Evaluate the view that the Democratic and Republican parties no longer agree about anything
(30)
It is largely true that the Democratic and Republican parties no longer agree about anything,
due to the fact that the parties’ ideologies have shifted so far apart, including their supporters.
The parties are more polarised than they have been since the civil war over 150 years ago, and
this has been accelerated by the presidency of Donald Trump. But, it depends what is meant by
‘parties’ as they are not monolithic- there is a range of people within both parties, like the Blue
Dogs in the Democrats or the moderates within the Republicans, who may agree with each
other on certain things while the rest of the party doesn’t. There is some agreement over
Trump’s impeachment and some aspects of immigration and healthcare, but there is a huge
divide over social and economic issues, like abortion and tax rates, which greatly outweigh the
areas of agreements, showing that the parties mostly disagree.
There is evidence that the parties no longer agree about anything, shown in the large
disagreement over social policies. Republicans believe that most social issues will be solved if
we returned to traditional values, as problems are caused by straying away from Christianity,
with things like same-sex marriage and abortion being allowed. Republicans have tried several
times to pass restrictive laws on abortion, and believe that Roe v Wade, in which the court found
that a mother had a right to abortion until viability, should be overturned. However, Senator John
McCain stated to "leave the issue [abortion] alone" as it could hurt their party with losing women
and young voters, showing that abortion is not a live issue. In contrast, Democrats are pro-
choice, stating that every woman should have access to a ‘safe and legal abortion’, and believe
in equality for LGBT and minority rights. This is shown in how they supported the Supreme
Court decision to uphold same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. In terms of immigration,
politicians from both parties say that "the immigration system in this country is broken."
However, the political divide is too wide to let any bipartisan legislation pass to reform the
system. Republicans see immigration as a national security threat and think it should be
restricted more, especially between Mexico. They don’t approve of sanctuary cities, shown by
how Trump tried to withhold funds from them. Democrats generally support an easier path
toward citizenship for immigrants, and support sanctuary cities. This is a strong point as the
parties have directly opposing views over sanctuary cities. However, both Democratic and
Republican administrations have used and favored deportation. More undocumented
immigrants were deported under President Obama than any president before him. Deportations
accelerated under President Trump. Overall, although there is some agreement over illegal
immigration, this is outweighed by the stark disagreement over abortion and same-sex
marriage, showing that the parties hardly agree about anything.
Economically, their views differ as Republicans believe in a laissez-faire economics and little
government intervention in terms of welfare. They support cutting income tax for everyone,
shown by the huge Republican support for Trump’s tax cuts. They oppose a government-run
health care system like Obamacare, but some favor an insurance system like Medicare for the
elderly and Medicaid for the poor. However, this point is not as strong as Congressional
Republicans and the Bush administration supported reducing Medicaid's growth rate, showing
that parties are not monolithic as there are differing views within them- most believe that private
companies can provide healthcare services more efficiently than government-run programs.
This is very different from what Democrats believe- who all voted against Trump's tax cuts. This
is a strong point as this shows complete polarisation between the parties- not a single democrat
was in favour of his tax cuts. They favor a mixed economy and generally support a progressive
tax system, higher minimum wages and a universal health care. They believe healthcare is a
right, and generally support Obamacare. Some Democrats favour Medicare for All, while others
(30)
It is largely true that the Democratic and Republican parties no longer agree about anything,
due to the fact that the parties’ ideologies have shifted so far apart, including their supporters.
The parties are more polarised than they have been since the civil war over 150 years ago, and
this has been accelerated by the presidency of Donald Trump. But, it depends what is meant by
‘parties’ as they are not monolithic- there is a range of people within both parties, like the Blue
Dogs in the Democrats or the moderates within the Republicans, who may agree with each
other on certain things while the rest of the party doesn’t. There is some agreement over
Trump’s impeachment and some aspects of immigration and healthcare, but there is a huge
divide over social and economic issues, like abortion and tax rates, which greatly outweigh the
areas of agreements, showing that the parties mostly disagree.
There is evidence that the parties no longer agree about anything, shown in the large
disagreement over social policies. Republicans believe that most social issues will be solved if
we returned to traditional values, as problems are caused by straying away from Christianity,
with things like same-sex marriage and abortion being allowed. Republicans have tried several
times to pass restrictive laws on abortion, and believe that Roe v Wade, in which the court found
that a mother had a right to abortion until viability, should be overturned. However, Senator John
McCain stated to "leave the issue [abortion] alone" as it could hurt their party with losing women
and young voters, showing that abortion is not a live issue. In contrast, Democrats are pro-
choice, stating that every woman should have access to a ‘safe and legal abortion’, and believe
in equality for LGBT and minority rights. This is shown in how they supported the Supreme
Court decision to uphold same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. In terms of immigration,
politicians from both parties say that "the immigration system in this country is broken."
However, the political divide is too wide to let any bipartisan legislation pass to reform the
system. Republicans see immigration as a national security threat and think it should be
restricted more, especially between Mexico. They don’t approve of sanctuary cities, shown by
how Trump tried to withhold funds from them. Democrats generally support an easier path
toward citizenship for immigrants, and support sanctuary cities. This is a strong point as the
parties have directly opposing views over sanctuary cities. However, both Democratic and
Republican administrations have used and favored deportation. More undocumented
immigrants were deported under President Obama than any president before him. Deportations
accelerated under President Trump. Overall, although there is some agreement over illegal
immigration, this is outweighed by the stark disagreement over abortion and same-sex
marriage, showing that the parties hardly agree about anything.
Economically, their views differ as Republicans believe in a laissez-faire economics and little
government intervention in terms of welfare. They support cutting income tax for everyone,
shown by the huge Republican support for Trump’s tax cuts. They oppose a government-run
health care system like Obamacare, but some favor an insurance system like Medicare for the
elderly and Medicaid for the poor. However, this point is not as strong as Congressional
Republicans and the Bush administration supported reducing Medicaid's growth rate, showing
that parties are not monolithic as there are differing views within them- most believe that private
companies can provide healthcare services more efficiently than government-run programs.
This is very different from what Democrats believe- who all voted against Trump's tax cuts. This
is a strong point as this shows complete polarisation between the parties- not a single democrat
was in favour of his tax cuts. They favor a mixed economy and generally support a progressive
tax system, higher minimum wages and a universal health care. They believe healthcare is a
right, and generally support Obamacare. Some Democrats favour Medicare for All, while others
