Difference between Democrat and Republican
In the history of American politics, no party has dominated the political landscape as much as the Democrats and Republicans. With almost 120 million voters registered to these 2 parties, they are at each and every nook and corner of American Politics. They take diametrically opposite views on major policy issues, governance, and security and are bitter rivals to say the least!
It makes for quite interesting reading when we sit out and trace the origins of the party and try to map out their major ideological differences.
Origins
It may sound impossible, but these two parties have a common origin! In the 1790's the Democratic - Republican Party was formed by Thomas Jefferson and allies to take on the might of the Federalist Party. In 1812, the Party split following differences on who would become the next President and since then the divide between both the parties just seems to have grown larger and larger.
Symbols
The Republican Party is also known otherwise as the G.O.P or Grand Old Party, an irony in itself as it was established much more lately than the Democratic Party. The Republican party uses the Elephant as its symbol while the Democratic Party is the Donkey.
Presidents
The Presidency so far seems to be in favor of the Republicans who have got 18 Presidents elected to the Oval Office, compared to only 15 of the Democrats.
Notable Republican Presidents include
- 1. Abraham Lincoln
- 2. Theodore Roosevelt
- 3. Ronald Reagan
- 4. George Bush { Senior & Junior}
Notable Democratic Presidents Include
- 1. Franklin W Roosevelt
- 2. John F Kennedy
- 3. Bill Clinton
- 4. Barack Obama
Registered Voters
The Democrats seem to lead in the number of voters registered so far. The Democrats have almost 72 million registered voters compared to 55 million voters for the Republicans. This figure has turned into the Democrats favor recently as they dominate the Senate, the Congress and a majority of the Governors posts across USA. Needless to mention even the present President of the United States is a Democrat.
Ideologies
Even though both the parties started out together with the same ideologies, now they are just poles apart. While the Democrats lean over the far left, the Republicans are more Right winged. Democrats are more socialist liberals while the Republicans are more social and neo conservatives.
Policies
The differences in policies become quite evident if we have a look at the budgetary allocation of different Presidents. The Republicans tend to spend more on Defense and Security while Health and Education seems to be the forte of the Democrats.
Similarities and Differences
So, what do we conclude after our discussion on both the parties
- Both have a common origin
- The Democrats have more Registered voters than the Republicans
- Democrats prioritize on Health and Education, while Defense and Security are the Republicans strong point
While the choice of whom you vote for depends on your ideology and thinking there is no disputing the fact that both the parties work for the betterment of the United States of America.
