Republican Party (United States)

:This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. For the earlier Republican Party, see Democratic-Republican Party (United States).

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The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party http://www.gop.com/About/Default.aspx?Section=2), is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Democratic Party). In the modern political era, the GOP is usually considered the more conservative of the two major parties, although this has been disputed in recent years.

Related Topics:
Political parties - United States - Democratic Party - Conservative

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The current President of the United States, George W. Bush, is a member of the party and its de facto leader. The Republican Party currently has majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as in governorships and the majority of state legislatures.

Related Topics:
President of the United States - George W. Bush - De facto - Senate - House of Representatives - State legislature

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Major policies that the party has supported recently include issues such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq and libertarian issues such as across-the-board tax cuts, gun ownership rights, and a partial privatization of Social Security. The party tends to hold traditionally conservative stances on such issues as abortion and same-sex marriage.

Related Topics:
2003 invasion of Iraq - Libertarian - Tax cut - Gun ownership rights - Social Security - Conservative - Abortion - Same-sex marriage

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The official symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. Although the elephant had occasionally been associated with the party earlier, a political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=November&Date=7. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Republican Party in Midwestern states such as Indiana and Ohio was the eagle, as opposed to the Democratic rooster. This symbol still appears on Indiana ballots.

Related Topics:
Elephant - Political cartoon - Thomas Nast - Harper's Weekly - November 7 - 1874 - Indiana - Ohio - Eagle - Rooster

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