puppets – controlled by interest groups’ demands.
• Critics claim that it is in the best interest of these officials to side with interest groups who donate money to campaigns.
Interest Groups
• Often interest groups conflict with one another and cause multiple interest groups to compete against each other.
• For example, debate over high gas prices.
• Interest group for drill for oil in America, others claim drilling will harm ecosystem.
Interest Groups• Examples:• NRA - National Rifle Association• AFT - American Federation of Teachers• AMA - American Medical Association• NOW - National Organization for Women• AARP - American Association of Retired Persons• Christian Coalition• NAACP - National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People.• And hundreds more…
Interest Groups
• summary