*Disclaimer: The article below was written by taking the ideas of the Democratic Party Platform1 and do not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of the author or the Blue and Gold*
Last week, we discussed the party platform of Republicans and their plans to run the government based on conservative views and ideology. This week, we are discussing the other major political party in the United States; the party that is currently holding the White House, the Democrats.
Unlike Republicans, Democrats want to operate the government under liberal beliefs and principles. This year there are only three Democratic candidates running for president and they all share the same platform even though some are more left leaning than others. The goal for Democrats in 2016 would be to keep the White House and win back Congress. To do this they will have to convince as many Americans possible that their platform is much more reliable, progressive, and suitable than the Republican platform.
Remember what you read about Republicans last week. Compare them with what the Democrats believe and decide for yourself who has a better stance on each of the issues. Here is a quick summary of what Democrats think about what is going on in our country.
Democrats are all about “Moving America Forward.” One of the biggest things that the Obama Administration has worked on in the past eight years would be health care. Democrats believe that high quality heath care should be affordable and accessible to everyone in the country. They don’t believe that Americans should break their bank account just because they got sick. Under the Affordable Care Act or more commonly known as Obamacare, the Democrats trust that they are improving health care for all Americans.
The Democratic party has a history of supporting LBGT rights as well as women’s rights. Democrats believe that women have the right to decide what happens to their bodies and that their decision is between them, their families, and their doctors. In addition to this, they fully support same-sex couples who want to get married and oppose state and federal legislation to deny these marriages.
Now onto arguably the most controversial issue in today’s politics: national security. What are the Democrats doing about ISIS? About terror threats? About the Syrian Refugees? The Obama Administration has been very adamant about strengthening our relations with our allies in addition to using diplomatic strategies in order to promote peace in the world. However, Democrats also believe that military action is not out of the equation and should be used when appropriate.
Like I said last week about my report of the Republican party, this is only a summary of a few issues that the Democratic party supports. To read more about the Democratic platform, go onto the Democratic website and learn more about liberal viewpoints of the issues. This week, I’ll leave you all with this: now that you know how Democrats and Republicans think, reflect on yourself and figure out what YOU think. Where do you lie on the political spectrum?
1
“2012 Democratic Party Platform – Democrats.org.” 2015. 4 Jan. 2016 <https://www.democrats.org/party-platform>
