Research log #8

Christian Arakawa

02 January 2018

EQ: What are the foundational differences between the primary political parties in America

Three points to prove #1: Each political party differs in their fiscal policies.
#2: Each party focuses on a specific voter base that
drives its social issues
#3: The political parties have different
stances on the military and diplomatic issues.
Point that this Source/Information Proves: Each party focuses on a specific voter base that
drives its social issues
Excerpts (These should provide insight into the designated Point to Prove):
Democrats believe we are stronger when we have an economy that works for everyone an economy that grows
incomes for working people, creates good-paying jobs, and puts a middle-class life within reach for more
Americans. (democrats.org)
We believe a good education is a basic right of all Americans, no matter what zip code they live in. We will end
the school-to-prison pipeline and build a cradle-to-college pipeline instead, where every child can live up to his
or her God-given potential. (democrats.org)
Democrats believe we are stronger when we protect citizens’ right to vote, while stopping corporations’
outsized influence in elections. We will fight to end the broken campaign finance system, overturn the
disastrous Citizens United decision, restore the full power of the Voting Rights Act, and return control of our
elections to the American people. (democrats.org)
Among Trump supporters, 90% call the economy very important to their vote and 89% say the same about the
issue of terrorism. Other issues given high priority by Trump supporters include immigration (79%) and foreign
policy (79%).

Comparable shares of Clinton (74%) and Trump (71%) supporters say the issue of gun policy will be very
important to their vote. In 2012 and 2004, far fewer supporters of either the Republican or Democratic
candidate said the issue of “gun control” was very important to their vote.

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

Last month Alabama made history by electing its first democrat senator in over 25 years. In Alabama
democrats pushed to get him elected by hitting what is called the "swing voters". These are the people don’t
affiliate with one party, but vote for both parties (Republican and Democrat) based on what the candidate say's
they'll do. This among other things (sexual harassment allegations) helped Doug Jones beat Alabama Chief
Justice Roy Moore. Each party tries to get voter base in order to get their candidate elected to their respective
seat.
 The Democratic party of America claims to be "a party for the people. The democrats want to help the
middle class get a better paying job that will allow them to get above the poverty lines. The democrats want to
put interest into the future generation. They want to imply education reform. They want to allocate more of the
federal budget to the education department. This will allow kids to get a better education. Right now, the annual
budget for the Department of Education is given $68 billion. The Democrats want to push the budget up to $100
billion to help the future generation.
The Republican party of American also claims to be "a party for the people". To be fair to the
Republicans, that statement is true as they control the White House, Congress, governorships, and many local
legislatures. The Republicans stand on a platform to get rid of the career politicians and put in new people who
will work for the people. To point this out this statement worked and got Donald Trump elected President. The
republicans were able to cut taxes by $1.2 trillion in the new tax bill. On average that will save an annual $2,000
for families. They claim that this will help all people but it also heavily cut taxes for the ultra-rich.

Source
Ireland, Doug. "To the Races." Nation, vol. 267, no. 14, 02 Nov. 1998, pp. 15-19. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=voh&AN=1220862&site=ehost-live.