what is the main difference between democrats and republicans?
830103
honesty....voters  think the same way......
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)
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.
1073943
The Dems. They are willing to pay down the debt and keep the economy strong ala Bill Clinton. They care about your privacy. They care about your constitutional rights. The Republicans are all about spying,lying, transferring wealth from poor to rich. Stealing elections. They want to un-separate church and state. Force God down your throat. War seems to be their favorite passtime. So what if people get killed -the ends justify the means. They could care less about the environement if they had their way this world would be a polluted mess. Republicans want cheap labor and don't care if you lose your job to get it . As long as the profits go up.\nDemocrats care about a livable wage. Example: Sante Fe NM. raised the min. wage and guess what ...Business increased. Democrats will do a better job but we need a Progressive party to change this country. Some Dems are way to liberal and most Republicans are not Republicans in the traditional sense. They are Neo cons. and have little in common with their past values.
837761
Neither party has an "official" stance on abortion, but Democrats are typically more likely to be pro-choice, and Republicans are more likely to be pro-life.\n\nEDIT: \nBoth parties claim to support education, but they go about delivering that support in different ways.
831314
Republicans are conservative, or old fashioned. God Bless America, abortion is murder,  drugs should be illegal, etc. They are big believers in having a strong military. They wish to have lower taxes and the government is limited in its power.\n\nDemocrats are progressives. Abortion is okay, separation of church and state, let homosexuals get married. They want the military to be small, they want more funding for welfare programs, and they want the government to have more influence, mostly by the wealthy paying high taxes.\n\nKeep in mind this is a simple diagram. Not all people on each side agree 100%.
348732
Democratic party philosophy vs. Republican party philosophy.
28444
In a brief nutshell, today's Republicans (the Good Old Party, GOP) are characterised by a want for 'smaller' government, a more agile (not necissarily bigger) military, and a connection with (usually religious) blue-color 'everyman' workers.  They believe in a government that is reflective of overarching, 'home grown' family values, as can be best seen in their "Contract With America". Democrats are more for creating a social welfare society, and believe that goverment should play a more active role in daily life (though not necissarily intrusive).  Many people brand this party as being 'liberal', which is actually a fairly new designation considering many Democrats (also known then as Dixiecrats) were opposed to 'liberal' civil rights reforms in the 1960s.  Further, whereas Republicans target typically older citizens, Democrats tend to lean towards younger, educated professionals (for example yuppies) and are a favorite on college campuses.  Unfortunately, in today's America politics has become frieghteningly divisive.  We can't even have a hurricane (I cite Katrina) without people pulling out 'Repbulican this' or 'Democrat that'.  Further, the two parties aren't helping the matter either.  Whenever someone does something wrong (For example a Republican President or Democratic governor), it is suddenly the fault of the entire party, and not just that one person.  You seem educated enough to visit each party's website and read their platform.  Skip over anything with the word 'Iraq' or 'terror' in it (because these are in the spotlight, and are likely to be uselessly full of propogand) and instead read your opinions on issues that effect your daily life, such as public education, health care and taxes.  I think you (and many other people) would be surprised at how much the two parties actually agree on, but with different routes.
899804
A liberal Repub is more middle of the road. They often are for abortion rights, stem cell research and separation of Church and State. Giuliani is a mod. Repub. McCain used to be but he got in bed with the right wing evangelists.
73572
Voting is a privelege. The United States of America is a nation Of The People, For The People, By The People. It all starts with elections. We elect the politicians who make the laws of the land. Democrats are a party who believe in big government and believe you don't have the capacity to think for yourselves. They put out big government programs that cost tons of money to cure societal problems "because you can't handle it". Republicans are a party who believe in small government. They believe in rewards for accomplishments. They want you to succeed on your own and be self sufficient. There ya go. If you don't vote then someone will be put in office that goes against your beliefs.
206274
Republicans believe in using religion and money and power to control others lives, behavior and finances.\n\nDemocrats believe people should be free to make their own behavior choices, and democrats believe in giving the working class a decent comfortable lifestyle.
942589
Democrats are people who like to help all people, especially the working class and poor.  Republicans like to cater to big business and extremely wealthy people and drop programs to help the needy.
1058221
No to both.\nLiberals are generally people who view individual liberties as paramount. They also tend to believe in the common good and are generally more open-minded and generous. The democratic party use to adhere to theses thoughts plus they were pro-worker. Liberals tend to run the gamut of political parties and are found in the democratic party more so than in the republican party. The democratic party is not completely made up of liberals. Since the Reagan years many democrats have adopted a neoliberal, pro-corporation "free trade" ideology (Clinton, Biden, Lieberman, etc..) and are anything but liberal. \nI hope this answers your question.
804438
Well let's see...\n\n+Democrats support peace, not war, like Bush.\n+They believe in the more middle class American, while Republicans only care about the rich\n+The economy is 10x better when a Democrat is in power\n+Dems usually support gay marriage, because gay people are people too, and so are black people. \n+They also care about the environment, while Republicans couldn't care less\n+Democrats are usually pro-choice as far as abortion goes, but they are not pro-abortion.
640797
There are a few differences in the democrats and republicans.  They are focused mainly on responsibilities of government, taxation and economic stimulus, focus on where our resorces need to be spent, and how trade should be aproached in relation to US interest.  Other social issues have been tied to certain parties such as abortion, envioroment, gun control to name a few.  The social issues are mainly for debate perposes in the legislative branches because within both parties you will find division in these areas.  I know democrats who are pro-life and I know republicans who believe in strict gun control.\n\nAs to roles of government, and this is very plain to see between the parties, the republicans believe in very little responsablity of the government to interfere with the daily lives of the people.  So since the government can do so little, it should be allowed to do what little it can without question.  The democrats believe that the government has an obligation to insure its citizens are safe and to do this the government has much power to do what ever it wants.  So since the government has so much power, it must have a bunch of hoops and hurdles to go through to make sure the people are safe gaurded from abuse from the government.  A prime example of this today is the wire tap debate.\n\nTaxation and economic stimulus is a HUGE difference between the parties.  This is where you hear republicans are for big business and the democrats are for the working man.  The republicans in this department go for the trickledown theory which says that if you give tax breaks to the rich then you have reinvestment in the company and inovative technology research.  Both of which lead to new market shares and thus new jobs for the American citizen.  Better products for better prices comes from research and the company having money to burn on experiments.  Basically the market leads the consumer.\n\nThe democrats believe that the tax breaks need to go to the working class or trickleup if you will.  Since there are so many more of them they determine what inovations need to be made.  With so many people with extra money are out there, better products for better prices comes from compitition since the companies must produce to get the consumer.  Inovation comes from what the buying public says it wants.  New jobs for US citizens comes from increased demand on the best goods that people want.  The consumer leads the market.\n\nAlso on taxation and role of government.  The republicans are big on ruged individualism and free market.  They believe that if you want services you should go out and pay for them youself, in return taxes will be lower.  The democrats believe that the citizens have a right to want certain services from their government, but they better be ready to pay taxes to get them.\n\nBut shoot, its getting late and I could go a long time on the different philosophies of the parties.  In truth neither is 100% right or 100% wrong.  Both have there places and in my opinion, it is where the country is at a certain time as to who gets into power.\n\nIndependants are normally someone who really hasn't tied themselves to any party and ran on their own accord.  When they vote though, most show either republican or democratic values.\n\nSorry for the misspelled words, spell check went down. :(
941887
Republicans believe that everyone has an equal chance to succeed, so they are against Affirmative Action and the like, because, unlike Democrats, they feel that minorities have every chance to do well.  Republicans believe in Equality.  Republicans believe in lower taxes and free trade\n\nDemocrats are more socialist.  They believe in the distribution of wealth.  They believe in the expansion of a welfare state.  They oppose a strong military and national defense.  They are for raising taxes and more government programs
895159
In theory, Republicans believe in strong state governments.   States should have the right to decide many issues for themselves.  Democrats believe in strong federal government deciding for all of the country.\n\nThe rest of the things you hear about are the sideshow political rhetoric that goes around.  Some is true.  Others are not.\n\nBoth parties have problems with abortion issues.  The Republicans are against it (for the most part), Democrats are for it.  Republicans are opposed to same sex marriages, Democrats are for them. Republicans believe by supporting business you create jobs which help others.  Democrats believe in helping the individual so he or she may find their own way.  \n\nIn the end, I think both parties are realizing they cannot hard line on issues.  Homeland Security, immigration, the exporting of American jobs, trade deficit are difficult issues that need to be dealt with quickly.  Taking a "this is my stance like it or leave it" stance does not sit well with voters.  I think, at least for the next couple of years, you will see the parties look more like each other than ever before.  \n\nWe are definitely a nation divided.  Many elections were very close.  This shows how much we need to stop looking at our differences and start working toward solutions.