The Democratic and Republican Parties Compared and Contrasted

For about just as long as the constitution has been employed as the central document of government in the United States, open and free elections have been put forth to keep the power in the hands of the people. With legitimate elections in place, those involved in government have formed political parties based upon their views and beliefs. The main goal of a political party is to elect those in office (spanning from local government to federal government) who share their beliefs and opinions. Two main parties have prevailed before all others and those two parties are the Democratic and the Republican. With both having almost completely opposing ideologies, the two parties are considered enemies where members often carry resentment for those of the opposite party. The central belief of the Republican party is that every person should be responsible for their own livelihood and place in society. The core ideology of the Democratic party is that the government should look out for the wellness of all persons even if that may mean sacrificing a few individual rights. With these being the two parties standpoints on government, it is no surprise that the two parties directly oppose one another. It is often considered that the Democratic party is more for the people and the Republican party is for the wealthy and those able to provide for themselves through free enterprise. Based upon economics, the Republican party feels as though the United States has established its dominance and greatness through free enterprise. They believe that innovation and economic growth has come from it. The Democratic party views the economy as too complicated for the everyday person hence why they feel the government should aid in all business decisions through the establishment of labor unions. The main contrast here is that the Republican party feels as though ones skill and knowledge should be what they build their success and wealth upon, where as the Democratic party chooses to aid all persons as it is too difficult to provide for ones self. A big government topic that is often a key debate between both political parties is how government funds should be collected and distributed. For being so heavily against excessive and wasteful government spending, the republican party works endlessly to eliminate any unnecessary expenses. Directly