The Spectrum of Political Parties

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When it comes to the issues dealt with by all Americans, you generally have few choices with which to align yourself. You can either decide to stand on the right, taking a conservative viewpoint: believing in personal responsibility, limited government, free market, etc. with notable parties such as the Republican Party and the Peace and Freedom Party. Alternatively, you can stand on the left, taking the more liberal route: holding ideals such as government action and equal opportunity. Those parties include the Democratic Party and the Green Party. However, it is not a black and white cutoff between conservative and liberal, rather a circular spectrum going to the far left, the far right, and meeting back up. Therefore, there are many places one can stand on any given issue.
Health care is one of those issues where the political spectrum shows some overlap. Both sides want the same outcome: a healthy and happy society. However, the ways they want to accomplish this varies greatly. The Republicans are staunchly against government-organized healthcare. They believe that the less government the better, believing that “government run affordable health care leads to inefficiencies and can be disastrous to the nation’s health overall.” They believe that health care should be left to doctors, HMOs and insurance companies to decide and manage. However, the democrats’ main point on health care is that it should be funded and controlled by the government for the people. They hold that all people should be able to have the assurance of health without worrying about losing coverage or going into debt. This would be most effective for the poor and elderly, those who normally would not be able to afford coverage and need it most. As such, Med...

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"Democratic Party Platform, 2012." [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project] 10 January 2014.

"Democratic Party on Civil Rights." Democratic Party on Civil Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros., 1946. Print.

Porter, Eduardo. "Why the Health Care Law Scares the G.O.P." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

"Republican Views on Gay Marriage." RepublicanViewsorg Republican Views on Gay Marriage Comments. RepublicanViews.org, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

"Republican Party Platform, 2004." [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project] 10 January 2014.

Welfare Information." California Welfare. WelfareInfo.org, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.

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