Political Platform

A political party's platform is a:

• Stage to stand on when giving a speech

• Statement of the party's principles and plan of actions

• Slogan or motto, such as "I LIKE IKE"

• Sign with a picture of the political party's mascot like the donkey

A group of people organized to help bring about similar ideas for government is called a

• platform

• principle

• political party

• company party

A third party does all of the following EXCEPT:

• Introduce new ideas

• Win most of the elections

• Revolve around, or result from, the efforts of a well-known political personality

• Work to have government address certain issues

Dad doesn't belong to either one of the two major political parties. Instead, he joined a smaller group that is challenging them. Mom liked a different group, so she joined it. Now each of my parents belongs to a different _____.

• Harper Park PTA

• Historical society

• Congressional committee

• Third political party

“Red states” tend to be more…

• Conservative

• Liberal

• Moderate

The headline above illustrates how political parties

• Raise money for candidates

• Make public policy

• Monitor the actions of officeholders (act as watchdogs)

• Recruit and nominate candidates

The major role of a political party is to

• Nominate candidates and conduct campaigns

• Monitor elections to make sure they are held honestly

• Select the president and vice president

• Make sure that only party members vote

Dad is on the right of the political spectrum. He is against abrupt changes, and he has traditional views. He also wants as little government involvement and spending as possible. This makes him a/an

• conservative Republican

• candidate

• liberal Democrat

• entrepreneur

I asked Dad how I could tell the ideological differences between the two major political parties. He told me the important differences can be found in the

• ages of the candidates

• reasons for the donkey and elephant mascots

• platforms and campaigns

• amount of money each party spends

one of the two main political parties in the US; traditionally supports lower taxes and smaller government, supported by wealthy people and businesses

• Republicans

• Whigs

• Democrats

• Federalists