Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other one being the Republican Party. The party traces its beginnings to Thomas Jefferson in the early 1790s, and is the oldest political party in the world. more...

Currently, the Democratic Party is the minority party in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Democrats control 20 state legislatures. In 2005, the Democrats regained a plurality of legislative seats nationwide; however, the seat count is still much lower than it was ten years ago.

Basic Values

The principles and values of any political party are difficult to define and apply generally to all members of the party. Some members may disagree with one or more plank of their party's political platform. The national platform issued in presidential elections is the personal statement of the nominee.

Budget

On the budget, John Kerry in the 2004 platform promised to halve the yearly federal budget deficit by 2009. Democrats argue that large deficits impede economic growth, lead to market instabilities, and present the hard choice of cutting services or generating new revenues, sometimes through tax increases.

Civil Liberties

On a major issue affecting civil liberties, the USA PATRIOT Act, the Democrats claim success in changing portions of the Patriot Act that threaten individual rights, such as the library provisions, which was dropped in 2006. Kerry's platform said, "Our government should never round up innocent people only because of their religion or ethnicity, and we should never stifle free expression." Generally, the party is against racial profiling. The party is divided on same-sex marriage, with one faction supporting civil unions for same-sex couples, while others have endorsed full same-sex marriage rights.

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