Political parties in the US and the CNMI

Second of three parts

Under President Bill Clinton’s presidency, the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 was passed by both the House and Senate. He was also responsible for taking a $290 billion deficit left by George H.W. Bush and creating a surplus in excess of $500 billion over a period of eight years. Unemployment had dropped to its lowest level since the early 1970s and the crime rate declined considerably during Clinton’s term in office.

The Democratic Party principles include supporting social programs for the poor and working class, e.g., Head Start, Meals on Wheels, and Medicare. The Democrats also supports affirmative action in education, as well as providing adequate benefits for veterans of war and those who are unable to secure employment because of employment displacement or being placed on welfare assistance with food stamps because of lack of sufficient economic resources to support other family members. Democrats support the right for a woman to choose whether or not she should carry or not carry a fetus that could either endanger her health or life, or was the result of a crime where she was violated.

Democrats also espouse gun control and not exercising the use of capital punishment. They feel strongly about conserving our environment with curtailing the unnecessary annihilation of wildlife reserves for animals, e.g., bears, salmon, crocodiles.

Within the Democratic Party, there are members who fall under the umbrella of either being liberal, moderate, or conservative on the abovementioned principles. Notwithstanding the fact the perspectives are different for the various categories of Democrats, they are, for the most part, a cohesive group of individuals that will work with and support one another.

The Democratic Party candidate for president in 2004 is John Kerry. Kerry’s background is similar to the late JFK. He and Kennedy are from Massachusetts and practice the Catholic faith.

The only difference is where both men obtained their formal education. Kennedy went to Harvard and graduated with honors and Kerry attended Yale and received his undergraduate and law degrees respectively.

According to the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party was created in 1856. Four years later, one of the most profound presidents in the history of the U.S., Abraham Lincoln, was elected to be the first Republican president to capture the presidency in America.

Approximately one year subsequent to Lincoln winning the White House, the Civil War erupted in 1861 and lasted four grueling years. During that time, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment (outlawing slavery), Fourteenth (guaranteeing equal protection under the laws), and Fifteenth (securing voting rights for African-Americans) Amendments were created within the U.S. Constitution.

From the early 1950s until 1991, the Republicans who held the reigns of the presidency were Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush.

The Republican Party principles reflect not giving women the right to choose on issues that involve her body. Thus, they believe that abortion is essentially killing innocent human life, regardless of whether the mother’s life might be in danger if she should continue to carry the fetus.

Republicans do not espouse having gun control regulations and are not in favor of any affirmative action programs in higher education for American minorities, e.g., Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Pacific Islanders, who have not been able to attain academic and/or economic standards because of cultural and economic disadvantages as they were going through the educational system in America.

Regarding family values, Republicans believe in the right to determine the values with which their children will be raised, and they ought to have the widest possible choice among public, private, and religious schools that will enable competition to exist and improve education in the long run.

Republicans support having lower taxes and giving Americans an opportunity to spend the money they get from lower taxes and build the economy. They also believe in “states rights” and limiting the involvement of the federal government in decisions that should involve states and not big government.

Spending a significant amount of taxpayers’ dollars for a strong military whether or not the United States is engaged in a war with another country or countries is another Republican tenet. Since a strong military is considered vitally important to the Republicans, it will take precedence over other programs which might involve education and/or the environment.

To be continued.

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, CA 93215