The 2008 US Presidential elections process - politics for peace and prosperity - is running on full power. Who are the leading democrat and republican candidates and what are their challenges ?? Coming real soon on this blog because what happens in the States will have an (in)direct influence on the rest of this planet ...
A brief history ...
The Democratic Party is one of the world’s oldest party, tracing its origin to the Democratic-Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the late 1700’s. It is one of two largest political parties of the United States of America. The party was created to oppose the policies and principles of the ruling Federalist Party in the 1790’s. The party won the Presidency and the Congress in 1800. After the war of 1812, the party disintegrated into various factions. General Andrew Jackson, a war hero from Tennessee emerged as a leader and president of the party. The party was later known as the Democratic Party.The words liberalism, new deal coalition, civil rights movements and third-way politics are commonly associated with the Democratic Party.Currently, the Democratic Party holds the majority in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and also holds a majority in the number of states governed by Democrats. Please visit www.democrats.org for more information about the Democratic Party.
The Republican Party or the Grand Old Party (GOP) is one of the major political parties of the United States of America. Even though the party is younger to the Democrats, it is commonly referred to as the GOP. The party was established in 1854 as a coalition comprising of former Whigs, North Democrats and Free Soilers. The word republican symbolizes the republican values of civic virtues and to create an opposition to corruption and aristocracy. The coalition was against the expansion of slavery in the United States and for a creation of modernized America. A majority of supporters of the Republican Party can be considered as Conservatives or Neoconservatives, Evangelicals and people with a relatively progressive view on economics. The Republican Party when compared to the Democrats is considered to be a good friend of the business community of the country.Currently, the Republicans are a minority in both the US Senate and in the US House of Representatives. The Republicans also control a less number of state legislatures when than Democrats.The current President (Republican), George W. Bush’s term is set to expire in Nov 2008 and a handful of conservative and neoconservative Republican candidates have announced or set up exploratory committees to compete for the Republican nomination.