Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States of America along with their historical rival, the Republican Party.

History
Initially formed by Andrew Jackson in 1828 but it traces its origins to Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party in 1792. It is one of the oldest political parties still in existence, if not the oldest. It began as a party dedicated to greater democracy for the common man as that term was then defined (meaning universal suffrage for white men). There was a reversal of party platforms after the 1912 presidential election. During the Great Depression and the Second World War, the party moved to the left on economic issues with the New Deal and in the 1960’s gave their support to the African American Civil Rights Movement. These actions caused the Democrats to move away from the Jacksonian coalition of conservative white Southerners and business interests to one of ethnic minorities and organized labor. Beginning in the 1980’s the base expanded to include intellectuals, the LGBTQIA+ community, and environmentalists. Modern Democratic Presidents include Mark Hollis of Minnesota who assumed office on January 20, 2017 and Tom Stanton of New York who served from 2001 to 2009. The party currently holds 47 seats in the United States Senate, 193 seats in the House of Representatives, and there are Democratic Governors in 21 states.

Policy Positions
The Democratic Party platform as determined at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Economics
 * Implementing a federal job guarantee and creating a “WPA for the 21st Century” while also revitalizing Vocational education in the United States.


 * Applying a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on individuals making more than one million dollars a year and increasing the estate tax.


 * Replacing the minimum wage with a living wage and tying it to inflation as well as implementing a $15 an hour federal minimum wage in the near term.
 * Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act.


 * Supporting global cooperation and interaction while opposing the negative effects of globalization such as outsourcing and environmental degradation.


 * Supporting fair trade and opposing the Pacific Rim Free Trade Agreement (PRFTA) as it was originally negotiated.


 * Passing the PROTECT IP Act.


 * Taking action against steel dumping.


 * Reinstating Glass–Steagall


 * A $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Environment
 * Passing a financial transaction tax.
 * Eliminating reliance on foreign sources of fuel and energy by promoting alternate energy sources that can be adequately created and maintained within the United States.


 * Supporting and implementing the Green New Deal.


 * Implementing a carbon tax.


 * Entering the Paris Climate Agreement.


 * Educating the American people on climate issues and defeating climate change deniers at the ballot box.


 * Banning hydrofracking.


 * Opposing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Social Issues
 * Opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline.
 * Supporting Women’s rights including but not limited to abortion and reproductive rights.
 * Repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) thereby legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
 * Supporting LGBTQIA+ adoption in the United States.
 * Expanding anti-discrimination laws to apply to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Healthcare Ethics, Electoral, and Campaign Finance Reform Education Foreign and Immigration Policy
 * Supporting affirmative action for women, racial minorities, and people with disabilities.
 * Expanding background checks on firearms and banning high capacity magazines and Bump stocks.
 * Supporting transgender rights such as the federally mandated right to use gendered facilities which conform with a person's gender identity as well as not requiring SRS to alter sex on birth certificate.
 * Federal recognition of genderqueer and non-binary people.
 * Legalization, decriminalization, taxation, and regulation of recreational marijuana with limited THC content.
 * Stopping the privatization of and any reductions to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and passing the National Healthcare Act.
 * Legalization of the medical use of cannabis nationwide and implementing a national “hub and spoke” program as is done in Vermont to battle the opioid epidemic.
 * Ensuring no American pays more for pharmaceuticals than their counterparts in other developed countries.
 * Supporting paid universal family leave.
 * Require the President and all members of their Cabinet, and Congress to divest from individual companies’ stocks, bonds and other securities that create conflicts of interest, and instead invest in broadly diversified stock mutual funds, life insurance, bank accounts, and other conflict-free assets as defined in already existing Office of Government Ethics regulations.
 * Expand the post-government-employment ban in 18 U.S.C § 207 to include a lifetime ban on former members of the House and Senate serving as paid lobbyists, and provide that violating this ban will result in criminal penalties while also criminalizing the act of concurrently lobbying and financially contributing to a campaign, known as “lobbyist bundling”.
 * Impose term limits (six years in the House, twelve years in the Senate) for Congressional leadership positions and committee chairmanships, and dismantle the seniority system that gives more power to long-serving members.
 * Supporting publicly funded elections, banning Super PACs as well as banning private donations to politicians and campaigns. In addition, they advocate the reinstatement of provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and a ban on gerrymandering for partisan gain.
 * Making Voter ID laws illegal as they contribute to voter suppression and racial discrimination.
 * Revitalizing vocational education and apprenticeship programs.
 * Supporting our public school system.
 * Increasing the annual mean wage of teachers nationwide to a minimum of $82K with incremental increases from there.
 * Providing more in school services for children who are abused, mentally ill, neglected, in poverty, and effected by the opioid epidemic.
 * Supporting universal preschool.
 * Working towards tuition-free public universities and in the near term working to reduce tuition rates for public and private universities as well as increasing assistance to reduce the impact of America’s student loan debt crisis.
 * Decreasing defense spending and completely withdrawing from Korristan by the year 2020.


 * Increasing pressure on Iran through sanctions while working towards the peaceful dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program.


 * Supporting the two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.


 * Removing U.S. Forces from the Middle East while supporting arming and training Arab and Kurdish forces and promoting democracy in the region.


 * Officially declaring China a currency manipulator and requiring the Department of Commerce to impose countervailing duties on Chinese imports while working with China on areas of agreement.


 * Lifting the embargo on Cuba and normalizing relations.


 * Returning North Korea to the list of state sponsors of terrorism while working diplomatically to achieve a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.


 * Supporting bids for D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood as well as for other U.S. territories if they so choose in the future.


 * Passing the DREAM Act and the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act that would increase border security and implement a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Criminal Justice Policy
 * Opposing Russia’s aggressive foreign policy in Europe.
 * Reforming police by mandating body cameras, establishing community oversight boards, eliminating broken windows policing, ending stop and frisk, and appointing special prosecutors to hold police accountable in courts.


 * Supporting the reversal of mandatory three-strikes laws for non-violent offenses to give judges flexibility in giving sentences.


 * Abolishing the death penalty.


 * Ending the privatization of prisons.