As plain as the nose on your face. Could it be this simple?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

Democrats/Progressives/Liberals care about their own welfare as well as the welfare of others

Republicans/Repressives/Conservatives care about their own welfare to the exclusion of others

If you think of it like this, everything starts to become very cohesive if you view the actions and stances of both groups. For instance, take the environment and oil. THe D/P/Ls believe in conservation and alternative energy development. The R/R/C's want to contain, control and corner the world's oil so it will be theirs, theirs, theirs

Same with healthcare.D/P/L's think all are entitled to healthcare while the R/R/C think as long as the few are taken care of, screw the rest.

In some ways, the D/P/L's seem to be more optimistic and believe in abundance - there IS enough energy, there IS enough Healthcare, and if there isn't, we will deploy intellect and science to open new doors to improve the situation for all.

The pessimistic R/R/C's are fearful of scarcity and will use might to collect all available acorns and then deploy religion to pray for their own and that the rest of us will go to hell.

Simplistic, yes. But I think there is something to this.

[aquart]

1. I got applause putting it this way:

Democrats steal with one hand and give with the other. Republicans steal with both hands.

[hippiechick]

3. My simple appraisal has always been:

Democrats want to regulate the boardroom and let you do as you please in your bedroom;
Republicans want to regulate your bedroom and let CEO's do as they please in the boardroom.


:hi:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. I used to say the motto of the Republican Party was I Got Mine, but now

I have revised it to:

I Got Mine and Yours Too!( Don't worry, we're just holding it for you.)

[blm]

5. You all came up with good stuff.

Gotta kick it for you.

[HereSince1628]

2. I agree, environmental ethics and social justice stem from similar beliefs

Although it seems oversimplistic to say it this way, both are rooted in the belief that it is wrong to allow one agent to continue to behave in a manner known to result in harm to another.

[kcass1954]

6. I say that I don't belong to the party of "I've got mine - you're on your own." n/t

[I_Will]

7. Rs take care of themselves; Ds take care of everybody else :)

That's how I explained it to my 10 year old, as to why it's important to vote Democratic! We're all "everybody else" in one context or another.

[beaconess]

8. this is so important and you put it really well

One reason we've had trouble selling our form of populism is that the way we word it often sounds as if we're engaging in class warfare when we really want to blur the distinctions between the classes so that everyone has the opportunity to move up.

I have found that most poor and middle income people don't hate the rich. They want to BE rich one day and many expect that, under the right circumstances, they will be. So when we make it seem as if we are attacking the rich or criticizing Republicans for helping the wealthy, we sound as if we are attacking the aspirations of the very people we're trying to help.

In my view, instead of beating up on Republicans for helping the rich, we should be pointing out that they are not just interested in helping ONLY the rich, but they are doing their damndest to pull the ladder up behind those who have already made it. They go out of their way to ensure that those who got keep what they have but also that no one else can get there.

We should be telling people, as you eloquently lay out, that one critical difference between the parties is that Republicans want only certain people to do well and fight like hell to keep everyone else out while Democrats want EVERYONE to have a chance to do well.