Interest groups: An organized group of people who try to influence public policy

Independent: A person who does not identify with any political party

Coalition: A temporary alliance between groups with differing interests

Status Quo: The existing state of affairs

Ideology: A set of ideals

Mandate: The wishes of the people as expressed with their vote

Platform: A statement of a political party's beliefs and goals

Consensus: A general agreement

Centrist: A person in the middle of the political ideological spectrum

Political Party: A group of citizens with similar goals who organize to win elections

 

Be able to define what a political ideology is and what the three major political ideologies in the U.S. are

 

..... believe the government should be active in the day to day life of

      its citizens and promote social reform through health, education,

      justice and equal opportunity

..... Democrats usually consider themselves to be liberal

..... About 25% of the population considers themselves to be liberal

 

..... believe that government should be limited, except when supporting

      traditional values

..... favor the status quo

..... Republicans usually consider themselves to be conservative

..... About 29% of the population is conservative

 

..... beliefs falls somewhere in the middle, between liberal and

      conservative

..... may belong to either political party

..... About 40% of the population consider themselves to be

      moderate