Comparison Of The Republican Party And The Democrat Party Of The US
In the United States we have a Two-Party System, which is where we have two Political Parties which have a real chance in getting elected. The two major Parties in the U.S. are the Republican Party and the Democrat Party. Every four years the Political Parties hold a National Convention, which is attended by delegates from each of the 50 States. During these conventions the parties write their Platforms. The platforms are a document that contains party philosophy, principles and positions on issues. Overall the platforms have some relevance in today’s age. It seems more to the party who holds the most power. The one that don’t tend to say and do whatever they feel will energize their base in order to receive enough votes to take back power.
The Republicans and Democrats have quite a bit in common on paper. The way the go about it may differ. According to the Republican Platform (2016) and Democratic Platform (2016) they both want to: Create Jobs, to promote trade, Fix our Financial System, Homeownership, Infrastructure, Technology, Supporting small business, Worker Rights, Protecting voter rights, Health care, Immigration, Protecting the U.S. Territories, Education, College Costs, Rights for people with disabilities, Criminal Justice Reform, Combatting Drug Abuse, Supporting Troops, Supporting Veterans, Confronting Global threats and A leader in the World. Although, both parties have these in common on paper. They have two different opinions on what this mean. Using Immigration as an example. Republicans tend to believe we should follow the laws that are on the books and that even those need to be changed to laws that meet our needs in 2019. To me they seem to want to put Americans both born here and those that legally immigrated first over Illegals. And they believe DACA is unconstitutional and have and will continue to fight it until it is overturned. They tend to believe that sanctuary cities are a violation of federal law. Democrats tend to also believe we should fix the immigration system. To me it seems more to help the illegals and to help them become citizens more than anything else. They believe DACA is Legal and that it should not be overturned. They tend to believe Sanctuary cities are good and they are needed in order to protect the illegal people in this country.
Democrats and Republicans have a lot of differences. While reading the Republican Platform (2016) and Democratic Platform (2016) I found these differences. Republicans Platform referenced the Constitution very often. Which I took to believe they are more for our constitutional rights as written vs Democrats more for a constitution that should be updated a lot more. Republicans want to reduce federal spending and lower taxes where Democrats want higher wages and increased taxes on the wealthy. Republicans are for the 2nd Amendment rights and tend to not want any more Government control then we currently have, and Democrats seem to want to take guns away. Republicans believe college cost is getting to high and we should find ways to reduce the burden, that the Government should not be originating student loans and that they should challenge any regulation that increase cost. Democrats believe we should have free college. Republicans want to lower cost of health care and Democrats want to offer free healthcare for all.
After reading the Platforms, I believe that as I always have Republicans represent my interest more. First, I am Pro 2nd Amendment. Although, I do believe in gun control, I also believe that right should never be taken away. I feel if Democrats had their way, we would no longer be allowed to own them. 2nd, I believe that we as people should not be given everything in life for free. Although College prices are getting way to high. I do not think we should have free college. 3rd, as someone who retired Medically from the Army. I have VA Healthcare along with Tricare. I refuse to use VA and Tricare is about as of a mess at times. Democrats want Government health care and I do not think the Government is capable to handling the entire country when they can’t handle VA. Lastly, being retired Army I’ve noticed during both Active Duty and since retirement that Republicans tend to give better raises to us and I believe overall they have our interest more aligned with what we want and need.
References
- Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir, Tolbert and Campbell (2018) We the People 12th Edition
- Republican Platform (2016) https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL%5B1%5D-ben_1468872234.pdf
- Democratic Platform (2016) https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2016_DNC_Platform.pdf
