Re: OT: American politics - can someone explain to an outsider?

dagmargoodboat@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
A brief glance at the interests, philosophies, and factions:

Republican
----------
Factions:
1. Fiscal conservatives:
- small government


That hasn't been true for three or four decades. The
Democrats are the "tax and spend" party, while the
Republicans are the "cut taxes and spend" party.
Thus, Democrats have taken over the role of the
more fiscally conservative party. The Democrats
do more "pay as you go" spending, while the
Republicans do more deficit spending. Reagan
presided over the then-largest budget deficits in
history as he spent money on arms buildups.
Bush 41 continued the trend as he invaded Iraq.
Clinton and the Democratic Congress cut
defense outlays, let revenues increase,
and presided over budget surpluses.
Bush 43 and the Republicans expanded
spending and went back to huge
deficits.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Things really havent changed much, have they?
    ... Have you ever tried to explain to a foreigner the difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties? ... It is an almost impossible job because, first few of us have been able to define that difference for ourselves and, second Europeans especially try to understand the difference between one party and another in ideological terms; whereas, ideology does not matter all that much to Americans. ... Republicans tend to feel a sense of proprietorship toward the economy. ... Democrats, on the whole, feel marginal, like outsiders. ...
    (alt.politics.bush)
  • Re: Not ready to lead
    ... while the Republicans are returning to their usual orderly habits. ... has an opposition party been less well prepared for governance than ... have emerged amongst the congressional Democrats. ... preparation for governance, they have - if anything - been widening ...
    (alt.politics.bush)
  • Where the GOP went wrong
    ... There are several items that caused the downfall of the GOP. ... The only people who attended the GOP infomercials on Social Security were invited by the Republican party. ... the Democrats are reaping the rewards of our neglect -- and we have no one to blame but ourselves. ... In 1994, this vision was validated when Republicans took 54 seats in the House, eight seats in the Senate and control of both houses of Congress. ...
    (alt.politics.bush)
  • Re: Not ready to lead
    ... Democrats are still blowing raspberries from the sidelines, ... Republicans are returning to their usual orderly habits. ... party been less well prepared for governance than today's congressional ... Republicans' preparation for majority, but also with the Tony Blair-led ...
    (alt.politics.bush)
  • Not ready to lead
    ... Democrats are still blowing raspberries from the sidelines, ... Republicans are returning to their usual orderly habits. ... party been less well prepared for governance than today's congressional ... Republicans' preparation for majority, but also with the Tony Blair-led ...
    (alt.politics.bush)