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Segment 3
Reading Comprehension
Read the article "'Moral Values' Myth" by Charles Krauthammer.
Answer the following questions:
- Which group does Charles Krauthammer say the democrats blamed for their defeat in 1994? 2004?
1994: angry white men, 2004: bigoted Christian rednecks
- What evidence does Krauthammer use to support his argument that more than the Christian Right elected President Bush?
President Bush gained support among Hispanics, Jews, women, Catholics, and African Americans
- What evidence does Krauthammer say the media used to support their claims that religion and morality determined people's votes in the last election?
Exit polls; questions like "What ONE issue matters most in deciding how you voted for president?" Answers, typically identified moral values higher than other responses.
- How does Krauthammer counter this evidence?
Moral Values encompasses a number of issues, and was being pitted against single-issue responses. When issues are lumped together, moral values comes into last behind foreign policy issues and economic issues.
- According to Krauthammer, what is the link between President Bush's victory and the gay marriage referendums in 11 states?
None. President Bush's percentage of the vote went up less in those 11 states, than in the country overall.
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Critical Thinking
Answer the following questions:
- Why do political parties tend to lump all their opponents together in terms of interests and issues?
Possible answers include
- • Political parties need to identify their competitor's strengths and weaknesses quickly. Although it leads to underestimating their opponents, it is a simple way to identify and target differences.
- • Often it's just a way of trying to cut down your opponent by describing them in simple terms. It's like being a bad sport.
- Do you think exit polls in particular and polls in general affect how people think about issues or are they only a reflection of public opinion?
Affect: People might question whom they were going to vote for if polls show that person is losing. It's like jumping off a sinking ship.
Reflect: Polls are designed to see what people are thinking. Few people would actually change their mind just because of a poll.
- Mark Twain once said, "There are three types of lies-lies, damn lies, and statistics". Based on his dissection of the 2004 election exit polls, Krauthammer might agree. What makes a poll reliable? Are there results always subject to interpretation? Why or why not?
Answers will vary. Important components of polls include: the wording of questions, the number of people you ask (can you reliably say what people think if you only ask 500 people?), who is asked (men, women, homeowners, people with phones?), what order the questions are asked in, and when people are asked (for example, calling people in the middle of the day will get different results than in the evening). All these variables make polls subject to interpretation. The more people polled, the more reliable the results.
- After reading both articles, "Decoding 'Moral Values'" and "'Moral Values' Myth," how do you imagine Charles Krauthammer and Aly Colón might agree or disagree on the following question: In what ways do people's moral convictions drive their votes?
Krauthammer might say people's moral values are just one of things that affects their political views and not necessarily the strongest one. Colón might say that moral values have a strong influence on people's political beliefs, but it does not always influence them in stereotypical ways.
- If you were hired as a consultant to the Republican Party, what advice would you give them for appealing to devoutly religious voters while maintaining their own identity as a party? How about if you were hired by the Democrats?
For Republicans: conservative social issues like abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research.
For Democrats: social issues around poverty and justice and environmental issues.
Answer key
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Research Challenges
- Learn about the Gingrich Revolution in 1994. What were the main goals of this movement? Have they been met? Compare the current goals of the Republican Party to those in 1994.
Related links:
Republican National Committee
- Investigate how polls are created. What are some of the variables the creators must consider as they design a poll? What are some of the factors that determine their margin for error?
- Select a religiously divisive issue. See how the two major parties address the issue.
Related links:
Republican National Committee
Democratic National Committee
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Key Terms and Topics
Terms
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The following words can be found in the article. Please define them.
- Gingrich - U. S. Representative from Georgia and speaker of the House from 1995 - 1999
- Hegemony - influence or authority over others
- Inversion - a reversal of position, order, form, or relationship
- Conventional wisdom - the prevailing attitudes that inform our concepts of society, politics, and technology
- Scintilla - trace, a minute amount
- Delegitimize - To revoke the legal or legitimate status of
- Sclerotic - grown rigid or unresponsive especially with age
- Retrograde - reverting to an earlier, inferior position
- Bigoted - intolerantly devoted to one's opinions
- Baser - the lowest or bottom part
- Medieval primitivism - old fashioned, out-of-date way of thinking
- Pandering - to cater to the lower tastes and desires of others
- Isolationism - abstaining from political and economic relations with other countries
- Nativism - a policy favoring the interests of native born citizens over immigrants
- Chauvinism - Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind
- Puritanism - Intensely moralistic, especially hostile to social pleasures and indulgences
- Homophobic - fear or contempt for homosexuals
- Evangelical - those Protestant churches that emphasize personal salvation often characterized by a crusading enthusiasm
- Plurality - an amount or group (as of votes) that is greater than any other amount or group within a total but that is not more than half
- Preemptive - meant to prevent an anticipated situation
- Referendum - a proposed law that is brought directly to the people for a popular vote
- Blue-state - name given by the media for states that vote predominantly Democratic (Red-states vote predominantly Republican)
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