Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. The Party is currently (as of 2005) the minority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as in governorships and state legislative seats, leading some within the party to label it an Opposition Party. [1] Of the two major U.S. parties, the Democratic Party is a liberal party to the left of the Republican Party, though its politics are not as consistently leftist as the traditional social democratic and labor parties in much of the rest of the world.

In contemporary times, its primary political ideologies are commitment to tempering capitalism with programs of social welfare. Some other issues have included support for civil rights in contrast to the Democrats' previous support of slavery and segregation, high taxation, strict gun control, a pro-abortion stance, secularism, a multilateral foreign policy except for the frequent unilateralism of President Clinton, governmental and private sector actions to create new jobs, environmentalism, public education, and the right of workers to organize in labor unions.

Overview

• Party Chairman: Howard Dean
• Senate Leader: Harry Reid
• House Leader: Nancy Pelosi

• Founded: 1792
• Headquarters: 430 South Capitol Street SE Washington, D.C. 20003

• Political ideology: Liberalism, Social democracy

• Website: Democrats.org

Democratic Party National Leadership

• Harry Reid, Senate minority leader from Nevada
• Nancy Pelosi, House minority leader from California
• Howard Dean, Party chairman
• Unofficial leadership:
  • Democratic primaries
  • John Kerry (Presidential candidate 2004)
  • Al Gore (Presidential candidate 2000)
  • Joe Lieberman (Senator, VP candidate 2000, Presidential contender 2004)

List of Democratic Party organizations

Libertarian reforms supported by some Democrats

(see Third major party strategy).

• Medical marijuana is supported by some Democrats, but not by most

Statist policies favored by Democrats

• Gun control
• High taxation
• Affirmative action
• Socialized health care
• Involuntary Social Security run by the government
• Government funding for abortions
• Internationalist foreign policy
• Strengthening of drug laws
• Restrictions of private schools and home schooling

See also

Dean Exodus

External links

• Democratic National Committee
• 2004 Platform