Chairman: Howard Dean
Senate Leader: Harry Reid
House Leader: Nancy Pelosi (speaker), Steny Hoyer (majority leader)
Founders: Thomas Jefferson
Date Founded: 1824 (modern) - 1792 (historical)
Headquarters: 430 South Capitol Street SE Washington, D.C. 20003
National Convention Location and Date: Denver, CO August 25-28, 2008
Website: www.democrats.org
HISTORY - NAME - SYMBOL
The Democratic Party is the oldest political party in the United States: it has its origins in the coalition formed by Thomas Jefferson and other opponents of the Federalists in 1792.
In the mid-20th century the Democrats became a party of vigorous government intervention in the economy and in the social realm, willing to regulate and redistribute wealth and to protect those least able to help themselves in an increasingly complex society. The Great Depression after 1929 and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, with his New Deal, solidified and expanded the political agenda. The modern history of the Democratic Party has been characterized by the presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
The logo of the Democratic Party, the donkey, was popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 1870s. Since election night 2000 the color blue has become the identified color of the Democratic Party.
IDEOLOGY
Historically, the Democratic Party has supported organized labour, ethnic minorities, and progressive reform. The modern Democratic Party generally supports a strong federal government with powers to regulate business and industry in the public interest; federally financed social services and benefits for the poor, the unemployed, the aged, and other groups; and the protection of civil rights. Most Democrats also endorse a strong separation of church and state, and they generally oppose government regulation of the private, non-economic lives of citizens. Regarding foreign policy, Democrats tend to prefer internationalism and multilateralism—i.e., the execution of foreign policy through international institutions such as the United Nations—over isolationism and unilateralism. However, because the party is highly decentralized (as is the Republican Party), it encompasses a wide variety of opinion on certain issues.
Attached the 2004 National Platform
VOTER BASE
Academics, intellectuals and the highly educated overall constitute an important part of the Democratic voter base. Also the American working class constitues as an essential part of the voter base. A large portion of the Democratic voting base are ethnic minorities: African Americans favored the Republican Party from the end of the Civil War but also the Hispanic population have been strong supporters of the party.
Geografically the Democratic Party is now strongest in the Northeast (Mid-Atlantic and New England), Great Lakes region, as well as along the Pacific Coast (especially Coastal California), including Hawaii. The Democrats are also strongest in major cities.
OPINION AND EDITORIALS
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