Democrats (liberals) vs. Republicans (conservatives)

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Democrats (liberals) vs. Republicans
(conservatives)
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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.

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Whats 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.

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Issue Role of Government (Economy)

• Democratic
• Extensive Government involvement

• Republican
• Individual
• Responsibility

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Issue Death Penalty

• Democratic
• Against

• Republican
• Support

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Issue Abortion

• Democratic
• Pro-Choice

• Republican
• Pro-Life

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Issue Affirmative Action

• Democratic
• Support

• Republican
• Against

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Issue Same Sex Marriages

• Democratic
• Support

• Republican
• Against

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Issue Illegal Immigration

• Democratic
• Favor Amnesty

• Republican
• Enforce the Law

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Issue Universal Health Care

• Democratic
• Support

• Republican
• Against

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Issue Gun Control

• Democratic
• More Needed

• Republican
• No More Needed

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Issue Religion

• Democratic
• Separationists

• Republican
• Accomodationists

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Issue Social Security

• Democratic
• Oppose Changes

• Republican
• Support Changes

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Issue Taxes

• Democratic
• Raise Taxes
• (to support social programs)

• Republican
• Lower Taxes
• (to give individuals more choice)

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Issue War on Terror

• Democratic
• Oppose

• Republican
• Support

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Issue Spending Priorities

• Democratic
• Social Programs

• Republican
• National Defense

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Issue Economy

• Democratic
• Government Regulation

• Republican
• Free Market / Capitalism

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Issue Environment

• Democratic
• Protect at all costs

• Republican
• Protect, but must protect economy as well

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Issue Governmental Responsibilities

• Democratic
• Federal / Extensive

• Republic
• State, Local / Less

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Party Membership Patterns

• Each party is composed of a cross-section of the
  nations 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.

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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.

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U.S. Demographics and Ideological Predispositions

• There are many exceptions to the following
  patterns, but statistics consistently show strong
  correlations.

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Age

• Older tend to be more conservative

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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.

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Race / National Origin

• Minorities tend to vote democratic more often
  than republican

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Religion

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

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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.

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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).

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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.

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Political Predispositions

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

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1

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

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2

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

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3

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

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4

• Black, female, age 29, lives in downtown Chicago,
  earns 150,000 a year, Muslim, has a PhD in
  Philosophy

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5

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

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6

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

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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)