1. Government

2.  A group of peoples who seek to control government through winning elections and holding public offices.  Most parties are made up of people who are committed to a common set of public policies and programs  The Democratic and Republican parties are both election-oriented rather than issue-oriented

3. PARTIES NOMINATE CANDIDATES PROVIDE SOLID SUPPORT TO WIN ELECTIONS

4.  Parties take stands on issues and criticize the stands taken by their opponents  Iraq  Economy  Character  Health Care  Education  Abortion  Same sex marriage

5.  Parties work to ensure that elected officials are doing their jobs well.  Parties try to ensure the people they nominate are of good character  Why is Palin bringing up William Ayers?  Why is Obama bringing up Keatings 5?

6.  Both State and Federal public officials are regularly appointed on a partisan basis.  Partisan means according to political party choice.  Parties are the major agent for cooperation between the legislative and executive branch.  For the last two years, Bush has had to work with a Democratic Congress, and things haven’t flowed as easily as possible.

7.  The party out of power scrutinizes and criticizes the actions of government officials.  Their watchfulness forces public officials to be more responsive to popular concerns.