Whats the difference between republican and democrat and can we vote fore both?

5 Comments

1. titou says:

   February 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm

   Basically, they represent two different kinds of government: ‘Republican", where people elect a politician to become expert and vote his own informed conscience in the Senate and so on (as in Ancient Rome), and "Democrat", where the person elected is actually expected to vote the "will of the people" who elected him — as if the people who elected him voted on each and every issue.

   The United States was in fact founded as a "Republic". So even though we practice "One Man, One Vote", in the end we mostly accept that the will of the majority is not always right, nor the public best informed on every issue. A lynch mob is "democratic", for example. To balance this potential imbalance in both cases, we have the Congress, and especially the courts, which rely on a DEMOCRATIC jury system to decide important civil questions of responsibility. The courts can eventually overturn law made by the Congress. Still, at the courts’ highest level, the Supreme Court, the judge-chairs are appointed for LIFE by the President, and these "Justices", or highest judges, are absolutely "republican" in that they are an appointed elite which responds to no one. The Supreme Courts’ decisions are final — and often follow the exact lines which the President would like. Surprising circumstances in a "democratic" society.

   So in real practice, over the years and particularly this century since the Depression and Roosevelt administration instituted widespread public reform to rebuild the economically broken country and face war, the words "Republican" and "Democrat" have taken on other meanings. The public is confused as to what these words mean, and it’s no wonder.

   Essentially, today’s Democratic Party is favored by religious and racial minorities and working-class people, as well as a large portion of those with higher college education who are attracted that party’s closer adherence to so-called "Liberal" causes, such as government support of groups, government control of schools, health benefits, tax supports for labor and industry and so on. This type of system, while evening out some inequalities, can remove some incentives for individual achievement, and lead to excessive government spending at local levels.

   The Republican Party tends to attract those who are better off financially, and proportionally more Whites than other race-groups. Republicans do not like government involvement in economic affairs — seeing "Free Enterprise" as a way to make all of society wealthier by less control of the way money is made and taxes assessed. This, too has its drawbacks as it leads to separation between the opportunities that are available according to economic well-being, both to individuals and groups. Has a friendly stock-broker sent you any money in the mail recently after making a profit? No? In other words, the mythology that business succcess brings well-being for all has yet to prove itself. It’s strange, too, that the Republicans who scream so loudly about "Government Involvement and Taxes" are ever so willing to support public spending for a military that they seem to be continuously sending off to meddle in other countries’ affairs at enormous expense to the taxpayer. Go figure.

   In the end, one might even say that while the Democrats prefer a "President", the Republicans prefer a "King". It is ironic to see Democrats propose ‘Power to the People’, and rely more on government to lead, while the Rebublicans propose "individual freedom" and tend to concentrate real power in the hands of only a few.

   In today’s "Super-Tuesday" primaries we see an example of the difference between the Republicans’ and Democrats’ way of doing things. In the Republican primaries, the candidate in each state who gets the most votes takes ALL the delegates who will vote for the nomination for President. Conversely, in the Democratic primaries, each candidate "win or lose", receives a number of delegates’ votes proportional to the number of individual votes he received.
   This was primarily the result of Reverend Jesse Jackson’s candidacy where he objected to the "winner-takes-all" way of doing things, and won change in the way the Democratic Party chooses its own candidates. Superficially "more fair", time has shown that counting people and votes in a way designed to create "balance", such as "School Busing","Affirmatve Action", and the incredibly dumb and short-lived teaching of "Ebonics" — all championed by the Democrats — really make more problems and inequality than they solve.

   Pretty complicated stuff. Up ’til quite recently, the system has worked pretty well as each side did their best to reconcile their differences between elections, reaching for sensible compromise. In recent years, particularly during the Nixon/Reagan/Bush/Bush dynasty, we have seen such differences and unwillingness to compromise on both sides that both our internal and external politics have suffered. Something like a heart does when it it sick, our country’s heart seems not to beat as regularly as it should. We seem to rush in confusion back and forth from "Conservatism" to "Liberalism", without much regard for internal stability, nor for our hard-earned role as leader of the Free World.

   It’s almost as as if our American ideal was for our President to become God. Whether we aim for an all-powerful Republican God, or an all-understanding Democratic one: the result is pretty much the same: disappointment and childish confusion about why our Great Plan is not working so well.
2. cireengineering says:

   February 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm

   You can vote for whomever you want.
3. pstottmfc says:

   February 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm

   These days there is not a whole lot of difference between the politicians in either party.

   No you have one vote and cannot use it to vote for more than one person in each category.

   About the only honest candidate in the running who might stand a chance of making some really meaningful changes is Ron Paul – R (TX). You don’t hear anything about him because there seems to be an unofficial media blackout on him.

   He has been coming in third in some states and not getting any mention at all!

   Check him out – he wants to end foreign wars, bring the troops home, eliminate income tax and the IRS, eliminate the CIA, and to take America’s fingers out of everyone else’s pies.

   In short, he wants a return to the Constitution as the basis for all lawmaking, and to eliminate those illegal and unconstitutional Executive Orders, and to make America a true democracy once more.
4. QBeing says:

   February 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm

   The Short of it

   Democrats believe everybody needs help and the Government should decide who gets it and how much.

   Republicans believe that people are more self reliant and if they need help they can get help form the community and private groups that are not tied to government.

   AS for can you vote for either, in the primaries it depends on if the the state has an open primary, In California only Republicans can vote or republican candidates, however the Dems primary is open so if you are declared or decline to state if you ask for a Democratic ballot you can then vote for democratic candidates.

   In the Election in November the election is open so you can vote republican or democrat or whoever else may be on the ballot.

   Currently ther are 4 mybe 5 viable candidates, andyone who tells you differently is afool.

   You have Obama and Hillary on the Dems, and McCain and Romney, and with a stretch of the imagination Huckabee. Everyone else has either dropped out or is in denial.
5. JFered1 says:

   February 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm

   You can vote for whomever you want, the main differences are as follows:

   Republicans: Democrats:
   Pro Life Pro Choice
   Limited Government Strong federal govt
   Lower taxes higher taxes
   Strong military limited military
   less govt subsidies govt socialized programs
   Take care of yourself! aka socialism