Fiscal: having to do with spendingConservative: in politics, prefers low spending and low taxes, balanced budgetsUnabashed: not ashamedCentrist: in the middleTenure: period serving in a positionCrusading: fighting for a causeProgressive: liberal, strong democrat in favor of changeDeficit: Budget shortageRevenue: Money coming in

Prescient: able to predict the futureMoratorium: suspension, stop until further noticeMortgage: Payment plan for a houseScorn: CriticismPension: Retirement PlanLiberal: Very DemocraticConservative: Very RepublicanPost-partisan: Not really a Democrat or a Republican; some of both.Innovative: Creative

Elected Officials• Representatives in government• Examples: In Maryland, the Governor, State Senators,

Delegates, Comptroller, Attorney General, etc.

Primary Election

General Election• Voting deciding who will actually take office.• For example, will the democrat or republican win?

Candidate• Someone running for office as an elected official.

Campaign• An effort by a candidate to be elected

Political Party

America has two MAJOR political parties

America has two MAJOR political parties

Democrat Symbolism

COLOR

BLUE

Famous Democratic Presidents

John F. Kennedy Bill Clinton

Franklin D. Roosevelt Lyndon B. Johnson

Base of a Political Party

Base A demographic group that reliably

votes for a particular party

DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographics• Demographics provide statistical data about specific population groups

• Examples: race, age, income, gender

Democrat’s BaseMajority of Minority Populations

Democrat’s BaseGay Population

Democrat’s Base - College Students

Democrats on the Issues

Republican Symbolism

COLOR

RED

“G.O.P”

(Grand Old

Party)

Elephant

Famous Republican Presidents

Dwight D. Eisenhower Abraham Lincoln

Theodore Roosevelt Ronald Reagan

Republican BaseWealthy Business Owners

Republican BaseGun Owners

Republican BaseChristians against abortion

RepublicansSupport Heavy Military Spending

RepublicansWant harsher policies for illegal immigrants

General Stances of Republican Party

Political Party? Political Party?

Political Party?

REPUBLICAN

Political Party?

DEMOCRATIC

What do political What do political parties do?parties do?

Political Parties provide their candidate with the funding to compete for office and expose their candidate to the public.

Third Party

Political parties that represent people who do not share the beliefs of the democrats or republicans

Cynthia McKinney; Green Party

Little guy vs. Big Guy

Demographics

Where do the numbers come from?

• U.S. Census - a survey of the American population taken every 10 years

If running for a public office (like mayor) in Atlanta...

Whose votes do you need to win?

Unemployment Demographics in America

If you are speaking to teenagers, you might want to mention the job training program you will pass once elected.

Religious Demographics in U.S.

• What do religious demographics look in each state?

• In each city?• In each small

town?

Politicians USE demographic data to understand voting trends/patterns

Demographics and Politicians

• The following graphs will show Americans’ voting trends by…

• Gender• Race• Age• Income Level• Level of Education

Voting Age Population of Statesby Level of Education

Politicians pay attention to people who VOTE

Initiatives

Referendum

CFU: Can you tell the difference?

Interest Group

an organization with a very specific legislative goal and that lobbies members of Congress to get their way

Looser and less strict gun laws; more protection for Second Amendment

What do interest groups do?They LOBBY.

Lobbying - the use of different strategies to influence lawmakers to get what you want

What are some examples of lobbying?1. Meeting with legislators2. Organizing letter campaigns on an issue3. Calling legislators to praise or complain4. Making donations to campaigns5. Produce adds on candidates’ behalf

Mass Media

Organizations that provide news and information to the general

public (citizens)

Power of Mass Media

What causes different media sources to focus some issues more than others?

• Mr. Kennedy is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers

• So, when asked who is the best QB in the league, he is biased when he says it’s Big Ben.

This reporter is listing the number of dead soldiers in Iraq, but is he really saying something else?

Media can send messages through what it chooses to report