Beth Said:

What is the difference between the democratic and republican parties?

We Answered:

Republicans
Believes that, as a whole, the American people are smart and capable of taking care of themselves.
Believes that hard work should be rewarded.
Believes that anyone can succeed, and those that do deserve what they earn.
Believes that it is not the place of the government to take care of the people like little babies.
Believes that the government should build a strong military to protect the people from those that would do us harm.

Democrats
Believes that, as a whole, the American people are dumb and have no ability to take care of themselves.
Believes that hard work should be punished because those that work hard make those that are lazy look bad.
Believes that not anyone can succeed. They believe that minorities must be pandered to because the minorities aren't capable of taking care of themselves. Desires to keep minorities in a suppressed position so the democrat can play "big brother" and "savior" to the minority.
Believes that the government is there to control the people and provide for every single want or need of the people.
Believes that the government should have a weak, poorly trained military that isn't allowed to have weapons because, in their eyes, it's the military's fault that other countries may not like us, so if we give up the military, then those that hate us and want to kill us will suddenly like us.

Leona Said:

What is the difference between the republican democratic and green parties?

We Answered:

Dear Miley,

It's not quite as simple as that. There are republicans who are pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage, just as there are democrats who are against abortion and against gay marriage.

Historically, the republican party has been conservative regarding federal spending (ie., the less federal spending the better--leave it to the states to decide how to spend tax dollars). They have been for states' rights over federal rights, for less government vs. 'more government.' Democrats, on the other hand, have been more for federal spending to help out the poor and the needy--they have been more for social programs.

But the Bush administration has bizarrely been about as 'anti-republican' in principle as you can get. Instead of spending less money on a federal level, they have expanded federal power to the point that the US is $trillions in debt.

Not only that, but Bush's federal government fought to overturn Washington State's voter decision to allow 'dignified death by physician-assisted suicide.' Bush's people failed--but why did they try to overpower a states' rights in the first place? The citizens of Washington had spoken! It's against American Republicanism in principle! Let the people of each state decide their fate!

Then, too, Bush's federal government decided to overrule CA voters' decision to legalize physician prescription of marijuana for medical reasons (for people dying of cancer, for example, to reduce their pain). And in this case regarding marijuana, the Bush admin. has won, at least for the time being.

So what ever happened to the republican belief in states' rights over federal rights? And the belief in keeping federal spending to a minimum, rather than feed $billions or $trillions into pork barrel spending?

The Bush administration has been anything BUT 'republican' in principle--it astonishes me that more republicans haven't been up in arms about this! I think that most republicans believe the old values hold true but they are wrong regarding today's republican leaders.

McCain's "tax policies" will increase the middle American's (say, $60,000/year) taxes by $1-2,000 while doing nothing to increase taxes for the over-$250,000 bracket. Obama's tax package, on the other hand, will REDUCE middle America's taxes by $1-2,000 per year, while raising taxes for the over-$250,000 tax bracket.

Regarding the Green Party? They quite simply believe in the 'greening of America.' They are only a small party that actually ultimately harm the 'greening of America' because they draw votes away from the democrats at national election time. Don't misunderstand me--I believe in the 'greening of America' myself--but drawing votes away from the democrats only increases the likelihood that a republican will win the US presidency, and these days they are Pro-Big-Business and Anti-Greening, to the US's ultimate harm.

Ironically, if you believe in reducing federal spending, then the democratic party is the best way to vote these days. If you believe in increasing spending for special interest groups and their lobbyists, or in subsidizing the very wealthy (so that theoretically they can offer more jobs to the public. However, Americans are losing jobs as a result of the current republican administration, not gaining them. This includes outsourcing to India and other countries, which Kerry was adamantly against. And none of this even touches on the 100,000s of US jobs that could be lost as a result of the current stock market disaster, which is a result of the de-regulation and lack of oversight which occurred as a result of republican leaders protecting their own, the 'good ol' boys.'

Dawn Said:

What is the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties, and between liberals and conservatives?

We Answered:

Conservatives believe resources are unlimited on earth- gold, oil, jobs, farmland, are abundant and all the lazy have to do is go out and get what they deserve of these resources. They don't think we need to "conserve" anything because of a misguided belief there is no limit to our economic growth potential. They think the only thing we compete for is how BIG our individual slice of the UNLIMITED pie is.

Liberals, on the other hand, recognize scarcity as the central economic problem from which many of our social, political and global ills emerge. They understand the pie is NOT unlimited and what any one person takes for himself must be withheld from another. That is, after all, what private property is; the legal right to withhold something from use by another. But when things critical to human societies like land and water are declared private property, the inevitable result is war. Rather than being "liberal" in resource distribution, they acknowledge that equitable distribution of scarce resources is at the heart of any just and sustainable society.

________
Finer modification:

Blue collar conservatives:
These folks believe resources are unlimited on earth- gold, oil, jobs, farmland, are abundant and all the lazy have to do is go out and get what they deserve of these resources. They don't think we need to "conserve" anything because of a misguided belief there is no limit to our economic growth potential. This errant belief follows from the "American dream" myth perpetrated by the aristocrats (see below) and the reinforcement of Madison Ave advertising. They think the only thing we compete for is how BIG our individual slice of the UNLIMITED pie is.

The aristocratic conservatives:
Know the pie is LIMITED (they are the masters of the financial pyramid, after all), but can't let the masses know the American dream (everyone can be wealthy) is an economic hoax, or there will be a modern French revolution when the people recognize that one man's gain has to be another man's loss (zero-sum society).

No matter how hard the blue collar conservatives work, they all can't be rich. Blue collar conservatives blame the disconnect between their economic idealism and reality on things like moral weakness, taxes, government, etc.

But the aristocrats know better. They don't want to lose the power and privilege they have, so don't mind watching the blue collar conservatives displacing the blame onto these other elements.

Kurt Said:

what is the main difference between the democratic and republican parties?

We Answered:

Jessie Ventura says we have two parties who says the same thing and only fight to make sure the other party doesn't give it too us.
The only differences between the parties is their stance on social issues. Democrats are inclusive of those who are different want the american and Republican are favored by those who are WASP who wish to exclude or maintain their idea of the american dream by excluding the others
Both parties claim to stand for American social value, both claim to work for the american people both claim to want tax relief for the middle class and both claim to want fiscal responsibility but they both break it for different reasons.

Lonnie Said:

How would you define the essential difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties?

We Answered:

Frankly, I would say there are no essential differences between the two, only cosmetic ones. Both parties are completely corrupt and the pawns of lobbyists and big industry, primarily the oil and weapon's sectors. And they work together to make sure that third parties are completely utterly disenfranchised while maintaining the illusion that "voters" are exercising "choice" when we support one party or the other. It's like asking what's the essential difference between being executed by firing squad or hanging, the end result is the same. :)

This is why I deface my ballot when I vote, and consider it a more meaningful vote than the "choices" we are given.

Allison Said:

In the 1860s, what was the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties?

We Answered:

The Republicans (who remained in the Union, obviously) supported the abolition of slavery during the Civil War and they wanted to bring the South back into the Union. The Democrats in the South did not support abolition and wanted their independence as a slave country so that they could continue using slaves for the labor they depended on, economically. Upon the formation of the Republican party, the Whigs, Free-Soilers, and Know-Nothings joined in (which was primarily in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which, as I'm sure you know, only made the slavery issue worse). The Free-Soilers were basically a group of people who were against the expansion of slavery, and the Know-Nothings were anti-immigrant and basically just didn't have any other party to join. The Republican platform during Lincoln's presidency was against slavery expansion, and they also supported a protective tariff that benefitted the manufacturers in the north.

Good luck on the test :)