Can someone help me with my daughter's project?

[dddem]

My 14 year old is doing a report on the political parties,
focusing on the democrats and republicans (I thought it was
only fair to let her know the enemy).  I found a page on
bcgop.ourwest.com/bcrpprinc.htm (among others) that list
"Basic Republican Principles".  I'm looking for
something that will (in a nutshell) list basic Democratic
principles, but everything I find relates to a democracy as
opposed to a political party. I like the format of the page I
found, and I need something similar for the Democratic Party.
I don't mean the platform for any given election, I need a
general set of beliefs that I can print out. It's not enough,
unfortunately, to say "we're right, that's all you need
to know". 
Thanks for any help you can give.

[JDPriestly]

1. I don't think there is such a thing.

You might look at speeches by outstanding Democrats, like Roosevelts speech on the Four Freedoms and Kennedy's famous Do not ask what your country can do for you speech.

Also, Kerry and Edwards published a book on their stands during the election. You might find a copy of it online. Check out the California Democratic Party website. We're better organized than most Democrats out here. There might be something useful there.

[dddem]

15. I checked out the site

I was impressed. A lot of what was there, I already (I mean she already) found, but it was worth a look-see. Thanks.

[cally]

2. I'm amazed at that Republican list

Who knew they believed this?

We believe in equal rights, equal justice, and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age, or disability.

We believe government must practice fiscal responsibility

We believe the most effective, responsible, and responsive government is the government closest to the people.

We believe Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom, and human rights throughout the world.

We believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating theses ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

:roflmao:

Here's a link with a decent summary of Dem beliefs:

http://www.csus.edu/org/democrat/beliefs/

[dddem]

6. I know!

Makes 'em sound like right-decent folks, don't you think? I wonder if anyone in this administration has read that.

Thanks for that link - I think it's just what I need, short and to the point.

[Massacure]

8. haha. Those are about 50 years outdated.

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

[FreedomAngel82]

23. Those made me laugh

Sadly. Equal rights? LOL! So much for their gay marriage stance eh? According to "their beliefs" gay marriage should be going to Bush right now to be signed into law. Obviously they only believe in "equal rights" when it's them and their sick ways. Fisacal responsibility? Huh. Look at our defecit. The hugest debt in history. That is too hilarious. I think they need to update those beliefs.

[Cornjob]

3. The DNC website has a history that includes basic principles

You may have to do a little cut & paste.

[Mz Pip]

4. In a nutshell

at least one major difference:

Democratic Party - pro worker
Republican Party- pro business

Historically, Republicans have been the party of small government, states rights, emphasis on personal responsibility, but that has has changed substantially over the past few years. The Republican Party now is nothing like the Republican Party I grew up with. Even Nixon understood the need for government as a safety net for people in need. This is why FDR is often demonized with conservatives - he established government programs that helped people get through the Depression.

The pendulum seems to be swinging the other way now. The Republicans seem much more involved in the personal lives of our citizens. The Democrats seem to be touting personal freedom.

I'd do a bit of research on the 60s and the change that occurred in the South due to the civil rights movement.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[ovidsen]

16. It might be interesting if dddem's daughter

Looks at the way the Democratic and Republican parties have evolved over the past 50 years or so. As Mz Pip cogently points out, the GOP has morphed from a party that supported individual rights and geopolitical isolationism (think Goldwater) into a party that endorses limits on individual rights (e. g. restrict non-Christian religions, contraceptives, civil rights), while applauding military invervention in other countries (Iraq, Panama) that don't embrace it's version of democracy.

She could also explore (as Mz Pip again points out) how the Democrats have advanced from a party that implicity supported racism and the South's "Jim Crow" laws into one that embraced civil rights. As President Lyndon Johnson said when he signed the 1964 Civil Rights bill into law:

We believe that all men are created equal, yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights, yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty, yet millions are being deprived of those blessings, not because of their own failures, but because of the color of the skin.

Ah, it seems like only yesterday.

It's interesting to note that LBJ told friends back then that he was destroying the Democratic Party in the Old South with this act, but principle was more important. He turned out to be right. He didn't run for re-election in 1968. The Democrats nominated his VP, Hubert Humphrey. Segregationist George Wallace of Alabama, ostensibly a Democrat ran as an independent, fragmenting the Democrats, and Richard Nixon went to the White House.

Oh yes, and as far as foreign intervention is concerned, Democrats deserve much of the blame for US involvement in Vietnam. It was Nixon who plotted the withdrawl. (No, I am not a Nixon fan, and its easy to argue that he was bowing to public opinion.) Contrast that with today. Neocon Republicans want to use force to spread their version of democracy around the world. Democratic lawmakers are far more reluctant, contending we have enough serious domestic ills to occupy us.

Just my thoughts. Thank you!! And if you're driving, take your car. B-)

[dddem]

24. I'm kind of embarrassed

This is an extra credit project intended to help her understand how our system is supposed to work. We had many conversations during the past election, and it occurred to me that many of her friends are going to be old enough to vote (and possibly get drafted) next time around. She agreed and decided that this was the topic she wanted to choose, but I'M the one who's learning a lot. And a lot of that is thanks to people like you.

[ovidsen]

25. Don't be embarrassed!

A a college prof once told me a long time ago... "There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!" I can only hope that whatever answers I give anywhere aren't TOO stupid! :woohoo:

[Mz Pip]

28. Another interesting note

Back in 1968 during the height of the Vietnam fiasco 18 year olds could not vote. (I was one of them.) The protests revolving around being old enough to get drafted but not being old enough to vote I think led to the change in the voting age.
I look back on that period and see the radical change that occurred in our society - women's rights, the civil rights movement, the anti- war movement, Roe v Wade, all of these occurred in a very short period of time. Nothing like that has happened since.

And some people never got over the change. There are people out there who still resent the 60s and early 70s. They blame the end of their way of life, which I basically see as anti-womens' rights, pro segregation, on all of us rabble rousers. I think that was why Kerry got such a crappy deal this time around - he was tied to that movement of change that some were so threatened (and still are) by. It's why so many hate Clinton so much. He was and is one of America's true success stories, rising above his humble origins to become President. But for many he was nothing but poor white trash - those moneyed Republicans couldn't get past his lack of pedigree.

Sadly, our political parties have become polarized around class issues. We often wonder why poor people in the South continue to support Republicans. Some of it is backlash against what we all see as social progress. Some is wishful thinking - the desire to align oneself with the rich and powerful. We are witnessing a backlash to the 60s. There is an attempt to turn back the clock to an era that really didn't exist. "Leave it to Beaver" was a TV show. It really didn't exist anymore than "24" exists now.

But I ramble. The 60s really were a revolution and those of us on DU think it was a wonderful thing. Now we have the rise of the Christian Fundies who are engaged in an all out war to reclaim this country for all the values they think we have forgotten. Thing is, they never were there in the first place. None of this crackpot fundamentalism existed to the extent it does today way back then. Back during the 1960 Presidential campaign there were people who feared that a Kennedy presidency would bring too much influence from the Vatican into our politics. Now it is welcomed, almost insisted upon.

It is sad that people are threatened by social progress.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[FinallyStartingToWin]

5. I tried that once too. I ended up having to use the search term "liberal"

nt

[postulater]

7. Don't know if you've seen this

It is a quiz that lets you see where you fit on the polictical spectrum. It's more principle oriented rather than party oriented. Just gives you an idea of how conservative, liberal etc. you might be.

<http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html>

[Massacure]

10. I know of a more detailed one.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

[dddem]

21. Thank you both

I printed out the quizzes for her to use as handouts.

[Nite Owl]

9. Maybe this would be helpful

http://www.democrats.org/about/history.html

[dddem]

11. Thanks

We have that one already, it's got some good information.

[dddem]

12. Thanks so much you guys.

I didn't think I'd get much of a response, much less so quickly. You folks are the best!

[sam sarrha]

13. This is better... read the link on the 14 factors common to fascism then

compare and contrast which party is more fascist than the other.. neither will fair very well relative to campaign contributions, but the RepugNuts will be revieled for what they are..

the lilnk is done by a noted authority on the subject..

http://www.indybay.org/print.php?id=1719333

[dddem]

17. I saw that recently

very interesting. Thanks for the link.

[intheflow]

14. The Democratic Party Charter has a good preamble.

It says, in part:

"What we seek for our Nation, we hope for all people: individual freedom in the framework of a just society, political freedom in the framework of meaningful participations by all citizens. Bound by the United States Constitution, aware that a party must be responsive to be worthy of responsibility, we pledge ourselves to open, honest endeavor and to the conduct of public affairs in a manner worthy of a society of free people."

http://a9.g.akamai.net/7/9/8082/v002/www.democrats.org/pdfs/charter.pdf

[dddem]

18. Thanks

That's the kind of thing I was looking for.

[Catchawave]

19. Try this:

http://www.issues2000.org/askme/dem_rep.htm

[dddem]

20. Thanks

There's some good info for her to use - I put it in favorites to pick through later.

[Eric J in MN]

22. Four principles

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2004_06_20_janeane_garofalo_and_al_franken_each_interview_economic.asp

On June 17, 2004, Al Franken and Kartherine Lanpher interviewed Robert Reich, who was the Labor Secretary under Clinton and who recently wrote the book, "Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America."

The interview covers economic policy, corruption in the Bush Administration, and other topics.

Al Franken and Robert Reich criticize Alan Greenspan for how he justified tax cuts for the rich at the start of the George W. Bush term.

Apparently, Greenspan said that we should give tax breaks to the rich to avoid paying down the national debt too quickly. That doesn't make sense to Franken and Reich.

Also during the interview, Robert Reich says that America was founded on liberal principles, including:

1) The Separation of Church and State- no theocracy, don't impose religious view on anyone


2) No Concentration of Wealth- it can undermine democracy. There shouldn't be a small group of people who own 95% of this nation.


3) Social Insurance- anyone can fall in this economy, and we're all in this together.


4) Rule of International Law- no pre-emptive warfare. .


Reich says the Bush Administration is violating all of these principles.

You can listen to the interviews by clicking the links below.

Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder interview David Cay Johnston, "The Majority Report" radio show of June 16, 2004.


Al Franken and Katherine Lanpher interview Robert Reich, "The O'Franken Factor" radio show of June 17, 2004.

audio:
http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft/audio/2004_06_17_al_franken_interview_with_robert_reich.mp3

[jayctravis]

26. Probably can't use this but...

I've always thought of Democrats as the party of inclusion, and the Republicans the party of exclusion.

The right hits something difficult and decides it's bad and excludes it, covers it up, doesn't allow discussion.

The left ferrets it out and includes it in the thought process to figure out how it can be incorporated and made better.

[silverlib]

27. The Texas Republican Platform

http://www.texasgop.org/library/platform.php

Bringing Texas to the White House

[dddem]

31. yikes!

[snowbear]

29. My 13 year old neice just did a project almost identical to that!

The middle school gave the students some recommended websites to view.. (all of them were general government type sites, not one side or the other sites)

She kept her lists pretty generic ;) (not wanting to get in too much hot water)

I remember her list for Rethugs had things like: Pro-development, pro-drilling, pro-logging, less environmental restrictions, less social programs, etc..

And for the Democrats, it was basically the opposite.. Responsible development, strict environmental regulations, ensuring needed social programs are available for those in need, etc...

Hope your daughter has fun doing the research! :headbang:

[Bluerthanblue]

30. here's a link

i personally found interesting-

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29>

Funny, i was talking to my sons the other day about donkeys vs elephants as 'mascots'- (my youngest LOVES animal facts) Did you know donkeys are used as 'protectors' for flocks of sheep? Overlook Farm (in Mass.-part of Heifer Project Intl.) uses them to keep thier flocks safe from predators- Donkeys also are known to be rather ... 'self thinkers' rather than just following the 'herd'-

If my link works ok, you should beable to click on 'elephants' and learn about the character traits of both 'mascots'- it's a tangent of sorts, but oddly representative of the 'mindsets' in a way-

hope this isn't a dupe- or redundant post-