Friday, October 14, 2016

America's Political Parties - A Few

The two main political parties in the United States of America are the Democratic party and the Republican party (also known as the GOP, or Grand Old Party).  There are also, several smaller (so called "third") parties involved in the government of our nation - the American Independent Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, several Socialist parties, the Justice Party, the Working Families Party, and the U. S. Pacifist Party. (There are currently, at least, 41 voting parties registered within the United States of America.)

    The Democratic Party operates according to a philosophy that emphasizes positive rights and the notion that people are entitled to certain things and that government is obliged to create the conditions in which people can achieve these things.
    According to www.Democrats.org, the Democratic Party believes that it is the government's responsibility to make sure businesses and other institutions serve the interest of the people.  The Democratic platform normally calls for higher corporate taxes, minimum wage hikes, and support for unions.  They advocate an individualism, in which people are able to lead a chosen lifestyle.
    The origins of the Democrats are in the Democratic-Republican Party, organized by Thomas Jefferson in the late eighteenth century.  The first President elected simply as a "Democrat" was Andrew Jackson.

    The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers.  The first elected Republican President was Abraham Lincoln, prior to the beginning of America's Civil War.  It was fractured by multiple scandals in the late nineteenth century.
     The Republican Party supports a pro-business platform, with further foundations in economic libertarianism and a brand of social conservatism increasingly based on the viewpoints of the Religious Right.  Republicans are generally pro-religion, anti-bureaucracy, pro-military, pro-business and pro-personal responsibility.
    Republicans see "big government" as wasteful and an obstacle to getting things done.  Their approach is Darwinian capitalism, in that a strong  business should survive in a free market rather than the government influencing (through regulation) who wins or loses in business.

   The Libertarian Party seeks a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives, and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. They defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings.  Libertarians seek to build a world in which individuals are free to follow their own dreams, in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power.

    The Constitution Party has seven principles that they espouse as their platform:
1.  Life:  For all human beings, from conception to natural death.
2.  Liberty:  Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual.
3.  Family:  One husband and one wife with their children, as divinely instituted.
4.  Property:  Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden.
5.  Constitution and Bill of Rights:  Interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers.
6.  States' Rights:  Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the Federal Government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is reserved to the states or to the people.
7.  American Sovereignty:  American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

    The Green Party of the United States has ten key values as its' platform:
1.  Grassroots Democracy:  Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and will not be subject to the will of another.
2.  Social Justice and Equal Opportunity
3.  Ecological wisdom
4.  Non-violence
5.  Decentralization
6.  Community-based economics and economic justice
7.  Feminism and gender equality
8.  Respect for diversity
9.  Personal and global responsibility
10.  Future focus and sustainability

    If you would like to know more about other political parties within the United States of America, please visit this website:  http://www.uselections.com/parties.htm









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