Actually while we are talking about American stuff can someone tell me the difference between a Republican and a Democrat? I tried reading about it but just got confused.
Since there's only two parties that stand any chance of election, each party is a mix of a bunch of different people.
Broadly speaking:
Democrat:
Socially progressive
Tend to be less pro-big business
Prefer social spending
Republican:
Socially conservative
Tend to be more pro-big business
Prefer military spending.
Beyond that, it gets meaningless, as there are so many factions that are mushed together into two parties.
F.X. Fiscal conservatism, minimal government and oppressing gay people are all important to some parts of the republican party, but not many embody all of them.
Ditto for f.x. universal health care, affirmative action and workers rights for the democrats.
Alternatively, the internet version:
Republicans are all hitler and democrats are all stalin.
You can also be an independent: This generally means you are a republican but don't want to admit you voted for Bush. Alternatively it means you are a hippy who haven't worked a day in your life.
