Political Affiliations

1
Political Affiliations

• A Presentation by Jazmen Eison and Melissa
  Quitoriano

2
Objectives

• To give a brief background on the two major
  political parties of The United States of
  America.
• Democrat
• Republican
• Explain why peoples of certain races/
  ethnicities, genders, and religions affiliate
  themselves with different political parties.

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Background of the Democratic Party

• The party started around the time of our first
  presidents, during the late 1700s.
• Thomas Jefferson started the party because he
  thought that the federal government had too much
  power.
• In 1828 the party was officially known as the
  Democratic party with the election of Andrew
  Jackson.
• Later the party was given to the people, and is
  the longest running political party in the world.
  
• The Democratic party has met every four years
  since 1832 and the first Democrat to win
  presidential office was James K. Polk.

4
Democratic Values

• Supports abortion rights
• Support the Death Penalty
• Support health policy based on corporate profits
• Support incremental minimum wage increases
• Most democrats either support civil union, but
  not same-sex marriage, or, they support same sex
  marriage
• Supports de-authorization of the Iraq War

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Background of the Republican Party

• The party was started by antislavery activists in
  the early 1850s, they believed that the
  government should grant lands to settlers for
  free.
• The first meeting was July 4, 1854 in Jackson,
  Michigan.
• The name Republican came from the idea of
  equality individuals wanted to refer to but the
  name also reminded them of Jeffersons
  Democratic-Republican party.
• Republicans became an official party in 1856 with
  the presidential nomination of John C. Freemont,
  but the first Republican to be elected president
  of the United States.

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Republican Values

• Do not support abortion, Pro-Life
• Supports Death Penalty
• Oppose the idea of Universal Health care
• Oppose raising minimum wage, works to weaken
  unions
• Oppose same-sex marriage and civil union
• Oppose a time-table for troop withdrawal, but do
  not necessarily favor the war

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Political Debates

• Democratic Debate on the Iraq War
• Ron Paul on the Iraq War

8
What about the donkey?

• The donkey is the image affiliated with the
  Democrats.
• It was first attached to the party when opponents
  Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential elections
  called him a jackass because of his populist
  views.
• Jackson used later used the donkey on his
  campaign posters, and during his presidency a
  donkey was used to represent his stubbornness
  when he vetoed re-chartering the national bank
• The donkey is used to convey an idea of
  intelligence and bravery throughout the party.

9
An elephant never forgets

• The elephants association with the Republican
  party was the creation of a cartoonist.
• Thomas Nast combined two unconnected events and
  put them into a cartoon.
• The cartoon depicted a donkey in lions skin
  scaring the animals at the zoo.
• The elephant was use to represent the Republican
  vote and not the party but it was affiliated with
  the animal from then on.
• Today the elephant is considered strong and
  dignified.

10
Affiliation by Race and Ethnicity

• People of different races and ethnicities will
  affiliate themselves with different political
  parties based on their beliefs.
• Most people generally associate themselves with a
  certain political party due to that partys
  values.
• African-Americans are mostly democratic and have
  generally been this way since the 1930s.
  Republican opposition to affirmative action and
  other programs have prevented a large amount of
  African-Americans from affiliating themselves
  with the Republicans. They also believed that as
  a race they are linked together and share a
  common fate, and that is why they are united at
  the polls.
• Latino voters are split Cuban Americans are
  generally Republican, while Puerto Ricans are
  mostly democratic. Mexican Americans are also
  Democratic, but on a smaller scale.

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Race and Ethnicity continued...

• Latinos experienced a lack of political movement
  due to low voter registration and naturalization.
  In the recent years, they are considered to be
  the group that will win an election, if their
  interest is obtained. This is because their
  population is growing, and most Latinos are
  uncertain as to which party to affiliate with.
• Asian-Americans tend to be divided, much like the
  Latinos, but along the lines of their class. In
  terms of business and upper class,
  Asian-Americans identify with Republicans,
  however, lower class Asian-Americans tend to
  support Democrats. Historically, Asian-Americans
  tend to unite around common issues, such as
  ethnic discrimination and anti-Asian violence in
  the United States.
• Caucasian Americans generally associate
  themselves with the Republican party.

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Note

• Latino includes Mexican American, Puerto Rican,
  Cuban American, etc
• Asian-American includes Hindu, Asian-Indian,
  Japanese -American, Chinese- American, Pacific
  Islanders, Korean, etc

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Breakdown of Race/ Ethnicity

• African-Americans More than 90 Democratic
• Latinos 53 Democratic, 44 Republican
• Asian-American 72 Democratic, 25 Republican
• Caucasian Americans 66 Republican, 39
  Democratic

14
Affiliation by Gender

• Males generally affiliate with Republicans.
• Women will associate themselves with Democrats.
• Women tend to take a more liberal position on
  political issues and oppose military actions and
  support social spending more than men.
• During the war in Iraq, men generally supported
  the war more that women.
• 42 of women believed the troops should be
  brought home, compared to 37 of men.
• 83 favor improving the nations health care in
  comparison to 76 of men.
• 72of women advocate for spending on programs for
  the homeless, compared to 63 of men.

15
Affiliation by Religion

• Most people say that their religion has no
  influence on their political views.
• However, people with a more Orthodox religion
  tend to favor the Republican Parties, while more
  secular and non- religious people tend to favor
  Democrats.
• This is largely based on what a person believes
  due to their religion. For example Christians
  and Catholics tend to be more Pro-Life and they
  tend to oppose same-sex marriage. These are some
  of the views of the Republican party.
• Secular and non-religious people, tend to be more
  apt to go along with Pro-choice views and have
  no problem with same-sex marriage. These are
  views of the Democrats.

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Chart Showing Religious Opinions based on how
religious a person is.
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Works Cited

• Ginsberg, Benjamin, Lowi, Theodore J., and Weir,
  Margaret. We the People An Introduction to
  American Politics. New York W.W. Norton
  Company, Inc. 2007.
• "Near solid one-third of Black voters say they're
  independent." National Minority Politics 7.6
  (June 1995) 34. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.
  3 November 2007.lthttp//search.ebscohost.com/login
  .aspx?directtruedbaphAN9506261872loginpagel
  ogin.aspsiteehost-livegt
• The Republican Party- GOP History. Sussex
  County, Republican Committee. 3 November 2007.
  http//www.sussexcountygop.com/gopvalues.htm
• History of the Democratic Party. eSSORTMENT
  Information and advice you want to know. 3
  November 2007. lthttp//sd.essortment.com/historyde
  mocrat_rbur.htmgt