The Spectrum of Political Parties

1229 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Government's role in the economy

When it comes to the issues dealt with by all Americans, you generally have few choices with which to align yourself. You can either decide to stand on the right, taking a conservative viewpoint: believing in personal responsibility, limited government, free market, etc. with notable parties such as the Republican Party and the Peace and Freedom Party. Alternatively, you can stand on the left, taking the more liberal route: holding ideals such as government action and equal opportunity. Those parties include the Democratic Party and the Green Party. However, it is not a black and white cutoff between conservative and liberal, rather a circular spectrum going to the far left, the far right, and meeting back up. Therefore, there are many places one can stand on any given issue. Health care is one of those issues where the political spectrum shows some overlap. Both sides want the same outcome: a healthy and happy society. However, the ways they want to accomplish this varies greatly. The Republicans are staunchly against government-organized healthcare. They believe that the less government the better, believing that “government run affordable health care leads to inefficiencies and can be disastrous to the nation’s health overall.” They believe that health care should be left to doctors, HMOs and insurance companies to decide and manage. However, the democrats’ main point on health care is that it should be funded and controlled by the government for the people. They hold that all people should be able to have the assurance of health without worrying about losing coverage or going into debt. This would be most effective for the poor and elderly, those who normally would not be able to afford coverage and need it most. As such, Med... ... middle of paper ... ...atform, 2004." [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project] 10 January 2014. "Democratic Party Platform, 2012." [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project] 10 January 2014. "Democratic Party on Civil Rights." Democratic Party on Civil Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros., 1946. Print. Porter, Eduardo. "Why the Health Care Law Scares the G.O.P." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. "Republican Views on Gay Marriage." RepublicanViewsorg Republican Views on Gay Marriage Comments. RepublicanViews.org, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. "Republican Party Platform, 2004." [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project] 10 January 2014. Welfare Information." California Welfare. WelfareInfo.org, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • The Democrats and The Republicans: On The Issues

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the United States we are divided by the left and right side on the political spectrum; even further divided into political parties such as Republicans, on the right, and Democrats, on the left side. These two political parties show philosophical differences through their viewpoints on major topics such as the economy, separation of church and state, abortion, and gun control.

    Read More

  • Healthcare Reform in the United States

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the study of various reforms that were proposed and denied, both the GOP and Democrats attempted to find a balance that would guarantee the success of their proposals. Years of research, growing ideologies, political views and disregard for the country's constitution sparked an array of alternatives to solve the country's healthcare spending. The expenditure of US healthcare dollars was mostly due to hospital reimbursements, which constitute to 30% (Longest & Darr, 2008). During the research for alternatives, the gr...

    Read More

  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Pros and Cons

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.

    Read More

  • The Agenda Setting which Led to the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bethany Anne Conway, Addressing the “Medical Malady”: Second-Level Agenda Setting and Public Approval of “Obamacare” Int J Public Opin Res (Winter 2013) 25 (4): 535-546 7 January. 2013

    Read More

  • Democrats vs. Republicans

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Republican Party Platforms, Then and Now.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Student Democratic Party Platform

    3518 Words  | 8 Pages

    All across America the success of the Democratic Party platform can be seen. But we want more. The Democratic Party is determined to giv...

    Read More

  • All Americans Have a Right to Health Care

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reese, Philip. Public Agenda Foundation. The Health Care Crisis: Containing Costs, Expanding Coverage. New York: McGraw, 2002.

    Read More

  • Classical Liberalism VS Classical Conservatism

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Classical liberalism and classical conservatism are closely based as seen by Edmund Burke who was admired for his political philosophies from both classical liberalism and classical conservatism. Yet, with any group of people, not everyone is going to agree, and parties form even if it over a small issue. Consider the christian faith, there are many different denominations because of the beliefs in minor doctrine, but they all believe that Jesus is the Son of God, like the classical liberals and classical conservatives believe in the Constitution. So, what party are you in?

    Read More

  • The Political Spectrum

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    - It takes the traditions of that time and only changes them gradually and not very

    Read More

  • The Supreme Court and Civil Rights

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Legal and Political Chronology of Civil Rights." African-American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 25 Nov. 2011.

    Read More

  • Canadas Health Care

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today, Canadians are concerned about many issues involving health care. It is the responsibility of the provincial party to come up with a fair, yet reasonable solution to this issue. This solution must support Canadians for the best; it involves people and how they are treated when in need of health care. The Liberal party feels that they have the best solution that will provide Canadians with the best results. It states that people will have the protection of Medicare and will help with concerns like: injury prevention, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, etc.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Obama Care

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.

    Read More

  • Political Parties in the United States

    1812 Words  | 4 Pages

    Personally I am a Republican. This is dues to my beliefs and values I tend to have a more traditional ideology. Overall on most key issues I tend to be more conservative. For Example I am prolife, Pro second amendment rights, and anti-gay marriage. In closing I feel that my stand point on most issues is that most similar to the Republican Party.

    Read More

  • The Party System: Democracy Is Disagreement

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    The founding fathers based this country on freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, press, assembly, petition. Freedom to have your own opinion about the founding fathers. Freedom to have your own opinion on how our government should run. So with this much freedom, it's obvious someone's going to disagree. And that's where political parties come in. The Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists, a 210-year battle which still carries on today with the Democrats and Republicans. These first parties were very different, and each had their own view on how our country would be run, and how it would end up.

    Read More

  • Modern Liberalism And Modern Conservatism

    2261 Words  | 5 Pages

    Modern liberalism and modern conservatism are both political outlooks that involve acceptance or support of the balance of the degree of social equality and social inequality; while they tend to avoid political changes that would result in extreme deviation of society to either side. Modern liberalism and modern conservatism tend not to be as centrist or middle-of-the-road ideologies as they once could be. Ideology is a set of ideas and beliefs that guide the goals, expectations, and actions of a group (Webster’s Dictionary). Individuals who are conservative or liberal tend to have views that align within a political party, whether it be Republican or democratic, but this is not always the case. There are conservative democrats, such as, Jim Costa and Jim Cooper and there are liberal republicans, such as, Nathaniel Banks and George Washington Julian. Another name for conservative democrats would be blue dog democrats while the nickname for liberal republicans is the Rockefeller republicans. These two ideologies tend to be more of the centrist ideologies. Modern liberals tend to be members of the Democratic Party because they support a wide range of welfare programs and government support of the public sector and tighter corporate regulations (PP Modern Liberalism). U.S. Conservatism evolved from classical liberalism, which makes them similar, yet there is many differences between modern conservatism and modern liberalism. There are principles and tenets that govern each ideology. A tenant is a belief or idea that is held as being true from a group (Webster’s Dictionary). In understanding both ideologies, it is imperative to have an understanding of classical liberalism. Classical liberalism was built on ideas from the seventeenth ...

    Read More

More about The Spectrum of Political Parties

Open Document