The Democratic Party is the oldest voter-based political party in the world and the oldest existing political party in the United States, tracing its heritage back to the anti-Federalists and the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party of the 1790s.

Known as the party of the “common man”, the early Democratic Party stood for individual rights, state sovereignty, and opposed banks and the abolition of slavery.
From 1860 to 1932 in the era of the American Civil War to the Great Depression, the opposing Republican Party, organized in the mid-1850s from the ruins of the Whig Party and some other smaller splinter groups, was dominant in presidential politics. The Democratic Party was split between the Bourbon Democrats, representing Eastern business interests; and the agrarian elements comprising poor farmers in the South and West.

Transition

In its early years, the Party supported limited government, state sovereignty, and slavery, while opposing banks. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has promoted a social liberal platform. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business and Southern conservative-populist wings; following the New Deal, however, the conservative wing of the party largely withered outside the South. The New Deal coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the core bases of the two parties shifted, with the Southern states becoming more reliably Republican in presidential politics and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller after the 1970s, although the working class remains an important component of the Democratic base. People living in urban areas, women, college graduates, and millennials, as well as sexual, religious, and racial minorities, also tend to support the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party’s philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government regulation in the economy to promote the public interest. Environmental protection, support for organized labor, maintenance and expansion of social programs, affordable college tuition, universal health care, equal opportunity, and consumer protection form the core of the party’s economic policy.

On social issues, it advocates campaign finance reform, LGBT rights, criminal justice and immigration reform, stricter gun laws, and the legalization of marijuana.

Progressive Democrats

The Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) formed out of the presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich as well as with outside, independent involvement from peace and justice activists.

PDA was founded during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Massachusetts by Tim Carpenter, Steve Cobble, Kevin Spidel, Mimi Kennedy, Laura Bonham, Joe Libertelli, Bruce Taub, and about two dozen other former staffers and supporters of the Dennis Kucinich for President Campaign—as well as Joel Segal, and other progressive activists who helped organize delegates and activists concerned with the centrist and right leaning trends in the Democratic Party.

Currently PDA consists of “a large group of progressive grassroots activists from across the country who want to support progressive grassroots activities both locally and nationally.”

Appearing at the first PDA meeting in Roxbury, Massachusetts were leaders, activists, and politicians including Dean and Kucinich, U.S. representatives John Conyers, Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Barbara Lee, Rev. Jesse Jackson, James Zogby, Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, John Lauritsen, and the late PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter.

PDA’s mission is to strengthen the voice of progressive ideas inside and outside the Democratic Party by using “inside/outside” and “grassroots fusion” models of working both in the Democratic Party as well as working with other progressive organizations both inside and outside the Party.

In March 2019, PDA endorsed progressive Bernie Sanders for president in the 2020 race; Sanders received two thirds of member votes.

Progressive Legislative Policy Positions

Healthcare

PDA supports establishing an expanded, improved Medicare for All National Healthcare Program, moving toward a single-payer health care system. PDA advocates passage of H.R. 676 the United States National Health Care Act, which would provide enhanced Medicare for all by establishing a streamlined, nonprofit national health program under which care would be publicly financed and privately delivered. PDA also supports H.R. 1200 the American Health Security Act which would enable states to establish their own health care programs to move toward publicly financed systems.

Economic and Social Policies

PDA supports fair trade, which it asserts would protect consumers’ and workers’ rights as well as the environment while opposing free trade agreements that it believes tend to let multinational corporations exploit labor worldwide. PDA is opposing renewal of fast track authority that allows the White House to enact trade deals without Congressional amendment or full oversight. This especially as regards the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping agreement which PDA believes would “save substantial negative impact on millions of people in the 12 nations holding talks, including the United States.”
PDA supports the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to organize unions.

Electoral Reform

PDA has endorsed and worked to gain support for the following legislation: H.R. 12 / S. 123 the Voter Empowerment Act, H.R. 280 the Same Day Registration Act, H.R. 281 the Voter Access Protection Act, H.R. 1537 the End Prison Gerrymandering Act (for census purposes, the place of residence is last address prior to incarceration), and H.J. Res. 44 to establish voting as a Constitutional Right.

Environment

PDA supports the following legislation: S. 1135 the FRAC Act aka Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act “To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes”, H.R. 1175 the FRESHER Act aka Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act “To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study with respect to stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations”, H.R. 1154 the BREATHE Act aka Bringing Reductions to Energy’s Airborne Toxic Health Effects Act “To amend the Clean Air Act to eliminate the exemption for aggregation of emissions from oil and gas sources”, and H.R. 2825 the CLEANER Act aka Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act “To require regulation of wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.”
PDA seeks to reduce America’s dependence on oil and fossil fuels by raising auto fuel economy and imposing taxation on carbon dioxide while investing in public transportation, energy conservation technologies, and alternative energy development.

Democracy Restoration Act

PDA supports legislation including constitutional amendments to protect voting rights, and opposes court decisions, legislation and other efforts to roll back the Voting Rights Act.

Criminal Justice

The End Mass Criminalization Issue Team works on the following related issues, including: Mass Incarceration, Prison Industrial Complex/Privatization of Prisons, School to Prison Pipeline, Restoration of Voting Rights, Voter Suppression by Incarceration, Stop and Frisk, Harm Reduction, Criminalization of Poverty, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Criminal Justice System, War on Drugs, Solitary Confinement.