Left or Right?

Caterpillar: “And what are you?”

Alice: “ I…I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.”

Lewis Caroll

Alice In Wonderland

• Political Party: The people that join a political party share a set of common ideas about the organization of government.

• A group that seeks to gain power in a political organization and/or government.

BIG IDEAS

•Republicans: LIMITED CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, less welfare, and tough, interventionist foreign policy.

BIG IDEAS

•Democrats: MORE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, more social programs and more focus on internal affairs.

Democrats and Republicans

A SLIDING SCALE

DEMOCRATS-----------MODERATE----------REPUBLICANS

WHAT IS THE ISSUE(S) THAT WILL MAKE YOU DECIDE?

Tolerance vs. morality- Is tolerance of other lifestyles

more important than a moral code of conduct in

our society?

The government should do more to protect morality in society.REPUBLICAN

It is the government’s responsibility to protect tolerance. DEMOCRAT

Individual security vs. a gun free society – Is a country

without guns more important to you than a

secure home?

The Founding Fathers assured me the right to protect my home in the second amendment.

REPUBLICAN

Laws need to be created that limit people’s ability to own a gun. DEMOCRAT

Prison vs. capital punishment – Do you favor

imprisonment for life over capital punishment?

Capital Punishment is a final solution that does not allow for rehabilitation.

DEMOCRAT

Capital Punishment is a deterrent to future murders and takes convicted felons out of society for good.

REPUBLICAN

Socialism vs. capitalism – Do you favor a society with a

big social safety net over a society where people get to

keep more of what they make for themselves?

The government should do more to help the needy, even if it means going into deeper debt.DEMOCRAT

The government cannot help the needy anymore, it can’t afford to do so.REPUBLICAN

Poor people have it easy because they can get government benefits without having to do anything in return.

REPUBLICAN

Poor people struggle because government benefits do not go far enough to help them lead successful lives.

DEMOCRAT

Do you think the government should regulate business or should it be left to

regulate itself?

Government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest.

Government regulation of business usually does more harm than good.

Too much power is concentrated in the hands of a few large companies and the government has responsibility to regulate business.DEMOCRAT

The largest companies do NOT have to much power and the government should not regulate business.REPUBLICAN

Statesmanship vs. Unilateralism – Do you believe the U.S. should

always work in concert with other countries instead of “ going it alone” if it needs

to?

The best way to ensure peace is through military strengthREPUBLICAN

The best way to ensure peace is through good diplomacy.DEMOCRAT

It is best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs and spend money to act as the world police.REPUBLICAN

We should pay less attention to problems overseas on concentrate on problems here at home and spend money on our own social policies. DEMOCRAT

Public vs. private education – Do you think the federal government should only

fund public schools?

Vouchers create competition andmake our schoolsbetter.REPUBLICAN

Vouchers take money away from our school that we need to make our schools better.DEMOCRAT

Science advances – Do you think science should be

allowed to advance unchecked by our moral

code?

Science should be regulated so that it does not overstep the bounds of our moral code of conduct.REPUBLICAN

Science should be allowed to move forward for the common good.DEMOCRAT

Environment vs. Business – Do you think the

environment should be protected even if its harmful to business?

Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost to many jobs and hurt the economy.REPUBLICAN

Stricter environmental laws are worth the cost to save our planet.DEMOCRAT

Immigration

The growing newcomers from other countries threatens American Society and injures our economy

The growing number of newcomers strengthens American society and is needed to maintain our economy

It is best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs and spend money to act as the world police.

We should pay less attention to problems overseas on concentrate on problems here at home and spend money on our own social policies.

The best way to ensure peace is through military strengthREPUBLICAN

The best way to ensure peace is through good diplomacy.DEMOCRAT

The growing newcomers from other countries injures our economyREPUBLICAN

The growing number of newcomers strengthens and/or maintains our economyDEMOCRAT

Using overwhelming military force is the best way to defeat terrorism around the world.REPUBLICAN

Relying to much on military force to defeat terrorism creates hatred that leads to more terrorism.DEMOCRAT

The government should do more to protect morality in society.REPUBLICAN

It is not the government’s responsibility to protect morality in society.DEMOCRAT

Poor people have it easy because they can get government benefits without having to do anything in return.REPUBLICAN

Poor people struggle because government benefits do not go far enough to help them lead successful lives.DEMOCRAT

We should all be willing to fight for our country, whether it is right or wrong.REPUBLICAN

It is acceptable to refuse to fight in a war that you believe is morally wrong.DEMOCRAT

Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost to many jobs and hurt the economy.REPUBLICAN

Stricter environmental laws are worth the cost to save our planet.DEMOCRAT

Too much power is concentrated in the hands of a few large companies.DEMOCRAT

The largest companies do NOT have to much power.REPUBLICAN

Government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest. DEMOCRAT

Government regulation of business usually does more harm than good.REPUBLICAN

• Immigration

It is best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs and spend money to act as the world police.REPUBLICAN

We should pay less attention to problems overseas on concentrate on problems here at home and spend money on our own social policies. DEMOCRAT