REPORTING CATEGORY 3: GOVERNMENT POLICIES … - 3 political issues

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• (1) Common political issues
• (2) Biggest political issues
• (3) Examples of political issues
• (4) Ongoing political issues
• (5) Major political issues in america

REPORTING CATEGORY 3:
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND POLITICAL PROCESSES
SS.7.C.2.8: Identify America's current political parties, and illustrate their ideas about government.
A political party is a group of citizens or voters with similar views on public issues who work to put their
ideas into government action and who work together to elect a candidate. One of the jobs of political parties is
to nominate candidates to run for office. That is, to select them to represent their particular political party in an
election. Parties choose a candidate who agrees with their beliefs and try to persuade voters to support their
candidate running for office. Competing political parties give voters a choice among candidates and ideas. To
know where a party stands on the major issues, the voters can look at the party's platform. A platform is a series
of statements expressing the party's principles, beliefs, and positions on issues. Each individual part of a
platform is called a plank. The platform communicates to voters what the political party plans to do if it wins.
(Examples: Platform Issue = Healthcare; Plank = Agreeing/Disagreeing with universal healthcare)
The United States has had a long tradition of a two-party system. This means that two major political
parties have controlled elections and have the most participation by voters. The two major political parties today
are the Democrats and the Republicans.
Political Party Year Founded Core Beliefs
(Created)
Democratic 1828 The federal government should take a more active role in people's
lives, especially those in need. Democrats are not opposed to
raising taxes to pay for social programs.
Republican 1854 The federal government should take a limited role in people's lives.
Republicans favor lowering taxes and less government spending
Because these two major parties have the most support from the public, it has made it nearly impossible
for third parties to win elections. Third parties are political parties that often form on the basis of one or a few
issues. These issues might be related to a foreign or domestic concern and, because the concern is so particular,
it is difficult to gain popular support. Third party candidates have never won a presidential election and rarely
win election to other offices.
Below are some examples of current third parties that exist in the United States.
Political Year Core
Party Founded Beliefs
(Created)
Communist 1919 The federal government should control all production and supply of goods and
Party the workers should control their own lives and destinies.
Libertarian 1971 The only purpose of the federal government is to protect freedom; this party
Party believes in individual freedom.
Socialist 1901 People should own and control all businesses through democratically controlled
Party public agencies (these are agencies that are created based on the people's
choice/election) or other groups.
Political parties play a major role and make an important impact in American society. Political parties are
important to the democratic process because they allow individuals to communicate their beliefs to the
government. Because political parties are made up of large groups of people, it allows their group's voices and
shared ideas to be more easily heard by the government. Political parties also educate citizens about issues and
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acts as a guide during elections. Generally, people tend to vote for candidates from their own political party or
for issues that their political party supports.
Political parties also impact the government at the federal, state and local levels. Political parties act as
loose confederations (groups that come together for similar reasons/causes) at the state and local levels.
Because there are many more elected offices at the state and local levels, political parties tend to be more active
at these levels. Also, political parties raise and spend money in order to get candidates elected and they use
funds to help spread the message about their beliefs and ideas to the people. Candidates representing the major
political party that wins more seats in one house of the national or state legislature becomes the majority party
in that house of the legislature while the major party that wins fewer seats in one house of the national or state
legislature becomes the minority party in that house of the legislature. The majority party in a legislative house
enjoys more control over the lawmaking process compared with the minority party in that same legislative
house.
SS.7.C.2.9: Evaluate candidates for political office by analyzing their qualifications, experience, issue-based
platforms, debates, and political ads.
According to the U.S. Constitution, there are certain qualifications that individuals must possess in order
to run for federal political office. Examples of federal political offices are President, Vice President,
Congressman/woman, and Senator. The qualifications are unique to each office and are listed in the chart
below.
Federal Elected Office Description of Qualifications
President 1. At least 35 years old
Vice President (The qualifications to 2. Has lived in the U.S. for 14 years
be vice president are not included in 3. Is a natural born citizen (born on U.S. soil (law of soil) or to U.S.
the U.S. Constitution. However, the citizen parents (law of blood))
vice president becomes president if 4. May not serve for more than two 4-year terms total. If the vice
the president leaves office due to president becomes president due to the resignation, death or
resignation or death. This means that removal of the president, the vice president, upon becoming
the vice president must be qualified to president, may be president for no more than 10 years (the vice
be president in order to run for vice president completes the president's term and would have the
president). option of running for president during the next presidential election
cycle).
A member of the U.S. House of 1. 25 years old
Representatives (representative) 2. 7 years as a U.S. citizen
3. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives do not need to
live in the district that they represent although they must live in the
state in which the district that they represent is located.
4. No term limits; can serve for an unlimited amount of 2 year
terms
A member of the U.S. Senate 1. 30 years old
(senator) 2. 9 years as a U.S. citizen
3. Members of the U.S. Senate must live in the state that they
represent.
4. No term limits; can serve for an unlimited amount of 6 year
terms
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Each state has its own constitution that creates the state's plan for government. In the Florida
Constitution, the qualifications are listed that people must possess in order to run for state political offices.
Candidate qualifications for those running for city and county office are found in city and county charters
(charters serve as a constitution for a city or county). However, no person may hold elected office in Florida
unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a Florida resident, registered to vote and at least 18 years old. City and county
charters may include additional requirements. For example, cities and counties may require that candidates be
holder than 18 in order to hold public office in those cities and counties.
Examples of state and local political offices are governor, lieutenant governor, state representative, and
state senator. The qualifications are unique to each office and are listed in the chart below.
State Elected Office Description of Qualifications
Governor 1. U.S. citizen
2. At least 30 years old
3. Resident of the state for at least 5 years
4. May not serve more than two 4-year terms.
Lieutenant Governor 1. U.S. citizen
2. At least 30 years old
3. Resident of the state for at least 5 years
4. May not serve more than two 4-year terms. If the lieutenant
governor becomes governor due to the resignation, death or removal
of the governor, the lieutenant governor, upon becoming governor,
may be governor for no more than 10 years (the lieutenant governor
completes the governor's term and would have the option of running
for governor during the next gubernatorial election cycle).
A member of the Florida 1. U.S. citizen
House of 2. Lives in the district represented
Representatives (State 3. State resident for at least 2 years
Representative) 4. At least 21 years old
A member of the Florida 1. U.S. citizen
Senate (State Senator) 2. Lives in the district represented
3. State resident for at least 2 years
4. At least 21 years old
SS.7.C.2.9 Benchmark Clarification 3: Students will be able to analyze and/or evaluate the qualifications of
candidates for public office based on their experience, platforms, debates and political advertisements.
During an election, candidates who are running for public office will often create political advertisements
and commercials to appeal to voters. As a voter, it is important for people to consider several things when
determining who to vote for.
A voter may wish to consider a candidate's previous experiences. People who are elected to public office
may have served in some other elected or appointed position before, or have a background in a field that would
help them do their job. For example, many elected Congressmen/Congresswomen and Senators actively
participate in their communities, have been a lawyer or a judge, are college graduates, and may have served in
local government before running for state or federal office.
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