Transcript Politics, Public Opinion, and Voting

P. 277
 Pg. 277 1-5
 Pg. 273-277
 http://www.slideshare.net/mandrewmartin/politicalparties-1357123?related=2
 http://www.slideshare.net/rcambou/political-parties103893?related=3
Politics of the United States
 2 party system
 Existence of two major political parties
 Political party- group of individuals that share similar
interests and organize to win election and gain public
office.
 Federalist and Anti-Federalists
 Federalist and Democratic-Republicans
 Democratic Party and the Whig Party
 Democratic Party and the Republican Party
Democratic Party
 Split off from Democratic-Republicans after election of
1824
 “Appealed to the common people”
 Lean toward a stronger federal government
 Made up of Southern slave holders
Republican Party
 Formed by democrats and Whigs who opposed slavery
 Largely Popular in the Northern states
 Lean toward smaller Federal government
Modern Day Politics
 Democrats vs. Republicans
 Liberals vs. Conservatives
 Creation of a division of government between two political
parties was forewarned by George Washington in his
farewell address
 http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/conservative-vsliberal-beliefs/
“They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and
extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated
will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful
and enterprising minority of the community; and,
according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to
make the public administration the mirror of the illconcerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than
the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by
common counsels and modified by mutual interests.”
Third Parties
 Smaller, minority parties
 Do not attain support from Americans but they do influence
politics
1. Promote, or advance ideas that at first are unpopular or
hotly debated
2. Single-Issue Party- promotes a social, economic, or moral
issue.
3. Ideological Party- Support a particular philosophy or
political doctrine
4. Independent Candidates- Strong leaders that do not gain
support from major parties
http://www.votenader.org
Public opinion and the
Influence of Mass Media
Public Opinion
 People’s attitudes toward matters of government and
politics that tend to concern the nation as a whole
 How do people develop their own opinion?
 Family and education
 Peer groups
 Mass Media
 How does one find out the public’s opinion?
 Public Opinion Poll
 Collection of information through questioning and surveying
Mass Media
 Fastest, most efficient way for people to receive
information
 4 Major outlets:
1. Television
2. Newspapers
3. Radio
4. Magazines
 Media helps set public agenda

Issues people think and talk the most about
Mass Media
 Television-most important and widely


Campaign ads, debates, speeches, news
Political News Outlets
 Fox news, MSNBC, CNN, CSPAN, Daily Show, Colbert Report
 Newspapers


Political newspapers present bias toward certain party
Local papers report global, domestic, and local issues
 Radio

Talk Shows
 NPR, Rush Limbaugh

Commericals
 Magazines


Represent particular point of view
Run ads for candidates
Political Influence
 Special Interest Groups
 Organizations that attempt to influence public policy in their
favor
 Desire to affect government policy to benefit themselves or
their causes
 Goal could be a policy that exclusively benefits group
members or a certain part of society (ex: government
subsidies for farmers) or…
 A policy that helps advance a broader public purpose (ex:
improving air quality/alternate energy)
 Lobbyist
 Someone who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a
special interest group
Political Action Committees (PAC)
 Political committee organized for the purpose of raising
and spending money to elect and defeat candidates
 Can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per election
(primary, general, special)
 Can give up to $15,000 annually to any national party
committee
 May receive up to $5,000 from any one individual
 Must register with FEC , provide name and address of PAC,
its treasurer and any connected organizations
SUPER PAC
 Created from U.S. Court of Appeal decision in Speechnow
v. FEC
 Make no contributions to candidate or parties
 Make independent expenditures in federal races
 TV ads
 Sending mail
 Other means of communication
 No limits or restrictions on the sources of funds used for
expenditures
Super PAC
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cet3NcNNSc4
 https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php?cycle=2
012
 http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/2014-electionskoch-brothers-super-pac-107926.html
How do we elect people to
public office?
Nominating Convention
 Held every 4 years
 Democratic National Convention
 Republican National Convention
 JOB IS TO NOMINATE THE PARTY’S PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE
Party Platform
 List of values and actions which are supported by a party
or candidate
 Goal is to appeal to the general public
 Works to gather support and votes based on how the
candidate will approach and deal with controversial or
complicated issues
 Plank- each individual part of the platform
Democratic Platform
 http://www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform
Republican Platform
 https://www.gop.com/platform/
Voting
 Register with your state and political party
 Assigned voting district
 On election day, voters go to a polling place located in
their precinct (voting district)
http://www.forsyth.cc/elections/precincts.aspx
Elections
 Primary Elections
 Election to determine candidates who will run for each party
 Closed primary- voter may only choose candidates from
their registered party
 General Election
 First Tuesday of November
 Open election for candidates running for office
 Non-Partisan election
 Political parties are irrelevant to providing services
Electoral System
 Comprised of “appointed” electors that have pledged to
vote for a major Presidential candidate
 Although the ballot says the name of the candidate the
voter is actually voting for an elector
The Electoral College
 Electoral votes = total of U.S. Senators and
Representatives
 Ex: Washington D.C. has 2 senators and 1 representative so
they get 3 electoral votes
 Usually the candidate that wins the popular vote receives
the electoral votes. However, in some cases the candidate
that wins the popular vote loses the electoral vote
 Must receive 270 (half) of the 538 (possible) electoral votes
to win the election.
 In the event of a tie the House of Representatives votes on
who the next President will be
Propaganda
 Campaign technique used to promote a particular person or idea
 Typically biased and misleading
 Types of Propaganda:
1. Glittering generalities- words of praise for a person
2. Mudslinging- insults and accusations aimed to damage the reputation
of an opponent
3. Endorsement- Getting support from a famous or important person
4. Stacked Cards- Present one side of an issue by distorting the facts
5. Bandwagon-convincing people everyone is going to vote for a certain
candidate
THE PERFECT CANDIDATE
1. Work in groups to come up with the perfect candidate for
President of the U.S. Think about the skills, abilities,
knowledge, and past experience needed to not only get the
job, but do the job.
2. List the personal qualities (Age, sex, religion, height, weight,
area of the country where they live, past training,
education, job experience, and political party).
3. Draw a campaign poster, write a campaign commercial or
slogan for your candidate.
Show your knowledge of the Presidency and the Electoral College
in completing this assignment.
ELECTING THE PRESIDENT
Work in groups of 2 or 3 to get someone elected President/
1.
Create a platform of the candidate’s position on 5 important issues your campaign will
emphasize.
2.
Based on your platform is your candidate a democrat, republican, or independent?
3.
Based on your platform is your candidate a liberal, moderate, or conservative?
4.
Crate a campaign poster or slogan that will encourage people to vote for your candidate.
5.
What state or area of the country will you focus the majority of your campaign on and
explain why? P. 170 Blue book
6.
What types of media will you used for campaign advertising? Explain why you choose the
types you picked
7.
What type of propaganda techniques will you use? Choose at least 2 and give specific
examples of how you will use them in your campaign. P. 336
8.
How will your candidate raise money to pay for his/her campaign? P. 308-310
What components go
into running an
election?
Goal 4 Review
 Pg. 288 1-11
 5-D, 6-C, 9-D, 11-A
 Pg. 312 1-12
 5-D, 8-C, 9-C
 Pg. 340 1-12
 1-A, 3-D, 6-B, 8-A
Page numbers for questions are located at the bottom of
289, 313, 341
A Voter’s Vocab Word Search
1.
In order to vote in a state, you must first
establish _____ in the state.
9.
The election that chooses the
candidate for each party.
2.
A government by the people is
considered______.
10. Vote used by the NC government to
amend the Constitution.
3.
The supreme law of the land that gives
citizens the right to vote.
11. Where you go to vote.
4.
The ____ occurs on the first Tuesday after
the first Monday of November.
12. Before you can vote you must ____.
5.
People running for office or nominated by
the convention.
6.
List of candidates where you cast your
vote.
7.
15. When you can’t be in your precinct
List of values a party adopts and the
at the time of the election you
candidate runs under is known as the ____
receive an _______ ballot.
8.
Although a candidate wins the ____ vote,
he may not win the electoral vote.
13. The number of people that vote is
known as the voter ______.
14. Voting _____, also called a precinct
What are the main influences on a political
campaign? How much of an influence do they
have on who wins an election? Give at least one
example of a political influence and explain how
it work to influence the outcome.