After last night’s uber-boring compliment fest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, I thought it appropriate to discuss the history of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in this country….
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America’s Two Party System in a Nutshell
America’s political system is essentially made up of Republicans and Democrats. Once upon a time, it was Federalists vs. Democrats, then Whigs vs. Dems, and a couple of other iterations to get where we are today. But for the most part, this country has always been a two party system. Currently, about a third of voters don’t identify with either party, but the parties exist nonetheless. Democrats claim to have more registered members then Republicans at present, but the advantage isn’t all that large.
Being a political candidate in a party brings a number of advantages that wouldn’t be present if you simply ran on your own, independent of party affiliation. Most importantly, being in a party brings money, organization, and the benefit of picking up votes from people who don’t know who you are but choose to vote “straight ticket” on their ballot wherein they cast one vote that says, “I am voting for all the people in this party.” For example, Rick Perry (Governor of Texas) managed to ride the coattails of George W. Bush (who was insanely popular in Texas) in to public office because he ran as a Republican with Bush on the ballot. A few million “straight ticket” votes later, he was Lt. Governor. Now, he’s parlayed that into being the Governor despite the fact he has no business running a roadside lemonade stand, much less being the chief executive of a wonderful state. Sigh.
Anyway, as mentioned before, the two parties that shove everyone around like bullies on the playground are the Republicans and Democrats. Yes, there are other parties like the Reform Party and the Libertarians, but despite a great deal of effort and enthusiasm by supporters, these parties are more pot-stirrers in the dialog rather then winners at the polls.
The Republican Party was founded in 1854 and is often referred to as the “Grand Old Party” or “GOP.” As an aside, this makes no sense as the Democratic party is actually older then the GOP. The Republicans came to prominence when a strapping young lad named Abe Lincoln won the Presidency in 1860. The Presidency has been held by Republicans 18 times, most recently by George W. Bush. To hear historians tell it, the Republican party stands for fiscal conservatism, smaller government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, states’ rights, and strong foreign policy. The Republican party held the White House during the Civil War, Reconstruction, the beginning of the Great Depression, the fall of the Soviet Union, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. The buzzword of the present day to describe the Republican Party is “conservative” although the meaning years ago (smaller government, less spending, lower taxes) has morphed in to something different (social conservatism, a la opposing gay marriage, regulating media content, putting religion in to schools, etc.).
The Democratic party has it’s roots in the Democratic-Republican party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1792 to piss off Alexander Hamilton, who was trying to ramrod Federalist fiscal policies down the throat of our young country. The party first won the Presidency in 1800 (Pres #3, Jefferson). It has technically been in it’s current incarnation since 1912 when the Democrats first made it a point to position its policies and platform to the left of the Republican party. When Franklin Roosevelt won election in 1932, he managed to solidify the Democratic party’s agenda going forward as absolutely, positively, unapologetically liberal. The Democratic party held the White House during both World Wars, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights movement. The Democratic platform usualy advocates “populism” which is code for taxation, government administered programs like Social Security and Welfare, more government involvement in people’s lives, and social liberalism. Traditionally, Democrats have been pro-Choice, anti-death penalty, unopposed to same sex Marriages, and in favor of maintaining the separation of church and state.
Fun Fact #1 that may help you when a free beer at the bar: William Jennings Bryan, 3 time Presidential loser, pastor, staunch prohibitionist, and lawyer against evolution in the Scopes trial (as portrayed in the book Inherit the Wind) was a Democrat, not a Republican. (Drink up!)
Fun Fact #2 – The unoffical mascot of the Democratic Party is the donkey. There are many theories as to why, but one prevailing theory is that when Andrew Jackson was running for President in 1828, his opponents called him a “jackass” so much that the imagery attached itself to his party and stuck.
So, in summary…
Republicans: AKA the “GOP”, came to prominence with the election of Lincoln, “conservative” policies that supposedly advocate less government, lower taxation, states’ rights, socially restrictive policies, aggressive foreign policy, and a big elephant logo. Famous Republicans include Ronald Reagan, Abe Lincoln, Richard Nixon, and Chuck Norris.
Democrats: Nearly as old as this country itself, solidified it’s current bent with the election of FDR, “liberal” policies that include having the government decide what to do with more of your money through taxation, funding and management of social programs aimed to help the less-fortunate among us, social policy that advocates the idea that people should be free to choose what to do with themselves and to themselves. Somewhere along the way, someone brought a donkey to the party and left it. Famous Democrats include FDR, JFK, and Barbara Streisand.
GOP Logo:
Dem logo:
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