Tracy Said:

Republican vs. democrat?

We Answered:

The best way to explain the Parties is to base that explanation on the worldview of its members rather than those who represent that Party at the political level. Because politics is a business of compromise and pragmatism, principles and ideology can get lost in the milieu of current events.

The Democratic Party is America’s de facto Socialist Party. But don’t make the mistake, a many do, defining Socialism by the ideology of a particular form thereof (i.e. Communism or Solidarism). There are many different and often conflicting forms of Socialism and each has a tendency to accuse the others of being untrue to the cause. Much like in Christianity with the different sects such as Catholicism and Protestantism. Socialism, be it Fabians, Solidarism, Democratic Socialist or Communists (not an exhaustive list of course) can be a veritable hodgepodge of conflicting views all stemming from the same root and ostensibly with the same goal. Many of the current leadership of the DNC grew their political teeth in the radical Utopian Socialist movements of the 1960’s such as SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). Utopian Socialism by the way is just another way of saying Communist but unlike Stalinism/Leninism, Utopians are almost blindingly pacifist. Oddly enough the closest thing to Marxism (Scientific Socialism) is Fabianism. Basically Democrats favour individual freedom (limited by social concerns) and social responsibility for the individual.

Republicans on the other hand are a Classical Liberal (“conservative”) political Party. The party was formed out of the remnants of the Whig Party which was a group of Enlightenment Liberals, and the militant slavery abolitionist movement. The catalyst for its development was the Dred Scott decision of 1830. However the Party did not succeed in winning a national election until the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. They continued to be referred to as Liberals much like their British ideological brethren, until the early 20th century when the Socialist movement co-opted the label and began referring to all anti-Communist (anti-Progressives) as “conservatives.” People tend to confuse “conservatives” with “Christian conservatives” but this is a grave error. Christians are socially conservative like most Republicans but tend to be more Socialist/Collectivist in their economics. Classical Liberals are also “conservative” in economic matters. The split between Libertarians and Republicans is largely rooted in the fact that the old Trotskyite Socialist movement (Neoconservatives) migrated to the Republican Party and allegedly watered down its Classical Liberal ideals. Libertarians profess to be the true representatives of Classical Liberalism today. Basically Republicans favour unequivocal individual freedom and unequivocal individual responsibility.

A better understanding of these differences will require a more detailed review of the intellectual movements that spawned them. But for simplicity’s sake I recommend “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair (Socialism) and “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand (Liberalism). Each is a masterpiece of fiction effectively cheerleading for the author’s ideological worldview.

I hope this helps.

Eugene Said:

Democrat vs. Republican?

We Answered:

i'm an independent conservative. mostly because i believe in limited government, strong civil liberties and fiscal responsibility. the democrats want to expand the size and cost of government infinitely, and at the expense of the private sector.

when you vote for a democrat, you're voting to give away your freedom, control and money to the government. if you think they know better than you, it makes sense to vote democrat. but big government doesn't have a very good track record.

Paul Said:

democrat vs. republican?

We Answered:

It is good to see that a person is wanting to research the issues, unlike the other answers on this board. I do have strong political feelings, which may be different from yours. But I would urge you like another wise person said earlier and go to the web sites of the parties and not just republican and democrat, but the libertarian and green. Good luck on your search. Hope to find you in my corner, but if not, at least I feel comfortable that there is at least an informed voter out there.

Tiffany Said:

Republican vs Democrat?

We Answered:

Well... in premise, the goal is the same....if you boil that goal down to a principle statement like.... "make America a better place to live"...

The ideas on how to get there obviously are polar opposites.

I disagree with your description of Democrats however.....
I've never heard a Democrat say "WE NEED MORE GOVERNMENT", or "THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE MORE POWERFUL".... no no no...this is the typical spin that is put on FOR US by conservatives.

We want the Government to do what it's supposed to do....REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, and NOT the corporations !

I don't want more spending, but this time around it's a necessary evil. Can you build a house without taking out a loan ?....HIGHLY unlikely.

Just because I want the government to regulate Wallstreet and investment bankers, who are largely responsible for the economic meltdown,...doesn't mean I want more government. It means I want the existing government to do what it should have been doing all along !!!

Raymond Said:

Democrat vs Republican vs Libertarian?

We Answered:

Democrats and Republicans bicker over trivial issues while expanding government. Libertarians want slash the size of government and be left alone because individuals are much more capable of making their own decisions rather than a bureaucracy of hacks who think they know it all.

Catherine Said:

Republican vs Democrat>?>?>?>?>?>?

We Answered:

When you get to the core beliefs not to much of a difference. However, when you start comparing right wing wacko's to left wing wacko's two different ball games.

Warren Said:

What are the main beliefs in republicans vs main beliefs in democrats?

We Answered:

Generally speaking, Republicans are conservative (although for a while they haven't been as fiscally conservative as they should). They tend to believe in lower taxes and less government spending. They also tend to be socially conservative, which means they generally are against abortion, gay marriage, legalization of drugs, etc.

Democrats tend to be liberal. They believe that the government should fund social programs, which most often results in higher taxes. They also tend to be pro-choice. However, only few support gay marriage and legalization of drugs, but they tend to be a bit more open minded about these issues than the Republicans.