Democrats and Republicans?

Question

What are the main issues that separate
Democrats and Republicans?

Answer 1

Republicans have more of a strict father philosophy of governing. They believe in spare the rod and spoil the child type of stuff. If people are rich that means they did good and should be rewarded. If people are poor then they are lazy and don't deserve special favors. They believe in force. They don't compromise. They feel they are the father and they know best and they are right no matter what. They believe children are born bad and must be made good.
Democrats have more of a nurturing parent philosophy of government. One that involves equal input of both parents. They believe children are born good and can be made better. Be responsive and show empathy. They believe both parents should share the responsibility and set a good example. Cooperationg rather than competition.

Something like that.

Answer 2

Well ... Generally Democrats are liberals and Republicans are
Conservatives. That didn't used to be true so much, but it seems
to be now.

If you buy that, then the next step becomes the standard
dispute between Liberals and Conservatives - the size of the
government. However, due to the so call "moral majority" of
the 60s and 70s, part of which created the "New conservatives"
of the 80s through today, moral conservatism has become
a huge part of the conservative shift.

Consequently, the Republican party has a huge moral
conservative piece and much of the Democrat party
is based on trying to hold onto personal freedoms as
a response to that.

So ...

Republicans: Reduce taxes (reduce government),
Morally conservative
Democrats: Solve problems with government (perhaps
increasing the size of it), morally liberal.

However, if you want to get *REALLY* cynical (and hell,
why not, we're all friends, right?), "Morally Conservative"
now means "Christian Conservative". That is, the morality
that the newcons are touting is Christianity.

All of the above is VAST oversimplifications, but it tends
to be where things fall.

The trouble is, even knowing that, you begin to realize that
party-line votes tend to be less about the issue they are
voting on and more about sticking to the party.

Answer 3

The terms "Left and Right," come from the British House of Commons, where the Popular(Liberal) parties have traditionally sat to the left of the speaker and the Royalist\Aristocratic Parties(Conservative) to the Right.

In the 20th century US, Democrats were considered the Liberal party, with an agenda of individual liberty, Civil Rights and economic policies based on promoting general prosperity.

Republicans favored an authoritarian social agenda, and based their economic strategies on the promotion of Big Business interests.

In the 1960's, those labels started breaking down, with socially and economically Liberal Lyndon Johnson committing the US to the Vietnam War. By the end of the Reagan-Bush Era those distinctions were pretty much gone.

Racial and class politics have become more of a factor and "pure" Liberals or Conservatives are difficult to find. Blacks and Hispanics can often be found in the ranks of social conservatives when their own groups are not involved. Many economic Conservatives are socially Liberal these days, and recently Arch social Conservatives are pushing some very Liberal Economic policies.

The days of easy labeling are gone. You have to look at each representative individually, and then on an issue by issue basis. The old adage of, "Never write anyone off," is more true than ever. Single issue coalitions have formed around leaders who would never have been seen sharing the same platform 20 years ago--and it's going to get more confusing, not less. The most significant difference between the two is that the Democratic Party favors a greater role in society for government than does the Republican Party, and the Republican Party is more given to authoritarian governmental measures than is the Democratic Party. But this is not a hard and fast rule, and both parties have members who support some of the positions of the other party.
Democratic voters are predominately lower class to middle class, young, liberal, minorities (about 90% of Blacks vote Democrat), urban immigrant, women (about 60% of women vote Democrat), support choice issues on abortion, agree with government spending programs and don't mind paying higher taxes if the burden is borne primarily by the better off.

Republican voters are predominately middle class to upper class, older, conservative, suburban or rural, religious, white, men (about 55% of men vote Republican), are pro-life on abortion issues, disagree with government spending and are in favour of flat or regressive (i.e. independent of a person's ability to pay) taxes.

So why do Democrat candidates even try to woo Republican voters? On a national level, although Democrats have the majority of voters, many more Democrats don't vote, and too many states have small Republican majorities and large Democratic majorities. Thus many Democratic votes are wasted in states they often win easily.

But the main problem is money. All candidates tend to be well off, and most seem Republican just to start off. Moreover, many Democratic candidates come from backgrounds where they hold a lot of Republican ideals (free market, laissez faire government). As such, most candidates hold more moderate views than many members of their party.

None of this is cut and dried -

In the deep south, Democrats tended to be anti-racial equality and most Republicans were pro-racial equality. This is over for the most part which is why Blacks overwhelming supported Republicans after the U.S. Civil War, but overwhelmingly support Democrats now.

In the U.S. "Range Wars", ranchers tended to be Republicans while farmers tended to be Democrats. This tendency holds today among rural voters in the west with small family farms supporting the Democrats and large ranch owners supporting the Republicans.

Answer 4

Democrats want to force you to give money to the poor, so they won't have to find jobs and will continue to vote for the democrats. Republicans don't do this, and are less "let's all be friends" when it comes to problems with other nations/groups. Republicans are more likely to support waste of time bills like the gay marriage ban and such than democrats, though. The whole republicans only care about the rich/democrats care about everybody thing is a load of **** (see 1st 2 sentences)

Answer 5

The main issue depends on who the special interest and lobby money is coming from.

Since most Americans don't vote, why should they care about "issues", the Dems and the Republicans only care about the issue of money. The Republicans hide behind the guise of being "Americans", but turn around and deny equal rights to most Americans. The Democrats want to be the working man's party, but won't defend a living wage or a mercenary war.

The issue is why most Americana's don't demand real answers to real issues.

Answer 6

Ideally, Republicans are conservatives that want less government interference in daily life, a free market with little to no government regulation and lower government expenditures. Democrats are supposed to be liberals that want most government funds to be allocated back to the middle and lower class while there will be enough government regulation of the market to prevent monopolies and corruption. Of course, this is far from reality. Practically speaking, there is not much difference between today's Republicans and Democrats other than the platitudes that they spout. The bureaucratic inefficiency of today's government and the political maneuvering required to gain any influence within the parties makes it near impossible to retain any individual political integrity.

Answer 7

The main difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Republicans think that poor people have too much money and rich people do not have enough money. Democrats think the opposite.

Republicans claim they are for smaller government, but in fact they believe in big government just as much as Democrats. They just have different spending priorities. The Republicans will spend more on the military. The Democrats will spend more on social programs.

Republicans also claim they are for personal freedom, but again, they just have different priorities. They are eager to infringe on your personal freedom if it involves issues they disapprove of (abortion, obscenity, etc.)

Republicans used to stand for fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets. Since Reagan, they believe in huge budget deficits. If Democrats can be called tax and spend, then Republicans are borrow and spend. But these days Democrats tend to be more fiscally conservative than Republicans.

Republicans also used to stand for an isolationist foreign policy. Since Vietnam, however, Democrats have tended to be more isolationist, and Republicans more adventurist.

Answer 8

The Leftist faction (Socialist, even Marxist) within the Democratic Party and the Right-Wing Fundamentalists, or Pauline Christians (those who follow the tenets of Paul of Tarsus, the man who took love and kindness out of Christianity and replaced it with self-deprecating judgment, condemnation and intolerance), within the Republican Party. The majority of people in both parties are more moderate in their personal viewpoints, but its the extreme left wing and the extreme right wing that causes the most friction in the political arena.

Answer 9

Economically:
Republicans like to get it now and pay later;
Democrats like to pay now and get it later.

Foreign policy:
Republicans are too paranoid;
Democrats are too naive

Domestic issues:
Republicans are more concerned with their own family problems than with everyone else's family problems;
Democrats are more concerned with everyone else's family problems than with their own family problems.

Does that about sum it up?

Answer 10

Seems that they have merged and become one; Just the names are different. I used to think that the Democrats were liberal (as in humanitarians and open meaning to the Constitution) and the Republicans conservative (fiscally and reads the Constitution verbatim). seems though that the lines have blurred.

I do like that Chilean president...