History
The Democratic Party evolved from the Jeffersonian Republican or
Democratic-Republican Party organized by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in opposition to the
Federalist party of Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. The party favored
republicanism, a weak federal government,
states' rights, agrarian interests (especially Southern planters) and strict adherence to the
Constitution; it opposed a national bank, close ties to Great Britain, and business and banking interests. The Party came to power in the
election of 1800.
After the
War of 1812, the Federalists virtually disappeared and the Jeffersonian party split into factions. They split over the choice of a successor to President
James Monroe, and the party faction that supported many of the old Jeffersonian principles, led by
Andrew Jackson and
Martin Van Buren, became the Democratic Party. Other factions led by Henry Clay helped form the
Whig Party. The Democratic Party had a small advantage over the Whigs until the 1850s, when the Whigs fell apart over the issue of slavery. In 1854, angry with the
Kansas–Nebraska Act, anti-slavery Democrats left the party and joined Northern Whigs to form the
Republican Party emerged.
[7][8]
1860
The Democrats split over the choice of a successor to President
James Buchanan along Northern and Southern lines; factions of the party provided two separate candidacies for President in the
election of 1860, in which the Republican Party gained ascendancy.
Southern Democrats, after some delegates followed the lead of the
Fire-Eaters by walking out of the
Democratic convention at
Charleston's Institute Hall in April 1860, and were subsequently joined by those who, once again led by the Fire-Eaters, left the
Baltimore Convention the following June when the convention would not adopt a resolution supporting extending slavery into territories whose voters did not want it, nominated the pro-slavery incumbent
Vice-President,
John C. Breckinridge of
Kentucky, for President and General
Joseph Lane, former
Governor of
Oregon, for Vice President. The
Northern Democrats proceeded to nominate
Senator Stephen A. Douglas of
Illinois for President and former Governor of
Georgia Herschel V. Johnson for Vice-President, while some southern Democrats joined the
Constitutional Union Party, backing its nominees (who had both been prominent Whig leaders), former Senator,
Speaker of the House, and
Secretary of War John Bell of
Tennessee for President and the politician, statesman, and educator
Edward Everett of
Massachusetts for Vice-President. This fracturing of the Democrats led to a Republican victory, and
Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States.
As the
American Civil War broke out, Northern Democrats were divided into
War Democrats and
Peace Democrats. The
Confederate States of America, whose political leadership, mindful of the welter prevalent in antebellum American politics and with a pressing need for unity, largely viewed political parties as inimical to good governance; consequently the Confederacy had none, or at least none with the wide organization inherent to other American parties. Most War Democrats rallied to Republican President Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans'
National Union Party in the
election of 1864, which featured
Andrew Johnson on the Republican ticket even though he was a Democrat from the South. Johnson replaced Lincoln in 1865 but stayed independent of both parties. The Democrats benefited from white Southerners' resentment of
Reconstruction after the war and consequent hostility to the Republican Party. After
Redeemersended Reconstruction in the 1870s, and following the often extremely violent
disenfranchisement of African Americans led by such
white supremacist Democratic politicians as
Benjamin Tillman of
South Carolina in the 1880s and 1890s, the South, voting Democratic, became known as the "
Solid South." Though Republicans won all but two presidential elections, the Democrats remained competitive. The party was dominated by pro-business
Bourbon Democrats led by
Samuel J. Tilden and
Grover Cleveland, who represented mercantile, banking, and railroad interests; opposed
imperialism and overseas expansion; fought for the
gold standard; opposed
bimetallism; and crusaded against corruption, high taxes, and tariffs. Cleveland was elected to non-consecutive presidential terms in 1884 and 1892.
[9]
1900
Agrarian Democrats demanding
Free Silver overthrew the Bourbon Democrats in 1896 and nominated
William Jennings Bryan for the presidency (a nomination repeated by Democrats in 1900 and 1908). Bryan waged a vigorous campaign attacking Eastern moneyed interests, but he lost to Republican
William McKinley. The Democrats took control of the House in 1910 and elected
Woodrow Wilson as president in 1912 and 1916. Wilson effectively led Congress to put to rest the issues of tariffs, money, and antitrust that had dominated politics for 40 years with new progressive laws. The
Great Depression in 1929 that occurred under Republican President
Herbert Hoover and the Republican Congress set the stage for a more liberal government; the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives nearly uninterrupted from 1931 until 1995 and won most presidential elections until 1968.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected to the presidency in 1932, came forth with government programs called the
New Deal. New Deal liberalism meant the promotion of social welfare, labor unions, civil rights, and regulation of business. The opponents, who stressed long-term growth, support for business, and low taxes, started calling themselves "conservatives."
[10]
Modern era
Issues facing parties and the United States after
World War II included the
Cold War and the
Civil Rights Movement. Republicans attracted conservatives and white Southerners from the Democratic coalition with their use of the
Southern strategy and resistance to New Deal and
Great Society liberalism. African Americans had traditionally supported the Republican Party because of the anti-slavery agenda of Abraham Lincoln and successors such as Ulysses Grant. But they began supporting Democrats following the ascent of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, the New Deal, the integration of the military and embrace of proposed civil rights legislation by President Harry Truman in 1947-48, and the postwar Civil Rights movement. The Democratic Party's main base of support shifted to the
Northeast, marking a dramatic reversal of history.
Bill Clinton was elected to the presidency in 1992, governing as a
New Democrat. The Democratic Party lost control of Congress in the
election of 1994 to the Republican Party. Re-elected in 1996, Clinton was the first Democratic President since Franklin Roosevelt to be elected to two terms. Following twelve years of Republican rule, the Democratic Party regained majority control of both the House and the Senate in the
2006 elections. Some of the party's key issues in the early 21st century in their last national platform have included the methods of how to combat
terrorism,
homeland security, expanding access to
health care,
labor rights, environmentalism, and the preservation of liberal government programs.
[11] In the
2010 elections, the Democratic Party lost control of the House, but kept a small majority in the Senate (reduced from the 111th Congress). It also lost its majority in state legislatures and state governorships. However, the
2012 elections which re-elected President Obama represented a partial reversal of the results of the 2010 midterm vote, increasing the Democratic majority in the Senate and reducing the Republican majority in the House.
The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other influential opponents of the
Federalists in 1792. That party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, with the election of
Andrew Jackson. Since the division of the Republican Party in the
election of 1912, it has gradually positioned itself to the
left of the Republican Party on economic and
social issues.
Until the period following the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964—which was championed by a Democratic president but faced lower Democratic than Republican support in Congress—the Democratic Party was primarily a coalition of two parties divided by region. Southern Democrats were typically given high conservative ratings by the
American Conservative Union while northern Democrats were typically given very liberal ratings. Southern Democrats were a core bloc of the bipartisan
conservative coalition which lasted through the Reagan-era. The economically activist philosophy of
Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced
American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932, and served to tie the two regional factions of the party together until the late 1960s. In fact, Roosevelt's
New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government until the 1970s.
[12]
Based on a series of polls conducted in 2010,
Gallup found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 29% as Republicans, and 38% as
Independents.
[13] A similar series of polls conducted in 2011 found the percentage of Democrats to be the same at 31%, while a two percentile-point rise in the number of Independents, to an all-time high of 40%, appeared to stem from an equal drop in the number of those Americans identifying themselves as Republicans from the previous poll, to 27%.
[14] A Pew Research Center survey of registered voters released August 2010 stated that 47% identified as Democrats or leaned towards the party; the same poll found that 43% of registered voters identified as Republicans or leaned towards the Republican party.
[15]
Name and symbols
"A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast.
Harper's Weekly, January 19, 1870.
The donkey party logo is still a well-known symbol for the Democratic Party, despite no longer being the official logo of the party.
The modern Democratic "kicking donkey"
Initially calling itself the "Republican Party," Jeffersonians were labeled "Democratic" by the opposition
Federalists, with the hope of stigmatizing them as purveyors of democracy or mob rule.
[16] By the Jacksonian era, the term "The Democracy" was in use by the party; the name "Democratic Party" was eventually settled upon
[17] and became the official name in 1844.
[18]
The term
"Democrat party" has also been in local use but has usually been used by opponents since 1952 as an epithet.
The most common mascot symbol for the party is the
donkey, although the party never officially adopted this symbol.
[19] Andrew Jackson's critics had labeled him a jackass because of his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule," during the intense mudslinging in
1828. Jackson decided to go along with it–even using images of a donkey in his campaign ads.
[20] A political cartoon titled "A Modern Balaam and his Ass" depicting Jackson riding and directing a donkey (representing the Democratic Party) was published in 1837. A political cartoon by
Thomas Nast in an 1870 edition of
Harper's Weekly revived the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party; earlier, Nast had used a fox to represent the Democrats, but decided that a fox was too clever for the party. Cartoonists followed Nast and used the donkey to represent the Democrats, and the elephant to represent the
Republicans.
In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party in Midwestern states such as Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Ohio was the rooster, as opposed to the Republican eagle. This symbol still appears on Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia
[21] ballots. In
New York, the Democratic ballot symbol is a five-pointed star.
[22] For the majority of the 20th century, Missouri Democrats used the
Statue of Liberty as their ballot emblem. This meant that when
Libertarian candidates received
ballot access in Missouri in 1976, they could not use the Statue of Liberty, their national symbol, as the ballot emblem. Missouri Libertarians instead used the
Liberty Bell until 1995, when the mule became Missouri's state animal. From 1995 to 2004, there was some confusion among voters, as the Democratic ticket was marked with the Statue of Liberty (used by Libertarians in other states) and the Libertarians' mule was easily mistaken for a Democratic donkey.
[citation needed]
Although both major political parties (and many minor ones) use the traditional American red, white, and blue colors in their marketing and representations, since election night
2000the color blue has become the identified color of the Democratic Party, while the color red has become the identified color of the Republican Party. That night, for the first time, all major broadcast television networks used the same color scheme for the electoral map:
blue states for
Al Gore (Democratic nominee) and red states for
George W. Bush (Republican nominee). Since then, the color blue has been widely used by the media to represent the party. This has caused confusion among non-American observers because blue is the traditional color of the
right and red the color of the
left outside of the United States. For example, in Canada red represents the
Liberals, while blue represents the
Conservatives. In the United Kingdom, red denotes the
Labour Party and blue symbolizes the
Conservative Party. Blue has also been used both by party supporters for promotional efforts —
ActBlue, BuyBlue, BlueFund, as examples — and by the party itself in 2006 both for its "Red to Blue Program", created to support Democratic candidates running against Republican incumbents in the
midterm elections that year, and on its official website.
[citation needed]
In September, 2010, the Democratic Party unveiled its new logo, which featured a blue D inside a blue circle. It was the party's first official logo, as the donkey logo had only been semi-official.
[citation needed]
Current structure and composition
The
Democratic National Committee (DNC) is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities. While the DNC is responsible for overseeing the process of writing the Democratic Platform, the DNC is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than
public policy. In presidential elections, it supervises the
Democratic National Convention. The national convention is, subject to the charter of the party, the ultimate authority within the Democratic Party when it is in session, with the DNC running the party's organization at other times. The DNC is currently chaired by
Florida congresswoman
Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
[26]
The
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) assists party candidates in House races; its current chairman (selected by the party caucus) is Rep.
Steve Israel of New York. Similarly, the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), currently headed by Senator
Patty Murray of Washington, raises large sums for Senate races. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), currently chaired by Mike Gronstal of Iowa, is a smaller organization with much less funding that focuses on state legislative races. The DNC sponsors the
College Democrats of America (CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new generation of Democratic activists.
Democrats Abroad is the organization for Americans living outside the United States; they work to advance the goals of the party and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats. The
Young Democrats of America (YDA) is a youth-led organization that attempts to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates, but operates outside of the DNC. In addition, the recently created branch of the Young Democrats, the Young Democrats High School Caucus, attempts to raise awareness and
activism amongst teenagers to not only vote and volunteer, but participate in the future as well. The
Democratic Governors Association (DGA), chaired by Governor
Peter Shumlin of
Vermont, is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents. Likewise, the mayors of the largest cities and urban centers convene as the
National Conference of Democratic Mayors.
Each state also has a state committee, made up of elected committee members as well as ex-officio committee members (usually elected officials and representatives of major constituencies), which in turn elects a chair. County, town, city, and ward committees generally are composed of individuals elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law. Rarely do they have much funding, but in 2005, DNC Chairman Dean began a program (called the "50 State Strategy") of using DNC national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full-time professional staffers.
[27]
Ideology
Since the 1890s, the Democratic Party has favored
liberal positions (the term "liberal" in this sense describes
social liberalism, not
classical liberalism). In recent
exit polls, the Democratic Party has had broad appeal across all socio-ethno-economic demographics.
[28][29][30] Historically, the party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, and religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and favored progressive income taxes. In foreign policy,
internationalism (including
interventionism) was a dominant theme from 1913 to the mid-1960s. In the 1930s, the party began advocating
welfare spending programs targeted at the poor. The party had a fiscally conservative, pro-business wing, typified by
Grover Cleveland and
Al Smith, and a
Southern conservative wing that shrank after President
Lyndon B. Johnson supported the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. The major influences for liberalism were labor unions (which peaked in the 1936–1952 era), and the
African American wing, which has steadily grown since the 1960s. Since the 1970s,
environmentalism has been a major new component.
Liberals
Social liberals (modern liberals) and progressives constitute roughly half of the Democratic voter base. Liberals thereby form the largest united typological demographic within the Democratic base. According to the 2008 exit poll results, liberals constituted 22% of the electorate, and 89% of American liberals favored the candidate of the Democratic Party.
[32] White-collar college-educated professionals were mostly Republican until the 1950s; they now compose perhaps the most vital component of the Democratic Party.
[33]
This ideological group differs from the traditional organized labor base. According to the
Pew Research Center, a plurality of 41% resided in
mass affluent households and 49% were college graduates, the highest figure of any typographical group. It was also the fastest growing typological group between the late 1990s and early 2000s.
[34] Liberals include most of academia
[35] and large portions of the professional class.
[28][29][30]
Progressives
Libertarians and civil liberties advocates
Conservatives
Chapman notes a split vote among many conservative Southern Democrats in the 1970s and 1980s who supported local and statewide conservative Democrats while simultaneously voting for Republican presidential candidates.
[36]
Centrists
Voter base
Self-identified Democrats (blue) versus self-identified Republicans (red) (January–June 2010 data).
Professionals
Professionals, those who have a
college education and whose work revolves around the conceptualization of ideas, have supported the Democratic Party by a slight majority since 2000. Between 1988 and 2000, professionals favored Democrats by a 12-percentage point margin. While the professional class was once a stronghold of the Republican Party, it has become increasingly split between the two parties, leaning in favor of the Democratic Party. The increasing support for Democratic candidates among professionals may be traced to the prevalence of social liberal values among this group.
[37]
| “ | Professionals, who are, roughly speaking, college-educated producers of services and ideas, used to be the most staunchly Republican of all occupational groups... now chiefly working for large corporations and bureaucracies rather than on their own, and heavily influenced by the environmental, civil-rights, and feminist movements — began to vote Democratic. In the four elections from 1988 to 2000, they backed Democrats by an average of 52 percent to 40 percent. | ” |
A study on the political attitudes of
medical students, for example, found that "U.S. medical students are considerably more likely to be liberal than conservative and are more likely to be liberal than are other young U.S. adults. Future U.S. physicians may be more receptive to liberal messages than current ones, and their political orientation may profoundly affect their health system attitudes."
[38]Similar results are found for professors, who are more strongly inclined towards liberalism and the Democratic Party than other occupational groups.
[35] The Democratic Party also has strong support among
scientists, with 55% identifying as Democrats, 32% as Independents, and 6% as Republicans and 52% identifying as liberal, 35% as moderate, and 9% as conservative.
[39]
Academia
Academics, intellectuals, and the highly
educated overall constitute an important part of the Democratic voter base.
Academia in particular tends to be
progressive. In a 2005 survey, nearly 72% of full-time faculty members identified as liberal, while 15% identified as conservative. The
social sciences and
humanities were the most liberal disciplines while business was the most
conservative. Male professors at more advanced stages of their careers as well as those at elite institutions tend be the most liberal.
[35] Another survey by
UCLA conducted in 2001/02, found 47.6% of scholars identifying as liberal, 34.3% as moderate, and 18% as conservative.
[40]Percentages of professors who identified as liberal ranged from 49% in business to over 80% in
political science and the humanities.
[35]Social scientists, such as Brett O'Bannon of
DePauw University, have claimed that the "liberal" opinions of professors seem to have little, if any, effect on the political orientation of students.
[41][42] Whether or not that is true, some conservatives and Republicans complain they are offended and even threatened by the liberal atmosphere of college campuses.
[who?] As of July 2008 the
Students for Academic Freedom arm of the
David Horowitz Freedom Center, a conservative organization, posted a list of 440 student complaints, most of which pertain to perceived liberal bias of college professors.
Those with
graduate education, have become increasingly Democratic beginning in the 1992,
[43] 1996,
[43] 2000,
[28] 2004,
[29] and 2008
[44] elections. Intellectualism, the tendency to constantly reexamine issues, or in the words of Edwards Shields, the "penetration beyond the screen of immediate concrete experience," has also been named as an explanation why academia is strongly democratic and liberal.
[45][46]
In the past, self-identified Republicans were more likely to have attained a 4-year college degree, but over time this trend has reversed itself, to the point today that Republicans and Democrats are represented equally amongst college educated voters and Democrats hold a majority of post-graduate educated voters.
[47]
Youth
Studies have shown that younger voters tend to vote mostly for Democratic candidates in recent years. Despite supporting
Ronald Reagan and
George H. W. Bush, the young have voted in favor of the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since
Bill Clinton in 1992, and are more likely to identify as liberals than the general population.
[48] In the
2004 presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate
John Kerry received 54% of the vote from voters of the age group 18–29, while Republican
George W. Bushreceived 45% of the vote from the same age group. In the 2006
midterm elections, the Democrats received 60% of the vote from the same age group.
[29][30] Polls suggest that younger voters tend to be more liberal than the general population and have more liberal views than the public on same-sex marriage and universal healthcare, helping
Barack Obama carry 66% of their votes in 2008. The
Young Democrats of America are an affiliated organization of members of the party younger than 36 that advocates for youth issues and works for youth voter turnout.
Labor
Since the 1930s, a critical component of the Democratic Party coalition has been
organized labor. Labor unions supply a great deal of the money,
grass roots political organization, and voting base of support for the party. Democrats are far more likely to be represented by unions, although union membership has declined, in general, during the last few decades. This trend is depicted in the following graph from the book,
Democrats and Republicans — Rhetoric and Reality.[49] It is based on surveys conducted by the National Election Studies (NES).
Working class
While the American
working class has lost much of its political strength with the decline of
labor unions,
[50] it remains a stronghold of the Democratic Party and continues as an essential part of the Democratic base. Today, roughly a third of the American public is estimated to be working class with around 52% being either members of the working or
lower classes.
[51][52] Yet, as those with lower
socioeconomic status are less likely to vote, the working and lower classes are underrepresented in the electorate. The working class is largely distinguished by highly routinized and closely supervised work. It consists mainly of
clerical and
blue-collar workers.
[51] Even though most in the working class are able to afford an adequate
standard of living, high economic insecurity and possible personal benefit from an extended
social safety net, make the majority of working class person left-of-center on economic issues. Most working class Democrats differ from most liberals, however, in their more socially conservative views. Working class Democrats tend to be more religious and likely to belong to an ethnic minority. Socially conservative and disadvantaged Democrats are among the least educated and lowest earning ideological demographics. In 2005, only 15% had a college degree, compared to 27% at the national average and 49% of liberals, respectively. Together socially conservative and the financially disadvantaged comprised roughly 54% of the Democratic base.
[34] The continued importance of the working class votes manifests itself in recent CNN exit polls, which shows that the majority of those with low
incomes and little education vote for the Democratic Party.
[28][29][30]
Women
Although the "gender gap" has varied over many years, women of all ages are more likely than men to identify as Democrats. Recent polls have indicated that 41% of women identify as Democrats while only 25% of women identify as Republicans and 26% as independents, while 32% of men identify as Democrats, 28% as Republicans and 34% as independents. Among ethnic minorities, women also are more likely than males to identify as Democrats. Also, American women that identified as single, living with a domestic partner, divorced, separated, or widowed are more likely than men in these categories to vote Democratic, in contrast to married Americans, which split about equally between Democrat and Republican. Again, women in these categories are significantly more likely than males in these categories to vote Democratic.
[53] The
National Federation of Democratic Women is an affiliated organization meant to advocate for women's issues. National women's organizations that often support Democratic candidates are
Emily's List and the
National Organization for Women.
Relation to marital status and parenthood
Americans that identify as single, living with a domestic partner, divorced, separated, or widowed are more likely to vote Democratic, in contrast to married Americans, which split about equally between Democrat and Republican.
[53]
GSS surveys of more than 11,000 Democrats and Republicans conducted between 1996 and 2006 came to the result that the differences in
fertility rates are not statistically significant between these parties, with the average Democrat having 1.94 children and the average Republican having 1.91 children.
[54] However, there is a significant difference in fertility rates between the two related groups
liberals and
conservatives, with liberals reproducing at much lower rate than conservatives.
[54]
LGBT Americans
Lesbian,
gay,
bisexual, and
transgender Americans typically vote Democratic in national elections within the 70-77% range, according to national media exit polling. In heavily gay precincts in large cities across the nation, the average was higher, ranging from 85-94%. This trend has continued since 1996 when Bill Clinton won 71% of the LGBT vote compared to Bob Dole's 16% and 13% for others. In 2000 Al Gore won 70% to George W. Bush's 25% with 5% for others, in 2004 John Kerry won 77% to George W. Bush's 23%, in 2008 Barack Obama won 70% to John McCain's 27% with 3% to others and in 2012 Barack Obama won 76% to Mitt Romney's 22% with 2% to others. Patrick Egan, a professor of politics at New York University specializing in LGBT voting patterns, calls this a "remarkable continuity." Saying "about three-fourths vote Democratic and one-fourth Republican from year to year."
[55]Notable LGBT Democrats include current Senator
Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and current Representatives
Jared Polis of Colorado and
David Cicilline of Rhode Island. The late activist and San Francisco Supervisor
Harvey Milkwas a Democrat as is former Representative
Barney Frank of Massachusetts. The
National Stonewall Democrats is an LGBT advocacy group associated with the Democratic Party. The
LGBT Equality Caucus is a congressional caucus of 97 Democrats and 3 Republicans that work and advocate for LGBT rights within the
House of Representatives.
[57]
Black Americans
From the end of the Civil War,
African Americans primarily favored the Republican Party due to its overwhelming political and more tangible efforts in achieving abolition, particularly through President Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation.
[58] The south had long been a Democratic stronghold, favoring a state's right to legal slavery. In addition, the ranks of the fledgling
Ku Klux Klan were composed almost entirely of white Democrats angry over poor treatment by northerners and bent on reversing the policies of
Reconstruction.
[59]However, as years passed and memories waned,
African Americans began drifting to the Democratic Party, as
Franklin Roosevelt'sNew Deal programs gave economic relief to all minorities, including African Americans and
Hispanics.
[58] Support for the
Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s by Democratic presidents
John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson helped give the Democrats even larger support among the African-American community, which consistently vote between 85-95% Democratic.
[58]
Prominent modern-day African-American Democratic politicians include
Jim Clyburn,
Ed Towns,
Maxine Waters,
John Lewis,
Deval Patrick,
Charles Rangel,
John Conyers, and the current President of the United States,
Barack Obama, who managed to net over 95% of the African-American vote in the 2008 election.
[60] Despite being unaffiliated, the
NAACP often participates in organizing and voter turnout drives and advocates for progressive causes, especially those that affect people of color.
[61] Within the
House of Representatives, the
Congressional Black Caucus, consisting of 44 black Democrats, serves to represent the interests of African Americans and advocate on issues that affect them.
Hispanic and Latino Americans
The
Hispanic population, particularly the large
Mexican American population in the
Southwest and the large
Puerto Rican and
Dominican populations in the
Northeast, have been strong supporters of the Democratic Party. They commonly favor liberal views on immigration.
[citation needed] In the
1996 presidential election, Democratic President
Bill Clinton received 72% of the Hispanic vote.
[62] In following years, however, the Republican Party gained increasing support from the Hispanic community, especially among Hispanic Protestants and
Pentecostals. With his much more liberal views on immigration, President Bush was the first Republican president to gain 40% of the Hispanic vote (he did so in the
2004 presidential election). Yet the Republican Party's support among Hispanics eroded in the
2006 midterm elections, dropping from 44% to 30%, with the Democrats gaining in the Hispanic vote from 55% in 2004 to 69% in 2006.
[29][30] Democrats increased their share of the Hispanic vote in the
2008 presidential election, with
Barack Obama receiving 67%. According to exit polls by Edison Research, Obama increased his support again in 2012, winning 71% of Hispanic voters.
[63]
Cuban Americans still tend to vote Republican, though there has been a noticeable change starting with the 2008 elections. During the 2008 elections Barack Obama received 47% of the Cuban American vote in Florida.
[64] According to Bendixen's
exit polls, 84% of Miami-Dade Cuban American voters 65 or older backed McCain, while 55% of those 29 or younger backed Obama,
[65] showing that the younger Cuban-American generation has become more liberal.
Throughout the decade of the 2000s, 60% or more of Hispanic
Roman Catholics who were registered to vote identified as either Democratic or leaning towards the Party.
[15]
Native Americans
The Democratic Party also has strong support among the
Native American population, particularly in
Arizona,
New Mexico,
Montana,
North Dakota,
South Dakota,
Washington,
Alaska,
Idaho,
Minnesota,
Wisconsin, and
North Carolina. Though now a small percentage of the population (virtually non-existent in some regions), most Native American precincts vote Democratic in margins exceeded only by African-Americans.
[66]
Jewish Americans
Jewish American communities tend to be a stronghold for the Democratic Party, with more than 70% of Jewish voters having cast their ballots for the Democrats in the 2004 and 2006 elections.
[29][30] Al Gore received 79% of the Jewish votes in 2000, and Barack Obama won about 77% of the Jewish vote in 2008.
[67] Support tends to vary among specific sectarian groups. For example, only 13% of
Orthodox Jews supported Barack Obama in 2008 while around 60% of
Conservative Jews and
Reform Jews did so.
[68] A 2010 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 60% of self-described Jews identified as Democratic or leaning towards the party, compared to 33% with those feelings towards Republicans.
[15]
Jews as an important Democratic constituency are especially politically active and influential in large cities such as
New York City,
Los Angeles,
Boston,
Chicago; and play critical roles in large cities within presidential
swing states, such as
Philadelphia,
Miami, and
Las Vegas. Many prominent national Democrats in recent decades have been Jewish, including
Chuck Schumer,
Abraham Ribicoff,
Henry Waxman,
Martin Frost,
Joseph Lieberman,
Dianne Feinstein,
Barney Frank,
Barbara Boxer,
Paul Wellstone,
Rahm Emanuel,
Russ Feingold,
Herb Kohl, and
Howard Metzenbaum.
[68]
Arab and Muslim Americans
Arab Americans, generally socially conservative but with more diverse economic views, historically voted Republican until recent years, having supported
George W. Bush over
Al Gore in 2000.
[70]
The 2012 poll found that 68% of Muslim Americans surveyed support Barack Obama.
[71]
Asian Americans
The Democratic Party also has strong support in the small but growing
Asian American population. The Asian American population had been a stronghold of the Republican Party through the
United States presidential election of 1992 in which
George H. W. Bush won 55% of the Asian American vote, compared to Bill Clinton winning 31%, and
Ross Perot winning 15% of the Asian vote. Originally, the vast majority of Asian Americans consisted of anti-communist
Vietnamese refugees,
Chinese Americans,
Korean Americans, and socially conservative
Filipinos who fled
Ferdinand Marcos in the 1960s through the 1980s. The Democratic party made gains among the Asian American population starting with 1996 and in 2006, won 62% of the Asian American vote. Exit polls after the 2008 presidential election indicated that Democratic candidate,
Barack Obama won 62% of the
Asian American vote nationwide.
[72] In the 2012 Presidential election, 73% of the Asian American electorate voted for Obama's re-election.
[73] This is due to demographic shifts in the Asian American community, with growing numbers of well educated Chinese and
Asian Indian immigrants that are typically economic centrist and social progressives.
Barack Obama currently has the support of 85% of Indian Americans, 68% of Chinese Americans, and 57% of Filipino Americans.
[74]The Asian American community's increasing number of young voters has also helped to erode traditionally reliably Republican voting blocs such as Vietnamese and Filipino Americans, leading to an increase in support for Democrats. Prominent Asian-American Democrats include Senators
Daniel Inouye,
Daniel Akaka and
Mazie Hirono, former Governor and Secretary of Commerce
Gary Locke, and Representatives
Mike Honda,
Judy Chu,
Doris Matsui, and
Norman Mineta.
Recent issue stances
Economic issues
Minimum wage
Democrats favor a higher
minimum wage, and more regular increases. The
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was an early component of the Democrats' agenda during the
110th Congress. In 2006, the Democrats supported six state ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wage; all six initiatives passed.
Fiscal policy
Democrats generally support a more
progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce
economic inequality.
[75] Currently they have proposed allowing those
tax cuts the Bush administration gave to the wealthiest Americans to expire as written in the original legislation while wishing to keep in place those given to the middle class.
[75][76] Democrats generally support more
government spending on social services while spending less on the military.
[77][78] They oppose the cutting of social services, such as
Social Security,
Medicare,
Medicaid, and various
welfare programs,
[79] believing it to be harmful to efficiency and
social justice. Democrats believe the benefits of social services, in monetary and non-monetary terms, are a more
productive labor force and cultured population, and believe that the benefits of this are greater than any benefits that could be derived from lower taxes, especially on top earners, or cuts to social services. Furthermore, Democrats see social services as essential towards providing
positive freedom, i.e. freedom derived from economic opportunity. The Democratic-led House of Representatives reinstated the
PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) budget rule at the start of the
110th Congress.
[80] DNC Chairman
Howard Dean has cited
Bill Clinton's presidency as a model for
fiscal responsibility.
Health care reform
Some Democratic governors have supported purchasing Canadian drugs, citing lower costs and budget restrictions as a primary incentive. Recognizing that unpaid insurance bills increase costs to the service provider, who passes the cost on to health-care consumers, many Democrats advocate expansion of health insurance coverage.
Policies which most Democrats favor include:
- ending the ability of insurers to drop coverage when people get sick
- ending lifetime caps on benefits and payments insurers provide
- creating a nation-wide insurance exchange across state lines
- dropping the current anti-trust provision for insurance companies
- requiring large businesses to provide employer-based insurance
- mandating coverage for all Americans
- ending insurance companies' ability to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions
- expansion of Medicaid
- providing subsidies for low to moderate income families and small businesses
- allowing children to stay on their parents' coverage longer
- the expansion of Medicare to those aged 55
- importing Canadian drugs and creating a national public insurance option paid for by premiums and co-pays.
Renewable energy and oil
Democrats have opposed tax cuts and incentives to oil companies, favoring a policy of developing domestic
renewable energy, such as
Montana's state-supported wind farm and "clean coal" programs as well as setting in place a
cap and trade policy in hopes of reducing carbon emissions and creating incentives for clean-energy innovations.
Environment
Democrats believe that the government should protect the environment and have a history of
environmentalism. In more recent years, this stance has had as its emphasis alternative energy generation as the basis for an improved economy, greater
national security, and general environmental benefits.
[82]
The Democratic Party also favors expansion of conservation lands and encourages open space and rail travel to relieve highway and airport congestion and improve air quality and economy; it "believe[s] that communities, environmental interests, and government should work together to protect resources while ensuring the vitality of local economies. Once Americans were led to believe they had to make a choice between the economy and the environment. They now know this is a false choice."
[83]
The most important environmental concern of the Democratic Party is
global warming. Democrats, most notably former Vice President
Al Gore, have pressed for stern regulation of
greenhouse gases. On October 15, 2007, he won the
Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to build greater knowledge about man-made
climate change, and laying the foundations for the measures needed to counteract these changes asserting that "the climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."
[84]
College education
Most Democrats have the long-term aim of having low-cost, publicly funded college education with low tuition fees (like in much of Europe and Canada), which should be available to every eligible American student, or alternatively, with increasing state funding for student financial aid such as the
Pell Grant or
college tuition tax deduction.
[85][86]
Trade agreements
The Democratic Party has a mixed record on
international trade agreements that reflects a diversity of viewpoints in the party. The liberal and
cosmopolitan wing of the party, including the intelligentsia and college-educated professionals overall, tend to favor
globalization, while the organized labor wing of the party opposes it.
[87] In the 1990s, the Clinton administration and a number of prominent Democrats pushed through a number of agreements such as the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since then, the party's shift away from free trade became evident in the
Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) vote, with 15 House Democrats voting for the agreement and 187 voting against.
[88][89]
In his 1997
Achieving Our Country,
philosopher Richard Rorty,
professor at
Stanford University states that economic globalization "invites two responses from the Left. The first is to insist that the inequalities between nations need to be mitigated... The second is to insist that the primary responsibility of each democratic nation-state is to its own least advantaged citizens... the first response suggests that the old democracies should open their borders, whereas the second suggests that they should close them. The first response comes naturally to academic leftists, who have always been internationally minded. The second comes naturally to members of trade unions, and to marginally employed people who can most easily be recruited into right-wing populist movements." (p. 88)
[87]
Alternative Minimum Tax
While the Democratic Party is in support of a progressive tax structure, it has vowed to adjust the
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The tax was originally designed to tax the rich but now may affect many households, especially those with
incomes ranging from $75,000 to $100,000. The party proposed to re-adjust the tax in such a manner as to restore its initial intention. According to a 2007 Reuters News Report, "House Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Charles B. Rangel has said he will push for permanent AMT relief for those taxpayers who were never meant to pay it."
[90]
Social issues
Discrimination
The Democratic Party supports
equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of sex, age, race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation,
gender identity, religion, creed, or national origin. Many Democrats support
affirmative action programs to further this goal. Democrats also strongly support the
Americans with Disabilities Act to prohibit discrimination against people based on physical or mental disability. As such, the Democrats pushed as well the
ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a legal expansion that became law.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights
The 2004 Democratic National Platform stated that marriage should be defined at the state level and it repudiated the
Federal Marriage Amendment.
[95] The 2008 platform, while not stating support of same-sex marriage, called for repeal of the
Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage and removed the need for interstate recognition, supported antidiscrimination laws and the extension of hate crime laws to LGBT people, and opposed the
don't ask, don't tell military policy.
[96] The 2012 platform included support for same-sex marriage and for the repeal of DOMA.
[97]
President
Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to say he supports same-sex marriage, announcing his position on May 9, 2012.
[98][99] Previously, he had opposed restrictions on same-sex marriage such as the
Defense of Marriage Act, which he promised to repeal,
[100] California's
Prop 8,
[101] and a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage (which he opposed saying that "decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been."
[102]) but also stated that he personally believed marriage to be between a man and a woman and that he favored civil unions that would "give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples".
[100] Earlier, when running for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he said that he "unequivocally support(ed) gay marriage" and "favor(ed) legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."
[103] Senator John Kerry, Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, did not support same-sex marriage. Former President
Bill Clinton and former Vice President
Al Gore said in 2009 that they now support gay marriage.
[104][105]
Abortion and reproductive rights
Most members of the Democratic Party believe that all women should have access to
birth control, and support public funding of contraception for poor women. The Democratic Party, in its national platforms from 1992 to 2004, has called for
abortion to be "safe, legal and rare" — namely, keeping it legal by rejecting laws that allow governmental interference in abortion decisions, and reducing the number of abortions by promoting both knowledge of reproduction and contraception, and incentives for adoption. The wording changed in the 2008 platform. When Congress voted on the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003, Congressional Democrats were split, with a minority (including current
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) supporting the ban, and the majority of Democrats opposing the legislation.
The Democratic Party opposes attempts to reverse the 1973 Supreme Court decision
Roe v. Wade, which declared abortion covered by the constitutionally protected individual right to privacy under the
Ninth Amendment, and
Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which lays out the legal framework in which government action alleged to violate that right is assessed by courts. As a matter of the
right to privacyand of
gender equality, many Democrats believe all women should have the ability to choose to abort without governmental interference. They believe that each woman, conferring with her conscience, has the right to choose for herself whether abortion is morally correct. Some Democrats also believe that poor women should have a right to publicly funded abortions.
Embryonic stem cell research
The Democratic Party has voiced strong support for
embryonic stem cell research with federal funding.
[108] In his 2004 platform,
John Kerry affirmed his support of federally funded embryonic stem cell research "under the strictest ethical guidelines," saying, "We will not walk away from the chance to save lives and reduce human suffering."
[95] In 2009, Barack Obama lifted the eight-year running ban on embryonic stem cell research and proposed federal funding to further research.
Foreign policy issues
Invasion of Afghanistan
Democrats in the House of Representatives and in the Senate near-unanimously voted for the
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists against "those responsible for the
recent attacks launched against the United States" in
Afghanistan in 2001, supporting the
NATO coalition
invasion of the nation. Most elected Democrats continue to support the
Afghanistan conflict, and some, such as a
Democratic National Committee spokesperson, have voiced concerns that the
Iraq War shifted too many resources away from the presence in Afghanistan.
[109][110][111] Since 2006, Democratic candidate
Barack Obama has called for a "surge" of troops into Afghanistan and, since 2008, Republican candidate
John McCain has also called for a "surge".
[111] As President, Obama sent a "surge" force of additional troops to Afghanistan. Troop levels were 94,000 in December 2011, and are falling, with a target of 68,000 by fall 2012. Obama plans to bring all the troops home by 2014.
[112]
Support for the war among the American people has diminished over time, and many Democrats have changed their opinion and now oppose a continuation of the conflict.
[113][114] In July 2008,
Gallup found that 41% of Democrats called the invasion a "mistake" while a 55% majority disagreed; in contrast, Republicans were more supportive of the war. The survey described Democrats as evenly divided about whether or not more troops should be sent—56% support it if it would mean removing troops from Iraq and only 47% support it otherwise.
[114] A
CNN survey in August 2009 stated that a majority of Democrats now oppose the war. CNN polling director Keating Holland said, "Nearly two thirds of Republicans support the war in Afghanistan. Three quarters of Democrats oppose the war."
[113] An August 2009
Washington Post poll found similar results, and the paper stated that Obama's policies would anger his closest supporters.
[115]
Israel
The Democratic Party has both recently and historically supported
Israel.
[116][117] Former
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2009, “When it comes to Israel, Republicans and Democrats speak with one voice.”
[118] A 2008
Gallup poll found that 64% say that they have a favorable image of Israel while only 16% say that they have a favorable image of the
Palestinian Authority.
[116] Within the party, the majority view is held by the Democratic leadership although some members such as
John Conyers Jr.,
George Miller,
Nick Rahall,
Dave Obey,
Pete Stark,
Dennis Kucinich,
Jim McDermott, and
Cynthia McKinney as well as former
President Jimmy Carter are less or not supportive of Israel.
[117] The party leadership refers to the other side as a "
fringe".
[117]
The 2008 Democratic Party Platform acknowledges a "
special relationship with Israel, grounded in shared interests and shared values, and a clear, strong, fundamental commitment to the security of Israel, our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy." It also included:
It is in the best interests of all parties, including the United States, that we take an active role to help secure a lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a democratic, viable Palestinian state dedicated to living in peace and security side by side with the Jewish State of Israel. To do so, we must help Israel identify and strengthen those partners who are truly committed to peace, while isolating those who seek conflict and instability, and stand with Israel against those who seek its destruction. The United States and its Quartet partners should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and abides by past agreements. Sustained American leadership for peace and security will require patient efforts and the personal commitment of the President of the United States. The creation of a Palestinian state through final status negotiations, together with an international compensation mechanism, should resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel. All understand that it is unrealistic to expect the outcome of final status negotiations to be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949. Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.
[119]
A January 2009
Pew Research Center study found that, when asked "which side do you sympathize with more", 42% of Democrats and 33% of liberals (a plurality in both groups) sympathize most with the Israelis. Around half of all political moderates and/or independents sided with Israel.
[120]
Iraq War
In 2002, Congressional Democrats were divided on the
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq; 147 voted against it (21 in the Senate and 126 in the House) and 110 voted for it (29 in the Senate, 81 in the House). Since then, many prominent Democrats, such as former Senator
John Edwards, have expressed regret about this decision, and have called it a mistake, while others, such as Senator
Hillary Clinton have criticized the conduct of the war but not repudiated their initial vote for it (though Clinton later went on to repudiate her stance during the 2008 primaries). Referring to Iraq, in April 2007
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the war to be "lost" while other Democrats (especially during the 2004 presidential election cycle) accused the President of lying to the public about WMDs in
Iraq. Amongst lawmakers, Democrats are the most vocal opponents of
Operation Iraqi Freedom and campaigned on a platform of withdrawal ahead of the
2006 mid-term elections.
A March 2003
CBS News poll taken a few days before the
invasion of Iraq found that 34% of Democrats nationwide would support it without
United Nations backing, 51% would support it only with its backing, and 14% would not support it at all.
[121] The Los Angeles Times stated in early April 2003 that 70% of Democrats supported the decision to invade while 27% opposed it.
[122] The
Pew Research Center stated in August 2007 that opposition increased from 37% during the initial invasion to 74%.
[123] In April 2008, a
CBS News poll found that about 90% of Democrats disapprove of the
Bush administration's conduct and want to end the war within the next year.
[124]
Democrats in the House of Representatives near-unanimously supported a
non-binding resolution disapproving of President Bush's decision to send
additional troops into Iraq in 2007. Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly supported military funding legislation that included a provision that set "a timeline for the withdrawal of all US combat troops from Iraq" by March 31, 2008, but also would leave combat forces in Iraq for purposes such as targeted counter-terrorism operations.
[125][126] After a veto from the president, and a failed attempt in Congress to override the veto,
[127] the
U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 was passed by Congress and signed by the president after the timetable was dropped.
Criticism of the Iraq War subsided after the
Iraq War troop surge of 2007 led to a dramatic decrease in Iraqi violence. The Democratic-controlled 110th Congress continued to fund efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Presidential candidate
Barack Obama advocated a withdrawal of combat troops within Iraq by late 2010 with a residual force of peacekeeping troops left in place.
[128] He stated that both the speed of withdrawal and the amount of troops left over would be "entirely conditions-based."
[128]
On February 27, 2009, President Obama announced, “As a candidate for president, I made clear my support for a timeline of 16 months to carry out this drawdown, while pledging to consult closely with our military commanders upon taking office to ensure that we preserve the gains we’ve made and protect our troops... Those consultations are now complete, and I have chosen a timeline that will remove our combat brigades over the next 18 months."
[129] Around 50,000 non-combat related forces will remain.
[129] Obama's plan drew wide bipartisan support, including that of defeated Republican Presidential candidate Senator
John McCain.
[129]
Political status of Puerto Rico
The Democratic Party has expressed its support for the U.S. Citizens of
Puerto Rico to exercise their right to self-determination. Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for over a century and Puerto Ricans have been
U.S. citizens since 1917, but the island’s ultimate status still has not been determined and its 3.9 million residents still do not have voting representation in their national government. It also states that U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico should receive treatment under federal programs that is comparable to that of citizens in the States. In addition indicates that the political status of Puerto Rico remains an issue of overwhelming importance, but lack of resolution about status has held the island back and that it is time for Puerto Rico to take the next step in the history of its status and its relationship to the rest of the United States. The following is the appropriate section from the 2012 party platform:
[130][95][131][132]
As President Obama said when he became the first President to visit Puerto Rico and address its people in 50 years, Boricuas every day help write the American story. Puerto Ricans have been proud American citizens for almost 100 years. During that time, the people of Puerto Rico have developed strong political, economic, social, and cultural ties to the United States. The political status of Puerto Rico remains an issue of overwhelming importance, but lack of resolution about status has held the island back. It is time for Puerto Rico to take the next step in the history of its status and its relationship to the rest of the United States. The White House Task Force Report on Puerto Rico has taken important and historic steps regarding status. We commit to moving resolution of the status issue forward with the goal of resolving it expeditiously. If local efforts in Puerto Rico to resolve the status issue do not provide a clear result in the short term, the President should support, and Congress should enact, self-executing legislation that specifies in advance for the people of Puerto Rico a set of clear status options, such as those recommended in the White House Task Force Report on Puerto Rico, which the United States is politically committed to fulfilling. The economic success of Puerto Rico is intimately linked to a swift resolution of the status question, as well as consistent, focused efforts on improving the lives of the people of Puerto Rico. We have made great progress for Puerto Rico over the past four years, including a sharp, historic increase in Medicaid funding for the people of Puerto Rico and fair and equitable inclusion in the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act. Going forward, we will continue working toward fair and equitable participation for Puerto Rico in federal programs. We support increased efforts by the federal government to improve public safety in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, with a particular emphasis on efforts to combat drug trafficking and crime throughout our Caribbean border. In addition, consistent with the task force report, we will continue to work on improving Puerto Rico's economic status by promoting job creation, education, health care, clean energy, and economic development on the Island.
Russia
The party pursues a Russia policy that recognizes that country’s importance and advances the core U.S. security interests at stake in Russia’s historic transformation, beginning with cooperative work to secure vulnerable stockpiles of nuclear weapons and materials.
[133]
Unilateralism
Democrats usually oppose the doctrine of
unilateralism, which dictates that the United States should use military force without any assistance from other nations whenever it believes there is a threat to its security or welfare. They believe the United States should act in the international arena in concert with strong alliances and broad international support. This was a major foreign policy issue of
John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign; his platform attributed rifts with international allies to unilateralism. Barack Obama's 2008 campaign also discussed promoting the image of the United States abroad.
Legal issues
Torture
Many Democrats are opposed to the use of
torture against individuals apprehended and held prisoner by the
U.S. military, and hold that categorizing such prisoners as
unlawful combatants does not release the U.S. from its obligations under the
Geneva Conventions. Democrats contend that torture is inhumane, decreases the United States' moral standing in the world, and produces questionable results. Democrats largely spoke out against
waterboarding.
Patriot Act
All but two Democrats in the U.S. Senate voted for the original
Patriot Act legislation in 2001. The lone nay vote was from
Russ Feingold of
Wisconsin;
Mary Landrieu of
Louisiana did not vote. In the House the Democrats voted for the Act by 145 yea and 62 nay. Democrats split on the renewal in 2006. In the Senate, Democrats voted 34 for the 2006 renewal, and 9 against. In the House, Democrats voted 66 voted for the renewal, and 124 against.
[134]
Right to privacy
Some Democratic officeholders have championed
consumer protection laws that limit the sharing of consumer data between corporations. Most Democrats oppose
sodomy laws and believe that government should not regulate consensual noncommercial sexual conduct among adults as a matter of personal privacy.
Gun control
With a stated goal of reducing crime and homicide, the Democratic Party has introduced various
gun control measures, most notably the
Gun Control Act of 1968, the
Brady Bill of 1993, and Crime Control Act of 1994. However, some Democrats, especially rural, Southern, and Western Democrats, favor fewer restrictions on firearm possession and warned the party was defeated in the 2000 presidential election in rural areas because of the issue.
[135] In the national platform for 2008, the only statement explicitly favoring gun control was a plan calling for renewal of the 1994
Assault Weapons Ban.
Death penalty
State and territorial parties
See also
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- Jump up^ Thompson, William; Joseph Hickey (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN 0-205-41365-X.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Women More Likely to Be Democrats, Regardless of Age". Gallup.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Page 16 in: Fried, Joseph. (2008). Democrats and Republicans--rhetoric and reality : comparing the voters in statistics and anecdote. New York: Algora Pub. ISBN 978-0-87586-603-1.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "press". Law.ucla.edu. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ "Gay Vote Proved a Boon for Obama". New York Times. November 15, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- Jump up^ "LGBT Equality Caucus Membership List". Archived fromthe original on 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Jackson, Brooks. "Blacks and the Democratic Party". FactCheck.org. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- Jump up^ "Ku Klux Klan - History". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- Jump up^ Teixeira, Ruy (November 11, 2008). "Digging into the 2008 Exit Polls". Taking Note. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- Jump up^ "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- Jump up^ Cillizza, Chris (18 September 2011). "With Hispanic support for Obama waning, could Latino vote be up for grabs in 2012?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- Jump up^ "Latino vote key to Obama's re-election". CNN. November 9, 2012.
- Jump up^ Cave, Damien (April 21, 2009). "U.S. Overtures Find Support Among Cuban-Americans". The New York Times.
- Jump up^ Woods, Casey. (2008-11-06) Presidential and Congressional Candidate Cuba Watch: Analysis of Cuban American vote. Candidatecubawatch.blogspot.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
- Jump up^ Dems woo Native American vote. Politico. Published 5/29/08.
- Jump up^ "Barack Obama wins 77 percent of Jewish vote, exit polls show". Haaretz Daily. November 5, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Survey. American Jewish Committee Published September 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Arab-American Voters Say Iraq Top Issue in 2008 Campaign. By Mohamed Elshinnawi. Voice of America. Published July 23, 2007,
- Jump up^ Mideast, Civil Liberties Concern Arab-Americans. By James Q. Lynch. The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City). Reprinted by the Arab-American Institute. Published July 19, 2003
- Jump up^ "American Muslims support Obama: poll". Business Standard. Published October 25, 2012
- Jump up^ "Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History". Pew Research Center. April 30, 2009
- Jump up^ "Presidential Race - 2012 Election Center - President: Full Results - Exit Polls". CNN. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- Jump up^ "85% Indian-Americans support Obama for second term: Survey". The Times Of India. May 6, 2012.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "How High Should Taxes Be?". Economics.about.com. 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ "Dems in debate urge taxes on wealthiest - OPENERS - Ohio Politics Blog by The Plain Dealer". Blog.cleveland.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ Saturday, November 17, 2007 12:01 A.M. EST (2007-11-17)."The Wall Street Journal Online - Hot Topic". Opinionjournal.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ Cox, Wendell. "Budget Resolution Calls for Massive Tax Hikes and Spending Increases". Heritage.org. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ U.S. GOVERNMENT > Social Support > The Social Safety Net
- Jump up^ "Day Two: House passes new budget rules". Associated Press. 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- Jump up^ "Progressive Democrats of America - Priorities (Health Care for All)". Pdamerica.org. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ "Agenda — Environment". Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- Jump up^ "Democratic Party on Environment". Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- Jump up^ John Nicols (2007-10-12). "Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize".The Nation.
- Jump up^ "Clinton Joins Key Senate Democrats to Release Report on "The College Cost Crunch"". clinton.senate.gov. 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
- Jump up^ Economic Prosperity and Educational Excellence. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Rorty, R. (1997). Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought In Twentieth Century America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00312-8
- Jump up^ Weisman, Jonathan (2005-07-06). "CAFTA Reflects Democrats' Shift From Trade Bills". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
- Jump up^ Nichols, John (2005-07-28). "CAFTA Vote Outs "Bush Democrats"". The Nation. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
- Jump up^ "Smith, D. (April 14, 2007). Democrat says middle class tax relief a priority. Reuters". April 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
- Jump up^ "Changing Views on Social Issues". April 30, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- Jump up^ Civil Rights related polls from Pollingreport
- Jump up^ Less Opposition to Gay Marriage, Adoption and Military Service. Pew Research Center. Published March 22, 2006.
- Jump up^ Morales, Lymari (June 5, 2009). "Conservatives Shift in Favor of Openly Gay Service Members". Gallup.com.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c The 2004 Democratic National Platform PDF (111 KB)
- Jump up^ Is This the Year Democrats Embrace Marriage Equality?
- Jump up^ Democratic Platform Endorses Gay Marriage
- Jump up^ "Obama backs same-sex marriage". CBS News. May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- Jump up^ Sam Stein (May 9, 2012). "Obama Backs Gay Marriage".The Huffington Post.
- ^ Jump up to:a b LGBT issues. CNN.
- Jump up^ Obama Opposes Gay Marriage Ban. The Washington Post. By Perry Bacon Jr. Published July 2, 2008.
- Jump up^ Obama Statement on Vote Against Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage. United States Senate Official Website. Published June 7, 2006.
- Jump up^ Linkins, Jason (January 13, 2009). "Obama Once Supported Same-Sex Marriage 'Unequivocally'". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ "Video: Clinton shifts on gay marriage". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- Jump up^ "Gay men and women should have the same rights // Current". Current.com. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ Abortion related polls from Pollingreport.
- Jump up^ A Pro-Choice Party No More. By Kristin Day. National Review. Published December 02, 2004.
- Jump up^ Those Favoring Stem Cell Research Increases to a 73 to 11 Percent Majority. Harris Interactive. Published August 18, 2004. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
- Jump up^ "Pelosi, Schumer Express Support for Troop Surge in Afghanistan" CNS News. Published August 1, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
- Jump up^ Democrats say McCain forgot Afghanistan. Boston Globe. Published July 24, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to:a b John McCain & Barack Obama urge Afghanistan surge.New York Daily News. Published July 15, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- Jump up^ "U.S. plans major shift to advisory role in Afghanistan," Los Angeles Times, Dec. 13. 2011
- ^ Jump up to:a b Most Americans oppose Afghanistan war: poll. The Australian. Published August 7, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Afghan War Edges Out Iraq as Most Important for U.S."by Frank Newport. Gallup. Published July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- Jump up^ Public Opinion in U.S. Turns Against Afghan War. By Jennifer Agiesta and Jon Cohen. Washington Post. Published August 20, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Americans’ Most and Least Favored Nations. By Lydia Saad. Gallup. Published March 3, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Left could push pro-Israel voters to GOP. By Jennifer Rubin. The Politico. Published 7-18-07.
- Jump up^ Glazov, Jamie (July 24, 2009). "Alan Dershowitz vs. Melanie Phillips". FrontPage Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- Jump up^ "Renewing America's Promise: Democratic Party Platform, 2008". Democrats.org. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ Ideological Gaps Over Israel on Both Sides of Atlantic. Pew Research Center. Published January 29, 2009.
- Jump up^ Archive page #16 of polls from Pollingreport
- Jump up^ Archive page #15 of polls from Pollingreport
- Jump up^ Pew Research Center: Along the Iraq-Vietnam Parallel.Pew Research Center. Published Aug 28, 2007.
- Jump up^ Recent polls from Pollingreport.
- Jump up^ Flaherty, Anne (2007-04-26). "Congress passes Iraq bill, veto awaits". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-04-26.[dead link]
- Jump up^ "US Democrats push for 2008 Iraq exit". Reuters. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- Jump up^ "Democrats fail to override Bush on war funding". International Herald Tribune. 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Obama says conditions to dictate final Iraq force.Reuters. Published July 27, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Top Republicans embrace Iraq plan. The Politico. Published February 27, 2009.
- Jump up^ The 2008 Democratic National Platform PDF (223 KB)
- Jump up^ "An Introduction to Puerto Rico's Status Debate". Let Puerto Rico Decide. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Jump up^ 2012 Democratic National Platform
- Jump up^ "Democratic Party on Foreign Policy"
- Jump up^ votes in 2001 and 2006
- Jump up^ Abramsky, Sasha (2005-04-18). "Democrat Killer?". The Nation. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
- Jump up^ "Obama Backs Death Penalty for Child Rapists". Newser, June 26, 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
- Jump up^ "The Candidates on the Death Penalty". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
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