What do republicans and democrats stand for

In the United States, the words Democrat and Republican are used to refer to members of the two major American political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

The general, lowercase senses of the English words democratic and republican actually have long, complex histories that go far beyond red and blue states or donkeys and elephants. Let’s take a closer look at where these two words came from and how they came to be used in the names of the two political parties.

What does democratic mean?

Starting alphabetically, the word democratic means “pertaining to or of the nature of democracy or a democracy.”

Simply put, the lowercase democratic is a word used to refer to anything that resembles or has to do with a democracy, a form of government in which the supreme power rests with the people and is exercised by them directly or by politicians that they elect to represent them. In practice, this is usually accomplished through a fair, organized system of voting, in which citizens or representatives cast votes in support of political candidates (in elections) or societal issues (in referendums). 

So, the word democratic is used to describe government systems that are or resemble democracies and the people that run these types of governments. The United States of America is a representative democracy in which the people elect representatives (mayors, governors, members of Congress, etc.) to perform the demands of politics on their behalf. This is why we say that the US is a democratic country or that we have a democratic form of government. 

The English word democratic dates all the way back to the late 1500 and early 1600s. It is derived from the Greek word dēmokratía (“popular government”). The government system of the ancient Greek city-state of Athens, in which the people (dêmos) held the power (krátos), is considered the world’s first democracy. Considering that Athens was a patriarchal slave-owning society, its form of democracy was much different than the democratic governments of today. 

What does republican mean?

The word republican means “of, relating to, or of the nature of a republic.” Similarly to the word democratic, the word republican also describes things that resemble or involve a particular form of government, in this case the government in question is a republic. A republic is a government system in which power rests with voting citizens who directly or indirectly choose representatives to exercise political power on their behalf. 

You may have noticed that a republic sounds a lot like a democracy. As it happens, most of the present-day democracies (including the United States) are also republics. However, not every republic is democratic and not every democratic country is a republic.

For example, the historical city-state of Venice had a leader known as a doge who was elected by voters. In the case of Venice, though, the voters were a small council of wealthy traders, and the doge held his position for life. Venice and other similar mercantile city-states had republican governments, but as you can see, they were definitely not democratic. At the same time, the United Kingdom is a democratic country that has a monarch, and so it is not a republican country because it is not officially a republic. 

The earliest records of the English word republican go back to the late 1600s. It comes, via French, from the Latin rēs pūblica, constructed from rēs (“thing or entity”) and pūblica (“public”). For a time, ancient Rome had a republican government with elected magistrates before the establishment of the Roman Empire. While they helped create the term we now use, the actual first republican government is believed to have been in India.   

While the two major political parties we know today have been around awhile, the names of the major two political parties have changed over the centuries.

George Washington won the elections of 1788–89 and 1792 and served two terms as US president. The presidential election of 1796 pitted John Adams, of the Federalist Party, against Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly, the political party of Thomas Jefferson is actually the original source of the names of both modern political parties. 

Here’s what happened: in 1792, Jefferson’s supporters formed a political party that they named the Republican Party to emphasize his desire for a decentralized, republican national government. In response, the opposing Federalist Party, whose members supported a strong federal government, mocked Jefferson’s party as the “Democratic–Republican Party” in reference to the “democratic” radicals of the French Revolution. After losing the election of 1796, Jefferson’s party would officially take the name of the Democratic–Republican Party.   

The Democratic–Republican Party would eventually break apart into factions in 1825, resulting in two new parties that would ultimately run against each other: the National Republicans of John Quincy Adams and the followers of Andrew Jackson, whom he referred to as “Democrats.”

These Democrats would officially take the name the Democratic Party in 1844, although the modern Democratic Party officially uses the Democratic National Convention of 1848 as its creation date. Not long after, a new political party united by opponents of slavery would be formed in 1854 and would officially name itself the Republican Party as an allusion to Jefferson’s party of the same name. 

In the 1870s, politicians and the press would refer to the Republican Party as the “grand old party” or the “gallant old party,” to highlight their role in defending the Union during the Civil War. The initialism GOP that is still used today is credited to newspaperman T.B. Dowden, who used it in 1884 when he was running out of room in an article.   

One last thing to keep in mind is that while the two American political parties use the words democratic and republican in their names, capitalized forms of these words have been used in political parties in other countries that have completely different beliefs and platforms. For example, the Republican Party of France and the various Christian Democratic Parties around the world are completely unrelated to the American political parties. 

After an impeachment, a positive coronavirus test and an unforgettable first presidential debate rounded out the final months of Donald Trump's first term, it seems fair to say the past few years have been a roller-coaster ride for US politics.

On November 3, Americans will decide which candidate will win the 2020 presidential election, sparking either the beginning, or end, for each nominee.

But how does it all work?

Well, the US political system is dominated by two main parties — the Democrats and the Republicans — and the next president will belong to one of those two.

Just how different are their policies?

Here's what you need to know, starting with the candidates.

Republican Donald Trump

The Republicans are the conservative political party and their candidate in this election is the 45th US President, Donald Trump.

He is hoping for re-election, which means he would be in power for a total of eight years if he serves a full second term.

In his time as President, Trump, 74, has targeted policies implemented under the Obama administration, specifically the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

He has also instituted harsh immigration policies designed to deter informal migration, particularly along the southern border of the US.

These moves have driven Trump's popularity among his supporters, who fiercely advocate for small government and minimal immigration.

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but was then acquitted by the Senate.

His 2016 campaign was also investigated for collusion with the Russian Government for meddling in that year’s presidential election.

Trump was not found guilty of any crimes, but investigator Robert Mueller did not explicitly clear him either.

Notable former Republican presidents include George HW Bush, George W Bush, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and Abraham Lincoln.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden

The Democrats are the liberal political party and their candidate is Joe Biden, who has run for president twice before.

A former senator for Delaware who served six terms, Biden is best known as Barack Obama's vice-president.

He held that role for eight years, and it has helped make him a major contender for many Democrat supporters.

Earlier this year, Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate.

The 77-year-old has built his campaign on the Obama legacy, and tackling the country's staggering health care issues.

He is known for his down-to-earth personality and his ability to connect with working-class voters. He would be the oldest first-term president in history if elected.

According to 2017 Pew Research Centre data, a vast majority of the African American population supports the Democratic party, with 88 per cent voting for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections.

Why are an elephant and a donkey the party symbols?

The Democratic party is often associated with the colour blue and the donkey mascot.

That dates back to Democratic candidate Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign, when opponents called him a "jackass" for his stubbornness.

Instead of taking the nickname as an insult, Jackson embraced it and used the donkey image on his election posters.

It was then quickly adopted by newspapers and political cartoonists.

The Republican's elephant symbol came along years later.

Many believe it came about, in part, due to a widely used expression during the Civil War led by Republican president Abraham Lincoln.

Soldiers entering battle were said to be "seeing the elephant" — a phrase that means learning a hard lesson, often with a profound cost.

The symbol was then popularised by political cartoonist Thomas Nast; an early rendition featured in the 1879 edition of Harper's Weekly.

Both symbols are still largely used for political campaigns.

Where do Trump and Biden stand on key issues?

The key issues grappling the country can be broken down into five main categories: coronavirus, health care, foreign policy, immigration and criminal justice.

This year, a big focus of the election has been the coronavirus pandemic, which could be a deciding factor in how people vote, as the country's contentious healthcare system struggles to cope.

The average healthcare costs for COVID-19 treatment is up to $US30,000 ($42,000), an America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) 2020 study has found.

Coronavirus response

The US has dealt with the world's largest number of cases and deaths from the pandemic.

By mid-October more than 215,000 people had died and authorities had confirmed more than 7,850,000 cases.

But despite climbing numbers, several states have pushed to completely reopen, with only eight states and territories re-introducing restrictions.

It is no secret the Republicans and Democrats increasingly view the coronavirus pandemic differently.

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In March, the Trump administration announced a $US2 trillion ($3.3 trillion) stimulus package, with the aim of trying to save the economy.

But, according to a 2020 report published by the Pew Research centre, Republicans are less likely to say a new stimulus package would be needed to address the economic fallout from the second wave of the virus.

The report found a majority of Republicans believe the worst is behind them.

In contrast, the Democrats continue to overwhelmingly say more economic assistance is needed.

More than three-quarters of those involved in the research thought the worst was still to come, according to the report.

The world was gripped when Trump announced he and wife Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19.

He has since returned to the campaign trail after testing negative.

Back from hospital and speaking to supporters, he watered down the severity of the virus on his health and said it shouldn't impact people's lives, putting into question how his comments could influence the way Americans vote.

Trump has also been optimistic about a vaccine, which he has said could be available in the US by next year.

Democrats have expressed reservations about the safety of the mooted vaccine, due to a lack of backing by their health advisers.

Health care

The US currently has no universal healthcare program.

The Republicans, under Trump, have long fought to dissolve the Affordable Care Act, but no such plan has formally been put in place.

However, Biden supports the ACA, which was the Obama administration's signature policy achievement during his time as vice-president.

Biden has campaigned strongly on building on the ACA to give more people the choice of a public insurance plan, rather than creating a Medicare-for-all system.

Under the ACA, Americans no longer had to worry about insurance companies denying coverage or charging higher premiums because of a pre-existing condition.

It also stopped insurance companies from setting annual or lifetime limits on coverage.

Republicans have argued the ACA hurts American families with skyrocketing insurance costs.

Foreign policy

Surprisingly, both the Democrats and Republicans agree on a few issues in terms of foreign policy.

They both have a similar stance on China, especially on trade and national security.

China's sway in high-tech sectors has worried both sides of politics and the Trump and Biden campaigns have pledged to curb its influence.

The Trump administration has always had a hard line on China — a position that launched the two nations into a trade war.

In July, the US and China announced an initial trade deal that would roll back some tariffs and boost Chinese purchases of US goods and services.

Biden has vowed to end Trump's policy on China, and further ease tariffs.

Both sides support withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, and peace talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban.

The peace talks, mandated by a deal signed by the US and the Taliban in February, have been a key foreign policy objective for the Trump administration.

Trump made a significant peace agreement between Israel and United Arab Emirates in August.

Biden said he was "gratified" by the deal.

Immigration

Immigration has been a contentious issue of the US political debate for decades.

Since 2017, the Trump administration has been known for its strict policies.

Trump has used executive orders and other means to overhaul all aspects of the immigration policy, framing the situation at the southern border as a national emergency.

He has always promised to take extraordinary measures, including building a wall along the Mexican border and deporting millions, to tackle immigration.

The Democrats have vowed construction of the wall would end if they win the election.

Biden's immigration plan would instead focus on improved screening at borders.

Criminal justice

Criminal justice is a rising concern among Americans, most recently sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of George Floyd, which propelled an increase in protests.

The tragedy has shone the spotlight on the country's police system.

The Democrats and Republicans butt heads on many issues around criminal justice, but there are some they agree on.

Both camps have rejected calls from left-wing activists to defund the police.

Biden has said he would reform qualified immunity, which shields police from lawsuits.

However, Trump is against that idea.

Trump stands by his support of capital punishment, while the Democratic party wants it eliminated.

Where do voter loyalties lie?

Voters rarely switch parties once they have chosen one.

The overwhelming majority of both Republican and Democratic voters have retained their party affiliation in the past years, enduring a tumultuous period marked by a global pandemic and mass protests against racial injustice.

Pew research has found about 9 per cent of voters who affiliated with the Republican Party or leaned Republican in September 2018 now identify as Democrats, or lean that way.

An identical share of voters who two years ago identified as or leaned towards the Democrats now align with the Government.

Which party is currently in the lead?

ABC America's project Five Thirty Eight has predicted through the latest polls that Biden has been leading in key battleground states and is predicted to win the election.

However, national polls are not always good barometers of who will win the election, as they usually don't account for the electoral college.

Winning the popularity vote doesn't always correlate to securing the presidency.

Many of the national polls in the 2016 election had predicted a win for Hillary Clinton.

In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Trump won by razor-thin margins in 2016, Biden leads.

The race is even closer in Arizona, where Trump beat Clinton by eight points in 2016.

In North Carolina, which has voted Republican in nine out of the last 10 presidential elections, polls have suggested a tight race.

However, it is still far too early to predict who will be elected the next US President.