Many American high school students graduate without ever knowing what the difference is between Democrat and Republican. These two political parties dominate America. Democrats have recently taken back the lead in party-affiliation, as of a recent Gallup poll during January-December, 2012, with a random sample of 20,800 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Forty-seven percent of these subjects identified or leaned to Democratic. Forty-two percent of the 20,800 subjects identified or leaned to be Republican. So what exactly does that mean?
(source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/159740/democrats-establish-lead-party-affiliation.aspx)

Most teenagers grow up with the same political beliefs as their parents, which is perfectly fine. But wouldn't it be nice to have an opinion of your own? That you believe with your entire self being? Here is a chart of the most simplest differences these two major parties have. This cracks the surface into forming an opinion of your own just by looking at a straightforward chart.

	Democrat	Republican
Philosophy:	Liberal	Conservative
Economic Ideas:	Favor minimum wages and progressive taxation (higher tax rates for higher income brackets.)	Believe taxes shouldn't be increased for anyone (including the wealthy) and that wages should be set by the free market.
Stand on Military issues:	Decreased spending	Increased spending
Stand on gay marriage:	Support (some Democrats disagree)	Oppose (some Republicans disagree)
Stand on abortion:	Should not be made illegal; support Roe v. Wade (some Democrats disagree)	Should not be legal; oppose Roe v. Wade (some Republicans disagree)
Stand on Death penalty:	While support for the death penalty is strong among Democrats, opponents of the death penalty are a substantial fraction of the Democratic base.	A large majority of Republicans support the death penalty.
Social and human ideas:	Based on community and social responsibility	Based on individual rights and justice
Traditionally strong in states:	California, Massachusetts	Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas
Symbol:	Donkey	Elephant
Color:	Blue	Red
Founded in:	1824	1854
Website:	www.democrats.org	www.gop.com
Senate Leader:	Harry Reid	Mitch McConnell
Chairperson:	Debbie Wasserman Schultz	Reince Priebus
Famous Presidents:	Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter	Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Richard Nixon