Transcript Slide 1
What is the organization, role and constituencies of political parties? Unit I Vocab from the Standards Warm-Up Constituent • A person whom a member of Congress has been elected to represent Political Party • A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy – Parties often have an expressed ideology or vision bolstered by a written platform with specific goals Political Affiliation • To adopt or accept as a member of a particular political party • One who believes in and upholds government by the people – One of 2 major parties founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792 as a congressional caucus to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the elitist Federalist Party – Platform • Strengthening US economy • Peace • Public welfare • – 15 Democratic Presidents (compared to 18 Republican) Democrat • One who favors a republic as the best form of government – One of the two primary political parties of the United States, organized in 1854 to oppose the extension of slavery – Platform • Free trade • Strong defense • Keep education accountable • Minimize socialist ideals • Right of center on the political spectrum (Conservative) – Often referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party) – 18 Republican presidents (compared to 15 Democrat) Republican Conservative • One who believes that government should be limited, except in supporting traditional values & promoting freedom of opportunity Liberal • One who believes the national government should be active in promoting health, education, justice, & equal opportunity – A biased view of liberal: Moderate • One who’s beliefs fall somewhere between liberal and conservative Nomination Process • The process by which candidates have sought recommendation for public office – Caucuses: Private meetings of party leaders • Party rules usually require openness in selection process starting at the local level, then county, then congressional district, then state • 19 states use this process – Nominating Conventions: An official public meeting of a party to choose candidates for office • Under this system, local party organizations send representatives to a county nominating convention, then up to statewide convention – Primary Elections: • Direct Primary – An election in which party members select people to run in the general election – Most commonly used today • Closed Primary – Only members of a political party can vote • Open Primary – All voters may participate, even if they do not belong to a political party, but they can vote only in one party’s primary – Petition: A person announces his or her candidacy & files a petition that a specified number of voters have signed in order to be placed on the ballot • Some states require that all candidates file petitions Election Process • The formal decisionmaking process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office – Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government Local Elections • Cobb County • http://www.cobbelections.org/ • http://communications.cobbcountyga.gov/elec ted_officials.htm State Elections • Georgia • http://communications.cobb countyga.gov/elected_offici als.htm • Governor Sonny Perdue • Georgia State Senate http://www.legis.ga.gov/legi s/2009_10/senate/metromap .htm National Elections • United States White House Administration – http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/ • U. S. Senators (Georgia delegation) – http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/se nators_cfm.cfm?State=GA • U. S. Representatives (Georgia members) – http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State .shtml#ga Campaign Funding & Spending • Money candidates need for such things as office space, staff salaries, consultants, pollsters, travel, campaign literature & advertising – Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971, & amendments:1974, 1976 & 1979 require public discloser of each candidate’s spending, provide federal funding for presidential elections, prohibit labor unions & business organizations from making direct contributions & limit how much individuals & groups can contribute – Federal Election Commission (FEC) created in 1974, is an independent agency in the executive branch to administer federal election laws • Holds records of campaign contributions • All contributions over $100 must be reported • All records open for public inspection Campaign Funding & Spending • Public Funding – Presidential candidates may accept federal funding from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for the primary campaigns & the general election, while limiting their campaign spending • Third-party presidential candidates can also receive federal funds if their party received at least 5% of the vote in the previous presidential election • Private Funding – The bulk of campaign funding comes from private sources, such as individual citizens, party organizations, corporations & special interest groups Media Coverage & Campaign Advertising • Television commercials, radio advertising, newspaper ads, electronic newsletters, social media, etc. used to help capture voters attention – Feature themes, images, slogans &/or issues – Candidate can wage aggressive, all-out attack on opponent, or lowkey campaign Public Opinion Polls • The method used to measure ideas & attitudes a significant number of Americans hold about issues – Traditional methods • • • • • • Political party organizations Interest groups Mass media Letter writing Electronic access Straw polls (biased sample) Public Opinion Polls cont… • Scientific polling – Three basic steps for: • Select group to be questioned • Present carefully worded questions to the individuals in the sample • Interpret the results – Conduct poll • Mail, phone, email • Sample populations – Universe: group of people to be studied – Sampling error: a measure of how much the sample results differ from the sample universe • ex: plus or minus 3 percent – Cluster sample: organizes or clusters people by – Representative sample: small geographical divisions group of people typical of a universe • ex: 1,500 US adults can accurately – Random Sampling: a measure opinions of 280 million people technique in which everyone in – Random Sampling: a technique in the universe has an equal which everyone in the universe has an chance of being selected equal chance of being selected • ex.: all seniors at a high school Right to Vote (Amendments) • Suffrage: the right to vote • Early limits – Pre-American Revolution could not vote • Women • Most African Americans • White males who did not own property