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US Politics - Political Parties > Democrat Party > Flashcards

Democrat Party Flashcards

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1
Q

Democrats - list a few

A

JFK, Obama, Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Johnson, FDR

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2
Q

Republicans (GOPs) - list a few

A

Reagan, Bush, Bush Junior, Sarah Palin, McCain, Mitt Romney, Lincoln

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3
Q

facts about the Democratic Party

A
  • oldest party
  • party became split in 1860s over southern secessionism and slavery and in 1960s over attitudes towards Vietnam and civil rights
  • currently control Presidency
  • The traditional conservative wing that existed in the south has now almost disappeared
  • 1860 - 1928, Democrats were incredibly unsuccessful in winning election
  • it was originally the Democrats who were associated with racist legislation e.g. Jim Crow Laws
  • from 1930s to 1990s the party also dominated the US Congress
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4
Q

what contributed to the Democrat party split?

A
  • New Deal and Great Society moved it further to the left which were a series of programmes designed to alleviate poverty/unemployment and increase equality
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5
Q

what does ‘Liberal’ mean?

A

in favour of minority rights and who view freedom as the fulfilment of individual potential

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6
Q

what does ‘Progressive’ mean?

A

someone who is in favour of greater economic equality

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7
Q

what was FDR’s New Deal?

A

a series of government programs promoting social welfare, labour unions, greater government spending, civil rights, and regulation of business

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8
Q

what was Kennedy’s New Frontier?

A

shaped by New Deal Liberalism, promising federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, economic aid to rural regions, government intervention to halt the recession and notably an end to racial discrimination.

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9
Q

what was the Great Society?

A

outlined in LBJ’s 1965 State of the Union Address, the Great Society involved aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, Medicaid, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, deployment of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime, and removal of obstacles to the right to vote

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10
Q

what was the ‘War on Poverty’?

A
  • focused on expanding healthcare coverage for poor Americans and the elderly
  • during Johnson years, national poverty declined significantly, with the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line dropping from 23% to 12%
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11
Q

how many presidential elections did the Democrats win between 1968 and 1992?

A

1

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12
Q

Clinton as a Democrat and President:

A
  • economic expansion and reduction in the size of the US debt
  • he passed welfare reform known as ‘Workfare’
  • introduced ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy in the military and the Defence of Marriage Act in 1996
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13
Q

Obama as a Democrat and President:

A
  • first president to win over 50% of popular vote since Jimmy Carter
  • economic shift to the left e.g. passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (increased federal minimum wage to $10.10)
  • passed Obama Care in 2010 and judged constitutional in 2013
  • no longer opposed to gay marriage and endorsed marriage equality in 2012
  • passed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
  • failed to close Guantanamo Bay
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14
Q

Democrats Party Platform 2012:

A
  • equality for women: supports ‘Equal Rights Amendment’. support Roe v Wave and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy. pro abortion.
  • marriage equality: Obama changed his opinion on the matter in 2012 in favour of same sex marriage. first ever endorsement of marriage equality.
  • “we believe the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation”. this freedom required regulation e.g. increased checks, reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the ‘gun show loophole’
  • raise the minimum wage to $10.10 (left)
  • “accessible, affordable, high quality health care […] no one should go broke because they get sick”. further endorsed the provision of universal healthcare after the passage of Obamacare
  • environmentalist: supporting the development of renewable energy and legislation to further limit water and air pollution
  • preserve civil liberties: “withstand the checks and balances that have served us so well”. maintaing rights despite the threat of terrorism. banning torture and receding the Guantanamo Bay prison population.
  • defending global security: remain strong relationships with traditional allies such as Asia and Europe. oppose unilateralism
    http: //www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform
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15
Q

Democrat-leaning interest groups and political action committees:

The Congressional Progressive Caucus

A
  • largest caucus within Democrats
  • 69 declared members
  • core principles: fighting for economic justice and security in the U.S. and global economies, protecting and preserving civil rights and civil liberties, promoting global peace and security, and strengthening environmental protection and energy independence.
  • endorsed universal access to affordable, high quality healthcare
  • fair trade agreements
  • living wage laws
  • the right of all workers to organise into labor unions and engage in collective bargaining
  • income tax increased for middle and upper income Americans and tax cuts for the poorest
  • increase in federal welfare spending
  • LEFT OF DEMOCRAT PARTY

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=63&sectiontree=2,63

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16
Q

Democrat-leaning interest groups and political action committees:

The New Democratic Coalition

A
  • 60 declared members (2014)
  • centrist, moderate Clinton-style Democrats
  • Democratic left criticise New Democrats of paying insufficient attention to poverty and social justice.

http://newdemocratcoalition-kind.house.gov/about-me

17
Q

Democrat-leaning interest groups and political action committees:

The Blue Dog Coalition

A
  • 19 declared members (2014)
  • conservative grouping within the Democrats
  • strongest traditionally in the South
  • generally in favour of Second Amendment rights, pro-life on the issue of abortion, and fiscally conservative on economic issues
  • decline during Obama presidency: 2010 midterm elections the Blue Dog numbers were more than halved to 26 (losses to more liberal Democrats)
  • slight recovery since 2012 with 5 new members.
  • often accused of being DINOs (Democrats-in-name-only)

http://bluedog.schrader.house.gov/about/

18
Q

a bit about Democrat-leaning interest groups and political action committees:

A
  • make up the 254 Democrats in Congress
  • 119 in the House of Representatives (minority)
  • 53 offical Democrats in the Senate
  • there are two independent Senators who nevertheless sit in the Democratic Caucus: Bernie Sanders and Angus King
19
Q

why the Blue Dog’s decline was inevitable, Aaron Blake, 2012 (The Washington Post)

A
  • lost member Rep. Jason Altmire in a primary in Western Pennsylvania
  • a founding member, Rep. Tim Holden, fell to a liberal primary challenger in the eastern part of the state.
  • saw their numbers halved after the 2010 election from 54 to 26 members
  • five of 25 current Blue Dogs have announced their retirements (2012)
  • As we head toward the 2014 elections, two of the most prominent and conservative Blue Dogs remaining like Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC) have announced their retirements
  • most endorsees are running in tough districts for Democrats to win, where voters are more likely to vote for Republicans - “The field of prospects and candidates is a rich and fertile field, but it’s a very hostile and sterile environment for them to run in” quote Jack Barrow.
  • “Republican takeover of the South has strained the caucus” - WP
  • some other candidates have chosen to align themselves with another moderate groups e.g. New Democrat Coalition
  • New Democrats, in contrast, have more than 40 members and this number is seen to increase
20
Q

John Barrow

A
  • Democrat congressman from Georgia
  • member of Blue Dog Democrats
  • voted against Obama care in 2009 and 2010, continues to make efforts to repeal it
  • voted to uphold Defence of Marriage Act
  • opposes progressive tax structure
  • supporter of 2nd Amendment rights and sponsored by NRA
  • 25% rating by the Human Rights Campaign indicating “mixed record” on gay rights
  • helped cut $100 billion on wasteful spending
  • voted for keystone pipeline xl
21
Q

Bernie Sanders

A
  • independent Senator from Vermont, but sits in Democratic caucus
  • describes himself as a “socialist”
  • supports universal healthcare
  • opposed Bush-era income tax cuts for upper income Americans and is famous for his 8 1/2 hour speech against this
  • supports marriage equality
  • consistently voted in favour of pro-choice legislation
22
Q

what does John Barrow and Bernie Sanders tell us about political parties. analyse

A
  • they demonstrate the ideological span of the Democrat caucus in Congress
  • lately more right wing democrats have suffered from internal primary challenges by more progressive democrats, which is similar to the Republican party.
  • this has led to increased partisanship
  • there is a greater divide between the two parties as the conservative wing of the democrats and the liberal wing of the republicans in Congress are much smaller than in previous decades
23
Q

list interest groups and political action committees:

A
  • Progressive Democrats of America
  • Center for American Progress
  • MoveOn.org
  • EMILY’s List
  • Democratic Leadership Council
  • New Democrat Network
  • Third Way
  • Progressive Policy Institute
24
Q

Progressive Democrats of America

A
  • founded 2004
  • they exist to challenge politicians in ending the Iraq war, voter rights, protecting Social Security, a full employment economy, national healthcare and economic justice.
  • “we are in solidarity with the labor, woman’s rights, civil rights, environmental and peace and justice movements of today”
  • The PDA has been influential in promoting progressive causes in the Democratic Party and supporting politicians who are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
25
Q

Center for American Progress

A
  • more of a centrist group
  • founded in 2003
  • seeks to influence Democrat politicians in how they vote and advises left-leaning democrats in the development policy.
  • e.g. the centre helped Congressman John Murtha develop a comprehensive plan for ending the Iraq War
  • John Podesta (Chair of Board) was influential in the formation of Obama’s administration.
  • Leading the Times Magazine to comment in 2008 that “not since the Heritage Foundation helped guide Ronald Reagan’s transition in 1981 has a single outside group held so much sway”
26
Q

MoveOn.org

A
  • founded in 1998
  • is a public policy research group and a PAC
  • enables left-leaning Americans to influence policy through petitions
  • 2014 advocated the federal minimum wage from to $15
  • 2008 Fox News claimed MoveOn “owned” the Democrat Party after it successfully encouraged all Democratic presidential nominee candidates to boycott a Fox News debate (conservative news network)
27
Q

EMILY’s List

A
  • founded in 1985
  • pro-choice PAC
  • raises funds for Democratic candidates committed to protecting abortion rights
  • has worked to elect 100 pro-choice Democratic women to the house, 19 to the senate
  • This has coincided with Democratic part policy becoming increasingly pro-choice
28
Q

Democratic Leadership Council

A
  • founded in 1985
  • centrist and moderate groups
  • highly influential during Clinton’s presidency but declined after 2000
  • its decline culminated in 2011 when it was dissolved

US Politics - Political Parties (4 decks)

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