With the electoral race almost at its apex, we can see the
two political parties in the forefront are the Democratic Party and the
Republican Party. The Democratic Party
being the older of the two, originated out of the Anti Federalist factions
before America achieved independence from British rule. The Republican Party was founded in 1850’s by
anti-slavery activists who lead to Abraham Lincoln becoming the first
Republican president. As each party has
evolved from its roots, we have come to refer to each party as being either on
the “left” or “right” (liberal or conservative). Although you do not need to register as a
democrat, republican, or third party (i.e. Green Party, Libertarian) to vote, knowing
each political party affiliation will give insight to understanding the core
beliefs of each candidate. A good start
is to see each party’s political platform which is announced at each party’s
national convention that is made up of planks that explain their stances on
domestic and foreign policies. The
difference in political party affiliation obviously affects the stances on
policies, but what influences this difference?
Although both parties overlap in practice, traditionally and
generally speaking most of the differences are ideological, the most
fundamental difference being their views and philosophy behind the role of
government. The difference stemming from
each party’s view of how much responsibility the government should have for the
people especially in terms of government spending. First, democrats believe in
more governmental responsibility or centralized government that provides a
safety net for the common good of the people, such as providing more government
spending towards program initiatives (i.e., welfare, universal health care, and
government regulation of business). They
believe that the government should do what is necessary to maintain equality
amongst the populace, emphasizing communal responsibility. Republicans believe in less government
interference of the people and less government spending with more
responsibility to the individual itself.
They acquire a pro-business platform with an emphasis on the deregulation
of business that supports the principles of free enterprise acknowledging that
the economic growth of our country have come from these principles. Republicans emphasize equity where there is
less emphasis on welfare, and more on property rights. As for foreign policy orientation both
parties are interventionists, implementing political and military involvement
of other countries affairs, but historically democrats have held a more reluctant
stance on military interference on countries than republicans. For example in the 2012 Republican platform,
they accredit Obama for the rise of nuclear threat from Iran because of a
failed engagement policy. In short, democrats believe you have certain rights
as being a citizen in itself such as welfare or healthcare but republicans
believe in equal fairness, you can have what you earned and can afford. Can you see how these views of government can
affect and shape domestic and foreign policies?
Whether it is tax or healthcare policies the philosophies
for each party’s view of the role with government heavily influences their
stance. A constant debate between the
democratic and republican party is how much Americans should pay for their taxes,
democrats believe in progressive taxation meaning higher tax rates for incomes
over 250K to help pay for program initiatives and balancing the budget. Republicans believe that taxes should not be
increased for anyone, that everyone deserves the same taxation and that wages
should be set by the free market. The
deriving difference is in the interpretation of equality and fairness amongst
the people: where democrats believe that people who are not privileged
depending on their social economic status (SES) should be given the opportunity
to achieve larger goals with help from the government and fellow community and where
republicans lean toward the stance that true fairness and equality stems from
being on a level playing field and that Darwinian qualities will help them
prosper.
One of the most controversial policies between each party
has been healthcare. Reflecting the same
theme as before, democrats believe that the government should take more
responsibility with covering citizens creating a single payer system which all
Americans pay the same amount for healthcare creating a more affordable option
since there is currently over 45 million uninsured Americans. Republicans stance influences their belief
that health insurance should be privatized, keeping the government out of it
since more competition will keep the costs down. Currently, the key provisions for each
party’s platform is for the democrats to keep seeking and expanding health
benefits and the republicans to repeal the current Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act: the health reform known as “Obamacare”. I couldn’t stress more that each politician
have different and nuanced views and interpretations on each of these policies,
as well as the role of government within each party as we can see politicians
continue to grow and change where they stand.
There is not a necessary choice of being on the “left” or “right,” but
regardless, our country has adapted a two party system of operation. Understanding the influence of each party’s
philosophies over policies can help inform where you stand yourself.