What Do Democrats Believe in Anyway?
October 22, 2009
According to dictionary.com, the technical definition of Democrat is “a member of the Democratic party.” This is not exactly helpful, especially if you are new to politics and trying to figure out where you fit in the political spectrum. At the risk of sounding partisan and getting the political bloggers on my back, the basic difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats want bigger government while Republicans want smaller government. Obviously there are plenty of ways to incorporate both philosophies into a political belief system, so don’t think that this article is going to favor the Democrats over the Republicans. We only want to explore what makes Democrats…well, Democrats!
It might be hard to believe with all of the partisan bickering happening in Congress, but Democrats were, once upon a time, members of a party called the Democratic – Republican Party, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Democratic Party officially separated from the Republican Party when Andrew Jackson was elected.
That’s all fine and good, but what do Democrats really believe? We can’t speak for individuals within the Democratic Party, but the party defines itself as believing in the following:
Raising the minimum wage
Investing in and favoring renewable energy over oil
Lower taxes for the middle class
Higher taxes for the wealthy (currently defined as those who make more than $250,000 per year)
Public funding for Welfare, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security
National/Universal health care
Lower pharmaceutical costs
Protection of the environment
Lower costs for Higher Education
North American Free Trade Agreement
Central American Free Trade Agreement
Adjusting the Alternative Minimum Tax
Equal Opportunity regardless of gender, age, race, orientation, nationality or religion
Making gay marriage legal
Pro-Choice legislation
Stem cell research
Ending the war in Iraq
Reversing Unilateralism
Decolonization of Puerto Rico (if Puerto Rican citizens want that)
This is simply a quick laundry list of what Democrats believe in as a party. All of these points have paragraphs of complicated policy behind their headlines (which we do not have time to explore in this article). Within both political parties there are members who do not agree with every facet of a party’s political platform.
The 2008 election has caused the balance in Washington to tip toward the Democrats’ side of the aisle. Americans have elected a Democratic President and both the House of Representatives and the Senate will have Democratic majorities when everyone has been sworn in to session. Many Republicans worry about how this will shift the balance for laws and policy in the United States. It is important to remember that you cannot paint all Democrats (or all Republicans) with the same brush. It is also important to remember that being “liberal” and being “a democrat” do not always mean the same thing. In the last few decades the “liberal” brush has been used against Democrats and it is important to remember that liberals can be found in the Republican, Constitution, Green and Libertarian parties as well!
For more information on politics, visit http://www.democratsmicroblog.com and http://www.republicanmicroblog.com.
John Parks
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/what-do-democrats-believe-in-anyway-680005.html
Why do most democrats believe the fallacious propaganda that Republicans are the rich?
Democrats are the rich, they have much more money and make more money than Republicans on average. It’s a fact. Those who talk about rich republicans are regurgitating stereo types that have actually been manufactured by the wealthy billionaire democrat supporters who own almost all media and all of the entertainment industry and use it to brainwash people.
Historical Republican policy is good for economic growth, but that isn’t good for the ultra rich, almost all of whom are democrats. The ultra rich have much more control when the masses are poor and dependent on the government. The billionaires don’t pay much in taxes anyway. Those behind the democrats power wise don’t even have to pay. Note that most of Obama’s picks for cabinet had tax problems? But no trouble with the IRS over it like we would have? Get a clue from reality.
The poor suffer most under democrats, and when Obama is done the poor will have almost zero opportunity in the US, unless they join the Obama mob and do his dirty work. Much like Hitlers special troops did for him in his socialist take over of the country.
Look at the black community, as republicans lead by the Republican MLK they had crime rates on par with national averages and single motherhood on par with national averages as well. After MLK was murdered, probably by those who wanted to get paid off by democrats for controlling a voting block like Jessie Jackson does, the black community went strait to hell. Less education and more crime, and opportunities that were presenting were destroyed by counter culture, brain washing the people into hating and resenting in stead of working, and they became a prime voting block of the democrats. Just enough money to keep from starving and initiative destroyed. Generations ruined and gone into corruption and dependence. With only a small % getting out, and those were ridiculed if they did it legitimately through education and or hard work. They were seen and ostracized as traitors to their race and community, in media and entertainment industry which was controlled by wealthy democrats because they know those groups tend to migrate toward the republican party and more important than anything to them was the voting block.
Yep elections have consequences, just ask the Germans. I hope we will never know the full meaning of that, but it’s looking more and more like we will.
Exxon Oil, Rockefeller, Democrat, family still runs it, democrats.
Big Banking, Rothschild’s, since colonial times in England, Democrat supporters and huge liberals.
Who are the richest in congress? Democrats
Who run most fortune 500 companies? democrats
Who run most of the Hedge Funds? Democrats
Who are almost all old money? Democrats
Mob Money like Kennedy’s? Democrats
George Soros, Criminal mastermind, created moveon.org, huge in the criminal Organization … Democrat
Some of the biggest thieves in the banking trouble, huge into Acorn, Sandlers. Able to get a skit lampooning their crimes tossed off of Saturday Night Live … you think any Republican could do that?
And most of the ultra poor who democrats use and try to keep down because they make good voting blocks? Democrats
There is much much more
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Most non Union workers and neat 40% of Union workers, Republicans. Most small business owners, republicans. This was until the huge surge in democrats, who are pretty soon going to regret it, in fact they are more and more identifying as independent.
Rockefeller, Democrat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Rockefeller
Keith, what you call "common knowledge" is only very successful propaganda.
Most of the very richest people in the country support democrats. Most of the very poorest in the country support democrats. It’s nothing but a statistical fact. I guess you can’t let that stand in the way of "common knowledge". You must be more invested in a side than in reality. If so, why waste your time? Just to support the side? What if it’s the wrong side for the good of your country? You know people get stuck in the wrong side over blind loyalty all the time, and it’s a bad thing to do. It harms all you care about.
Seldon? You don’t care about references lol. I’m going to take time to back something up to some KoolAid Drinker who doesn’t care about facts anyway? Probably not, they are there if you want to really look, but you really don’t, it’s obvious.
Triviadude … How to break it down? Blue areas are richer. Most Billionaires are democrats. Maybe in the middle there you have something and of the very richest who support democrats there are not that many votes. Maybe most voters who are seen as well off are republicans, I don’t know those statistics. I only know that democrats have more money and more income on AVERAGE. There are a lot of poor democrat voters. Almost all of the media and about all of the entertainment industry is controlled by democrats, that is a fact. Most fortune 500 CEOs are democrats and almost all the rich stock market and trading people in New York are democrats, almost every hedge fund is run by a democrat.
Everything I’ve said is researched out and true however, but some details I could have missed.
The democrats do much better for the ultra rich though. High taxes for the semi rich don’t really affect them as they find a way around & have friends in high places. It’s hard to nail them with anything.
Seldon? You don’t care about references lol. I’m going to take time to back something up to some KoolAid Drinker who doesn’t care about facts anyway? Probably not, they are there if you want to really look, but you really don’t, it’s obvious.
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I have personally seen an economic study that says EVERYONE, INCLUDING REPUBLICANS do better financially under DEMOCRATIC leadership!
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im not even gonna try to read all that.
remember! summerizing is your friend!
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The republicans party support rich CEO’s and big corporation and
care less about the little guy.
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it’s an excuse for complaining that the "rich" GOP don’t pay their fair share of taxes. it’s a crock!
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Barry is a DWEEB!
Neocon, it is not true. By asking your deliberately misleading "question" you want people to believe that Democrats are saying this. What are your sources other than deliberate-misleading-republican-lies.com
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Because they ( the dems) target the poor and uneducated part of society.
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Rush Limbo chewing on Viagra = Morals to stupid conservatives
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We don’t.
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They do not want to cross the line place by Obama stating the all people of wealth are bad.
I am a republican and I am not rich, however I do understand that if you tax the rich cost of living will increase. They will NOT take the loss it is passed on to the consumer.
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Blah, blah, blah, you just wasted probably 20 minutes of your life typing that out.
I don’t think all Republicans are rich, but most upper-middle class people in the suburbs definitely are. At the same time, I don’t know one liberal redneck.
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Rockefeller. Democrats??? better check on that one, sonny!
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Thank you for that. I am a republican and by no means rich. My family works hard to take care of our own and wish that the rich democrats would keep their hands out of our pockets. BTW I like my big vehicle.
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In my neighborhood Reps are the poor and the ugly, they live in the trailer parks
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you wrote a lot of words but they don’t mean anything, all politicians are rich, most people who support republicans are either rich or dumb rednecks, most people who support democrats are either poor or highly educated
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education
Youre correct. Most Republicans live in trailors
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i have personally seen a study that says Seldon Surak is wrong and you are correct.
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The issue of whether Republicans are rich or not is irrelevant. Although for the most part, the higher your income the more likely you are to be a Republican. The question that matters is whose interest to they serve.
Also, it’s not solely a matter of income but is also a matter of class, which is different from merely income bracket. If you are a union worker that makes $100,000 a year, then the Democrats are much more aligned with your interests. If you are a Republican who makes $100,000 a year off of their investments, then the Republicans are more aligned with your interests.
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If that’s fallacious propaganda, then tell me why you never hear a Republican admit they have suffered at the hands of what the Bush administration did.
They’ll defend him til their death while they eat their last can of beans.
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the republican party believes more strongly is a weaker central goverment. Now when you have this that means the people who are less wealthy have more trouble and the people who are rich continue to get richer. The republican party lowers taxes on the rich. Look throughout our history the rich have done better under republican president’s one example would be president Hoover, his style of leadership lead America into the Great Depression. President Bush approached the presidency similar to Hoover, in that the net wealth of our county 33% was controlled by less than 1% of the U.S. population.
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It common knowledge that the Republicans are always fighting for a two class system, royalty and peasants.
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The only rich Republicans are on talk radio. And that is the fear and being intimidated liberals have of them, worried somebody might not like them, making them rich.
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yes – it’s hysterically funny that poor stupid republicans – which most are – support the Super Rich…
Somehow all these dumb idiots were talked into voting for these slippery republicans who’s only purpose is to fill the pockets of the Super Rich with cash.
Yes – most republicans are poor and stupid and toothless and live in trailers and drink too much and molest their daughters.
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Most republicans seem to be middle class, wheras a lot of democrats are working class. therefore to democrats the republicans are rich in comparison.
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We know that most Republicans are not rich. We also know that Republican policies favor the rich. Republicans for the most part are just uninformed and vote against their own best interest. A good example is trickle down economics. I have been successful in the Entertainment industry for about 20 years, I make a lot of money I average about 4 million a year and I’m worth about 60 million. When I get a huge tax break I don’t hire more people. I save it or invest it in the market and make myself more money, or even worse I go on vacation to Europe and spend it there.
My younger brother, a Republican ironically makes about sixty five thousand a year. When he gets a tax break you know what he does with it? He spends it. He buys "widgets" which creates a demand for more "widgets" which means someone has to make more "widgets" and ship more "widgets" and sell more "widgets" in other words it creates jobs. The fact is jobs are created from the bottom up with demand.
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I am not reading all your wrote but you are saying something that is not true. I am a liberal & know over 200 liberals who are probably richer than I am, I just went to a party at one’s house & it is about 6000 sqare ft. in size. Golf course on the back, so what. I went cause the people there are lovely people. There is Oprah, Gates, Buffet & actually a whole slew of libs who met a few weeks ago they were called the billionaires club….I do not call republicans rich, I call their rich the greedy. They are the rich who make their money destroying others lives. You know the drug companies that make the drug so that it makes a person get rid of whatever ails them but actually destroys their kidneys or liver. While a dem. might have a wholistic health center & republicans do what they can to keep these people from practicing their healing. I have healed more myself by methods that cost me nothing & even stopped taking pills for diabetic naurapathy (pain meds). So I do what I can to help others but I could have staying working in a business that was charging people more money than they should be charged. So rich is not what people mean they mean taking money while harming people. How many rich republicans can you name that are doing work for the betterment of the world. John McCain is he son of an oil heiress. His father bought his senate seat & the man involved in that was proud of helping him instead of being ashamed that some poor man who worked hard his whole life may have deserved it more. McCain collects almost $60,000 a year from military income while others who could really use that don’t have it So replace the word rich with greedy.
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