American Parties/Politics

1. 1. Recruiting & Nominating candidates

2. 2. Educating the electorate about campaign issues

3. 3. Helping candidates win elections

4. 4. Monitoring officeholders

• functions of political parties

• some personal traits of good citizens

• what PACs do

• functions of civic duties

How are the major political parties similar?

• They introduce new ideas or press for a particular issue

• Both influence public policies

• Reflect both liberal and conservative views

• They introduce different views on issues which are states in the party's platform and stated by candidates in the campaign

• Both win majority support by appealing to the political center

How are the major political parties different?

• Both win majority support by appealing to the political center

• Reflect both liberal and conservative views

• Both influence public policies

• They express different views on issues which are states in the party's platform and stated by candidates in the campaign

How do third parties differ from the two major parties

• They often revolve around a political personality

• They introduce new ideas or press for a particular issue

• Reflect both liberal and conservative views

• Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party

• Appeal to political center

How do citizens make informed choices among candidates in elections?

• Voters should seek out opinion pieces to use for their information sources to make good judgment on who they should vote for

• Voters must evaluate information presented in political campaigns, looking for bias and accuracy

• Voters must ignore information presented in political campaigns, not acknowledging any type of campaigning

• Voters should only look for biased information to make a good informed judgment on the candidate they want to vote for

What are some strategies for evaluating campaign speeches, literature, and advertisements for accuracy? Voters should try to...

• Separate fact from opinion

• Watching the news only

• Look for bias

• Evaluate sources

• Identify propaganda

Rising campaign costs require candidates to conduct extensive ________ activities.

• Commercial Ads

• News letters

• Non-Campaigning

• Fund-Raising

Rising campaign costs encourage the development of (PACs). What are PACs?

• Political Activist Committees

• Political Action Committees

• Policy Action Committees

• Policy Activist Committees

What do PACs do?

• Organizations dedicated to raising and spending money to either elect or defeat political candidates

• The amount individuals can contribute to political candidates and campaigns

• Organizations dedicated to educating and volunteering their time to special interest groups

• The slate of electors for each state is chosen by popular vote during the general election

Rising campaign costs have led to efforts to reform -

• Help wealthy people become elected

• Help PACs grow in size

• Campaign Finance Laws

• Limitless amounts of money can be spent during campaigning