Democrats vs Republicans - General Differences

Politics are more prevalent in conversation today than at any time in U.S history. Blame the information age, internet, and social media. Democrat and Republican, left and right, liberal and conservative are common topics. Politics are dividing friendships and families yet many people can’t tell you what each side represents or embraces.

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I researched many sources to get a general idea of what the differences are between them.

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Philosophy	Democrat – Liberal - Left	Republican – Conservative - Right
Economic Ideas	Minimum wages and progressive taxation: i.e., higher tax rates for higher income brackets.	Believe taxes shouldn't be increased for anyone (including the wealthy) and that wages should be set by the free market.
Social and human ideas	Based on community and social responsibility	Based on individual rights and justice
Stance on Military issues	Decreased spending	Increased spending
Stance on Gay Marriage	Most Support	Most Oppose
Stance on Abortion	Should remain legal; support Roe v. Wade. Every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion.	Should not be legal (with very few exceptions). They oppose Roe v. Wade.
Stance on Death Penalty	The majority of democrats support the death penalty. Democrats represent a larger percentage of the opposition than republicans.	A large majority of Republicans support the death penalty.
Stance on Taxes	Progressive (high income earners should be taxed at a higher rate). Generally not opposed to raising taxes to fund government.	Tend to favor a "flat tax" (same tax rate regardless of income). Generally opposed to raising taxes.
Stance on Government Regulation	Government regulations are needed to protect consumers.	Government regulations hinder free market capitalism and job growth.
Healthcare Policy	Support universal healthcare; strong support of government involvement in healthcare, including Medicare and Medicaid. Generally support Obamacare.	Private companies can provide healthcare services more efficiently than government-run programs. Oppose Obamacare provisions like (1) requirement for individuals to buy health insurance or pay a fine, (2) required coverage of contraceptives.
Stance on Immigration	There is greater overall support in the Democratic party for a moratorium on deporting. They favor paths for certain undocumented immigrants with no criminal record and five years residency for citizenship.	Republicans are generally against amnesty for any undocumented immigrants. They also oppose President Obama's executive order that put a moratorium on deporting certain workers. Republicans also fund stronger enforcement actions at the border.
Climate change:	Democrats mostly agree climate change poses a real and urgent threat to our economy, our national security, and our health.	Republicans mostly argue the climate is not changing and that Climate Change is a political mechanism, not unbiased scientific information.