Was asked a question out of my league

Post #167,449 by Nightowl 8/4/04 12:03:24 PM Reply	Was asked a question out of my league My friend in the Phillippines asked me to describe the basic differences between Democrat and Republican philosophy to her. I know that Democrats are liberal and Republicans are conservative (I hope I don't have that mixed up, do I?) I get confused about left and right, I never got that connotation. At any rate, can someone direct me to a NEUTRAL site that just outlines the basic philosophy of each party? Searching on either party only gives me that party, how could I find a comparison? Thanks in advance for any help on this. Nightowl >8# Note to self: Find new signature soon.
Post #167,450 by deSitter 8/4/04 12:05:59 PM Reply	It would require a book - will try later -drl
Post #167,452 by Another Scott 8/4/04 12:16:23 PM 8/4/04 12:16:54 PM Reply	The party morphs depending on who's running. E.g. the platforms mostly get written by whoever the Presidential candidate is. As related [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=165885\|here], the parties have switched sides over time. The best thing to do is probably point your friend to Bush's and Kerry's web sites and let them browse around. HTH. Cheers, Scott. Edited by Another Scott Aug. 4, 2004, 12:16:54 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #167,459 by Nightowl 8/4/04 1:31:13 PM Reply	Not sure she wants Bush/Kerry She asked about the parties in general. Does each "party" have an official website? Nightowl >8# Note to self: Find new signature soon.
Post #167,460 by Another Scott 8/4/04 1:42:13 PM Reply	Yes. GIYF. ;-) [link\|http://www.google.com/search?q=democratic+party+republican+party&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8\|Google Is Your Friend]. Cheers, Scott.
Post #167,461 by Nightowl 8/4/04 1:44:54 PM 8/4/04 1:47:42 PM Reply	Okay, but I know how to google, but how do I know which is the OFFICIAL site? I don't want just any site. Is there something that defines the official ones? Thanks Brenda Edit: I looked at the GOP Republican site, but it just talks about BUSH again, and slams Kerry. I want to find a definition of the two parties, or their basic creeds, or something like that, that applies to now, with no biases. Wondering if that even exists? Note to self: Find new signature soon. Edited by Nightowl Aug. 4, 2004, 01:47:42 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #167,464 by Another Scott 8/4/04 1:47:41 PM Reply	Click and Read is the best way. The official sites are near the top (links 1 and 3 for me). rnc.org and democrats.org are the official sites. Cheers, Scott.
Post #167,465 by Nightowl 8/4/04 1:49:22 PM 8/4/04 1:53:19 PM Reply	Thanks, that helps.. As long as I can figure out a way to find the information unbiased. Nightowl >8# Edit: I don't think it's there. Man, this is hard. All I wanted was the differences in a nutshell to explain to her, and this is overwhelming, I don't even know how to begin, and I'm sure not sending her to these sites to get overwhelmed too. Maybe I need something less complex, like a dictionary or encyclopedia definition of the parties.... I don't want the entire platform or rules, just the basic philosophies. Man, now I know why I stayed away from reading about politics. This is dizzying. Nightowl >8# Note to self: Find new signature soon. Edited by Nightowl Aug. 4, 2004, 01:53:19 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #167,504 by Ashton 8/4/04 4:45:26 PM Reply	There Is No Such Thing! as "unbiased". {sheesh}
Post #167,466 by boxley 8/4/04 1:54:41 PM Reply	what you need is the party platform of both parties this describes the America they beleive in as a political entity. Also realize that large chunks of both parties disagree with parts of their own platform. This should delineate what each beleives in of themselves as opposed to what each party beleives about the other party. (hopelessly muddled but that is politics) you also might want to check out the libertarian party as well as democratic socialist party for comparison. thanx, bill "delayed incessantly by people whose prevalent qualification was an excess of free-time" Philip Atkinson questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #167,472 by Nightowl 8/4/04 2:13:01 PM Reply	Yeah, that's what I tried to tell her I got the basic definitions from Britannica Encyclopeadia, and then explained to her that at times they switch around and one is more liberal or one is more conservative. But as a rule, the Republicans are the conservatives, right? and the Democrats are the liberals, or so I thought. I also explained the basic stands on issues, i.e. Democrats are more for labor unions, minorities and progressive reformers, and Republicans are more for strong government and strong national defense. They had been for tax cuts, but then they made tax cuts, so that's where it got blurry. I just get mixed up most about which is liberal/conservative and which is left/right. That is where I get hopelessly lost, but I think Democrats are the liberals. Haven't been able to validate that yet though, can anyone confirm it? Nightowl >8# Note to self: Find new signature soon.
Post #167,479 by ben_tilly 8/4/04 3:03:21 PM Reply	Don't bother becoming unconfused on that one The definition of "liberal" has also changed definitions over time. To most people today it seems to mean that you want a welfare state. But historically, and to a lot of people still, it means that government should stay away from anything to do with business, and give people the liberty to do things however they want - including the right to screw it up if they so desire. If you want a better understanding, read [link\|http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=article&DocID=44\|America's Tribes]. What you'll find out is that newcomers have slotted themselves into a political scene based on a division from The Civil War. That is England's Civil War, not the much later US one (which just happened to be fought along the same fracture line). Cheers, Ben To deny the indirect purchaser, who in this case is the ultimate purchaser, the right to seek relief from unlawful conduct, would essentially remove the word consumer from the Consumer Protection Act - [link\|http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=1246&Page=1&pagePos=20\|Nebraska Supreme Court]
Post #167,537 by orion 8/4/04 9:29:05 PM Reply	In a nutshell! Democrats generally favor the working class, the poor, the minorities, and are not afraid of taxing the wealthy and corporations. Democrats are very pro-Union. Economically Democrats generally follow the Keynesian theory of economics. Which means they try to affect the demand side, feel that a little inflation is good, deficits are bad, tax cuts to the poor and middle-class, that due to the POT (Potential Of Thrift) that giving the wealthy money would not make them spend it or create new jobs, but instead save it. They believe in full employment and feel that unemployment is underrated. Keynesian economics helped get the country out of the depression, and created social programs. Democrats want a bigger government with more control. Republcans generally favor the corporations, the wealthy (top 10%), they are afraid of taxing the wealthy and corporations. Republicans are anti-Union. Economically Republicans generally follow the Classical theory of economics. Which means they try to affect the supply side, feel that inflation is bad, deficits are good, tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations, that saving is good and savings can be invested to create growth and fix unemployment. They feel that unemployment is overrated. Classical (or Supply Side aka Reaganomics) economics helped improve the economy in the 1980's when Ronald Reagan was in office. Some claim that part of Reaganomics are not true Classical economics, but Reagan did what he could to get congress to agree to his ideas. Republicans want a smaller government, and less government control, by removing regulations and let the economy or markets fix the problems. More of a hands off or lazie faire policy. Notice I said generally, some politicians have a mix of ideas from both sides, or differ from these definitions in a nutshell. Some Americans are in the middle like they could become a Moderate Centralist party member, but the Centralist party never quite took off, last I heard it was a Yahoo Group, and no offical web site was created. [link\|http://groups.yahoo.com/group/centralistpartyofamerica/\|http://groups.yahoo....stpartyofamerica/] *"When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in confederacy against him." - Jonathan Swift* [link\|http://www.xormad.com:4096/district268\|I am from District 268].
Post #167,540 by JayMehaffey 8/4/04 9:43:47 PM Reply	The offical party line Orion gave a fairly good summary of the parties offical posistion on economic issues. But the reality does wander a bit from the offical posistion. The Democrats have not been very pro-union in recent years. And the Republicans have not done anything to reduce government in a long time. Now that the Republicans are in power, they don't talk about states rights much, and Democrats have moved to bringing the issue up at times. Jay
Post #167,543 by Nightowl 8/4/04 10:30:44 PM Reply	That's really good What Orion wrote is really good, and similar to what I finally wrote my friend. I agree though, the Republicans seem to favor more government controls on social issues, (i.e. Bush wanting to amend the constitution on gay marriage), and the Democrats have been a little less behind the unions. But that's the basic concepts, and she said she got it, so I think we're fine. :) Thanks, guys. Nightowl >8# "A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
Post #167,684 by mmoffitt 8/5/04 11:51:11 AM Reply	Agree. And book recommendation. I heard the author on Charlie Rose a few weeks ago. I've not read this book, but judging by what he said on the show I watched, it's on my list. [link\|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805073396/qid=1091721047/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-4481909-1062526\|http://www.amazon.co...2-4481909-1062526] bcnu, Mikem If you can read this, you are not the President.
Post #167,627 by jb4 8/5/04 10:01:23 AM Reply	Hey! Nice Job, Norm! jb4 shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub* + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf.* BULLSHIT
Post #167,626 by andread 8/5/04 10:00:40 AM Reply	Re: Was asked a question out of my league Majority of Republicans anti-abortion anti-gay want longer prison sentences against rights of accused against taxes on rich anti-UN Majority of Democrats disagree with the above A Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]
Post #167,678 by boxley 8/5/04 11:30:22 AM Reply	so the dems are the disagreeable party? "delayed incessantly by people whose prevalent qualification was an excess of free-time" Philip Atkinson questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #167,786 by andread 8/5/04 6:20:35 PM Reply	some things are worth disagreeing with I am not a Democrat they seem to be reactive to the Reps these days instead of having a plan A Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]
Post #167,850 by boxley 8/6/04 9:08:40 AM Reply	well according to this insitght directly from John Kerry found in my inbox this am [link\|http://www.johnkerry.com/plan/\|http://www.johnkerry.com/plan/] he has a plan. Let me know what it is because I am too lazy to read it :-) thanx, bill "delayed incessantly by people whose prevalent qualification was an excess of free-time" Philip Atkinson questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]

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