The platform of the Democratic Party of the United States is generally based on modern liberalism, contrasting with the conservatism of the Republican Party. The party generally sits on the center to center-left of the American political spectrum. The Democratic Party's political positions derive from the New Left and the unique demographics of the United States.
The Democratic Party's political positions have the strongest appeal to African Americans and voters with college degrees, but not to white working class voters.
Democratic platforms seek to promote free trade, social programs, labor unions, consumer protection, workplace safety regulation, equal opportunity, disability rights, racial equity,Larry E. Sullivan. The SAGE glossary of the social and behavioral sciences (2009) p 291, "This liberalism favors a generous welfare state and a greater measure of social and economic equality. Liberty thus exists when all citizens have access to basic necessities such as education, health care, and economic opportunities." regulations against environmental pollution,John McGowan, American Liberalism: An Interpretation for Our Time (2007)Starr Paul. (March 1, 2007). "War and Liberalism." The New Republic." "Liberalism wagers that a state ... can be strong, but constrained – strong because constrained. ... Rights to education and other requirements for human development and security aim to advance the opportunity and personal dignity of minorities and to promote a creative and productive society. To guarantee those rights, Democrats support a wider social and economic role for the state, counterbalanced by more robust guarantees of civil liberties and a wider social system of checks and balances anchored in an independent press and pluralistic society."Hugo Helco, in The Great Society and the High Tide of Liberalism, "In (the 1970s) the American government began telling Americans what they could and could not do with regard to abortions, capital punishment, and bilingual education. The 1970s also brought new and more sweeping national regulations to deal with environmental challenges, consumer protection, workplace safety, gender discrimination, the rights of those with disabilities, and political spending.", p. 58, Sidney M. Milkis & Jerome M. Mileur, editors, University of Massachusetts Press, 2005, and criminal justice reform. Democrats support abortion rights, the LGBT community, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Democrats typically agree with the scientific consensus on climate change and favor a multilateral approach in foreign policy.
Demographics
It is a party that appeals to highly educated White voters, African Americans, urban voters, younger voters, irreligious voters, the unmarried, and LGBTQ people. Among White voters, it does well only among voters with high educational attainment, particularly White people with graduate degrees and White women with college degrees. The Democratic Party has weak appeal among White voters without college degrees and White Southerners, regardless of income.
Economic issues
Equal economic opportunity, a robust social safety net, and strong labor unions have long been at the heart of Democratic economic policy. The party favors a mixed economy and generally supports a progressive tax system, higher minimum wages, Social Security, universal health care, public education, and subsidized housing. It also supports infrastructure development and clean energy investments to achieve economic development and job creation.
Fiscal policy Democrats support a more progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce economic inequality by making sure that the wealthiest Americans pay the highest tax rate. They also support more government spending on social services while spending less on the military. They oppose cutting social services, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,U.S. GOVERNMENT > Social Support > The Social Safety Net believing cuts to be harmful to efficiency and social justice. Democrats believe the benefits of social services include a more productive labor force and that these benefits are greater than those that could be derived from lower taxes, especially for top earners. Furthermore, Democrats view social services as essential to providing positive freedom (i.e., freedom derived from economic opportunity). The Democratic-led House of Representatives reinstated the PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) budget rule early in the 110th Congress.
Minimum wage
Democrats favor raising the minimum wage and believe that all Americans have the right to a fair wage. They call for a $15.00/hour national minimum wage and believe it should be adjusted regularly. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was an early component of the party's agenda during the 110th Congress. In 2006, Democrats supported six state ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wage; all six initiatives passed.
Health care
Democrats call for "affordable and quality health care" and favor moving toward universal health care in various forms to address rising healthcare costs. Some Democratic politicians favor a single-payer program or Medicare for All, while others prefer a public health insurance option.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as "Obamacare"), which President Barack Obama signed into law on March 23, 2010, has been one of the most significant efforts toward universal health care. As of December 2019, more than 20 million Americans have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Education
Democrats favor improving public education by raising school standards and reforming the Head Start program. They also support universal preschool and expanding access to primary education (some Democrats who support this through charter schools). They call for slashes in student loan debt and support reforms to reduce tuition fees. Other proposed reforms have included nationwide universal preschool education, tuition-free or reduced-tuition college, and reforms of standardized testing. Democrats have the long-term aim of providing low-cost, publicly funded college education with low tuition (as in much of Europe and Canada), available to every eligible American student. Alternatively, they encourage expanding access to post-secondary education by increasing state funding for student financial aid, such as Pell Grants and college tuition tax deductions.
Environment
Democrats believe the government should protect the environment and have a history of environmentalism. In more recent years, this stance has had as its emphasis alternative energy generation as the basis for an improved economy, greater national security, and general environmental benefits.
Democrats also favor expanding conservation lands and encourage open space and rail travel to relieve highway and airport congestion and improve air quality and the economy. They believe that communities, environmental interests, and government should work together to protect resources while ensuring the vitality of local economies, and that choosing between the economy and the environment is a false choice.
The Democratic Party's foremost environmental concern is climate change. Democrats, most notably former Vice President Al Gore, have pressed for stern regulation of greenhouse gases. On October 15, 2007, Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to build greater knowledge about man-made climate change and laying the foundations for the measures needed to counteract it. A 2017 analysis by the Center for American Progress Action Fund of climate change denial in the U.S. Congress found that 180 members deny the science behind climate change, all Republicans, and that no Democratic members of Congress publicly denied climate change.
Renewable energy and fossil fuels
Democrats support increased domestic renewable energy development, including wind and solar power farms, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The party's 2012 platform calls for an "all of the above" energy policy that includes clean energy, natural gas, and domestic oil, while seeking energy independence. The party has supported higher taxes on oil companies and increased regulations on coal power plants, favoring a policy to reduce long-term reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, the party supports stricter fuel emissions standards to prevent air pollution.
Trade agreements
The Democratic Party has held widely varying views on trade throughout its history. The 2020 Democratic Party platform supports fair and free trade, such as the USMCA, but opposes offshoring, dumping, and intellectual property theft, among other unfair trade practices.
Social issues
The modern Democratic Party emphasizes social equality and equal opportunity. Democrats support voting rights and minority rights, including LGBT rights. The Republican party passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after a Democratic attempt to filibuster led by Southern Democrats, which for the first time outlawed segregation. Edward Carmines and James Stimson wrote, "the Democratic Party appropriated racial liberalism and assumed federal responsibility for ending racial discrimination".Carmines, Edward G.; Stimson, James A. "Racial Issues and The Structure of Mass Belief Systems," Journal of Politics (1982) 44#1 pp 2-20 in JSTOR
Ideological social elements in the party include cultural liberalism, civil libertarianism, and feminism. Some Democratic social policies are immigration reform, electoral reform, and women's reproductive rights.
Equal Opportunity Democratic Party strives for equality of opportunity for all Americans, regardless of sex, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, or national origin. Many Democrats support affirmative action programs to further this goal. Democrats also strongly support the Americans with Disabilities Act, to prohibit discrimination against people based on physical or mental disability. As such, they pushed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a disability-rights expansion that became law.
Voting rights The 2012 Democratic Party platform believes that the right to vote and to have one's vote counted is an essential American freedom, and opposes laws placing unnecessary restrictions on those seeking to exercise that freedom, such as voter ID laws. Many Democrats also support automatic voter registration, which ensures that all Americans over the legal voting age are registered to vote upon reaching the aforementioned age, and are never required to re-register.
Abortion and reproductive rights
The 2020 Democratic Party platform supports safe and legal abortion (this was about 2 years before Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization), and a woman's decision to have a child by providing affordable health care and ensuring the availability of, and access to, programs helping women during pregnancy and after a child's birth, including caring adoption programs, along with opposing any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.
Immigration
The 2012 Democratic Party platform endorses enacting comprehensive immigration reform, supporting American economic goals and reflecting America's values as both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. They generally support an easier path toward citizenship for immigrants, a system for allocating visas meeting economic needs, keeping families together, and enforcing the law. The party supported the immigration policy of the Obama administration, the DREAM Act, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and opposes state laws targeting immigrants. Democrats are generally more sympathetic to sanctuary cities.
LGBT rights