UNIT 2 VOCABULARY Fiscal having to do

UNIT 2 VOCABULARY

Fiscal: having to do with spending Conservative: in politics, prefers low spending and low taxes, balanced budgets Unabashed: not ashamed Centrist: in the middle Tenure: period serving in a position Crusading: fighting for a cause Progressive: liberal, strong democrat in favor of change Deficit: Budget shortage Revenue: Money coming in Prescient: able to predict the future Moratorium: suspension, stop until further notice Mortgage: Payment plan for a house Scorn: Criticism Pension: Retirement Plan Liberal: Very Democratic Conservative: Very Republican Post-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 • First round of voting where parties pick their candidates. • For example, who will run for the democrats?

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 • Political Party- An organization that brings together people with similar views to elect candidates that will represent them

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 = picture of the people

Demographics • Demographics provide statistical data about specific population groups • Examples: race, age, income, gender

Democrat’s Base Majority of Minority Populations

Democrat’s Base Gay Population

Democrat’s Base - College Students

Democrats on the Issues

Elephant COLOR “G. O. P” (Grand RED Old Party)

Famous Republican Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower Abraham Lincoln Theodore Roosevelt Ronald Reagan

Republican Base Wealthy Business Owners

Republican Base Gun Owners

Republican Base Christians against abortion

Political Party?

Political Party? REPUBLICAN DEMOCRATIC

What do political 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 Mc. Kinney; Green Party

Little guy vs. Big Guy

Demographics provide statistical data about specific population groups • Examples: race, age, income, gender

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

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

Did you think Asian Americans were just 1 group?

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 • WHO is voting? • WHO is not voting? • And what do these voters WANT?

• The following graphs will show Americans’ voting trends by… • Gender • Race • Age • Income Level • Level of Education

GENDER

RACE

AGE

INCOME

EDUCATION

Politicians pay attention to people who VOTE • Old people vote: • Middle-aged parents vote: • College educated:

Initiatives • Citizens collect enough signatures on a petition that they can place a new law on the ballot people can make laws and never have to go through the legislative branch

Referendum a specific issue or law is voted on directly by the people. • Occurs as a result of a petition. http: //www. elections. state. md. us/petitions/

CFU: Can you tell the difference?

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

• Political Party • Focus on many issues at once • Focus on 1 issue • There are many different kinds of interest groups • But they focus on 1 issue and try to get laws passed that favor it

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 legislators 2. Organizing letter campaigns on an issue 3. Calling legislators to praise or complain 4. Making donations to campaigns 5. Produce adds on candidates’ behalf

Mass Media Organizations that provide news and information to the general public (citizens)

Newspapers, Magazines, Radio

known as the FOURTH BRANCH

Elliot Spitzer - governor who was caught in a sex scandal

Power of Mass Media

What causes different media sources to focus some issues more than others? • Bias = to heavily favor one group, issue or opinion over 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?