Political Climate

POLITICAL CLIMATE DESCRIBES the current environment and past history of a political situation, such as an election. Knowledge about the political climate allows a better understanding of campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior. The political climate incorporates the past issues or debates relevant to the current political scene. It can play an important role in influencing voter opinion because it incorporates the existing relevant issues and how they are evolving within society, which politicians may base their policy decisions on, as was the case in the 2006 elections. Also, political climates always change with time. Therefore, past issues are liable [Page 509]to come back, or issues may be settled and never return, but many times new issues are found.

One example of an evolving issue for the 2008 election is global warming. Because many Americans believe global warming will be a major factor in their choice for president in 2008, presidential candidates are making campaign promises regarding the topic. This is in sharp contrast to past elections in which global warming was of low priority compared to issues such as Social Security or terrorism. The political climate of global warming has become an increasingly important issue and this shift in focus to global warming shows how political climates are always changing.

Political climates play an important role in elections because they determine how voters feel. Although the entry into the 21st century has seen more money pour into campaigns than ever before, there is a belief that the increased spending was not the only reason that the 2006 elections that resulted in a power shift. It is possible that the political climate was of great influence in the government's switch between parties in power in Congress. The history of the issue is that there was decreasing support of the current Republican government and so the setting called for a change. Many voted for Democrats to prove their dissatisfaction with the conservative government. Thus, the political climate during the 2006 elections caused a switch in party power with the Democratic Party taking control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Reading the political climate allows a candidate to understand the historical and current territory of his or her potential constituency or potential office. Understanding of the environment takes into account the constituent members' party affiliation, stance on issues, and feelings toward the current officeholder. In understanding the political climate of a situation, candidates are able to better collaborate with their potential constituents and work to form policy that benefits all stakeholders.