The American political party system and structure

American Political Parties

Political parties

American political parties: Republicans and Democrats

Regarding the issue of homeland security, the National Republican Party in its national political platform defines the issue in terms of supporting the military and securing the nation's borders. Republicans have traditionally emphasized military spending over domestic spending and providing social services to Americans in need. However, in addition to their stated commitment to the military, Republicans also stress the need to repeal taxes, including taxes that favor the wealthy and big businesses: "We believe government should tax only to raise money for its essential functions" (2008 Republican platform: Economy, 2011, National Republican Party).

The Republicans claim to abhor government deficits, but say that cutting taxes will stimulate the economy enough to make up the difference in lost revenue. The Republicans strongly oppose any kind of nationalized healthcare. They minimize the negative aspects of the current healthcare system, which leaves many Americans uninsured, stating: "Americans have the best doctors, the best hospitals, the most innovative medical technology, and the best scientists in the world" (2008 Republican platform: Health care, 2011, National Republican Party). There is no specific section in its 2008 Republican platform about Social Security, unlike the Democrats, and a lack of Republican support for Social Security has been one of the primary criticisms of the party.

Traditionally, in American political life, the modern Democratic Party has had to respond to criticisms that it is 'weak on defense.' During his 2008 campaign, President Obama was extremely critical of the decision of the Bush Administration to invade Iraq but stressed the need for more effective military intelligence and more of a focus on the Afghanistan front. Currently, the Democratic Party supports ending the war in Iraq. However, it also upholds the need for vigorous enforcement of the nation's borders by supporting initiatives like the "Southwest Border Security Supplemental to bolster the work of federal law enforcement officials and improve their ability to partner with state, local, and tribal law enforcement" (What we stand for: National Security, 2011, Democrats). To create a safer world, the Democrats support nuclear containment treaties like the new START Treaty, which limits the number of nuclear warheads in the United States and Russia. The Democrats, unlike the Republicans, strive to see past prejudice and support the end of DADT which prohibits openly gay men and women from serving in the military (What we stand for: National Security, 2011, Democrats).

The Democrats emphasize cutting taxes on individuals and small businesses, with the philosophy that these sectors are more likely to use the additional revenue to generate consumer spending, versus richer people and large corporations, to whom the windfall of additional revenue would matter less. The Democrat Party also supports government spending to generate job growth and encourage consumers to have greater security about spending money. Consumer spending, according to the Democrats, is they key to generate new wealth in the economy through incentivizing production. Healthcare was one of the cornerstones of the current president's reform package. "The Recovery Act protected health insurance coverage for nearly 7 million working Americans who lost their jobs in this recession, helping to make insurance more affordable while providing additional support for prevention, health, and wellness," and ended some of the worst insurance company abuses like denying coverage for preexisting conditions, and also provided tax breaks for small businesses to make it easier for them to provide employees with coverage (What we stand for: Health care, 2011, Democrats). Regarding the rights of seniors, the Affordable Care Act closed the so-called 'doughnut hole' that did not cover a specific middle range of Medicare drug coverage and the Democrats have strongly resisted attempts to privatize Social Security (What we stand for: Social Security, 2011, Democrats).

As is obvious from my analysis perhaps, I side with the Democratic Party. The Republicans have failed to provide any meaningful strategies for healthcare reform, and I have personally seen people in my family struggle with their insurance companies to pay for various procedures. Insurance companies, unless regulated by the government will strive to not cover care rather than to do so, because they are profit-making organizations.

The discrepancy between the rich and the poor has widened during times of extended Republican executive and legislative rule because of the strong emphasis on deregulation and cutting taxes. Even wealthy public figures like Warren Buffet have stated in public that the rich pay proportionately fewer taxes in America than in other major industrialized nations. Regarding national defense, the Democratic Part has shown greater willingness to work with other governments so it does not have to shoulder the burden of being the world's policeman alone. Also, a nation cannot be strong if it is increasingly difficult for the middle class to thrive and prosper.