Gay Marriage

Gay marriage is not a new topic to the political stage of the United States, however it is one that has grown in support over the last decade. Our country has progressed beyond our previous oppressive beliefs about race towards universal equality, we are still kept down from reaching this goal because we have yet to nationally accept gays. In a Amendment proposed to the Constitution in 2003 by Marriage has been defined by many as "the union between a man and a woman."

This amendment clearly has not passed, but it puts the debate to a head. This proposed amendment is an attempt to block individual state constitutions and laws from allowing homosexual marriages. For over 200 years our country has not accepted gays for various reasons ranging from the Bible saying so to simply homophobic tendencies. Being gay is not and has never been a choice that people make, and this is a realization that many liberal democrats have made. The only reason why the reason why gay marriage acceptance laws have not passed are because a large amount of conservative republicans have opposed this issue strongly for a long time.

The Republican Party

Founded in 1854 by a group of anti-slavery expansion activists, the Republican party established itself quickly as the strong opposition to the Democrats with a key victory putting Abraham Lincoln into office. Many Republicans define themselves as limiting the role and power of government in the nation, and putting more of the power into the hands of the states and their individual governments. The Republicans have a very powerful following, and are currently the nation's second largest party, holding about one third of the nations votes.

Republicans believe in 'peace through strength,' basically using our military might to let the rest of the world know that we are not a country to be messed with, therefore creating 'peace.' This is a strength of the party that has worked well in previous times of war where a powerful national defense and strength is needed. Republicans firmly stand for having the government out of the nation's health care, believing that it will promote break down the free market economy competition that has made America great. This is good and bad, as health care reform is needed badly, which the Republicans agree with, but they are slightly too picky with exactly what they want.

The Republican party does have a good amount of flaws however. Their idea towards energy is what they call an 'all of the above' approach, meaning they will take any and all ways of acquiring energy. They are open to some change, but when our country needs to reduce its heavy dependency on foreign oil and start focusing on moving towards a greener America.

The Democratic Party

Evolving from the Anti-Federalist party in the 1790s, the Democratic party originally favored states' rights and a strict following of the Constitution, and was strongly opposed to a national bank along with the interests of the wealthy. Since then, the Dems have moved more into a generally 'liberal' space about modern issues of the time, favoring progressive movement towards changing policies in an attempt to fit a changing world. This tactic has worked very well for the democrats, seeing as they are the nation's largest party.

The Democrats pride themselves in being 'Progressives' on most issues supporting issues that change the old ways of thinking such as abortion rights, same-sex marriage, universal health care, and lower dependency on foreign oil. The Democrats are a good counterbalance to the Republicans and are there to keep the nation up to date as new technologies bring about these new issues.

That being said, there are many ways in which the Democrats can become overly 'progressive' or not be smart on certain issues. Defense spending for example. The safety of our country is an issue that should be held in the highest regard, and lowering defense spending is not something that we should be doing. Defense spending should be kept in check so they do not get out of control, but not cut severely.