What are the Differences Between Democrats and Republicans?

Question

How are Republicans and Democrats different?

Answer

During the latest presidential election, the Democratic and Republican Party went head to head in a major way, but what makes them different and what makes them the same? Both of these parties play very significant roles in the life of every American. They have founded the way the people of America separate themselves amongst each other. These parties help define who the people of America are as a people and allow them to share their views with other people who are like them. In this paper, the comparison of the Democratic and Republican parties will show the differences in their view on major issues.

The first and most obvious differences are the mascots of the parties. The democrats have the donkey and the Republicans have the Elephant. The question is why do the Democratic and Republican Parties have these particular animals to represent them? The Democratic Party’s mascot of the donkey and the Republican’s elephant have been associated with them for a while, ever since the 19^th century. The birth of the donkey goes back to Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents gave him the nickname of “jackass”. He did not let that bother him however, he used that name to his advantage and used it in his campaign posters. However, in the 1870s a political cartoonist by the name of Thomas Nast made the donkey the official symbol of the Democratic Party.  Nast also provided the Republican Party with the elephant. He created a cartoon showing the image of a donkey dressed in lion’s skin chasing all the other animals away, but the elephant remains standing tall with the words “Republican Vote” written across it.

The Democratic Party can trace its beginnings back to the anti-federalist around the time of the American Revolution. Organized by Thomas Jefferson and other influential people who were against the Federalist the Democrat-Republic Party came about in 1792. The Democratic Party is older than the Republican Party. It was founded in 1854 by people who were against slavery, it became popular with the election of Abraham Lincoln who became the first Republican president.

back to the anti-federalist around the time of the American Revolution. Organized by Thomas Jefferson and other influential people who were against the Federalist the Democrat-Republic Party came about in 1792. The Democratic Party is older than the Republican Party. It was founded in 1854 by people who were against slavery, it became popular with the election of Abraham Lincoln who became the first Republican president.

Government views

One of the biggest difference in the Democratic and Republican Party is the way they view the roles in government. Democrats tend feel as though the government should have a more active hand in the society, they believe that in doing this it will improve the way the people of the United States live helping them to move toward bigger opportunities and equality for the people. This is different from the Republican Party likes the government to be smaller

Darwinian capitalism is the Republican Party way of thinking when it comes to how the government is ran. An example of this is the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Democrats are pushing for more money for the program were Republicans are trying to cut money from the program. Democrats feel that people who do not have jobs still need help in order to keep food in their houses were the Republican Party feels as though they need to get out and earn the money needed to keep food in their house. 

Abortion

The parties also have very different views when it comes to topics that can be sensitive to the American people. For example, abortion many already know how Republicans and Democrats go head to head over this matter. It seems to be the biggest debate to date between the two. Republicans believe wholeheartedly that an unborn child is a living functioning human being that has all rights to live and their fate should not be determined by someone else. They also believe that the 14^th amendment goes to those unborn children as well as those who are living on Earth. The Republicans want to get rid of any health coverage that covers abortions and any place that openly offers abortions to people. One way they try to get people to not have abortions is to offer tax credits to those who choose adoption instead of abortion. They try to implement other strategies for deterring women from having abortions such as teaching abstinence in schools and they also try to make the foster care system better.

On the other hand, Democrats believe in the rights of the woman and believe that she should be able to make her own decisions about her body. The Democratic party firmly opposes any efforts or legislations that could undermine that right, saying, “abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way.” Democrats are not against abortions and they want women to feel free to make their own decisions however, they do have programs to help lower the rate of unwanted pregnancies. Planned Parenthood is a program that the Democratic Party is in support of which helps women get birth control at budget friendly price which could help lead to a lower number of abortions happening. Over all the Democratic Party hopes to lower the number of abortions by taking the measures they deem necessary to do so.

Views on minority populations

Black Lives Matter is another issue that both parties have different views on. Democrats has a hand in Black Lives Matter were the Republicans are more concerned with the shootings of police officers. The Democratic Party has been on the side of the African American community in their fight for equality. Republicans have shown themselves to be insensitive to Black Lives Matter by doing things like holding a meeting showing the number of people being killed by undocumented people and also coining the “Blue Lives Matter” group to go against the Black Lives Matter groups. Republicans are taking what is happening in the black community and making it into a finger pointing situation. Instead of looking at the whole picture and seeking a solution to the problem they come back with “Blue Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter”. The trend after a young black man is killed by an officer is to find as much awful information about the deceased as possible and try to paint him as a horrible person who probably deserved what happened. The Democratic Party has proudly stated that they are in support of Black Lives Matter and are working to create opportunities for the black youth to rise out of their current situations. The Democratic Party also held a gathering that allowed the mothers of those who have been slain at the hands of police officers to speak out and tell their stories.

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans) community is supported by the Democratic Party. Democrats support same sex marriage and the choice to be able to adopt children. The Republican Party however, believes that marriage should be a holy union between man and woman and they surely do not agree with homosexual couple adopting children. Democrats have pushed for laws that make it illegal for businesses to refuse services to individuals because of their sexuality. Republican President Donald J. Trump’s first month in office took away the protections that transsexual individuals had in regard to using the restroom they identify with. President Barack Obama made a lot of extraordinary changes in the United States in regard to the LGBT community. For example, he ended the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy in the military and the ban on transsexual individuals serving in the military. Democrats have stood with the LGBT community in their fight to be equal. The Democratic Party Platform said “Democrats applaud last year’s decision by the Supreme Court that recognized that LGBT people—like other Americans—have the right to marry the person they love. But there is still much work to be done. LGBT kids continue to be bullied at school, restaurants can refuse to serve transgender people, and same-sex couples are at risk of being evicted from their homes. That is unacceptable and must change.”

Immigration

Immigration is another one that is often hot and heavy in the political world. Politicians go head to head on this issue a lot during their campaigns. The most current presidential campaign is a prime example of this. Donald J. Trump’s campaign was significantly led by promises to build a wall around the United States so that immigrants could not get in the country. He also made promises to get rid of those who were living in the United States illegally and succeeded quite a bit in getting rid of those people. He caused a big fuss over people who were brought over to America when they were babies by their parents. President Barack Obama passed a law to protect those who were brought over by their parents in their early life. These people are called DREAMers. Democrats differ from the Republicans on this matter. Democrats stand with immigrants and are working to make sure they are able to stay in the country.

With all the differences between the Democratic and Republican Parties they are virtually the same. They both have their own unique view on the government however they both look at it as a tool to implicate their own beliefs and interest. One can say that the difference between them is not so much of how they enforce the role of the government, but it is the values that they hold. Democrats usually lean toward community, globalism, and secularism and the Republican Party prefers to lean toward the value of religion and nationalism.

Conclusion

These are the reasons why people constantly hear the two saying that they are trying to fight for the same things dealing with the United States, yet they are always going to head to head with each other. Republicans are known for their fight of “freedom” but their fight seems to be that of making sure man is allowed to carry his gun and to make sure he does not get married to another man. Whereas Democrat’s fight for “freedom” is the right for a woman to get an abortion if she deems it necessary and for businesses to not discriminate who they give their service to. In the end both parties have their own unique views on Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, and Abortion. They are very different, yet they make people of America think, especially on which side they want to stand for.

References

Conrad, Jessamyn. What You Should Know about Politics. Arcade, 2016.  

McGovern, George S., and Linda Kulman. What it means to be a Democrat. Bue Rider Press, 2011.  

Cairns, James Irvine, and Alan Sears. The democratic imagination: envisioning popular power in the twenty-First century. University of Toronto Press, 2012.  

Lutz, Norma Jean. The history of the Republican Party. Chelsea House Publishers, 2000.  

“Democrats.org.” Democrats.org, www.democrats.org/.  

“Platform.” GOP, www.gop.com/.