I'm 14 years old and I want to find out if I should be a Republican or Democrat.?

Question

What are the defining characteristics of the two parties? Thanks!

Answer 1

You shouldn't vote on a party ticket, you should think about each thing you vote for and make your decisions on that.

Answer 2

Democrats - Support "the little man". Example: want to keep the Mom and Pop Hardware store on the corner that employs 6 people who receive minimum wage and no ins. or other benefits.
Republican - Support the big business approach. Example: want to bring the bigger chain store to town (Ace, Wal-Mart, etc.) that will bring more jobs and benefits to the employees. People pay taxes on the merchandise, and since there is more to buy, there are more taxes. This goes to the city and county - for things like schools, police, fire, and ambulance. These are necessary items, and sales taxes will be paid somewhere.
Democrats - Support abortion, gay marriage, and are anti-war, but very pro-capital punishment.
Republicans - Anti-abortion unless the mother's life is in danger, or there is extenuating circumstances (like a 12 yr old girl is raped, for example). Feel marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman only. Feel war serves a purpose sometimes. Feel capital punishment is something that should be left up to the state courts to decide.
Hope this helps clarify things for you.

Answer 3

If you are rich, selfish, and greedy, and think that we as a country have no obligation to help those who are poor and struggling, and instead we should be doing everything we can to help the rich and big business make more money, become a Republican. If you think that you should make everyone follow the moral values that you and your parents have, rather than letting individual people decide for themselves how to live their lives, you should be a Republican.

If you have compassion for those who are not doing as well as you, and want a society where we spend a little bit of money to help drug addicts get off drugs instead of spending a fortune to throw them all in jail, become a Democrat. (I'm not saying that people who steal, kill, or hurt people shouldn't be punished, but non-violent drug addicts do not belong in jail.)

If you want the government to spend more money on improving our schools and healthcare, instead of wasting it on endless wars based on lies, become a Democrat.

If you think that people should be able to live whatever lifestyle they choose, provided they aren't harming anyone else, become a Democrat (you don't have to like their lifestyle to believe that they have a right to practice it).

If you want to have national health insurance, where you won't have to worry about paying for your medical care or prescription drugs if you or your parents get sick or lose their job, become a Democrat.

If you want to see something done about good jobs going overseas (which mean lower wages here), don't become a Republican. I'm not sure how much the Democrats can do to stop this, but they will try more than the Republicans.

If you care about our national security and want our tax money to actually be spent on preventing terrorism instead of phony wars to benefit large corporations, become a Democrat.

If you believe that we should be a civilized country and not torture and murder our prisoners, and not throw people in jail indefinitely without even letting them speak to a lawyer - if you believe that our Constitution is our law and it needs to be fully upheld - you should be a Democrat.

If you want your country run by decent human beings who may not be perfect, you should be a Democrat. If you want your country run by a psychopathic mass murderer who gets excited and happy whenever he talks about killing and destruction, you should be a Republican.

If you want to find out what is really going on in this country, listen to Air America Radio. If it isn't on the radio where you live, you can get it online at www.airamericaradio.com. My favorite is The Randi Rhodes Show, weekdays from 3-6 PM (at least in NY and online, in other areas her show may be tape delayed).

I'm not trying to say that all Republicans are evil, just most of the politicians. A lot of Democrats aren't so great either, but in general they are much better. I have a lot of Republican friends who are wonderful people, they are just wrong in their politics and don't understand how evil George W. Bush is. Good luck with whatever decision you make, and you can always change your mind. You still have 4 years until you can vote.

Answer 4

Ultimately, Republicans believe in personal responsibility. They believe the way to help people is to provide opportunities for them to better their situation. They think the government should stay out of people's lives for the most part, offering essential services and keeping taxes as low as possible. They are usually considered pro-business, because of the low taxes and their belief that the way to make an economy better is to support businesses, since businesses provide jobs, etc., etc.

Democrats, for the most part, believe that often people cannot help being where they are in life, and that the government has the responsibility to do whatever they can to help these people. This includes taxing those who can afford these taxes, from the very rich to those who are well-off, and providing social programs and such. They also believe the government has a responsibility to those who are disadvantaged, not only financially, but also socially, which includes minorities.

Also, there are other things you might want to think about when choosing your party. For one thing, there is a question of whether you're a conservative or a liberal (or a libertarian, etc.). It is not necessary for a conservative to be a Republican or a liberal to be a Democrat, but that is usually the case.

The academic definition of a conservative is someone who wants government to stay out of financial issues (e.g. keep taxes low), but wants government to try to protect moral issues (such as enforcing restrictions on what can be said on t.v., etc.).

Liberals want government to take action when it comes to financial issues (such as providing for the poor through social programs), but to stay out of personal, moral issues.

Libertarians want government to stay out of financial and personal issues. They just want less government overall.

And there's one other type, I forget what it's called, but they want more government in both financial and moral issues.

I hope this is helpful. You should also do some other research. Go to the party websites and read their platforms, which explain the basic goals of the parties (they are heavy reads, though). Look around the websites, and decide for yourself which you agree with more (also look at what they say about each other). You still have a while to decide.

Here are the links to the websites:

Democrats - http://www.democrats.org/
(find platform by going to "Our Party," and "What we
stand for", and scroll down to "Party Platform")

Republicans - http://www.gop.com/
(platform is under "About the GOP")

Answer 5

You should vote based on the party but rather find a candidate who supports your views and will do what you want. Over a period of years you might find a trend and will be able to call yourself a Republican or Democrat based on your previous voting habits.

Answer 6

First, no one, not your parents, or anyone on here can decide this for you. It's very important you don't let anyone influence you one way or the other. So, secondly you will have to take the time to study the truth, not what you read in the papers and hear on the news to see which you feel is right and weight them out. Third, don't get tied into one party or the other, but for what each stands for in the following years of elections you will be a part of. Research, research, research. See both sides. Good luck!

Answer 7

Don't believe the hype.
Probably neither.
The info on the parties can be found on their websites.
First I would recommend the political quiz.
Which there is a link to on my site: http://www.t3technet.com
Just look to the right sidebar, the graphic that says where do you fit? Directly below it is a text link for a more comprehensive quiz.
This should help you.

Answer 8

Don't want to think for yourself, don't want to care for yourself, don't want to take care of your own Children (later in your life, much later), Want high taxes, and are a cowardly surrender monkey, then don't become a Republican be a Defeatacrat/Demoncrap
Vote the person not the Party

Answer 9

Watch FOXNEWS instead of Jon Stewart and David Letterman.

On FOXNEWS, you will see each issue debated by a democrat and a republican. Think about it, then vote for what you believe is right.

Answer 10

There's a saying that goes like this... "If you're young and you're not a Democrat, then you have no heart. If you're older and you're not a Republican, then you have no brain."