Ever wonder about the names of our two major political parties?

[PhillySane]

I do. I get the Democratic party. Democracy, right? Simple.
But what about the Republican party? Republic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic

Seems its a pretty loose word that can simply mean "a government not controlled by a monarch". This can can also include governments run by a few (I don't know, maybe 1%) such as aristocracies and oligarchies. I'm sure this discussion has taken place before here, so sue me for being redundant. I just think about it a lot these days.

[LeftinOH]

1. Word usage is always in flux: "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea" is

none of the things (except the 'Korea' part) in its official name.

As for the term "Republican", there are lots of right-wingers nowadays who insist that the USA is NOT a democracy, but a republic.. which is a convenient way for them to view the differences between their political party and ours.

[PhillySane]

2. Right, what's in a name

But I wonder if people ever question this. I don't believe that the Democratic Party is made up of 100% True Democrats. There's an awful lot who don't really want that kind of power to be given to the masses. But, I would hope that when we vote for a Democrat, we are actually getting someone who practices a philosophy closer to the definition of true democracy.

I wonder if the people who vote for republicans ever bother to look that word up?

[CTyankee]

6. Here's how you deal with that:

you talk about the Founders belief in a Republic (as opposed to direct democracy, which was not favored by them) in terms of the Roman Republic, before it fell with the creation of the Roman Empire. Cincinnatus and his plow, and all that. Ordinary citizens defending the republic, not for the feudal landlords of the Dark Ages. Remember, too, that the various republics in what is now Italy were formed so that individuals could be self governing, not serfs exploited by dukes and counts. Thus you have the self governing republics of Venice, Florence and others. Yes, there was always the struggle with a few rich families (e.g. the Medicis in Florence) but the republican impulse was toward self determination for the people. In Italy, their version of counties is still called "commune", spelled the same in Italian as in English. FOR the community of people.

History has shown that republics are fragile things and can be lost, as with Florence (even tho it was a hard fought battle). But the word "republic" has a lot to do with our kind of thinking, not the RW who obviously don't know what they're talking about...

[PhillySane]

7. Right, as long as

it's a Democratic Republic. Republic, to me, is just a mask word, these days. It allows people to think we are not governed by a king, so it must be good. It hides the fact that the government is really controlled by a few. The Peoples Republic of China isn't a democracy. Republican is simply a term used to define someone who doesn't want a king or a dictator, but if ten people or a hundred people are in charge, thats okay.

[CTyankee]

8. Agreed, but I like to quote "We, the people..." to the RWingers.

When I start talking about what the word "commonwealth" means, they get a little crazy...."common" and "wealth" together, ACK! Three states in the USA are commonwealth, including good ole Kentucky, IIRC...

[PhillySane]

9. Pennsylvania is too

[Larkspur]

3. The Republican Party in the mid 19th century grew out of the remains of the Whig Party, which

grew out of the remains of the Federalist Party with some from Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. The Whigs and the Federalists ended up being the conservative faction and had a tendency to favor wealth. George Washington and John Adams were the primary figures of the Federalist Party.

The Whigs were created primarily to oppose Andrew Jackson's Democratic party. William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Millard Fillmore were the 3 Whig Party candidates who became President. The beginning of the end of the Whig Party started in the 1850's when members split over the issue of slavery. Northern Whigs joined the newly formed Republican Party.

The Whigs weren't all bad. Most had been members of Jefferson's Democratic-Republican party but split with Jackson over the issue of national banks. They favored modernization and public education as a way to turn unruly children into republican citizens.

[PhillySane]

4. Why, though

phase out the use of the word Democratic?

[gmoney]

5. That's why I consider myself a "Bull Moose" voter...

:)

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. The Democratic Party was once known as the Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party

[PhillySane]

11. So what about that Democratic-Republican thing

I wonder if people who choose a party to support, anymore, are now simply choosing to directly oppose the other side, rather than just work for the actual beliefs of the party. It seems to me, that's why we've become so polarized in this country. I'm sure that many in the Republican party think the Democrats want to control and dictate to them. Very little is said these days by either side, that the roots of the party names actually used to be tied together.