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Joseph Petrich

Mr. McGill

Political Science Honors, p. 5

29 September 2009

American Political Parties – Democratic Party

The Democratic Party was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792 to fight for the Bill of

Rights against the Federalist Party. In 1798, it was officially named the Democratic-Republican

Party; Jefferson was elected its first president in 1800. In 1844, the party was renamed the

Democratic Party, and in 1948, the Democratic National Committee was formed to serve the

Democratic Party’s cause between elections. The Democratic Party has experienced much

success, as one of the two most popular parties in America. Though they were not very

successful in winning presidential elections after the Civil War, they maintained a presence in

congress, and Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president of the 20th century. The

Democratic Party dominated the first part of the century, with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman,

and Kennedy. Jimmy Carter regained the presidency for the Democrats in the 1970s, and Bill

Clinton closed out the century. In 2008, Barack Obama ran for president on the Democratic

platform and won the popular vote and the Electoral College. Supporters and dissenters agree

that his charisma and young blood won him the White House.

Though initially supporting the invasion of Iraq, Democrats quickly campaigned for

ending the Iraq war. Currently Democrats are working on ending the war in Iraq, and

“refocus[ing] our nation’s efforts on those who attacked us on September 11” (democrats.org).

Therefore Democrats are committed to the War on Terror. In support of this is President

Obama’s promise to increase the number of troops sent to Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden

might be hiding. Bill Clinton accomplished welfare reform in the 1990s. The Democrats wanted
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to end welfare as we knew it, and give more of the responsibility to the states. They ended up

compromising with Republicans, who wanted a work requirement for able-bodied persons on

welfare. They also worked to alleviate poverty by passing other bills to protect children and give

other services to the impoverished. The Democratic Party has long been known as the common-

man’s party, and though ironic in today’s world of millionaire politicians, it is somewhat true

because of their focus on eliminating poverty.

The Democratic Party is clear on abortion, “The Democratic Party strongly and

unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion,

regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right”

(Democratic Party Platform 2008). Of course, there is always division, and Democrats for Life

of America is an example of that. These Democrats believe in protecting life from conception to

natural death, and oppose abortion. The Democratic Party is opposed to the death penalty, yet

many of its members support it. Opposing the legalization of illegal drugs, the Democratic Party

supports fighting those bringing drugs into America, and instituting a policy that would require a

prisoner to overcome addiction before leaving jail.

The Democratic Party supports immigration reform, namely securing our borders and

keeping aliens from entering the United States illegally. In order to reduce illegal immigration,

they propose aiding the economies of Latin American nations to reduce the incentive for

immigration to the United States, advancing the technology available to border patrol agents, and

fighting the illegal human smuggling operations near the border. The party supports early

childhood education including Head Start, and supports a program that would fund college for

students that promise to become K-12 teachers. They also support fixing the No-child-left-

behind Act and updating curriculums to a new 21st Century standard.

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The Democratic Party pledges to eliminate taxes for many retirees and to not increase

taxes for people with incomes below $250,000, as well as simplifying the income tax process.

The party also wishes to reduce our dependence on oil, to save the environment and our

economy, by reducing oil consumption by 35% by 2030. Further efforts to fight climate change

are vague, and include increasing funding for “green” technologies, and forming coalitions of

nations. The party supports a government in which the people are involved. They aim to

accomplish this by using modern technology, like the internet, to provide updates to people and

to receive suggestions. The Democratic Party also supports reducing the influence of lobbyists

in Washington, especially those from large corporations. They are clear that we need to reduce

the national debt, and suggest eliminating the tax cuts of the Bush administration.

The Democratic Party’s focus now is on providing affordable, comprehensive healthcare

for all citizens. The party gives few specifics, and there is much debate within the party on

exactly what kind of healthcare is necessary. They also wish to take another look at the patriot

act and examine the decisions made based upon the act, with the goal of overturning any

unconstitutional actions made by the government due to terror. In addition, the Democratic Party

wishes to strengthen ties with allies in the Middle East, especially Israel, while leaving Iraq and

strengthening American presence in Afghanistan.

I would never consider supporting the Democratic Party. The only matters on which I

agree with the official party stance are on eliminating poverty and the death penalty, and on these

I differ on the method of doing so. I could vote for a specific candidate if his opinions were

sufficiently different from those of the party, but the candidate would have to be pro-life. The

issue of abortion is the single most important issue in politics today as it is responsible for more

lives than all of the other issues combined. The most glaring contradiction among the

Democratic Party’s views is that they support a woman’s right to end her child’s life until the
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very moment it leaves the womb, but then are willing to immediately start channeling funds into

its wellbeing and education for the rest of its existence. Still, I do not consider myself

conservative as I believe in a socialist economic system and gun control. I like to think that I

conserve the truth so that I may be liberated; in other words, I think for myself.