Before the beginning of the presidential election, the Republican and Democratic parties have significantly different demographic profiles. Throughout political events and presidential elections, the general outlook and political profile of two major parties are contrastingly different than ever before. Republicans and Democrats established little common ground between the two political parties regarding societal issues, ideas, and ideology. American citizens need to enhance their knowledge about the comparative study of political parties in the United States. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the in-party agreement in terms of particular issues, including policies to address the economy, health care system, and immigration. Based on the political parties discussed in this week’s readings, I find the Republicans the most compelling.
After the 2016 presidential election, they controlled the executive branch and the majority of the seats in congress. Such a strong position of the Republican party entailed an overturn in the presidency and congressional districts (Bilali, Godfrey & Freel, 2019). Therefore, I consider the Democrats the least compelling party throughout the 2016 election. However, the party is more liberal on specific economic issues, such as increasing the minimum wage to $15 and developing social security. The Republican platform is more right-leaning on certain social issues, including same-sex marriage and immigration. The Republican platform also endorsed the protectionist positions verified by Donald Trump. With that said, I have both a positive and a negative view of political parties, given that both of them have particular benefits and cons. The Republicans lead in dealing with gun policy and terrorism, improving economic conditions, and reducing special interest influence. The Democrats, in turn, have a considerably stronger position in addressing race relations, abortions, foreign policy decisions, healthcare, and immigration.
Reference
Bilali, R., Godfrey, E. B., & Freel, S. H. (2019). How an election loss leads to a social movement: Reactions to the 2016 U.S. presidential election among liberals predict later collective action and social movement identification. British Journal of Social Psychology, 59(1), 227–247. Web.