The Democratic party, the party of the US president, Barack Obama, they have declined in popularity somewhat since he was elected for a second-term in 2012, and now have a minority in both houses of Congress. There main strongholds are in urban areas. As such, they are the main party in the densely populated west coast and northeast of the US, however they are the main party in just about every major city of the US as well. In addition, they are also popular with ethnic minorities (the overwhelming Democrat support amongst ethnic minorities was crucial to the last two presidential elections) and as such also competitive in the 'black belt' (an area of the South where the majority of residents are African-Americans), and some Native-American areas in the west, as well as the US-Mexico border, with a very high population of Hispanics. They used to be popular in many rural areas of the South as well, however they have massively declined in popularity since then. Within the Midwest though (except the Great Plains states, a Republican stronghold), the Democrats perform better, mainly because many in the Midwest are not necessarily opposed to larger government or are as religious. Within modern history, the Democrats are the main liberal/progressive party in the US, located within the political center (in America they may be considered center-left, however it must be noted that American politics is to the right of the political discourse of many countries, including Britain, where they may even be considered centre-right) and generally supporting a mixed economy (an economy where both the private sector and the government play a part) in order to achieve social justice, as well as having social liberal stances on many issues. In terms of economic policy, the Democrats support government intervention in order to make things as fair as possible. Their economic policy also includes support for a large welfare state, as well as support for unions so as to protect workers interests. Furthermore, not only do they want to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, but they also want to adjust it each year according to inflation. Progressive taxation and higher public spending is at the heart of the Democrats' economic stance. This is meant to reduce economic inequality and stimulate the economy, leading to economic growth and the creation of jobs. The party is somewhat divided on free trade, with the centrist and conservative factions (as expected from such large parties, both have individual factions) supportive of it, while the more left-leaning progressive faction supporting a protectionist (tariffs and quotas) stance. One of their most recognizable, however controversial policies is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The purpose of this is to make healthcare more affordable, as well as to raise standards in healthcare, reducing costs, and expanding insurance coverage. Those against this will argue that this is unconstitutional, and interferes with the free market. While it's too early to measure it's effect on healthcare standards, healthcare spending has slowed down, and the percentage of uninsured Americans has decreased from about 18% in 2013, to 13.4% in 2014. A feature of the Democrat platform also well-known is environmentalism. Climate change is a concern for most Democrats. As such, they support stricter environmental legislation and the growth of renewable energy. However the conservative faction within the Democratic party is against further environmental regulation Socially, equality of opportunity is central to the Democrat ideology. They support equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religion, age, or nationality. As such, they support affirmative action (policies which grant special consideration for women and ethnic minorities) in order to achieve this goal. Most Democrats are also pro-choice in terms of abortion, and support public funding of contraception in order to ease access to birth control. Most also support same-sex marriage and equal rights for the LGBT community. They support the death penalty to a much lesser extent than the Republicans. As for immigration, they want to ease access to the US for immigrants and want an easy path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Indeed, they passed legislation which would make it possible for most illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, and Barack Obama granted amnesty to 5 million illegal immigrants. This is controversial, as he has defied the GOP controlled Congress by doing this. The majority of Democrats support some level of gun control, and have introduced legislation including the Gun Control Act of 1968 in order to do this, and Barack Obama has also promoted gun control. However, this is very controversial, while many countries in the developed world, including Britain, have stricter gun control, in the US gun rights are protected in the constitution, and is very important to many elections. Support for gun control has contributed to the dramatic decrease in support for the Democrats in rural areas and the South (however the increasingly religious culture of rural America is perhaps the main factor though, with the Republicans supporting many stances associated with the religious-right). Instead, the right to privacy is a much more important constitutional right to Democrats, with many opposed to the Patriot act (an act meant to counter terrorism by increased government surveillance as part of the War on Terror, however do note that many Democrats supported this bill when it was first introduced). One of the main problems that the Democratic Party faces however is it's constant shift to the right of the spectrum, America's lack of a real Center-Left political party is worrying to many progressives and liberals alike in America. Finally, to conclude this article with foreign policy. While Democrats and Republicans often come to an agreement in terms of foreign policy (and is often the main thing they actually agree on for that matter) Democrats are much more likely to support less military intervention. They are also less likely to support Israel, although most do. A key aspect of their foreign policy at present is greater cooperation with Iran, and a deal to halt the production of Iranian nuclear weapons. Now onto the next major United States party. The Republican Party of the US, also known as the GOP (short for Grand Old Party) is the party of the last president, George W Bush, and one of the most famous presidents in recent history, Ronald Reagan. While the current US president, Barack Obama, is not a Republican, they control both houses of congress. Their main strongholds are within rural America. As such, they are dominant within most of the South, the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains, all of which mainly rural in character. It must be noted though that the South, being one of the poorest regions of the US, never used to be a strong Republican region, however over time, most likely due to the very conservative nature of the South and the massive decline in conservative Democrats. White Americans form the core of GOP support, probably because they're most likely to hold traditional American conservative values, which the GOP promotes. Evangelicals (or just very religious Christians in general) are also significant to the GOP voter base, which might explain why they are shifting further to the right in recent decades. Furthermore, the Republicans are generally seen as being the more pro-business party of the two, because of their more free-market policies, therefore business owners are more likely to support Republicans, both small and large business owners. The party platform is based upon American conservatism, which supports free market capitalism, limited government, reduced government spending, as well as a strong defence policy and socially conservative policies. They are considered to be located to the right of the political spectrum. As with all large parties, the Republicans have different factions. These include the conservatives (which are socially conservative), the moderates (which are less likely to be socially conservative or pro free-market, the Conservative Party in the UK would be most likely to fall within this faction), and the libertarians (which place a huge emphasis on individual liberty, limited government, and the free market). In economic policy, most Republicans strongly support the free market and personal responsibility. Therefore, they want reduced government spending, lower taxes, less regulation, and oppose a large welfare state, believing that government welfare traps people in a cycle of government dependence. Most agree that there should be some form of safety net, but it should be minimal in order to reduce dependence on the government, and also that the non-profit sector is much better than social welfare. Most Republicans are also opposed to Obamacare (check my article on the Democrats to find out more). However, it should be noted that Obamacare has conservative origins, being based on a similar program in Massachusetts that was started by the GOP presidential candidate for 2012, Mitt Romney, when he was the Governor of Massachusetts, commonly known as Romneycare. Another well-known feature of GOP policy is the opposition to labor unions, with the belief that they harm the economy. The Governor of Wisconsin and potential GOP presidential candidate, Scott Walker, is notorious for his stance on unions. For the same reason, and the fact that an increase lead to a rise in unemployment, many Republicans are also opposed to an increase in minimum wage. Most Republicans claim that they support the U.S. Constitution. This is debatable, due to the Patriot Act, signed by George W Bush, which many believe violates the right to privacy. Also, it's also very debatable about whether they are committed to the separation of church and state, however most are likely to consider the freedom of religion to be a more important constitutional right. In education policy, the majority support school choice, and vouchers for private schools or charter schools (schools which receive public funding however operate independently) in order to achieve this goal. The GOP is split in terms of environmental policy. The moderate faction are generally supportive of environmental regulation(By american standards, very light regulation), while the libertarians are likely to be opposed ( instead committed to market based solutions), with the conservatives split. However, most will place a greater focus on energy independence, rather than fighting global warming. Some are even skeptical of global warming, stating that it's a natural phenomenon or simply stating it's not happening. In social policy the Republicans are generally very conservative, seeking policies that uphold traditional values, although moderates and most libertarians are likely to be more moderate. Nevertheless, these factions are minorities within this mainly conservative party. The majority of the GOP are pro-life, and are very opposed to abortion, due to religious and/or moral reasons. Many though hold exceptions in the case of rape, incest, or if it poses a risk to the life of the mother. However, nowadays many also support a complete ban on abortion, without exceptions. Most are also opposed to the government funding of embryonic stem cell research. Generally, they're against affirmative action, believing it to be a racial quota system, not meritocratic, and/or it's discrimination itself. Also, most strongly support the second amendment and oppose gun control, however moderates are likely to support limited gun control in the interests of safety. Most also support the War on Drugs, and are strongly opposed to the legislation of drugs, however libertarians are strongly against this, on the grounds of personal choice and individual liberty. In addition, most are against same sex marriage, for religious reasons. Finally, let's turn to foreign policy. Most Republicans favour strong national defence, and interventionist policies, in order to spread western ideas and democracy. This approach to foreign policy was notable when George W Bush was president, with the Iraq War being an example. However, libertarians are strongly opposed to this and favour non-interventionist policies. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority support Israel. The GOP is currently split on how to deal with illegal immigration, with some strongly against it, and that favour stronger border controls, believing that immigration undermines American values and traditions, and some that aren't as concerned about immigration. Co-Authors: Ciaran Marshall and Leo Teng Photos: Wikipedia and US Library |