Guided Reading Activity Answer Key - SOCIAL SCIENCES

Guided Reading Activity Answer Key

Political Parties

Lesson 2 Party Ideology and Identification

Review Questions

I. Political Ideology A. The ideology generally connected with the Democratic Party is liberal. Liberals tend to believe that the proper role of government is to actively promote health, education, and justice, and they are usually willing to curtail economic freedom to increase equality. B. The ideology generally connected with the Republican Party is conservative. Conservatives tend to believe that the role of government should be limited and that citizens can better solve their problems without government intervention.

II. Party Platforms A. Both parties believe America should have a mixed capitalist economy, support the Constitution and Bill of Rights, believe in the value of private property, and emphasize individual achievement. B. The Republican Party supports the right of the individual as opposed to a "large, intrusive government," and opposes too much governmental intervention and regulation in the economy, social services, and the environment. C. The Democratic Party believes that the government should generally take a bigger role in providing social services and security to Americans. They encourage a variety of government regulations to protect consumers and the environment.

III. Party Identification A. Party identification is a state of mind--how much or how little a voter identifies with a political party--while voting is a behavior. B. Republicans tend to be white, male, educated and religious, from the South and mountain West, and rural and suburban areas. C. Democrats tend to be women, minorities, and younger people from the Northeast and urban areas.

IV. Political Party Polarization A. The statement that the political parties have become more ideologically homogenous means that members of either party tend to agree with one another in the party and have fewer issues on which they will compromise with the other party. B. Polarization means that each party is more entrenched in its own ideological viewpoint and less likely to nominate moderate or centrist candidates. Party primaries become more divisive as they become hotly contested by people within the same party. As each party becomes more extreme and less moderate, compromise between the two parties becomes more difficult and gridlock becomes common.

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Guided Reading Activity Answer Key cont.

Political Parties

Summary and Reflection The political ideologies of the two parties have become increasingly opposite, with the Democratic Party being more ideologically liberal and the Republican Party more ideologically conservative. This is reflected in the party platforms, which tend to have opposite views of the role government should play in the economy, society, and the environment. The demography of the two parties has become more opposite, with Republicans tending to be white, male, educated, and religious, and Democrats tending to be women, minorities, and young. Republicans tend to be from the South and mountain West and rural and suburban areas, while Democrats tend to be from the Northeast and urban areas. As the ideologies have become more polarized, the parties themselves have become more ideologically homogenous, leading to less compromise and more gridlock.

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