what is the main differance bewtween a republican and a democrat?
485280
Republicans: to conserve national traditions, limit government interference, promote big business, and support democracy causes.\n\nDemocrats: to reshape government, to acquire more government control, limit big businesses, and focus on domestic issues.
889923
Neither party existed in 1789. Republicans and Democrats have flipped on several issues as well as demographics over the years.
822781
well there is not much differance/ Dems are for welfare for the poor and starving and the middleclass working man. Repulicans are for welfare for the RIch and not paying taxes even if they have to put all the dept on to there childrens back. \nIt used to be republicans were for fiscal responsibility they just want to elimate the bill of rights establish a state relgion and bring back slavery. I say this because that is what they say they want to do listen to them.
926778
Republicans and Democrats are just two sides of the same coin.  Republicans are pro gun anti abortion.  Democrats are anti gun, pro abortion.  Other than that it's all talk and smoke and infighting, they both serve their corporate masters.  When it comes to screwing over the working class and slowly taking away our freedoms it is bipartisan.
836361
The democrats generally support big business and seek to maintain the status quo - don't rock the boat. On the other hand the republicans generally support big business and would like things to stay pretty much the same - don't make waves. The two parties have taken over the election process and the national debates. Neither party will allow independent oversight for elections or independent candidates in any of the national debates.\n\nAbout 30% of Americans are registered democrat; about 30% are republican. Divide and rule is each party's motto.
850748
Republicans are brainwashed, impulsive, and improvident and always have been. Republicans are the little political babies and democrats now need to walk them by the hand and fix all of the domestic and foreign republican MESSES!
834322
You can't tell that just from these elections.  It depends on who is running and what their policies are.  I personally, don't care what someone is, democrat, or republic....I vote for who I agree with the most.  If that happens to be a democrat, then I vote democrat....if it happens to be a republican, then I vote republican....
704310
Democrats are liberals and they like gay marriages and abortion.\nRepublicans are conservatives but they like war just like the invasion of Iraq.
330427
huge difference one was democratically elected and kept it, and installed his own party to control everything. The other had to be re-elected and has competetion..thats why they call it a democracy.
922471
If you are in the States, I believe you mean the Democrats.  Liberal is a political standpoint, like conservative.  Republican & Democrat are actually political parties.
1104754
Because Democrats believe in giving more power to the common people, and Republicans believe in giving more power to the Government and it's individual Authorities, regardless of it's policies that are not proliferating to the people that it serves.
481612
Different principles. One leads towards socialism and the other towards capitalism. Safety verses liberty. Appeasement verses justice. I read a lot of books from both sides and the greatest difference I have seen is pessimism verses optimism. \n\n\n       Just listen to the rhetoric and you can really find the difference. Is the party talking about hope and the opportunities of our future, or are they slinging mud at a particular candidate and attempting to conjure hate against their opponent/opponents. Of course both sides do both, but at their cores one side really seems to be focused on optimism and the other side pessimism. Maybe because our population is divided that way as well. The two parties are different because our population really is divided. I will say this though. Our countries only hope rests in the hands of those who preach hope and not hate. Every leader who has gained power by making you hate his opponent more has always failed as a leader. Those leaders who point to a brighter future and win by  aspiring and pointing to a strategy for our success based on real inner principles always succed in leading people to a better future. \n\n        Set aside party loyalties and really listen to what the candidates talk about. Listen much and look for a consistancy. After hearing the person speak on several different issues you will begin to hear their core principles. If they consistently sling mud, then you know their heart and their values. And never follow the pessimist. \n\nFor a good example of what I'm talking about, see Answerman below. He is basically delievering the same message that he has heard from the politicians and is repeating it, even though none of the things he has said are anywhere close to factual. Only if you put aside an actual knowledge of how the tax cuts worked and a real understanding of the philosophy of the Republican party could you make and believe such statements. To save time, let me simplify this. Don't be that guy who repeats the parties mantra. Don't be another sheep in the herd going "baah, Bush is stupid, baah." or "baah, Republicans hate poor people, baah." or "baah, Democrats hug trees, baah." With just a little education and reading you will find that none of these statements are true and are actually tools that parties use to sway the dumbest of americans to their side. Politicians know that the majority of Americans are uneducated when it comes to politics. So how do they win them over? By simply using the same technics that Coke and McDondalds do. By delievering a simple message with duration X intensity. The party agrees on a very simplistic message and then they repeat it over and over and over until the followers repeat it over and over and over. Disregard that Bush made the same kind of grades as Kerry in college and even better grades then Gore. No, just  go along with the mantra and disregard the facts. Baah. \n\nIf you are going to make a statement about politics, philosophy, or religion, make sure that the statement is your own. Never chant the mantra, because it only shows your true ignorance and is a good sign of a commitment to mental atrophy infront of a television. If you know that you have nothing else to say except the same "baahs" that everyone else in your party is saying, then please do two things. First, stop talking about politics. If you have not read several books on the subject(and this includes history books especially) then you really are not educated and if you speak then you will only make a full of yourself. It would be like me coming to your job and telling you how it should be done even though I only have a slight grasp of how to do it. How would you feel? \n\nSecond, stop voting. When an uneducated person votes they generally vote based on charisma and marketing techniques of the party (like the mass mantra chants to indoctrinate its followers, which happens on both sides sadly). If you know
1080032
There really isn't a political affiliation calculated for Democrats and Republicans. You can have a Democrats that's conservative or a Republican that's liberal. It depends on the person's politics. These days though, Republicans are branded conservative and Democrats liberal. If you look at history, there are points of time when the affliation for Democrats and Republicans were reversed.
582991
There aren't any major differences.  They are two factions of the same business party, representing the interests of the corporate elite.  Both republicans and democrats support increased military spending on an already gargantuan military budget, tax cuts to the wealthy, welfare "reforms" (which means eliminating aid to those in need), privatization of social services generally, opening up the environment for the benefit of corporate leaders (at the expense of humanity's existence), and the overarching concern for the global extension of capitalism (along with favoring "free trade" policies that encroach upon the democratic sovereignty of other nations).\n\nThey might differ on some social issues (e.g., abortion and gun control issues) that do not affect the bottom line, but we might wonder if these differences are really that important.\n\nBy having two parties, it provides the illusion that US citizens have a real choice at the polls and real democracy.  However, democracy is about leaders being accountable to the broad populace, and clearly this does not happen (regardless of political party in power).
201157
The way I was explained that is that Democrats believe in welfare and other government aid but are usually more open-minded to towards social issues (like gay marriages). Republicans are more about people working hard for themselves without government aid (Capitalism, laissez faire, basically allowing companies to do what they want) but are less open to social issues.
1100882
You're making invalid assumptions. The middle ground for both major parties are moderates, with very few going far afield.\n\nOne end of one spectrum is conservative republican. The other ends of that spectrum are moderate republican and federalist.\n\nOne of the a different spectrum is liberal democrat. The other ends of that spectrum are moderate democrat and libertarian.\n\nBasically, there are two scales of values. One is big government versus small government (Republican -- Libertarian). The other spectrum is group rights ("traditional" values) versus individual/personal rights (Federalist -- Democrats).\n\nRepublicans (nowadays) want  group rights (conformity with "traditional" values) and a large government to ensure domestic tranquility (by enforcing those conservative majority beliefs). Moderate republicans (originally called fiscal conservatives) want a small government, just large enough to provide for the common defense. The republican party does not really have a liberal wing, and usually treat the goal of individual liberties (being liberal) as a dirty word.\n\n\n\nDemocrats want individual rights and a large government to promote the general welfare.  Moderate democrats don't want a lot of wasteful spending., and want to achieve their goals without causing too many problems. Democrats do have a Conservative wing, which focuses on better ethical leadership and greater protection for both groups and individuals. The main difference is that conservative democrats still don't believe in enforcing their views on the minority, even if their own personal choices would be the same as what conservative republicans would make.\n\nLibertarians want a small government (no wasteful spending, and very little welfare/entitlements), but lots of protection for individual liberties. They are moderate about most issues, except for being adamant that the majority should not impose its beliefs on the minority.
900073
It started as the Federalist party versus the Democratic Republicans.  Once the federalists dwindled into nothingness, the Democratic Republicans were left as a single party and it wasn't long until the liberals and conservatives within the group caused it to splinter into what is now known as the Democrats and the Republicans.  The names are arbitrary, its the ideology behind each (Reps = Cons, Dems = Libs)