Crime And Capital Punishment
Republicans generally believe in harsher penalties when someone has committed a crime, including for selling illegal drugs. They also generally favor capital punishment and back a system with many layers to ensure the proper punishment has been meted out. Democrats are more progressive in their views, believing that crimes do not involve violence, such as selling drugs, should have lighter penalties and rehabilitation. They are also against capital punishment in any form.
How Did This Switch Happen
Eric Rauchway , professor of American history at the University of California , Davis, pins the transition to the turn of the 20th century, when a highly influential Democrat named William Jennings Bryan blurred party lines by emphasizing the government’s role in ensuring social justice through expansions of federal power traditionally, a Republican stance.
But Republicans didn’t immediately adopt the opposite position of favoring limited government.
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“Instead, for a couple of decades, both parties are promising an augmented federal government devoted in various ways to the cause of social justice,” Rauchway wrote in an archived 2010 blog post for the Chronicles of Higher Education . Only gradually did Republican rhetoric drift toward the counterarguments. The party’s small-government platform cemented in the 1930s with its heated opposition to Roosevelts New Deal.
But why did Bryan and other turn-of-the-century Democrats start advocating for big government?
The Parties Change Course
After the war, the Republican Party became more and more oriented towards economic growth, industry, and big business in Northern states, and in the beginning of the 20th century it had reached a general status as a party for the more wealthy classes in society. Many Republicans therefore gained financial success in the prosperous 1920s until the stock market crashed in 1929 initiating the era of the Great Depression.
Now, many Americans blamed Republican President Herbert Hoover for the financial damages brought by the crisis. In 1932 the country therefore instead elected Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt to be president.
The Democratic Party largely stayed in power until 1980, when Republican Ronald Reagan was elected as president. Reagans social conservative politics and emphasis on cutting taxes, preserving family values, and increasing military funding were important steps in defining the modern Republican Party platform.
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Energy Issues And The Environment
There have always been clashes between the parties on the issues of energy and the environment. Democrats believe in restricting drilling for oil or other avenues of fossil fuels to protect the environment while Republicans favor expanded drilling to produce more energy at a lower cost to consumers. Democrats will push and support with tax dollars alternative energy solutions while the Republicans favor allowing the market to decide which forms of energy are practical.
Democratic Party And The Republican Party Platforms Address Affordable Housing
The recently adopted Democratic Party platform and Republican Party platform from 2016 both address housing-related policies, but the differences are stark. The Democratic platform promises robust investments in affordable housing production and rental assistance, strong efforts to address systemic racism and discrimination, and actions to address the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican platform seeks to advance responsible homeownership, reduce the role of the federal government in housing policy, and roll back the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule.
Democratic Platform
The 2020 Democratic platform includes language addressing the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on housing affordability and the eviction crisis efforts to address the systemic and historic racism in housing policy investments in the national Housing Trust Fund, Housing Choice Vouchers and Public Housing and strong and proactive non-discrimination protections. The following are selections from the Democratic party platform:
COVID-19 has laid bare deep fault lines in our economy, our society, and our health care system. Disparities in health care access, in access to paid sick leave, in environmental quality, in the employment market, and in housing have contributed to disproportionate rates of infection and death among Black Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and certain Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Republican Platform
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Left Wing Vs Right Wing
The fundamental differences between left-wing and right-wing ideologies center around the the rights of individuals vs. the power of the government. Left-wing beliefs are liberal in that they believe society is best served with an expanded role for the government. People on the right believe that the best outcome for society is achieved when individual rights and civil liberties are paramount and the role and especially the power of the government is minimized.
Examples of an expanded role for the government include entitlement programs such as social security and Medicare, Medicaid, universal healthcare, food stamps, free public education, unemployment benefits, strong environmental laws, and other regulations on industries. Right wing ideology would favor market-based solutions to the issues that these government programs aim to tackle. For example, encouraging a freer marketplace for healthcare, driven by consumer choice to drive down costs. Or privately held retirement accounts like 401 plans instead of government-guaranteed Social Security.
Huge Differences Between Democratic And Republican 2020 Platforms
President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, right.
Americas two major political parties view the world in different ways. In fact, its not an exaggeration to describe the Democrats and Republicans as 180 degrees apart on many issues.
In fact, the parties took different paths over whether to adopt new platforms describing what the believe in as they planned remote conventions due to the coronavirus. The Democrats drafted a new statement of principles while the Republicansdecided to keep the 2016 platform for another four years.
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History Of The Democratic Party
The party can trace its roots all the way back to Thomas Jefferson when they were known as Jeffersons Republicans and they strongly opposed the Federalist Party and their nationalist views. The Democrats adopted the donkey as their symbol due to Andrew Jackson who was publicly nicknamed jackass because of his popular position of let the people rule. The Democratic National Committee was officially created in 1848. During the civil war a rift grew within the party between those who supported slavery and those who opposed it. This deep division led to the creation of a new Democratic party, the one we now know today.
How Is The Democratic Party Different From The Republican Party
Democrats are generally considered liberal, while Republicans are seen as conservative. The Democratic Party typically supports a larger government role in economic issues, backing regulations and social welfare programs. The Republicans, however, typically want a smaller government that is less involved in the economy. This contrary view on the size of government is reflected in their positions on taxesDemocrats favour a progressive tax to finance governments expanded role, while Republicans support lower taxes for all. However, Republicans do support a large budget for the military, and they often aggressively pursue U.S. national security interests, even if that means acting unilaterally. Democrats, however, prefer multilateralism. On social issues, Democrats seek greater freedoms, while Republicans follow more traditional values, supporting government intervention in such matters. For example, Democrats generally back abortion rights, while Republicans dont. In terms of geography, Democrats typically dominate in large cities, while Republicans are especially popular in rural areas.
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The Difference Between Republican And Democrat Campaign Platforms
Both parties talk about working people in their platforms, but from radically different perspectives. The Democrats express solidarity with the working middle class, while the Republicans attack the right of workers to organize for pensions and fair pay. Read their own words here, and decide for yourself which party will best represent our interests in Washington.
DemocratsOrganized labor made its voice heard at the Democratic convention, where a significant number of delegates were union members. Their influence is evident in the party platform addressing labor and the rights of all workers.
We will raise the minimum wage, and index it to inflation. We believe in an America where people looking for work can find good jobs, where hard work pays, and where responsibility is rewarded. Our Occupational Safety and Health Administration will continue to adopt and enforce comprehensive safety standards.
RepublicansAlthough there are friends of labor in the Republican Party who tried hard to represent our interests, it was the far right that dictated the party platform this year. The result is the most anti-worker platform in modern history.
With this information, you should have an idea who will look out for you after November. Just keep the facts in mind.Card check legislation requires an employer to recognize a union when a majority of workers have a union card. It is much harder for workers to organize without it. Democrats support it and Republicans oppose it.
History Of The Republican Party
The Republican Party came into existence just prior to the Civil War due to their long-time stance in favor of abolition of slavery. They were a small third-party who nominated John C. Freemont for President in 1856. In 1860 they became an established political party when their nominee Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States. Lincolns Presidency throughout the war, including his policies to end slavery for good helped solidify the Republican Party as a major force in American politics. The elephant was chosen as their symbol in 1874 based on a cartoon in Harpers Weekly that depicted the new party as an elephant.
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Political Party Platforms And The Death Penalty
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Reasserts 2016 platforms call for the abolition of the death penalty. Protecting Communities and Building Trust by Reforming Our Criminal Justice SystemOur criminal justice system is failing to keep communities safeand failing to deliver justice. America is the land of the free, and yet more of our people are behind bars, per capita, than anywhere else in the world. Democrats believe we need to overhaul the criminal justice system from top to bottom. Sentencing decisions should be based on the facts of each case, including the severity of the offense and individuals circumstances. Democrats support allowing judges to determine appropriate sentences, which is why we will fight to repeal federal mandatory minimums, incentivize states to do the same, and make all sentencing reductions retroactive so judges can reconsider past cases where their hands were tied. We believe it is long past time to end the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine, which has contributed to the disproportionate imprisonment of people of color. And Democrats continue to support abolishing the death penalty. |
The Republican National Committees Executive Committee voted on June 10, 2020, to adopt the same platform the party used in 2016. For relevant excerpts of the 2016 Republican Party Platform, see below. |
Renewable Energy And Fossil Fuels
Democrats support increased domestic renewable energy development, including wind and solar power farms, in an effort to reduce carbon pollution. The partys platform calls for an all of the above energy policy including clean energy, natural gas, and domestic oil, while wanting to become energy independent. The party has supported higher taxes on oil companies and increased regulations on coal power plants, favoring a policy of reducing long-term reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, the party supports stricter fuel emissions standards to prevent air pollution.
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Democratic And Republican Party Platforms: Side
The two major American political parties have released their 2016 party platforms in anticipation of their respective party conventions and the upcoming general election. Given the importance of health care in this upcoming election, the Center for Medicare Advocacy has done an initial analysis of the health-related positions of the two parties. Below we present a comparison of Medicare and health care related policies the two parties may pursue according to their platform statements, as well as links to those statements so those interested in more detail can read them in their entirety.
The following language was submitted by the Leadership Council on Aging with input from the Center for Medicare Advocacy
Public Opinion On Foreign Policy
In June 2014 the Quinnipiac Poll asked Americans which foreign policy they preferred:
- A) The United States is doing too much in other countries around the world, and it is time to do less around the world and focus more on our own problems here at home. B) The United States must continue to push forward to promote democracy and freedom in other countries around the world because these efforts make our own country more secure.
Democrats chose A over B by 65%-32% Republicans chose A over B by 56% to 39% Independents chose A over B by 67% to 29%.
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No Longer Just A Product Of The Fringe The Proposed Platform Of The Republican Party Of Texas Signals The Anti
As in years past, the party platform committee report adopted at the Republican Party of Texas state convention last week is a Frankenstein assemblage of up-to-the-minute GOP hot topics, from namechecking the threat of Drag Queen Story Hour to parental rights to critical race theory to vaccinations, sewn together with well-worn fringe politics plank 273 contains 14 positions related to threats posed by the United Nations. The resolution that triggered the most headlines and, as the week wore on, a handful of op-eds, echoed the most high-profile assault on the national democratic process: We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.
To anyone who has paid attention to past party platforms, or, more proximately, has watched Republican politics in Texas for even the last year, none of this will come as a surprise. The activist factions that have long dominated the organs of the state party have always been able to insert their pet obsessions into the party platform. But a look at even the headlined features in conjunction with available public opinion polling illustrates that they now have more influence than ever on the partys actual, public agenda, as the output of the 2021 legislative session demonstrated in stark terms.
Republican And Democratic Platforms On Health Care
Political party platforms are typically loaded with rhetoric designed to fire up the political base, and, as such, are often not taken seriously. But piercing through the rhetoric there are often concepts of substance, good or bad. Take health care.
The Democratic platform of 2008 promised us a market of private health plans with government subsidies. That, in essence, is what we got as a major feature of the Affordable care Act. The Democrats rejected single payer and instead delivered on their comparatively feeble platform promises.
For the preliminary draft of their 2016 platform, the Democrats again voted to reject single payer and substituted it with a health care is a right statement void of any meaningful policy. They support instead mere tweaks to the Affordable Car Act.
Reading past the Republicans rhetoric, they are now promising in their platform changes to two of our most important government health programs. They would convert Medicare to a premium support program, shifting costs away from the federal government and onto the backs of Medicare beneficiaries. They would also establish block grants to the states for the Medicaid program, shifting costs from the federal government and onto the states, many of which which would likely respond with a reduction in essential health care benefits for the needy.
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Famous Republican Vs Democratic Presidents
Republicans have controlled the White House for 28 of the last 43 years since Richard Nixon became president. Famous Democrat Presidents have been Franklin Roosevelt, who pioneered the New Deal in America and stood for 4 terms, John F. Kennedy, who presided over the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis, and was assassinated in Office Bill Clinton, who was impeached by the House of Representatives and Nobel Peace Prize winners Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter.
Famous Republican Presidents include Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery Teddy Roosevelt, known for the Panama Canal Ronald Reagan, credited for ending the Cold War with Gorbachev and the two Bush family Presidents of recent times. Republican President Richard Nixon was forced to resign over the Watergate scandal.
To compare the two parties’ presidential candidates in the 2020 elections, see Donald Trump vs Joe Biden.
Huge Differences Between Democratic And Republican Platforms
This post originally ran on July 28, 2016. For the latest on the 2018 Midterm Election, check out our voters’ guide or the latest on the Menendez vs Hugin race.
PHILADELPHIA — It’s hard to say you don’t have a clear choice this presidential election year.
The Democratic and Republican platforms show views of world 180 degrees apart.
The Democrats’ statement of principles encompassed many of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ views, giving him a victory even as he lost the presidential nomination to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Republican platform shifted to the right of its nominee, businessman Donald Trump, amid concern that he wasn’t conservative enough.
At 55 pages, the Democratic document is 11 pages shorter than the GOP platform and mentioned Trump 29 times compared with just one of Clinton in the Republican document.
Here are 10 huge differences in the party platforms:
1. ABORTION
Democrats:“We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion.”
Republicans: Abortion should be illegal in all cases and the Constitution should ve amended to ban the procedure.
“We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed,” the platform said.
The GOP argued that supporting the constitutional right to abortion was the “extreme” position.
2. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
5. MEDICARE
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