The Democratic Party

Main Beliefs

The Democrats believe in 'Big Government'

  • This is where the government belives in they should have an extensive federal role in management and regulation of the economy e.g. auto industry bailouts of 2009, Dodd-Frank Act 2010, amd in the 2016 budget Obama wanted to increase taxes and spending

The Democrats believe in Social Liberalism

  • This involves the promotion of issues such as gun control, same sex marriage, transgender rights (e.g. Obama issuing an executive order to prevent North Carolina's bathroom law), and reproductive rights (e.g. favouring women's right to choose, shown by Obamacare seeking to cover contraceptives).

The Democrats believe in Foreign policy

  • The Democratcs are typically more dovish than hawkish when it comes to foreign policy, and less assertive with the exertion of US power. They place less emphasis on the unique role the US has in the world and prefer diplomacy over the use of military force (e.g. Obama in 2009 commitment to talks 'without preconditions' with Iran)

Democratic Supporters

Women voted 54% Democratic in 2016, attracted due to health and education provision (e.g. Clinton was endorsed by planned parenthood). Non-white women votes are overwhelmingly democratic (95% of black women).

Racial and sexual minority voters are attracted by Democratic history and policies on civil rights and immigration (e.g. 88% of blacks voted Democratic)

Union Members voted 56% Democrat in 2016. Unions have been traditional Democratic supporters since the New Deal (i.e. this was when the Democrats introduced the minimum wage etc.)

Lower income voters are attracted by policies on welfare and tax (e.g. 53% of this group voted Democrat)

Young voters were attracted by Bernie Sanders in 2016. The young tend to be more liberal on civil rights, the environment and immigration (voted 55% Democratic in 2016)

Factions

New Democrats (Clinton)

  • New Democrats are fiscal conservatives (i.e. they favour a balanced budget) e.g. Bill Clinton said that the 'era of big government is over'
  • New Democrats are liberal on moral issues e.g. support gay marriage, pro-choice
  • New Democrats support free trade including Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the use of military force, welfare reform, etc.
  • Hillary Clinton described herself as 'a Progressive who gets things done'

Progressive Democrats (Sanders, Warren, Pelosi)

  • Progressive Democrats oppose the war in Iraq - they don’t support a strong military
  • They are fiscally liberal (i.e. support more public spending), support tax increases for the wealthy, and support universal heathcare
  • Progressive Democrats are very liberal on moral issues e.g. supporters on LGBTQ+ rights

Conservative/Southern Democrats (Blue Dogs)

  • They have their support base in the south and border regions of the USA
  • They are more conservative on moral issues e.g. more pro-life (conservative democrats held up healthcare reform until Obama signed an executive agreement that forbade federal funding for abortions)
  • They favour the rights of states; they don't want a 'big government'
  • Favour a strong military (e.g. support Iraq war) and perhaps have more in common with Republicans (many blue dogs lost their seats in the 2014 mid-term elections)

Extra

Now check out our notes on the Republican party