The Last Word: No homework

FrontPage: Have your RQs on your desk.

Hitachi has announced a new way of locking up ones and zeros in quartz glass for hundreds of millions of years. The data can be etched with a laser in three layers on the crystals at a density slightly higher than a CD, then read out with an optical microscope. The technology could come to market in three years, according to the research . Hitachi said the media withstood two hours of 3500 degree Fahrenheit temperatures in testing without data loss.

Political Parties

The only “party” you need to be concerned

about right now…

Political Parties

What definitions could you find?– “Election-oriented”– definition that describes American

parties• A group that seeks to control government through the winning

of elections and the holding of public office

– Principle-oriented” - Global or universal definition • A group joined by common principles that seek to control

government in order to determine and affect its policies

Party Systems

– Are there legitimate opposition parties to the one in power? How many?

– Are there elections?– Which nations use this type of system?– What are the pros and cons of each?

To determine the similarities and differences between the various types of party systems used in each nation of the world, we can look at each country and ask/answer a few questions:

Example of Multiparty System:

Name of Party Hadash KadimaLabor LikudMeretz

Yisrael BeitenuNational Union

Shas Torah and Shabbat Judaism

United Arab List

Israel - Knesset Results: 2009

# of Seats (120)4

2813273

154

1154

FrontPage: What attributes might we associate with these animals?

The Last Word: Political ID WebQuest due Monday

Interest Group RQs due Tuesday

The United States: A Two party system

• Next, we’ll take a closer look at the two party system in the US…

Why the US has a two-party system• The Constitution makes no mention of parties…so its not a rule.• History:

– Originally, 2 parties developed around the Federalist/Anti-Federalist ideas• Election laws:

– States created election laws, including winner-take-all (SMPD) elections rather than proportional representation, that discouraged the development of minor parties

– Restrictive ballot laws that make it far more difficult for a non-major party candidate to get on the ballot

– Only two major parties are eligible for matching funds from the gov.• Stability of two

– Third party always simply “stole” votes from one party or the other; never really established itself as a viable option (Republicans were the exception; replaced Whig party)

• Informal support– Media, voter loyalty, ability to raise money, public perception

What Parties Do in the US

• Recruit candidates – the primary function; – The goal of parties is to run candidates and control

government by winning elections• Operate the Government – When winning the White House, or Congress, they

then must “govern” by passing laws and carrying them out

• Loyal Opposition– Question party in power, present alternative ideas– In between “Iraq and a hard place” - - why?

The History of the Democratic DonkeyThe person credited with popularizing these two animals as political symbols

is the German-born political cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose drawings also helped create modern images of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus. Nast joined the staff of Harper's Weekly in 1862 and by the time he left in

1886, he had indelibly stamped the elephant and donkey as political party symbols in the minds of Americans everywhere.

Nast was not the first to tie the Dems to this particular beast of burden. Previously, in 1828 when Jackson ran for president, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people

rule." Jackson turned it to his advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. Interestingly, the first use of a donkey in a political cartoon came in 1837, three years before Nast was born. The cartoon

showed former President Andrew Jackson stubbornly attempting to direct the Democratic Party even after leaving office.

from the San Francisco Chronicle – www.sfgate.com

Nast Cartoon w/Dem Donkey

The History of the Republican Elephant

Although the elephant had already been connected with the Republican party as early as 1864 (in a piece of Lincoln campaign

literature), it was Nast's cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly a decade later titled "The Third Term Panic" that made the animal stick as the Republican's symbol. It showed a donkey disguised in a lion's skin chasing away frightened animals. An elephant bearing the title

of "Republican Vote" bounded clumsily towards a tar pit of "Inflation" and "Chaos." The elephant represented the confused

behemoth that Nast felt many Republican voters and publications had become.

from the San Francisco Chronicle – www.sfgate.com

Homework: Interest Groups research questions due tomorrow

FrontPage: Turn in ID WebQuest. Place your initials where you ended up on the Political Compass test. Do third parties have an impact on

American elections? Explain.

Third Parties

The Impact of Third Parties on Elections