Abstract
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party are the two major wings of the political phenomenon in one of the world’s oldest democracy, the United States of America. Democrats and Republicans came together on doctrines of completely different ideologies and therefore their take on issues have always remained different, though agreements have occurred on small scale now and then. This article is a discussion of differences and rarer similarities between these two wings and the differences amongst factions within.
Introduction
The United States of America is, without a doubt, one of the oldest democracies in history. The political history of United States has always been filled with many ups and downs. It has endured many wars, both inside and out. But every time, its people came out strong and continued to walk the path of creating a nation that stands as an ideal to the world today. The political history of United States has always been a major player in determining its future. It swathe rise of political parties pioneered by great men who followed the Constitution to the letter. Political parties rose and fell; many came to existence to voice certain sections of the people, like the Know Nothing Party (1845-1860), the Whig Party (1833 - 1860) or the Free Soil Party (1848-1854) (Taylor, 1909). These parties were formed to reflect different people and lived short spans. But two parties that remained, through breaking from parties and amalgamating into new ones, were the Democratic Party and the Republican Party (also known as the Grand Old Party) (Taylor, 1909). These parties have differed and consented over views throughout their career and they stand today as the two major parties of the contemporary America. Both Democrats and Republicans have different takes on issues related to the people, interpret laws in different ways and compete for the Presidential control of the United States in each election. Even with their differences they stand to strike accord on issues that relate to people’s welfare and strive to provide the best to the citizens of the United States (Grigsby, 2009). No matter what the similarities or differences between a Democrat and a Republican, they work for the United States of America. This article is an in depth discussion of the differences and similarities of views of a Republican and a Democrat and the internal conflicts in the Republican Party as well.
Discussion
The two counterparts, which are the Democratic Party or the leftists and the Republican Party or the rightists, are probably some of the oldest political parties in history (Taylor, 1909). These parties always carried different ideologies and stood with different opinions at different points of history. There propagandas changed and each side saw the rise of prominent leaders rise to power (Zietlow, 2012). Their influence has meandered from side to side through the ages and leaders of both parties have stayed in office for nearly equal intervals of time (Grigsby, 2008). Before the article delves into how and why a Democrat and a Republican are different, a brief discussion of history is needed to understand why they came to be the way they are today.
Origins and History
The Democratic Party as a body descended directly from the original Jeffersonian party also known as the Democratic-Republican Party against the Federalist Party led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams in the year 1792 (Grigsby, 2008). Its leaders, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison along with their influential and faithful followers worked in strict adherence with the Constitution, supporting a federal form of government, decentralization of banking and rights for states. The party worked with high ideals but nearing the 1850’s it began to show splits and factions; and soon the republicanism disappeared from the party methods. The party split and the ones who followed the Democratic-Republican Party principles formed the Democratic Party under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren’s leadership (Taylor, 1909).
The Republican Party came into existence after the Democratic-Republican split in 1854, with a much more current propaganda than federalism, the anti-slavery drive of that time and came into power for the first time under President Abraham Lincoln’s presidential rule. This party was a conglomeration of members of the old Whig Party and Free Soil Party (Grigsby, 2008). The Republican Party soon became the close rival of the Democratic Party after its formation in 1854 (Taylor, 1909). The reason for the party’s escalation to popularity was their take on equal human rights. With abolition of slavery and equal voting rights for all as their first propaganda, the Republicans under Abraham Lincoln became the first strong working opposition of the liberal Democrats (Taylor, 1909).
The Republicans as well as the Democrats underwent a lot of changes and both parties saw diversifications, with Republicans forming conservatives, moderates, and libertarians, while the Democrats diversified into factions like liberals (or the extreme leftists), centrists, progressives, libertarians and conservatives (Grigsby, 2008). These changes came due to political events beginning from the Reconstruction in the 1870s to the recent Iraq War (Taylor, 1909). Their diversification formed a spectrum of leaders and supporters. However, the scope of this article discusses the Democrats and the Republicans on the extreme edges of this spectrum to provide a clearer perspective of the true nature of both the sides.
The Republicans today are known as the “Reds” while the Democrats are known as the “Blues” and the corresponding states they belong to are called the Red and Blue States respectively (Grigsby, 2008). Media advances and a greater and more diverse demography has changed the appeal and perception of both the parties. However, even with the twist and turns of history the two parties, the Reds and the Blues find each other on the opposite side of discussion of each and every issue. Both parties have seen men take the President’s chair and impact not just the country but the whole world with their policies. The Republican Presidents includes names like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush in chronological order (Lipset and Ladd, 1972). The Democrats saw Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and the current President to United States of America, Barack Obama (Grigsby, 2008). Popularity statistics change each year and as of date, the Republicans have seen a fall in their popularity as compared to the previous years, with reports of dilution of the “Republican” thought with more liberal perspectives. In the current trends the Democratic front presents President Barack Obama as presidential candidate for the future presidential elections, while the Republicans present Mitt Romney as their candidate for the seat of President
Philosophical Dissimilarities and Agreements
Moving on with the discussion of the differences between Democrats and Republicans, a generalized outlook of both on social, economic and legislative issues is a must. Although the two parties share the same roots, their philosophies and opinion differ on a large scale (Taylor, 1909). While the Republicans form the right wing of the present day United States government, while the Democratic remain the liberal leftists (Grigsby, 2008). The first and foremost difference comes from the fact that a Republican works with focus directed towards individual justice, rights and responsibilities while a Democrat works on a much wider spectrum, addressing community level of responsibility and justice.
A Republican in fact is considered to be conservative on economic as well as social scenarios and advocates the decentralization of economic, judicial and legislative functions (Norquist, 2008). In simpler terms a Republican will aim to appeal to the more individualistic characteristics of citizens and support formation of smaller governments within the Federal structure, emphasizing on providing more power to the State than the center. A Republican supports privatization of businesses and believes that private organizations can run the economic affairs in a more systematic manner. Their motto throughout their existence is to empower the individual rather than the central government which, as a Republican would believe, will empower the State to achieve more productivity and freedom of operation. This is in fact termed as an anti-bureaucratic stand in political terms and almost all Republicans would follow this principal (Norquist, 2008). The Republican will support militarization and progressive religious sentiments; that is a Republican would support increased emphasis on military expenditure and radicle thinking in terms of religion. On economic issues like taxes and minimum wages, a Republican has a definitive take. Republicans support equal tax cuts for all, irrespective of class that is rich or poor. A Republican rejects the idea of rise in minimum wages as they would argue that it “damages business” (Norquist, 2008).
A Democrat or a liberal, as they are popularly known, take a different stand on all these terms and issues. They favor a more active and influential role of the government in a citizens life. Rather a liberal would support a major role of the government in almost all social and economic affairs (Lipset & Ladd, 1972). A Democrat believes a strong center would make stronger states and would make a more efficient legislature. According to a Democrat, a more active centralized system of control would promote more equality and better business opportunities for increased productivity. In other terms a Democrat is a supporter of bureaucracy (Lipset & Ladd, 1972). A Republican would, however, call this a waste of effort and squander of the time and energy of the states. In a generalized term, a Democrat would prefer lesser military expenditure and a more peaceful demeanor in handling international affairs. In fact, Democrats support and encourage the use of alliances with other powers to maintain world peace and integrity. On economic terms a Democrat would support selective taxing, which is higher taxes for higher income groups (Scott, 2009). A Democrat would also support increase of minimum wages for workers to support an overall rise in their living standards (Scott, 2009).
Republicans have a definitive stand in case of social controversies. A Republican would support carrying concealed weapons for safety measures. A Republican is against the right of a woman to decide for abortion on moral or religious grounds and rejects the contraception mandate which entitles individuals to take health insurance cover for contraception costs from their employers. However, some Republicans would support abortion on condition of life threat to the mother due to the pregnancy. He or she opposes stem cell research at embryonic level and supports natures’ way of determining the birth of babies. A Republican believes in natural matrimony which means marriage between a man and a woman and rejects the idea of legalization of same sex marriage (Norquist, 2008). They are also against affirmative confirmation of women and minorities for voting rights demanding equal chances to all, as they argue that such measures would only increase discrimination based on sex and other differences. A Republican would support Morning Prayer in schools. In a way, a Republicans approach is more “pious” (Norquist, 2008).
On the other hand, a Democrat has a completely different take on social issues (Lipset and Ladd, 1972). He or she would openly reject the right to carry concealed arms, citing issues that may suggest increase in social violence (Scott, 2009). Democrats support the right of a woman to decide for abortion and ask for incentives in salaries and insurance to take contraceptive expenses coverage (Scott, 2009). They support the use of stem cell research to enhance embryonic health saying that it would make the coming generations better. A Democrat would also support same sex marriage and rights to child adoption for such couples (Scott, 2009). A Democrat supports affirmative actions for rights to vote for women and minorities arguing that this would uplift the morale and standard of thought of the affirmative categories (Lipset & Ladd, 1972). A Democrat does not support the idea of morning prayers to be a part of the school curriculum because it may hurt some particular group’s religious sentiments in some way
The major difference in a Democrat and a Republican’s point of view would always remain in the role of the government (Lipset and Ladd, 1972). A Republican would want a reduction in the number of employees in government organizations, even shutting down of some central agencies, for example their demand for shutting down a national level agency the Environmental Protection Agency (acronym EPA). A Democrat on the other hand would argue that this would increase the already inflated unemployment rate and a central governing body would act as a check on State activities (Scott, 2009).
Since the term Republican and Democrat do not just apply to the extreme leftists and rightists and each of these parties are diversified into factions, there are times when similarities surface between the two parties. Democrats and Republicans agree on the fact that the tax codes and the regulatory norms present in the legislature need to be simplified. A consensus between the two parties always depends upon choices made by the ruling party (Grigsby, 2009). One example is the sanction of drilling in the Gulf and the Arctic in 2012, where the move from the Obama government was applauded by the Republicans as well (Zietlow, 2012). Another example is the sanction of a bill that supports startups and entrepreneurs, and both parties support the idea of newer small scale business.
Present Day Example
Probably one of the best examples of the present day differences between Republicans and Democrats comes from the discussion of food stamps. There has recently been an outcry amongst citizens of the way social welfare programs are run and who benefits from them. The debate between Democrats and Republicans over social welfare issues would hover on the same principles of difference. A Republican’s take on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, popularly known as food stamps, is to cut the expenses allowed to this social program. A Democrat will argue that rising rates of unemployment requires people and families to gain support from the government (Zietlow, 2012). A Republican would point out to the so called fraudulent running of these programs, both by citizens as well as appointed officials (Norquist, 2008). People would apparently forge fake reasons and supports to demand support through such programs, making the social welfare program a very doubtful affair and a Republican would directly point to the irresponsibility of individuals who follow such methods and attempt to prove the inefficiency of the government in handling frauds. A Democrat would quote the number of families that have benefitted from the program and would ask to continue such programs for overall social uplift (Scott, 2008). A Republican would demand the use of stricter measures in the form drug testing, proof of unemployment etc. by program beneficiaries to eliminate any chances of fraud, as each fraudulent case would mean more cost to the tax payers (Zietlow, 2012).
Present Trends
The present day scenario has however changed. There is a general belief that both Democrats and Republicans have diluted their political stands to a degree that their roles seem to have reversed. The Democrats now garner more support from the black community even though it was this community that helped the Republicans’ rise to power (Taylor, 1909). The opposition is very prominent and almost every United States citizen identifies with it. The Republicans, however, are known to be more aggressive in their strategy and have now begun to show difference of opinion within the party itself.
A Republican does not have opposition from a Democrat alone. The Republican Party suffers from internal rifts as well, with two major factions competing with each other (Zietlow, 2012). These factions are Moderate Republicans and the Tea Party. The Tea Party in itself is not a different party at all and most Tea Partiers identify themselves as Republicans and support Republican candidates. This faction is focused more on the economic reforms of the country’s expenditure. The Republicans who do not identify with Tea Party are called Moderates. The Tea Party and the Moderate Republicans agree on most of the issues but rifts happen at times, and the biggest rift since the Tea Party’s formation in 2009 came with the Tea Party protests against Obama Care, a centralization and reformatory Bill proposed by the Obama government for reforms in the insurance scenario of the country (Zietlow, 2012). The Tea Party asked for government agency shutdown while the Moderates worked on debt ceiling issues. The shutdown movement lost charm, with factions blaming each other over the failure of the movement. However, many speculate the need of firmer leadership and stronger propaganda than the ones faction leaders of Republicans have presented.
Conclusion
There is a clear indication that the ideologies of Democrats and Republicans do not match most of the time, and find resemblance only on some occasions. However, both work to achieve the same goals, social, economic and judicial growth, albeit using different means. Both parties have evolved through the ages and try to adopt measures to remain in tune with the public interests. Running one of the oldest and largest democracies in the world is not an easy task. Different points of view are needed to build the complete picture and Republicans and Democrats have worked in ways that have solved this very purpose (Scott, 2009). However, with the new trends there is much speculation of the working of both the Party fronts, especially the Republican front which suffers from internal rifts. The importance of perspective is the driving force for both the Reds and the Blues. What remains to be seen is how the two parties solve internal conflicts and continue to function with more radicle ideas and reforms.
Reference
Grigsby, E. (2008). Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. Florence: Cengage Learning. pp. 106–7. ISBN 0-495-50112-3.
Norquist, G (2008). Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives. Harper Collins. pp. 146–49.
Lipset, S. M. & Ladd, E. C. (1972). The Politics of American Sociologists. American Journal of Sociology, 78(67), 67–104.
Scott, A. N. (2009). Imposing values: an essay on liberalism and regulation. Florence: Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-495-50112-3.
Taylor, W. A. (1909). "Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio; Vol. 2". S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. pp. 161–162.
Zietlow, R.E. (2012). “Popular Originalism? The Tea Party Movement and Constitutional Theory.” Florida Law Review, Vol 64, p. 483
