Party platforms exist mainly to appeal to the voters during the campaign period. They are usually coined by political parties or independent candidates stating their principles. The Republican party of Texas and the Democratic party of Texas both have their party platforms presented to the citizens. There exist some similarities and differences between these two platforms. This paper discusses those similarities and differences and how each party platform can work for or against any of its candidates.
On matters education, both parties seem to have the same principles regarding charter schools. Both are of the opinion that charter schools are expensive to taxpayers and have little accountability (Blad, 2019). The Republican Party platform opposes government funding of charter school that already receive funding from foreign institutions. The Democratic Party platform on the other hand prohibits charter schools that receive government funding from contracting with private institution. In short, these two parties agree on the fact that charter schools should choose between government funding or private funding and should never have a combination of the two.
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Republicans are pro-life. Their platform highly encourages the government to come up with legislature that prohibits termination of the life of an unborn child (Abolish Abortion, 2018). They believe that no unborn child should be deprived of the right to live, and hence campaign against government funding of abortion services. The platform further states that there should be regulation of substances like the morning after pill which also act as abortion aids in a way. Democrats on the other hand, oppose legislations that restrict access to abortion care. The platform advocates for safe abortions, hence fighting the targeting of abortion providers.
Democrats in their platform advocate for legalization of cannabis use. They also encourage regulation of its use and production (Reeves, 2019). They also advocate for the use of medical cannabis, and want it added in the coverage through universal healthcare options. They also advocate for rights of users of cannabis. Republicans on the other hand oppose the legalization of any form of drugs, cannabis being one of them. They encourage funding of rehabilitation centers for drug addicts.
On matters security in schools, republicans campaign for gun use (Marcotte, 2019). They advocate for a legislation that allows teachers and other school employees to be carry guns to school. These guns should be licensed and concealed. They should also be properly trained on the use of these firearms. This, they say, is in a bid to curb insecurities in schools like in cases of intruders and terrorists. Democrats do not see the need to have teachers and other staff carrying guns to school. They advocate for weapon-free school campuses. They believe there are better ways to handle insecurity in schools than walking around with firearms, which pose a threat to the people around.
Democrats advocate for multi-language instructions in school. They say that apart from English, a student should also be fluent in another language. As such, different languages should be taught and also different subjects taught in different languages. This should begin down at the elementary level. Republicans on the other hand insist on non-English speaking students to quickly learn English upon joining any institution as that should be the only language of instruction. They do not advocate for multi-lingua instructions in school.
Democrats advocate for age-appropriate sex education in schools (Chang, 2019). This should also include a contraception component. They encourage students to be given sex education at every level of their study, something they can comprehend at that age. This is in a bid to reduce the number of children dropping out of school mostly due to early pregnancies. Republicans strongly oppose sex education in whatever form in schools. They are routing for a law that prohibits teaching of anything sexual to school children of whatever age. Neither should there be any material of that nature in circulation amongst these children.
From the above discussions, it is clear that Republican and Democratic platforms are as different as the sides of a coin. They have contradicting opinions on almost all aspects of life of Texas citizens. This makes it easier to buy or lose a swing voter. If one party seems to support this situation, the other one strongly opposes, and vice versa. It can also be safe to say that Republicans are quite conservative while Democrats are liberal, going by their platforms.
If I was working for the Republican side, I would hit at the Democrats using their policy on legalization of cannabis. Much as there are still debates worldwide on whether cannabis should be legalized or not, I believe it is still a drug. The side effects should be studied like other drugs. If medical cannabis is to be allowed, then its use should be restricted to hospitals and nursing homes. Otherwise, this seems like promotion of drug use and abuse.
If I was working for the Democratic side, my strongest opposition would be on the Republicans need to prohibit sex education in schools. Believe it or not, the world is changing and children are becoming sexually active at a tender age. Instead of waiting until it is too late and they are pregnant or teen parents, why not curb it before? The catch word here would be age-appropriate sex education. There are topics on sex the child can understand at a particular age, and this is what should be taught to them then. Parents and teachers must not shy away from handling these sex talks, and Republicans should not come in the way either.
References
Abolish Abortion. (2018). Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.texasgop.org/abolish abortion/ .
Blad, E. (2019, June 10). Democrats Once Proposed Tripling Charter Schools. Here’s What’s Changed. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2019/06/charter-schools-democrats-party-platforms.html .
Chang, J. (2019, September 20). Texas sex ed revisions to focus on early grades. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.statesman.com/news/20190919/texas-sex-ed-revisions-to-focus-on-early-grades .
Marcotte, A. (2019, September 3). Texas Republicans love their guns – and simply don’t care about the body count. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.salon.com/2019/09/09/texas-republicans-love-their-guns-and-simply-dont-care-about-the-body-count/ .
Reeves, K. (2019, January 15). The latest prospects for marijuana reform in Texas: Both major parties pushing for changes at Capitol. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2019/01/15/both-parties-to-push-for-marijuana-reform-during.html .
