Democrats
In the United States there are two political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. The Republican party represents the political right and the democrats represent the center-left. The democrats are the party that currently control the executive branch with President Barack Obama. The democrats also control both houses of the legislative branch, the house and the senate under the leadership of both Madam Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
The Democrats represent a political ideology that believes in socially liberal freedom. Democrats are usually more tolerant of alternative values and social disconformities. The democrats are racially, ethnically, and socioeconomic ally diverse. Democrats are generally regarded as the champions of the working class and immigrants. Democrats and the democratic party are generally more popular in the urban centers of the United States like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Economically, Democrats believe in interventionist policies on the private sector. They believe in taxing the richest members of the private sector and giving tax cuts to the less wealthy segment of the American population. Democrats also believe that the government could be a source of wealth for the people. Traditionally, Democrats believe in expansion of the power of the federal government over state and local authorities. Famous government programs like Social Security, Welfare, all GI bills, Medicare, and Medicaid are the brainchild of Democrats of the past. The father of the modern Democratic Party is the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was president during the Great Depression and World War II and helped America out of war and economic depression with the series of government programs known as the New Deal. The Healthcare Reformation bill that was just passed is a direct descendant of the type of programs that characterized New Deal legislation in the 1930’s to mid-1940’s. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was and will always be the only president in US history to be elected 4 times. Prior to FDR administration, the Democrats had an ideology that more closely resembled that of the modern republican party.
The organization that gathers delegates from every part of the country to form the Democratic political platform is called by the Democratic National Committee or DNC. The DNC gathers delegates from all corners of the United States to conduct a convention during a presidential election year to determine the party’s leadership and its platform. The last Democratic National Convention happened in 2008 in Denver, Colorado. There the democrats officially choose Barack H. Obama to be their candidate for President in 2008. Political ideology and platform is a means of gaining political pattern because it creates a united front against the Republicans. However, the 2009-2010 debates on health care reform proved that Democrats could have ideological cracks and faults. The Blue-dog Democrats were a wing of the Democratic party that sided against the President’s healthcare plan. Blue-dog Democrats lean more to the center of the political spectrum than the Democratic mainstream. These conservative Democrats divided the Democrats and gave more power to their Republican adversaries. Today, the future of the Democratic Party’s power is unknown due to the political football game between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans have a good chance to win both houses of the legislative branch in November of 2010.
