Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Topic #1 - "Party Politics"

RESOLVED: The policies of the (Democratic / Republican) Party more closely match the values of the American people.

The Republican Party is more trusted and best represents the values and sentiments of the American people.

In the chart below from rasmussenreports.com , the national percentages of Republicans and Democrats have shifted significantly from 2010 to 2012. The Democrat’s affiliation has decreased 2.9% while the Republican’s affiliation has increased 3.6%, putting Republicans in a 3.4% lead. On the major topics of the economy and taxes, immigration, and national security, there is an average of 8% more people who support Republicans rather than Democrats. With the economy and taxes, Republicans want to cut taxes for everyone to relieve economic pressure, unlike the Democrats who want to raise taxes for upper class citizens in order to give handouts to the middle and lower classes.1 Additionally, Republicans better support a free market, a founding principle of the nation. On the stance of immigration, Republicans want to secure our boarders and implement an electronic citizenship verification system to make sure that American jobs are not wrongfully taken. If illegal immigrants want to become citizens, they will need to enroll themselves in a program. Democrats on the other hand want to spend taxpayer dollars to give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.1 Finally, on the issue of national security, Democrats tend to focus on internal problems, while Republicans look abroad in order to minimize the number of potential threats to best keep the country safe. The Republican stance on these issues prove that the policies of the Republican Party best support the values of the American people. (Morgan K.)

The policies of the Democratic Party more closely match the values of the American people.


The Democratic Party best represents the values of the American people for several reasons. First, in the past 7 elections ending with 2008, the majority of American voters have identified with the Democratic Party more than the Republican (or Independent party) Party identification. If the Democratic party has had a constant advantage in party supporters and people who call themselves Democrats, than that must mean that the Democratic party fulfills and embodies the desires of the majority of American people, otherwise they would not be party identifiers (Pew Research).

Second, the Democratic Party and women share common values and priorities, including supporting our families, protecting our country, and advancing the issues that matter most to women of all ages and ethnicities. (Democrats.org).



Third, Democrats are committed to protecting America’s natural resources and ensuring the quality of our air, water, and land for future generations. Currently the Obama administration is working to protect our environment by directing us towards a more sustainable America. Democrats want to develop comprehensive energy and climate legislation (help to prevent global warning) to protect environment (Democrats.org).

The fourth and final reason Democrats best represent the values of the American people, is because they (Obama and Democrats) are working to stabilize the financial system and have helped to prevent a second Great Depression. President Obama inherited an economy in free fall, with huge deficits, skyrocketing health care costs, dwindling employment, and banking and housing markets on the brink of collapse. Although we still have a long way to go, but we are now moving forward on the road to recovery. (Emily L.)

What we stand for

Who we stand for

economy

every ethnicity

voting rights

veterans

education

disabilities

civil rights

LGBT community

science

women

environment

young people/students

national security

small business community


 

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

While some very good arguments were made, my personal opinion on this matter is that it varies by generation and location. When you look at an older person from somewhere like West Texas as opposed to a twenty-something from New York City, chances are the person from Texas will be a Republican and the person from NYC will be a Democrat. Currently, the younger generation is swinging towards the left end of the spectrum, but this could soon change.

Colton U said...

I would agree with Katherine in the fact that it really has to do with your age, where you were born and how you were raised. Most people who were born in Texas were brought up seeing more values of a Republican then someone born in Cali. Due to this the people from Texas or other Republican states will probably be leaning towards the right side even without knowing too much about the parties. Also age is a big factor polls show that right now a lot more younger people are for the Democratic side and feel like their beliefs more closely relate to the left side.

Brookie H said...

People are granted the right in America to form their own opinion. This allows American citizens to choose to either be a Republican or a Democrat. I agree with Colton and Katherine above in the fact that age, how one is raised, and the location of where one lives definitely influences which party that person will be in favor for. Even though I believe myself to favor one of the parties, both parties in fact match the values of the American people. It is assumed that the Republican Party matches the values of the middle to upper class and from 2000-2008, the Republicans must have been doing something right in order to win the White House two terms in a row. The Democratic Party typically matches the values of the middle to lower class. In 2008, it was seen that age was definitely a factor in who voted Republican or Democrat. A majority of Democratic voters were young Americans and it was seen that in the 2008 election, the largest number of young voters ever decided to vote in the election. Due to the high number of young voters, President Obama easily won the White House.

Nick izzard said...

I think that due to the increasingly divided nature of the two parties, it is impossible to label one as "more closely matching the values of the American people." Keeping this in mind, I do agree with the thesis that the Democratic party better fits the ideals of younger generations. Ideas such as strong opposition to the practice of abortion and and gay practices are becoming out dated. As time goes on I think that the popularity of the Democratic party will grow to the point of becoming more popular that the GOP, but for now the nation is too divided. The old ideals of the GOP still hold strong in the American community today. The current divided status of the nation makes it impossible to assign one to being significantly more popular.

Anonymous said...

I believe that this topic is more relative to the time of the election. The conditions of the economy, employment, etc. that are taking place in the election years usually play huge roles in whether a Democratic of Republican candidate is chosen. Currently, many people, especially those residing in the high unemployment rated states such as Nevada, would choose to vote Republican because of their tendency to blame their current economic status on Obama. I think with time comes change and therefore a designated one party that is most representative of our nation's citizens is not accurate.

crbowman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I believe that it is not possible to classify one party as better matching the values of the American people, however I think it is possible to associate a party with certain time periods. Times are always changing, therefore ideals and values are always changing. Much of the criteria depends upon the financial and economic status of America at the time. For example, Republican presidents may hold office for three consecutive terms, in which you could appropriately call America as having more strongly Republican ideals at the time. When ideals of the American people change, they will then adopt the ideals of the Democrat party. As this is a general example, it demonstrates how during different time periods, issues and ideals change, and therefore only one party cannot best represent the views of the American people throughout history.
-Christina B.

Brooke Bode said...

I agree with Katherine and Colton in the aspects that usually a person supports a certain party based on their family's voting history, where they were raised, their economic status, age and gender. Most people living in the south would vote Republican but mostwomen vote Democrat. Personally, I favor one party over the other due to the social aspects of the party. The social ideals of the Republican party cater to older generations who have more traditional ideals while young people are more open-minded based on the modern and progressive world we live in. However there are exceptions to these generalizations..!
-Brooke B

Emily S. said...

I believe that because the two political parties have failed to find a common ground, no party has successfully captured the ideals of the American people as a whole. Alike Katherine, Colten, and Brookie said, our background, age, location etc. all are factors that influence ones vote, and because of our diverse upbringings, we can't assume that one party better represents our country than another.

Anonymous said...

I agree with many of the comments above, like Katherine's and Colton's as to that opinion is shaped around the way one is raised, where one lives, etc. Although I do not believe one specific party has successfully captured all American ideals, I think that what is important is that we all have the will and right to have our own opinion to which party captures American ideals, and all have the right to choose which party we are apart of. That is the basis of American democracy, and what I believe is the best part of having differing political parties.

Daniel K. said...

In my opinion, it is the persons understanding of American values and ideals that determines the way the politcal parties match their individual understanding. Everyone sees America's values differntly, and thats why there is not ine political party. It is the way the the political party expresses those values that determine which side the individual feels that party mathes their understadning the best.

Anonymous said...

My personal opinion is that it is possible for a political party to closely resemble the values of the American people, although it seems illogical to propose that one party can exactly match all ideals of the people. In fact it is necessary to keep in mind that various factors such as age, gender, race, location, as mentioned above, all play key roles in determining the party, which aligns more with the values of Americans in that time. Therefore depending on the ideas desired in a certain time, the question of whether or not the Democratic or Republican party is better is relative to the present day.

Molly Aaron said...

It's difficult to say that American values match up with one side of government. It depends heavily on where and how you were raised. a Republican state, like Texas, will probably never agree with the Democratic of another state, such as California. Furthermore, it depends on what is going on in the world, and especially in our nation, around the time of elections. Issues and opinions change consistently, making it impossible to pick one party that best matches the ideas of the United Sates.