Party+Platforms

=__Party Platforms__= by Liam Nicoll and Matt Vallillo

What is a party platform? A **party platform** or platform is a list of the actions which either a political party, organization, or individual candidate supports in order to appeal to the general public in the hope that the general public will vote the political parties' candidates into political office. The platform also gives opinions on issues that might be put into law or that would otherwise affect **social policy**. A platform usually consists of socially and politically relevant issues that may be complicated or controversial today. These are known as the "planks" of the platform, referring to planks or boards on a stage, similar to one assembled for a public address, press announcement, or debate. Another term used to refer to a party platform is a manifesto. The origin of the term "platform" likely came from the early 1800s, where politicians would gather onto a small wooden stage (or platform), and give their views or opinions on issues of the time. Members of the political parties usually follow the **party line**. Members of a party conform and adhere to the party platform of the party that they are associated with. Whether it is through votes or through public addresses, politicians that conform are said to be "toeing the party line".

What is the importance of party platforms? Party platforms are crucial in the two party democratic system we have in America. The two parties must have a very clear and decisive stance on relevant issues. While a majority of people will not read through the full length party platforms that are released by each party, the general public knows the basic positions of major issues and controversies for each party. The way that the parties choose their stances is through organizations called **think tanks**. Most of the think tank groups (can be called policy institutions) are non-profit advocacy groups, while some countries like the U.S. offer tax exempt status for certain policy institutes. Some other think tanks can be funded by governments, private business, or other advocacy or interest groups.


 * __Party Platforms Today__ **

To be liberal is defined as being favorable towards progress or reform, a prime example of Liberal ideology is President Obama’s catch phrase “Change” in the 2008 election. The democratic party, America’s prime __#|Liberal party__, expresses these ideas in its platform. They are largely in support of social reforms especially abortion and gay marriage, as well as increased government range and spending of social programs like welfare. They also believe strongly that we should use __#|renewable energy__. Liberals have recently adopted the [|Universal Health Care] as one of the top things on their agenda. In the past four years President Obama has fought for the __#|affordable care__ act more than possibly all the other laws. On the basis of the Economy the Democrats believe that we should increase taxes on the rich, cut taxes on the poor and decrease involvement in military endeavors to cut spending. However, they usually support higher tax rates in general. On the topics of foreign policy the democratic platform advocates for diplomacy and evasion rather than conflict. Most of their agenda can be based on the basic principle that they favor a larger Federal Government, which is the biggest difference between them and the Republicans.

On the contrary the Republicans, who have a conservative platform, favor a smaller Federal Government and believe that power should rest with the states to make decisions. This is strongly reflected in their view of __#|Medical Care__ where they believe the States should be able to administer their own __#|health plans__ rather than giving that power to the Federal Government. They believe we should focus on tax cuts on most of the country especially for the rich and middle class as well as big business to increase spending and get rid of the National __#|debt__. They also believe in saving money as many places along the way, such as the cutting of [|Welfare], the lessening of [|Medicare] and [|Medicaid], the repealing of [|Obamacare], also known as the Affordable Care Act and of course the use of crude oil rather than __#|renewable energy__. They believe we should spend to maintain our status as the most powerful military in the world, and that it should not be cut in order to decrease the deficit. Their stance on foreign relations is to try not to get involved in conflict but that America should take every step necessary, preemptive or reactive, in order to preserve our country's safety.

__**Section Review**__
1. What is the biggest purpose of a Party Platform? 2. Who do Parties look onto most to help form their Platforms? 3. What is the biggest difference between the Democratic and Republican platforms? A. Their views on Foreign Policy B. Their View on the Size and Distribution of Federal powers. C. Their beliefs about socialized medical care 4. Do party platforms have an affect on everyday politics? Make your own opinion based off of the information above and the linked articles.

Party platform - list of the actions which a political party, individual candidate, or other organization supports to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said peoples' candidates voted into political office or the professed opinions proposed as part of laws or otherwise made into social policy.
 * __ Vocab __**

social policy - guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions to humans or otherwise affect human welfare

party line - an idiom used to describe a certain political parties' agenda and the members' willingness to conform and follow the agenda of the party.

think tank - performs research and advocacy of issues concerning politics, military, technology, and culture. __ **Related Links** __ http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_22198742 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/04/us/politics/20120904-DNC-platform.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/us/politics/republican-platform-takes-turn-to-right.html?_r=0 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lampo/party-platforms-do-matter_b_1862060.html http://www.examiner.com/article/what-do-political-party-platforms-really-mean

**__Works Cited__**
http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/2012/11/06/the-10-biggest-differences-between-republicans-and-democrats/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_platform http://www.crf-usa.org/election-central/political-parties-platforms.html