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Political Participation & Media Influence

SS.7.C.2.8

Identify America’s current political parties and illustrate their ideas about government.

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A political party is a group of citizens or voters with similar views on public issues who 1) work together to put their ideas into action in the government, and 2) work together to elect candidates.

 

One of the most important jobs of political parties is to nominate candidates to run for office as the representatives of their party. Parties choose a candidate who agrees with their beliefs and tries to persuade voters to support their candidate. Competing political parties give voters a choice among candidates and ideas.

 

To know where a party stands on the major issues, the voters can look at the party’s platform. A platform is a written statement of the party’s principles, beliefs, and positions on issues.  Party platforms are often the length of short books.   Each individual part of a platform is called a plank. The platform communicates to voters what the political party plans to do if it wins.  (Examples: Platform Issue = Healthcare; Plank = Agreeing/Disagreeing with government-funded healthcare.)

 

The United States has a long tradition of a two-party system.  This means that two major political parties have controlled elections and have the most participation by voters.  The two major political parties today are the Democrats and the Republicans.

 

Political Parties

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  • Democrats were founded in 1828 and their core beliefs are: The federal government should take a more active role in people’s lives, especially those in needs. Favor raising taxes and government spending to pay for social programs.

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  • Republicans were founded in 1854 and their core beliefs are: The federal government should take a less active role in people’s lives and that individuals can take care of themselves without help. They support lower taxes and government spending.

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Because these two major parties have the most support from the public, it is nearly impossible for third parties to win elections. Third parties are political parties that often form on the basis of one or a few issues.  These issues might be related to a foreign or domestic affair and, because the concern is so particular, it is difficult to gain popular support.  Third party candidates have never won a presidential election and rarely win election to other offices.  Below are some examples of current third parties that exist in the United States.

 

Political parties play a major role and have a large impact in American society.  Political parties are important to the democratic process because they help people to communicate their ideas about government.  Because political parties are made up of large groups of people, their group’s ideas can be more easily heard by the government.  Political parties also educate citizens about issues during elections.  Most people vote for candidates from their own political party because of the issues that their political party supports.

 

Political parties impact the government at the federal, state, and local levels. Because there are many more elected offices at the state and local levels, political parties tend to be more active at these levels.  Also, political parties raise and spend money in order to get candidates elected and to help spread their message to voters.

 

The political party that wins more seats in one house of the national or state legislature becomes the majority party in that house of the legislature. The party that wins fewer seats in one house of the national or state legislature becomes the minority party in that house of the legislature.     The majority party in the legislature often has more control over the lawmaking process than the minority power. However, the minority party remains active and uses its influence as much as possible in the lawmaking process.

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SS.7.C 2.9

Evaluate candidates for political office by analyzing their qualifications, experience, issue-based platforms, debates and political ads.

Federal Elected Office

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President

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Vice President

(The qualifications to be vice president are not included in the U.S. Constitution. However, the vice president becomes president if the president resigns from office or dies. This means that the vice president must be qualified to be president in order to run for vice president.)

Description of Qualifications

 

1.  At least 35 years old

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2.  Has lived in the U.S for 14 years

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3.  Is a natural born citizen, which means born on U.S. soil (law of soil or to U.S. citizen parents (law of blood)

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4.  May not served more than two 4 year terms.

 

5.  The vice president may become president if the president dies, resign or is removed from office. The vice president, upon becoming president may be president for no more than 10 years, (which means that the vice president completes the president’s unfinished term and can run for president in the next two presidential elections.)

During an election, candidates who are running for public office will often create political advertisements and commercials to appeal to voters. As a voter, it is important for people to consider several things when determining who to vote for.

 

A voter may wish to consider a candidate’s previous experiences. People who are elected to public office may have served in some other elected or appointed position before, or have a background in a field that would help them do their job. For example, many elected Congressman/Congresswoman and Senators actively participate in their communities, have been a lawyer or a judge, are college graduates, and may have served in local government before running for state or federal office.

 

A voter may wish to consider a candidate’s platform-the set of ideas which are often based on their political party beliefs that a candidate has on certain issues. These ideas could cover such topics as education, religion, healthcare, government spending, taxation and foreign policy, just to name a few.

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A voter may wish to view a political debate that may take place before the election. For major national elections, these debates are usually televised. Usually, candidates who are running for President will want to take on their opponent in a debate to reveal their thoughts on issues and persuade voters to vote for them based on the topics debated.

 

A voter may wish to consider the various political advertisements that run in magazines, newspapers, television, radio and on-line when trying to determine which candidate to vote for. Candidate will often use these advertisements as a way to appeal to voters and to identify themselves as the “best choice” for voters. Sometimes, candidates may even decide to put down the candidates that they are running against in order to make themselves look better to the voters.

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SS.7.C.2.12

Develop a plan to resolve a state or local problem by researching public policy alternatives, identifying appropriate government agencies to address the issue, and determining a course of action.

 

Government at all levels (local, state or federal) is responsible for protecting and providing for its citizens. When a problem or issue comes up, the citizens can get the help of the government to help them solve these problems. Many of these government solutions come in the form of public policy – which is a policy (rule or law) that is made in response to some sort of issue or problem that requires attention.

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U.S. citizens have the right to say what they think government should do about problems in their communities. Citizens have the right to say what they think about problems in their state and nation, and about international concerns. Citizens also have the right to try to influence the decisions government officials make about all of those problems.

 

To be able to participate effectively, however, citizens need to know which levels of government and which governmental agencies are responsible for changing, carrying out, or developing specific public policies. For example, state legislatures may direct agencies to put policies into place that came from federal legislation. Or, local governments may create policies in order to carry out responsibilities assigned to them through laws passed at the state or federal level. Additionally, as part of the process of developing and implementing policy, governmental agencies must determine if the new policy conflicts with existing legislation or policy.

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Below are a few additional examples of problems or concerns that could be addressed by the various levels of government:

 

Problem:  There have been a number of minor car accidents at the same intersection.

 

Solution:   Involve the local government to place a traffic light or stop signs at the intersection to prevent future accidents

 

Problem:  The State of Florida has seen a drastic increase in the number of high school dropouts.

 

Solution:  Contact the state representative or state senator who chairs the appropriate legislative committee to introduce a bill that will fund a statewide dropout prevention program to be implemented in public high schools.

 

Problem:  Elderly citizens cannot afford to pay their health care expenses.

 

Solution:  Contact the Congressman/woman who chairs the appropriate health-related committee to introduce a bill that assists the elderly with these types of expenses.

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In the United States, the federal, state and local governments agree that creating public policy helps them fulfill their responsibilities, such as protecting the rights of individuals and promoting the well-being of all the people. Some public policies are written into laws by legislatures. Other policies are contained in rules and regulations created by executive branches of government, the branches responsible for carrying out and enforcing laws. State and local governments are closer to the people than the federal government. And, citizens are more affected in their daily lives by local public policies than they are by federal policies.

There are several different alternatives that should be considered when writing new public policy. Lawmakers will often examine several possible solutions before choosing the one, or creating one, that will solve the local or state issue. Some lawmakers might even get in contact with other local or state governments that have enacted a public policy that is similar to the one they are interested in passing to determine which solution they used.

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Here is an example of how this might look:

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Tobacco use is on the rise in local middle schools. The school board wants to create a policy that will get rid of tobacco usage in schools. The superintendent, school board, principals, teachers, parents and students are all concerned citizens that have an interest in solving this problem. The superintendent, acting as the “government” for the schools in the county, decides to hold a meeting and invite interested citizens to pose solutions.

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Several solutions are presented:

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  1. Create a “zero-tolerance” policy in the student code of conduct

  2. Educate the students about the effects of using tobacco

  3. Hire security guards to patrol the campus and bathrooms, where smokers have been found

  4. Test the students for drugs, alcohol and tobacco usage

 

All of the solutions that are presented might work. The superintendent will have to determine which solution is best and most economical in order to solve the problem efficiently.

 

No doubt, there are many problems in communities that need to be solved. Some problems may be readily dealt with by actions taken in the private sphere (individuals) or by the civil society (social, economic, or political associations or organizations). And others may be best solved by the government, through public policy.

 

Some examples of private service solutions might be organizing a food drive to feed the homeless in local communities, creating a neighborhood watch group to look after neighborhood children, or educating family members about the effects of drug and alcohol use.

 

Some examples of civil society solutions might include creating a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program to mentor community youth or hosting a fundraising event to raise money for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

 

And still, some problems are best addressed by the government. Some examples of public policy solutions might include building a sidewalk in a neighborhood where people have been struck by vehicles while exercising or constructing a traffic light at an intersection where accidents frequently occur.

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SS.7.C.2.13

Examine multiple perspectives on public and current issues.

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Individuals, interest groups, and political parties each present different perspectives on the direction that government should take. Students should be familiar with the rights, powers and responsibilities of each group types. Students do not need to know the perspectives of any individual or group type because the public perspectives will be presented in the questions.

 

Below are some scenarios that help to understand the reaction or perspective of different groups:

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a) A local army base is closing and the city council has not decided how to use the land that will become available. City residents representing different interest groups hand out flyers to persons attending the city council meeting expressing multiple perspectives on the best use of the land.

 

b) The Democratic and Republican parties both address health care issues in their party’s platform.

 

c) Two interest groups place advertisements in a local newspaper taking opposing sides on whether the Florida Constitution should be amended to change the size of the state Supreme Court.

 

Questions focusing on multiple perspectives may ask that a common perspective among two or more perspectives be identified. Finding similarities and differences among the perspectives represented in multiple perspectives focused questions is the best strategy for identifying the correct response.

 

The focus of the benchmark is “public and current” issues. Historical issues, such as the multiple perspectives expressed by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, will not be part of multiple perspectives focused questions because the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate was “public” but is not “current”. By contrast, a family discussing how to experience their First Amendment right to the “free exercise of religion” by choosing which house of worship to attend is considering multiple perspectives on a “current” issue, but not a “public” issue.

 

Citizen participation in the political process is shaped by multiple perspectives. Citizens will work independently, join interest groups or join political parties, in order to present their perspectives on the direction that government officials and political institutions should take.

 

Individuals influence multiple perspectives to shape participation in the political process when they exercise their First Amendment rights and their right to vote. First Amendment rights give individuals the right to express their political views through speech, press, peaceable assembly and petitioning the government. Voting rights give individuals the chance to express public perspectives by choosing one candidate or policy question over others.

 

Interest groups influence multiple perspectives to shape participation in the political process when they use their First Amendment rights to peaceable assembly, free speech and petitioning the government. Interest groups form because of a common interest or goal and attempt to influence people by working together in support of that goal or cause. Interest groups can work with members of Congress or with other elected legislators to get laws passed (this is usually referred to as lobbying), and can educate members of their interest group on key issues and causes that they wish those members to support. Through lobbying, directing campaign contributions (money raised for candidates, political parties or issues during the time of an election) and shaping public opinion, interest groups present multiple perspectives in their participation in the political process.

 

Political parties also influence multiple perspectives to shape participation in the political process. A political party is a group of citizens or voters with similar views on public issues who work to put their ideas into government action and who band together to elect a candidate. Competing political parties give voters a choice among candidates and ideas.

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