US political parties: what’s the difference? FOTOLIA

US political parties: what’s the difference? Democrat values  Liberal approach to social issues  Tolerant of diversity — different views, religions and cultural practices  The power of the federal government should be increased if it makes society fairer  Religion is a private matter, so maintain the separation of church and state  Taxes should be used to improve education, healthcare and other social welfare programmes  Minority groups need protection and special help if they are disadvantaged  Big business needs to be monitored and regulated by the federal government to keep it under control  Federal government should act to reduce global warming

US political parties: what’s the difference? Republican values  Conservative approach to social issues  Aim to protect ‘traditional’ US values and way of life  Emphasises the importance of religion in national life —‘one nation under God’  States’ rights need to be protected from big government  Taxes should be kept as low as possible — individuals will spend their own money in better ways than the federal government will  Minority groups do not need special treatment — all Americans should be treated equally  Big business should be free to make money — the federal government should stay out of its way  Global warming is not fully understood. The federal government should not waste money on environmental action

US political parties: what’s the difference? Policy differences Which party supports each policy? 1.Health insurance made mandatory to prevent millions being uninsured 2.Tough immigration controls 3.Restrictions on who can own a gun, and what kind of gun can be owned 4.Businesses have to comply with environmental regulations 5.Cut taxes as low as possible 6.Public schools should have school prayers 7.Supportive of gay marriage 8.Ban or severely limit abortion continued…

US political parties: what’s the difference? Policy differences (continued) 9. Big donors and big business should be able to fund political campaigns as much as they want 10. Supportive of harsh punishments for criminals 11. Gay people allowed to openly serve in the military 12. Affirmative action should help minorities by prioritising the selection of members of under-represented groups in government employment and higher education The answers can be found on slide 14 of this PowerPoint.

US political parties: what’s the difference? Demographic differences 1.Low income 2.Middle income 3.High income 4.Rural population 5.Small town population 6.Urban population 7.Whites 8.Hispanics 9.Blacks 10.Asians 11.Men 12.Women 13.Younger voters (under 40 years) 14.Older voters (over 40 years) Which party is each demographic group most likely to vote for? The answers can be found on slide 15 of this PowerPoint.

US political parties: what’s the difference? Geographical differences Democrats attract more votes in:  The northeast and eastern seaboard  The west Republicans attract more votes in:  The south (‘Bible belt’)  Central states

US political parties: what’s the difference? Who said what about which party? Read each of the quotes on the next five slides and see if you can work out which party the person speaking belongs to, and which party they are talking about. The answers can be found on slide 16 of this PowerPoint.

US political parties: what’s the difference? Quote A "They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti- immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations"

US political parties: what’s the difference? Quote B "There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you-name-it"

US political parties: what’s the difference? Quote C "We're not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term"

US political parties: what’s the difference? Quote D “[Their] arrogance and audacious power-grabs have made Americans stand up and say, ‘Enough is enough’. We now see all too clearly that the hope and change [they] had in mind was nothing more than a retread of the failed and discredited socialist policies that have been the enemy of freedom for centuries all over the world…I fear America is teetering towards tyranny”

US political parties: what’s the difference? Quote E “We think the country works better with a strong middle class, with real opportunities for poor folks to work their way into it, with a relentless focus on the future, with business and government actually working together to promote growth and broadly share prosperity”

US political parties: what’s the difference? Answers: policy differences DemocratsRepublicans 1. Health insurance made mandatory2. Tough immigration controls 3. Gun control5. Cut taxes as low as possible 4. Businesses have to comply with environmental regulations 6. Public schools should have school prayers 7. Supportive of gay marriage8. Ban or severely limit abortion 11. Gay people allowed to serve openly in the military 9. Unlimited political funding by big donors/big business 12. Affirmative action10. Supportive of harsh punishments for criminals

US political parties: what’s the difference? Answers: demographic differences DemocratsRepublicans 1. Low Income2. Middle Income 6. Urban population3. High Income 8. Hispanics4. Rural population 9. Blacks5. Small town population 10. Asians7. Whites 12. Women11. Men 13. Younger voters14. Older voters

US political parties: what’s the difference? Answers: who said what about which party? A. Senator Obama talking about small-town, working-class Republican voters in 2008: B. Mitt Romney secretly recorded at a private fundraiser in the run up to the 2012 presidential election: C. Lindsey Graham, Republican senator for South Carolina: convention-stage-party-with-black-people D. Jim DeMint, Republican senator for South Carolina and a member of the Tea Party: E. Bill Clinton, former US President, speaking in 2012: