What is the real difference between republicans and democrats?

What is the real difference between republicans and democrats? For a long, long time when I was growing up, I thought Republicans are cool. Then as I grew older, being from a poor family, I realized that democrats where generally the ones that did the better job helping poor & middle class. Seeing all the tax breaks for the ultra rich the republican regime has handed out lately has made me quite ill, honestly.

However, I'm not a big student of politics, so I'd like to know - what is the real difference between republicans and democrats?

dude the dems are not for the poor...why is it they are famous for raising taxes...the republicans are more of a family orintated party..they stand for pro life,ant guy marriages,tax cuts and so on...they are also for smaller goverment.sick of all these people who want money given to them cause they are lazy...what happened to pride in what you get from working hard...the dems support lazy people by giving them welfare and so on...welfare needs to be reformed...say yes to a flat tax...vote huckabee

honestly, NOTHING!!!!! check it out for yourself, politics is based on supposed ISSUES that the politicians and the parties care about and about 90% of the major issues supported are identical by the former democratic and republican leaders. Other than that the only difference that I see is 'republicans = uber conservative' VS. 'democrats = I do what I want Mentality'.

so like two 13 yr olds they go on and on, one being the quite shy type who keeps things introverted and the other who ends up being rumored as a high school whore.

but there is one big difference that I have seen (aside from Tax Breaks for the uber RICH by Republicans, and Very well maintained global diplomacy by the former Democratic Presidents) Republicans are generally Old Money and Democrats are Usually New Money, hence the colossal differences in mentalities.

old money = people who have been rich through generations (EX. Rockerfellers, Hiltons)
new money = people who have made it on their own, first generation money makers (a lot of celebrities)

to get a more eye opening concept I'd read 'the Great Gatsby' short enough to read in a day but gives you a good sense of how things from way back haven't really changed but just given a new name or just simply cloaked......

Jon stewart has a lot of takes on this, even though he's a democrat and a comedian but he really does bring up a lot of political irony in a humorous fashion that makes it bearable.

Dennis miller is another good example, hahaha, your going to laugh at my next one but truly the guys from South Park, trey parker and matt stone, have a fantastic view of all political and 'blown out of proportion' headlines/news.........watch it sometime, they are truly geniuses at how they present the news/global diplomacy/political sattire all in one.....

But finally, there is no singled out answer to what you just asked, so I just gave you a teaser trailer of what a conversation of politics could be like (no wonder they don't recommend that topic on dates....LOL), but there is no clear and concise, to the dot, answer to this, this is a discussion to be held over a camping trip where you have nothing better to do but to wonder the world politics while getting close to mother nature and how we really were better off unorganized..........lol

hope this helps

Democrats will tax the hell out of the middle class and give it to the poor. this in turn allows the lower income indiviuals to live off the middle class & gives them no incentive to get a better paying job. the dems love this situation because the more poeple they can keep on the welfare rolls the more those people will continue to vote for them. republicans on the other hand believe in giving a hand up & not a hand out. as the old saying goes' you GIVE a man a fish, he will eat for a day.' you TEACH a man to fish & he will eat everyday.' when President bush initiated the tax cuts that are in place now, the Dems had a fit because it cut into social programs & made welfare recipients responsible to get out & find a job after a certain amount of time. the Dems will argue this point till the end , but they know the truth, they just hate to admit when they are wrong.

If you have a moral conviction of protecting a totally innocent unborn baby....the difference is HUGE

This is interesting. I am a moderate Republican and I do believe in the seperation of church and state. I believe that as a Republican some people in my camp made some mistakes in putting Bush and Cheney's crew into their favorites to win the election from the beginning. The issue with the spin we have been fed on cuts to low-income families is the place where the cuts were made. The bulk of these cuts were made in the education system. So if 'getting an education' is considered a fish story then I want to restart the Bullmoose party. The Dems do as you say over-inflate too many central government related programs, and the need of central government to exercise control over everyone is beyond scary and too close to destroying human privacy and rights to privacy. In either party it is the extremists that both gain the momentum for victory and kill the momentum for over-zealous behaviors. People like extremists when something huge comes through the airwaves, but hate them besides.

In example, anytime something happens to an abortion doctor or the anti-abortion extremists make it to the airwaves the Democrats get a huge boost. I would like to believe that my god would want the mob to stop and a non-violent campaign of friendly non-invasive information would surely possibly help that poor soul who needs it rather than doing something extreme to get attention.

I am slowly starting a campaign to find Republicans like myself who have reasonable smarts and can think freely outside all of spin alley. If I can find enough of us then I am definitely restarting the BullMoose Party.

The difference between Republicans and Democrats dates all the way back to the Federalist and Democratic/Republican Era and changes all the way through history. Keeping many of the same basic principles intact while adding several more. Just to touch up the historical difference, Federalists (present day Republicans) were the elite, just as they are considered today, the wealthy man. The Democratic/Republicans (present day Democrats) consisted of the 'common' or 'working' man. As you can see these have carried on until now.
Republicans, from the start, have endorsed a stronger Federeal Government with loose interpretation of the Constitution, while the Democrats felt that strict interpretation was the way to go. This means Republicans wish for the government to be able to exert power on the state governments and keep them 'in-line' so to speak, while the Democrats favored more power to the state governments.
Personally I see too much state power as a ticket to Civil War, as has already happened when the South tried to break away from the Union in the Civil War period. This makes a lot of sense, because if you have several different, neighboring states conflicting and the Federal Government has no power to resolve it, then the United States is destined to be disunited. However, with stronger Federal Government, there is never any conflict among states because they are all governed by one all powerful Federal Government. Sound like a dictatorship? Not quite. If the people elect an official to office and it turns corrupt, then who's fault is it but the votors? Government cannot survive without some sense of trust and a great loyalty by it's leaders.
To cover a more recent view of politics, Republicans and Democrats are strongly similar to the way they were back in the old days. Republicans have been cursed with sayings like those mentioned earlier about 'I'm rich and will screw you to stay that way,' whereas the Democrats are cursed with common ideas of them all being 'corrupt' and 'immoral.' This can be said of both sides. Republicans and Democrats alike both have corruption at their core. Thus is the reason for the Independant Party. But, the Independants fail to see that no matter what party you're a part of, there will always be corruption. Not all Republicans are out to get rich on everybody else, and not all Democrats are immoral. There are Republicans, as myself, who favor ideas of the old days for ideas of the present.
Democrats get their claims at Republican corruption with things such as high tariffs. They say this is only to help the rich industrialists get richer. This can be a point of view. But it cannot go without saying that keeping the money within America can only bolster our own economy and make us stronger as a nation. If we're constantly paying other countries for goods, then we're suffering loss of money. It's hard to say that a wealthy man does not know how to make money. Therefore if we put one in office, it's a good bet that he can make the economy strong, just as he has made his own pocketbook healthy.
I agree, corrupt Republicans exist, but it's impossible to deny that a rich man can make money, whether for himself or for his country.
Republicans get their claims at Democratic corruption by saying that they're all immoral. This is also not true. This saying is throwing the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. Democrats look out for the lower class of America, this is an important idea because the higher class is no better than the lower class.
In summary, the best polital party is one that contains ideas of both Republicans and Democrats alike. There is no way to point out a true 'best' with both sides having such good AND bad sides. This is the reason the nation will likely never be run by a single party.

Major difference right now (1/5/07), in reference to Iraq:

One party says 'winning isn't necessary'

One party says 'winning is mandatory'

Both parties: 'illegal immigrant' does not mean they are 'illegal'

Both parites court the middle class.

The Republican party pits the middle class against the poor, they paint the poor as layabouts milking the welfare system, use fear of a criminal underclass, and tout 'personal responsibility' to indicate the poor deserve their plight. They imagine 'welfare queens' who exploit our generosity.

The Democrats pit the middle class against the powerful, wealthy, and connected.

Of course both parties have flip-floped on lots of issues over the years. The Republican party, the one that freed slaves later faught civil rights legeslation in the '60's. Traditionally the Democratic party has been for free trade and the Republican party for protectivism. The influence of unions on the Democratic party turned most of them in protectionists and the influence of multi-national corporations on the Republican party turned most of them into free traders.

Reagan made conservativism cool in the '80's. The Contract with American in the '90's captured America's imagination. Since 9/11 conservativism enjoyed a boost from its war on terror. The Democratic party in comparision has had little vision. Their response to the popularity of conservatism was to become more conservative themselves and loose their ideology. Democrats have become Republican-lite; they are conservative but not as extreme as Republicans.

I grew up in a Republican houshold where Democrat and liberal were dirty words. Over the years I found myself drifting away from the Republican party. My first issue was capital punishment. In my book the only justification for violence is self defence and I don't make exceptions for governments. It also doesn't make sense that we kill people to demonstrate killing is wrong. Some Republicans are against the death penalty so no biggie. In high school I spent a year researching and debating health policy and in the process became a proponent of socialised medicine. The next year I spent researching and debating energy policy and found myself for nationalising energy. In college I found myself in favor of equal treatment of women so I was a feminist. I met some gays and lesbians and discovered that I didn't have any problem with them so I found msyelf championing gay, lesbian, and trans rights. As the Moral Majority increased influence on the Republican party in the '80's I found myself as an atheist estranged from the party that I used to call home. I still called myself a Republican even though there was no part of the party that represented me any more because like I said, to me Democrat was a dirty word. Seeing the effects of business deregulation on S&L's showed me that deregultion is not always the best idea. Eventually I figured that I was a Democrat in denial and just gave up the pretence.

There are several REAL differences between the reps and the dems and they tend to change over time. The GOP was once the party of Abe Lincoln but in more recent years because of the Democrats and the Civil Rights laws of the '60's African Americans these days are more often sympathetic to the Democrats.
The GOP during the Reagan years stressed smaller government and had a libertarian accent. Under G W Bush, they have become more like Christian theocrats due to the influence of the religious right.

If you want to know what the parties stand for, look at their platforms, and make your own decision.

http://a9.g.akamai.net/7/9/8082/v001/ww.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf

http://ww.gop.com/media/2004platform.pdf

I am a Republican. I believe that people should keep most of the money that they rightfully own, and not have the government take it away and give it to people that haven't earned it. That's my job. I give thousands of dollars of my own money to charities and individuals each year.

The 'ultra rich', which I am not, pay the vast majority of income taxes. Poor people don't pay income taxes, they receive tax credits. (I know, for I used to be poor in the 1990s). Any tax break at all will go to those who pay the most taxes, which are the rich, who pay about 85% of all income taxes. My sister, who is rich, pays about three times what I make every year in income taxes. So, naturally, if taxes are cut, she will get a bigger break than I do.

I believe that the Federal Government should be limited to the powers given by the US Constitution and the 10th Amendment, which states that all powers not specifically given to the Federal Government belong to the individual states and to the people.

I believe that the Federal Courts should not create laws, a practice forbidden in the Constitution. I believe that killing a baby is wrong.

I believe in free speech. If that free speech is 'politically incorrect', it is still protected by the Constitution.

I believe that people should be able to make their won decisions as to what kind of car they drive, what kind of house they live in, and where their children get their schooling.

Let me answer the question a different way; < Anyone who doesn't know the difference between a democrat and a republican shouldn't be allowed to vote. >

Republicans are the countries benefactors (cheap skates). They tend to be concerned with conserving their money (not saying this in a bad way) - they tend to support laws and programs that create revenues for the individual (tax breaks, tax breaks and tax breaks). Subsequently, they also tend to go against programs that are based on taxpayers support ... or at least they want it severely monitored and regulated (basically Republicans do not support the ideas of Welfare, WIC, Minority Advantages, etc). Also there important issues (other than money conservation) are military support, God and conservative living (anti gay, abortion, etc.). Basically, they believe that Americans should support themselves and rely on the aid of the government AKA tax dollars from fellow Americans (esp theirs). They better serve the rich, upper middle class and conservative Christians (10%).

Democrats are the countries activists (bleeding hearts). They tend to be concerned with the rights and freedoms of the working man and the poor, by way of, proposing programs that offer aide to well everyone. They are in staunch support of tax levies (that create revenue for poorer communities) and minority advancements. Other important issues tend to be liberal freedoms (the right to abort, be gay, to be anti-God, etc) and anti-military (not the armed services, but starting wars without American support and complete justification). Democrats better serve the poor, working middle class, non-White and weird (90%).

My question – is there a political party that combines the two? Basically – conserving money (tax breaks) without cutting off every social program, Christian (in the true respect that we do not hate anti-Christians) and who support the military and our countries protections with making us isolationists and hated by other major countries. I thought it would be the Green party, but that is simply not the case.

NOT ONE THING...IT'S A FUN GAME THEY PLAY...AND IT SEEMS LIKE WHOEVER HAS THE MOST MONEY ALWAYS WINS...BUT SOMETIMES THERE ARE UPSETS...

democrats clearly are more liberal and out going for the poor. While Republicans are traditionally conservative and try to stay away from taxing the rich to give to the poor. Will there ever be a party dedicated to the middle class?

The only real difference, they are spelled differently. It does not matter who your vote for, we are but pawns in a game with no rules and no control. All of the candidates from both sides will lie, make false promises and eat and live well while we struggle daily. They are all for and against everything...depending upon to whom they are speaking. Anyone who thinks that the republicans, democrats or independents are any better or more moral than the other is a fool.

thats the dumbest thing I have heard yet... the tax breaks are for the rich..im not rich but I sure know that thats not true at all.. they pay more in taxes, why should it benefit you or me? if you want me to do the math I will but honestly havent you any knowledge to know why thats not true? I took this finance class this semester in college and foound that most kids in the class said the same thing you just said well our professor and dont take it wrong I go to a LIBERAL school told us that thats nonsense and that we need to stop talking and learning dumb things

Abortion is the biggest between the two.. Other than that they are LARGELY similar!!! there are hardly and great differences

theres republicrats and demicans
the real discussion should be
conservative vs. liberal
right vs. left
conservative believe in tradition while the liberals believe tradition isn't important. liberals are 'if it feels good do it' which isn't always good for you. conservatives believe in smaller government resulting in lower taxes. liberal believe in larger government resulting in higher taxes. liberals believe thats its societies fault that someone has failed not the individuals fault for being lazy. conservative lean more towards capitalism while liberals lean towards socialism.

Google socialism and read the definition and then google capitalism and you will notice a tremendous differents.

thank for reading my input

Americans essentially divide themselves into four roughly equal groups: conservative republicans, moderate republicans, conservative democrats (think southern), and liberal democrats. Philosophically, the conservatives are about maintaining the status quo whilst the liberals are about radically changing the status quo. The other two groups actually essentially share common views about most everything, they just got there different ways. These groups are the American mainstream. The 'money' in the republican group tends to reside in the domain of the conservative faction, for the democrats, in the domain of the liberals. This is why to win the primary, republicans run to the right, democrats run to left--campaigns are quite expensive. Once nominated, the focus shifts to the center because that's where the real votes are--it becomes a race to the middle. The candidate that gets closest to the center is the winner. Bill Clinton and George Bush are both centrists. It is this odd way we do things that makes deciding which candidate to support so tough because by Fall there isn't much to differentiate them in matters of policy--so it becomes a battle of personalities and mud slingling.

I would suggest that there is a general misunderstanding about how the American population is divided in terms of economics. There are clearly three socioeconomic groups--upper, middle, and lower. It is generally assumed that the upper class is conservative, the lower liberal, and the middle class a bit schizophrenic and exists as a mix of liberal and conservative views. It is this misunderstanding that causes the confusion. The correct model is that the upper class is extremely liberal and pays next to nothing in taxes. This group is a mix of both old (kennedy, kerry) and new money (hollywood). Most people who work for a living fall into the middle class and pay nearly all of the taxes. The middle class generally gets little if any of government handouts (known as entitlements). The remainder fall into the lower class group--their income is a mix of earned and entitlement income and generally pay no tax.

The logic of this division goes back to the origin of income taxes in the early 30s. FDR was president and needed money to rebuild the country after the Depression. Back in those days, the ultra wealty was a very small group and, as a group were quite concerned that FDR's new tax scheme would affect them. So, the deal was struck that the wealthy wouldn't pay much tax by crafting it as a tax on 'realized' income rather than 'unrealized' wealth. Realization means that if you invest in an appreciable asset, it can increase in value tremendously (I.e. generate wealth) and doesn't generate income until it is sold. This is called capital gain and is taxed at a much lower rate than income. This, by the way, is the magic secret of how the rich got that way.

Now then, the game of politics is financed by this small group of ultra weathy liberals who garner the support of the lower class by offering entitlements paid for by taxes on the middle class.

This, in a nutshell, is the difference.

there is none
its just a status quo

Core Beliefs:

Republicans believe that each person is responsible for his or her own place in society. Government should enable each person the ability to secure the benefits of society for themselves, their families and for those who are unable to care for themselves.

The Republican philosophy is based on limiting the intervention of government as a catalyst of individual prosperity. Government should only intervene in specific cases where society cannot effectively act at the individual level. With the core belief that individual destiny should be in the individual’s hands, governmental power and resources should be kept close to the people, through their state and community leaders, and not centralized in distant federal government agencies.

Democrats believe it is the responsibility of government to care for all individuals, even if it means giving up some individual rights and/or subordinating enterprise and initiative.

Democrat Party administrations have pushed for the centralization of power in Washington D.C., with only secondary consideration for the rights of both individuals and communities. Democrats have favored federal-level interventions that replace community-based solutions to community problems. These tactics have created several federal regulations and controls that are often in the hands of unelected bureaucrats, causing a severe erosion of local authority.

The Economy:

Republicans believe free enterprise has brought economic growth and innovations that have made this country great. Government should help stimulate a business environment where people are free to use their talents.

Democrats believe that the economy is too complicated for individuals to navigate alone. They believe that business decisions should be guided by government officials and in the best interest of labor unions.

Taxes and Government Spending:

Republicans work tirelessly to cut government spending and to eliminate government waste. Republicans believe individuals should control both their own and their government’s pocketbook – the people should authorize all tax increases.

Democrats believe that government knows what is best for individuals. They argue that federal bureaucrats better understand the needs of a community than a locally elected council and the federal government should define the tax burden necessary to meet its obligations, because this is too complicated for individuals to understand.

National Defense:

Republicans believe in a strong national defense. Republicans know that defending our nation against its enemies must be a fundamental commitment of the federal government and this requires the best-trained, best-equipped and most effective military in the world. With

America as the world’s only superpower, Republicans believe that true security comes from the strength of character to act collaboratively, when possible, and alone when necessary. After the tragedy of 9-11, America must be ready to fight terrorism abroad in order to prevent it at home.

In the past 10 years, Democrats have advocated for scaling down our military and reducing the money spent on military intelligence. Democrats believe that true security comes from negotiations with foreign nations, even if they harbor or have financial ties to terrorist groups. Democrats believe that we must ask other nations for permission before we act to protect our own security.

Education:

Republicans believe all students, regardless of race or socio-economic background, should become proficient in both reading and math. While it is desirable that children learn more than one language, mastery of the English language will allow our children to be competitive at the university level. Republicans also believe that schools should be held accountable for student progress through testing, which can be used to identify individual childrens’ needs. These reports, at both the student and school level, should be provided to the parents to ensure accountability.

Democrats believe that tests burden teachers and waste classroom instruction time. They also believe children should be forced to stay in schools that fail to teach the basic skills. Democrats argue that literacy should be left for unions to define rather than local PTAs or other parent groups.

Immigration:

Republicans recognize that our nation is enriched by immigrants seeking a better life. In many cases immigrants have fled violence and oppression searching for peace and freedom. All suffered and sacrificed but hope for a better future for their children in America.

Republicans agree that the lack of security along our borders has contributed to the flow of narco-trafficking, gang violence, and the yearly forced servitude and slavery of over 50,000 women and children from foreign countries by human smugglers. While our nation has been enriched by the determination, energy, and diversity of immigrants, Republicans believe that in this nation of laws, immigration policies should be followed and that securing our borders is vital to ensuring the safety of our citizens.

Democrats believe that as the world superpower, it is a fundamental right for the United States to provide unconditional aid and comfort to the citizens of other nations. Democrats believe in open borders, unconditional amnesty, and that the laws of this nation be curtailed to provide non-emergency assistance and legal forms of identification to foreign nationals.