Politics 101: Top 10 Differences between Republicans & Democrats

To help you make a more informed decision come November 7th, I’ve listed what I find to be the Top 10 Differences between Republicans and Democrats. While there are exceptions in some cases, particularly at the local level, differences are much more apparent as you move up to the national level, where allegiance to each respective national party platform is more emphasized.

And without further ado…The Top 10 Differences between Republicans & Democrats:

1.) Abortion. No other issue differentiates these two parties more than does the issue of abortion. While this hasn’t always been the case, the Republican Party today is the only of these two parties that represents the pro-life cause at the national level. The vote tally on the only abortion-related major piece of legislation the U.S. Congress faced in the last five years clearly shows this difference. (51 Republicans and 6 Democrats supported the rights of parents to be notified in cases where one of their minor children sought an abortion across state lines. Whereas, 4 Republicans and 37 Democrats voted against the parents’ right to be notified.) Democrats solid unity related to the ethic of abortion-on-demand also differentiates the party from most Americans according to a Wirthlin poll released early in 2003 which found that “68 percent of respondents favored ‘restoring legal protection for unborn children.’” [i] “Abortion is now the glue that holds the Democratic Party together,” writes Peggy Noonan.[ii] In his article entitled, “DNC Delegates Out of Step with Average Person,” Keith Peters writes, “Three-fourths [of the delegates at the 2004 Democratic National Convention] believe abortion should be available to those who want it, compared to 49 percent of Democrats and 34 percent of all voters.”[iii] These statistics clearly show just how radical the Democratic national party has gotten. While not emphasized in the MSM, their radical abortion agenda can be demonstrated as well with their nominations and appointments of pro-abortion judges to the Supreme Court, or conversely, with their obstruction tactics when pro-life justices are considered by conservative presidents.

2.) Marriage. For millennia, the institution of marriage has been the basic building block of any civilized society. Marriage has always been defined as the public-supported exclusive union of one man and one woman. Unfortunately, this vital societal unit has been losing an increasing amount of government support through such initiatives as the marriage penalty tax and no-fault divorce laws. While the marriage penalty tax finally ended once George W. Bush took office, major threats still loom large for this vital institution. The National Democratic Party continues to vigorously wage an aggressive assault on marriage as it aims, in recent years, to extend public acknowledgement and support for unions of same-sex couples. The blocking of the Marriage Protection Amendment from full Senate consideration and vote by a significant number of Democratic Senators this year and in 2004 is one example of the hostility shown by the left towards traditional marriage. This vital social institution – as it has been defined for 5,000 years – will most assuredly be rendered meaningless if so-called same-sex marriage becomes legalized.

3.) The War. Like Chamberlain with Hitler, the Democrats naively believe we can negotiate and reason with these brutal regimes as they support the United Nation’s initiatives of appeasement. Our enemy constantly ignores United Nations’ resolutions demonstrating the U.N. is “all bark and no bite.” Consequently, in a dramatic change in Middle East policy, six other Arab countries just announced today plans to go nuclear. With the exception of just a few, the Democrats have shown a major lack of leadership at standing up to the aggression of our enemies around the world. Moreover, the Dems and their fellow lefties in the MSM continue to refer to the war as “a war on terrorism.” This is as much a war against terrorism as World War II was a war against kamikazes and blitzkriegs. Terrorism, kamikazes and blitzkriegs are simply tactics of warfare. WWII was actually a war against Nazism, Fascism, and Imperialism. The left refuses to call our enemy by name. How can you win a war, if you fail to identify your enemy? Our war today is against radical, militant, Islamo-fascists. The left in this country also deludes themselves – I think out of fear – into thinking that this is simply an ideological war. They are afraid to admit this is also a religious war in which they have to choose sides. What was on the lips of the kidnappers of Jill Carrol right after they murdered her colleague and took her away? “Jihad! Jihad!” (Which means “holy war.”) What was proclaimed from the mouths of the terrorist seconds before United 93 slammed into that Pennsylvanian field? “Allah is the greatest!” (If they don’t believe me, they can read the transcript for themselves as retrieved from the flight data recorder.) As aptly stated by U.S. Lt. General McInerny, “The only way America can lose the war in Iraq is if the Iraqi insurgents can break the will of the people (of the United States).” We need to have the right people in office who not only know how to successfully lead the fight, but who also actually have the will to win this war! I think Tony Blair said it best when he turned and looked RIGHT into the cameras and said, “They know why they’re fighting. Do we?”

4.) Taxes and helping the poor. Democratic public fiscal policy clearly put more hope in government programs meeting the needs than non-profit, charitable groups. They advocated obligatory giving through higher taxes. The money collected from taxes then goes to public employees who are obligated to meet these needs. Republicans, in contrast, believe public-run social welfare programs are inefficient and more easily corrupted. Instead, conservatives advocate for lower taxes, which will free up more money for taxpayers to cheerfully give to non-profit organizations (i.e. religious bodies & charities), which exist to meet specific needs of society. Republicans believe these organizations will do a better job of handling these social issues. Case in point: Katrina disaster relief. The church and other non-profit organizations – and even for-profit corporations – outperformed government programs. As one reviewer of Marvin Olasky’s new book, “The Politics of Disaster: Katrina, Big Government, and A New Strategy for Future Crises” summarized:

“Faith-based organizations, primarily the Salvation Army, the Southern Baptist Convention and local churches, by far outperformed any government agency. The absence of a paperocracy allowed these organizations to move quickly and decisively. He looks also at corporations such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Fed-Ex which played an integral role in relief efforts and which put the government to shame with their speed, preparedness and organization.”

5.) Judicial Philosophy. The judicial branch of our government has been given power to interpret laws created by the legislative branch in order to insure those laws preserve the rights laid out in the U.S. Constitution. As a measure of checks and balances, the legislative branch has been given the power under the Constitution to appoint those that preside in the judicial branch. Republicans appoint many judges who hold to a judicial philosophy known as strict constructionism, or constitutionalism. They believe the Constitution has a specific meaning based on the intent of its authors. Our goal should therefore be to preserve these rights by determining the Constitution’s true meaning instead of infusing our meaning into the text. Consequently, the same rights first spelled out in the Bill of Rights centuries ago would be the same rights guaranteed today. Democrats, by contrast, consistently appoint judges who believe the Constitution is a “living, breathing document” and can therefore mean whatever they want it to mean. They are often referred to as “activists judges” who, in effect, legislate (or make laws) from the bench – a power only delegated to the legislative branch. Courts comprised mainly of liberal activist judges have resulted in some of the most outlandish rulings in the history of our country, as noted by historian David Barton:

Kelo v. City of New London – a 5-4 decision regarding eminent domain, in which the Court ruled that it was acceptable to take private property for the purpose of economic development; Lawrence v. Texas – a 6-3 decision in which the Court struck down the prohibition of homosexual sodomy; McCreary v. ACLU – a 5-4 decision ruling that a display of the 10 Commandments in courthouses violated the Establishment Clause; Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe – a 6-3 decision stating that student-led prayers at football games were unconstitutional; Lee v. Weisman – a 5-4 decision where it was determined that clergy-led prayers at graduation ceremonies were unconstitutional; Romer v. Evans – in a 6-3 decision, the Court said that Colorado’s amendment to prevent special rights for homosexual was unconstitutional; Planned Parenthood v. Casey – a 5-4 decision that reaffirmed the Roe decision; Stenberg v. Carhart – a 5-4 decision found that Nebraska’s statute criminalizing partial-birth abortion was illegal (We may already have the needed five votes to overturn this in [this] year’s federal challenge to partial-birth abortion – Gonzales v. Carhart.); and perhaps what is arguably the most offensive decision of them all – Roe v. Wade.

6.) Religious Liberty. The Democrats were successful at stifling legislation that would de-fund the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) so they could no longer intimidate local governments and schools into relinquishing the free religious expression of its citizens by threats of overburdening lawsuits. (Now you Christians, don’t you worry if the Democrats take power. You’ll still hear “God-talk” coming from the Dems as they pander for your vote while building towards the next Presidential election. Expect to hear more religious words sprinkled in the rhetoric of politicians like Hillary Clinton as she subtly persuades you into becoming more “open-minded and tolerant” towards the old-time liberal religions of choice, same-sex marriage, and amnesty.)

7.) Stem Cell Research. Democrats and their cohorts in crime in the MSM consistently fail to point out the significant differences between Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Adult Stem Cell Research. Embryonic Stem Cell Research takes a life in order to try to help another (with no success either now or anywhere on the horizon). In contrast, Adult Stem Cell Research takes existing stem cells from adult humans (i.e. umbilical cords) and uses them in successful current treatments of human diseases. Learn the basics of Stem Cell research by watching this short video. Pushes towards public funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research are simply the early steps needed for the eventual push for society’s acceptance of human cloning. While both parties are guilty of bending the knee to the biomedical/cloning lobby, the only considerable numbers that happen to be part of the stalwart pro-life faithful reside almost exclusively within the Republican Party. download Windows Media Player here

8.) Border Security/Immigration. The Democrats advocate more for open-borders than Republicans do. It is not a secret in Washington that huge, gapping holes in our border security have allowed known terrorists to enter into our homeland. While many Republicans refer to those who improperly cross the U.S. border as “illegal aliens,” Democrats regularly refer to them by a more politically savory term of “undocumented workers.” While Bush has acted more like a Democrat on this issue, much more Republicans than Democrats push for stricter border enforcement of existing immigration laws. To attract values voters, liberals on the left of the aisle have even begun using religious language more as they advocate for amnesty. They argue, “Isn’t the Christian thing to do, not to turn away these people? Doesn’t the bible say that you should provide for the needs of aliens? My answer would be something like this:

“Let me get this right. Are you advocating making our country a theocracy? What about separation of church and state? Why impose your Christian beliefs into our pluralistic government system? If someone believes in the Christian way, then they should assemble their churches and pursue the teachings of Jesus. However, I know many people who reject the teachings of Jesus. Should you have the right to impose your beliefs on others who don’t share your beliefs? Government, on the other hand, has a responsibility to protect its citizens, whereas people of religious faiths have a duty to carry out their religious imperatives.”

9.) Indecency in the Media. The Federal Communications Act was passed in 1934 by a Democratic Congress and signed by a Democratic President--Franklin D. Roosevelt. That law gave the federal government the power--and the duty--to police the public airwaves. While credit mainly goes to the Democrats for its origination, the Democrats today are a party for the free expression of speech, no matter the cost, and no matter the degree of obscenity. Republicans are the party today who are more in support of enforcement and strengthening indecency standards. We seen it most recent in the Republican-controlled House, which passed this year the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, which raised tenfold the maximum fine that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can levy against broadcasters who air indecent material — bringing it to $325,000 per infraction, with a maximum cap of $3 million for a single program.

10.) A Country Divided or a Country United? While the Democrats have played the role of obstructionist for six years under President Bush, their divisive form of politics will even grow stronger if they capture control of Congress this election year. Whether it is with our efforts at defeating Islamo-Fascism, or tackling domestic issues, our leadership in this country needs to work together. If the Democrats win on November 7th, the country will become even more divided with a Democratic-controlled Legislative Branch and a Republican Executive Branch. In fact, if the Democrats gain control of Congress, they have vowed to try to impeach President Bush! I’m afraid gridlock will rule the day in Washington like we never seen it before if the Dems win on November 7th.

[i] Cheryl Wetzstein, "New Poll Shows Tilt To Protect Unborn," The Washington Times, 16 January 2003, p. A4.
[ii] Peggy Noonan, “A Tough Roe,” Opinion Journal, 20 January 2003. See: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110002936
[iii] Keith Peters, “DNC Delegates Out of Step with Average Person,” Focus on the Family Citizenlink email, July 29, 2004.