POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
Q: What distinguishes a Democrat
from a Republican?
• A: Political ideology =
Beliefs and/or convictions regarding political &
moral issues
There are two main political ideologies or
labels…
• … “liberal” and “conservative”
Asa rule, the Democrats are liberal and the
Republicans are conservative.
Q: What do the labels “liberal” and
“conservative” mean?
• A: Beliefs on a wide range of issues,
ranging from the environment to gay
marriage
• Issues can usually be categorized as “economic /
governmental” and “social / value” issues
Is the divide growing?
» (Political Divide CSM)
Gauging Political Ideology
• The Political Spectrum
liberals moderates conservatives
The Left The Right
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
• Liberal
• Conservative
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
• Moderate Conservative
• Moderate Liberal
Political Labels
• Libertarian
Political Labels
• Other political labels:
Libertarian
Individualist
Populist
Feminist
Environmentalist
Q: What are the major ideological
Issues?
A: The core issues… sometimes
called “hot button” issues:
Abortion
War in Iraq
Immigration
Gay Marriage
National debt & deficit spending
Issues
Religion in Schools
• Evolution v. Intelligent
Design
Environment
• Wolf release
Gun control
Crime and punishment
Health care
Issues
• Issue cont.
Social security
Taxes
Size & scope of government
Foreign policy (esp. Iraq and
war on terrorism)
Homeland security
Q: Where do conservative and
liberals stand on the issues?
• Issues Grid
The Culture War
• Culture War = Division over deep moral issues,
what’s right and wrong
The Culture Wars
The Culture War
• Believers v. Non believers
Moral Values & the Culture Wars
• Liberals generally believe that morality is
matter of personal choice…
There is a grey area on questions of right and wrong
• Conservatives see morality as universal, some
things are just wrong, no matter who you are.
Simple man
Public Opinion and Abortion
Q: What demographic factors
influence ideological beliefs?
• A: Many factors shape an individuals ideological beliefs.
The following are some important factors:
Family
Gender
Race
Age
Region
• Southern states v. North East
• West coast v. Intermountain region
• Urban v. Rural
Religion
• Church goers v. secularists
Family Status (married?, Children?, etc.)
Education
Income
The “gender gap”
Race
VOTE BY RACE BUSH KERRY NADER
TOTAL 2004 2000 2004 2004
White (77%) 58% +4 41% 0%
African-American (11%) 11% +2 88% 0%
Latino (8%) 44% +9 53% 2%
Asian (2%) 44% +3 56% *
Other (2%) 40% +1 54% 2%
Age
BUSH KERRY NADER
VOTE BY AGE
TOTAL 2004 2000 2004 2004
18-29 (17%) 45% n/a 54% 0%
30-44 (29%) 53% +4 46% 1%
45-59 (30%) 51% +2 48% 0%
60 and Older (24%) 54% +7 46% 0%
Region
Region
Religion
VOTE BY RELIGION BUSH KERRY NADER
TOTAL 2004 2000 2004 2004
Protestant (54%) 59% +3 40% 0%
Catholic (27%) 52% +5 47% 0%
Jewish (3%) 25% +6 74% *
Other (7%) 23% -5 74% 1%
None (10%) 31% +1 67% 1%
Religion cont.
BUSH KERRY NADER
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
TOTAL 2004 2000 2004 2004
More Than Weekly (16%) 64% n/a 35% 1%
Weekly (26%) 58% n/a 41% 0%
Monthly (14%) 50% n/a 49% *
A Few Times a Year (28%) 45% n/a 54% 0%
Never (15%) 36% n/a 62% 1%
Democrats and Religion
Family Status
Are You Married? All Gore Bush Buchanan Nader
Yes 65 % 44 % 53 % 1% 2%
No 35 % 57 % 38 % 0% 4%
Married and Have
All Gore Bush Buchanan Nader
Children?
Yes 31 % 41 % 56 % 0% 2%
No 69 % 51 % 44 % 1% 3%
How deep does the divide go?
• Conservative Singles
• Liberal Singles
INTEREST GROUPS AND
IDEOLOGY
Q: What are Interest Groups?
• A: Interest groups are highly organized groups with
specialized knowledge that seek to affect public
policy, usually on certain specific issues
Unlike parties, they do not run candidates for office…
but usually support certain candidates
• Many interest groups “lobby” government
• Many of these groups are highly “ideological”
Q: How do interest groups attempt
to influence policy?
• Lobbying & campaign donations
• Academic studies (think tanks)
• Legal action
Lawsuits: one of the best examples was the
NAACP’s lead in the lawsuit that led to the
landmark Supreme Court case Brown v
Board of Education
The ACLU is primarily involved in legal
challenges
Q: What are some influential
groups? What are their issues?
• NRA: gun control
• ACLU: 1st and 4th amendment rights
They claim to be a non partisan group…
Highly controversial
• NOW: Women’s and feminist issues
• NARAL: Abortion rights
• NAACP: Rights for African Americans
• Christian Coalition: variety of conservative issues
Controversial
• ATLA: Fight against lawsuit reform
• The Sierra Club: environmental issues
• Focus on the Family: Conservative, pro-family issues
President of NARAL, Michelman
Q: What are “think tanks”?
• A: Think tanks are “academic” interest
groups.
Donot get directly involved in campaigning or
lobbying…
Attempt to influence policy through published
studies
• Think Tanks
HeritageFoundation
American Enterprise Institute
Brookings Institute