Democrats (liberals) vs. Republicans (conservatives)

1. Democrats (liberals) vs. Republicans (conservatives)

2. Political Ideology • The coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals. Ideologies are sets or systems of belief that shape the thinking of individuals and how they view the world, especially in regard to issues of “race, nationality, the role and function of government, the relations between men and women, human responsibility for the natural environment, and many other matters.”

3. What’s the difference? • The following slides illustrate the “typical” stance of the two major parties on a number of contemporary political issues, based on recent platforms, candidates’ views, exit polls, etc. Be aware that these are GENERALIZATIONS – there are exceptions.

4. Democratic Extensive Government involvement Republican Individual Responsibility Issue: Role of Government (Economy)

5. Democratic Against Republican Support Issue: Death Penalty

6. Democratic Pro-Choice Republican Pro-Life Issue: Abortion

7. Democratic Support Republican Against Issue: Affirmative Action

8. Democratic Support Republican Against Issue: Same Sex Marriages

9. Democratic Favor Amnesty Republican Enforce the Law Issue: Illegal Immigration

10. Democratic Support Republican Against Issue: Universal Health Care

11. Democratic More Needed Republican No More Needed Issue: Gun Control

12. Democratic Separationists Republican Accomodationists Issue: Religion

13. Democratic Oppose Changes Republican Support Changes Issue: Social Security

14. Democratic Raise Taxes (to support social programs) Republican Lower Taxes (to give individuals more choice) Issue: Taxes

15. Democratic Oppose Republican Support Issue: War on Terror

16. Democratic Social Programs Republican National Defense Issue: Spending Priorities

17. Democratic Government Regulation Republican Free Market / Capitalism Issue: Economy

18. Democratic Protect at all costs Republican Protect, but must protect economy as well Issue: Environment

19. Democratic Federal / Extensive Republic State, Local / Less Issue: Governmental Responsibilities

20. Party Membership Patterns • Each party is composed of a cross-section of the nation’s population; including Protestants, Catholics, Jews; whites, blacks, Latinos, and other minorities; professionals, farmers, and union members; the young, the middle-aged, the elderly; city-dwellers, suburbanites, and rural residents; and anything or anybody else you could think of.

21. Party Membership Patters • It is true that the members of certain segments of the voting population tend to be more closely associated with one or the other of the major parties (at least for now). • But never have any groups permanently tied themselves to one party or the other.

22. U.S. Demographics and Ideological Predispositions • There are many exceptions to the following patterns, but statistics consistently show strong correlations.

23. Age • Older tend to be more conservative

24. Gender • Males tend to be slightly more conservative • Gender Gap – term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates.

25. Race / National Origin • Minorities tend to vote democratic more often than republican

26. Religion • Protestants tend to be more conservative than other religions (Catholics tend to be more moderate)

27. Education • People with higher levels of education tend to be more conservative (especially with college degrees in business, math, the sciences, etc.). Those with post-graduate education tend to be more liberal.

28. Income • People with higher socioeconomic statuses have tended to be more conservative in the past, but in actuality, the relationship between family income and ideology is now relatively weak. As a result, social class has become much less predictive of political behavior that it used to be.

29. Geography • City dwellers (especially in very large metropolitan areas) tend to be more liberal than those living in suburban (surrounding the cities), exurban (surrounding the suburbs), and rural areas.

30. Geography • People living in the South, Midwest, and Central Plains tend to be more conservative than those living in the Northeast and Far West (especially Northwest).

31. Ideology • Ideology is not an important concept to most Americans. Most people in America are not considered ideologues, but instead think in terms of how policies affect groups they like or dislike.

32. Political Predispositions • Tell whether each of the following would likely be predisposed to be conservative, liberal, moderate, moderate leaning liberal, or moderate leaning conservative.

33. # 1 • White, male, age 70, lives in rural Iowa, earns $75,000 a year, Jewish, has a college degree in business/finance

34. # 2 • White, female, age 21, lives in downtown New York City, earns $500,000 a year, atheist, dropped out of high school

35. # 3 • Black, male, age 66, lives in suburban Atlanta, earns $30,000 a year, Baptist, has a high school diploma

36. # 4 • Black, female, age 29, lives in downtown Chicago, earns $150,000 a year, Muslim, has a PhD in Philosophy

37. # 5 • Hispanic, male, age 42, lives in rural New Mexico, earns $95,000 a year, Catholic, has a college degree in accounting

38. # 6 • White, male, age 46, lives in exurban Atlanta, earns $78,000 a year, agnostic, has graduate degree in Political Science

39. # 7 • Bosnian, female, 21, lives in suburban Atlanta, earns $25,000 a year, Methodist, has a high school diploma (going to college to earn a degree in English)