Political Parties - Who speaks for the voters in elections?
One thing that may help voters choose between the two American political parties, in the coming election this November, is which party tends to have more action oriented ideas and which of the two political parties is re-acting to their opponents.
In history there have already been several shifts in the philosophy of the national political parties. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 as a party working for change, compared to the Democratic Party that was opposed to change and dividing itself over the issue of slavery. Other differences in the political parties are noteworthy, as well. In the early 1900’s, the Democrats became more oriented to issues surrounding change and reform such as the Federal Reserve Act, whereas the Republican Party, which was founded on a platform devoted to land reform and ending slavery in the territories, became the more reactionary of the political parties, favoring laissez fair economics and a more reclusive foreign policy. The Great Depression of the 1930’s, and the vision of Franklin D. Roosevelt, made the Democratic Party the party of change. The vision was to lift up the working class of America to a higher standard of living, a message that certainly resonated with the un-employed and under-employed of the Great Depression. The United States became an economic powerhouse in the Post-WWII years and the two political parties exchanged the reigns of power several times. As America’s prosperity slowed, and the Vietnam War became more divisive, Lyndon Johnson proposed The Great Society and The War On Poverty. The Republicans and Ronald Reagan swept into office on the promise of reducing the size of the government, the Democrats regained some power in the presidency on the problems with the economy and then lost their position to a Republican Party pushing for ideas such as a more active foreign policy, tort reform law, simplification of the tax code, and a revamp of social security.
One way to see the attitudes of the two political parties is to look at their web pages, which are designed by the political parties specifically to communicate their message and attitudes. The GOP web page focuses on their own agenda in Iraq, various issues important to President Bush, and trying to create a more diverse Republican Party. The Democratic Party web page seems to be more focused on pointing out what they see as the faults with their opposition, including a response to President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union Address, a page about Federal Government failures in the response to Hurricane Katrina, criticizing the ethics of the Republican Party and information about Vice President Dick Cheney’s hunting accident. Gauging from the web pages of the political parties, it would seem that the Republicans are focused more strongly on advancing their own agenda, whereas the Democratic Party is more focused on reacting to the Party in power in the USA, hoping to establish themselves as an alternative.
If history is any indicator, the voting public will choose between the political parties and vote for the one they feel is most likely to succeed at putting words into action, and advancing a platform they like.