What are the main differences between the democratic and republican parties?

I have recently researched this very question. First of all they are both political parties as you probably already know. Here is what I found.

The Democratic party tends to be more liberal meaning "free". They are pro-choice, support same sex marriage, support stem cell research, favor higher minimum wage, are willing to have strong alliances and work with other nations, oppose tax cuts because those funds are used to help the needy, they want to government to pay for universal health care, believe that the health of families and the economy depend on proper governance of the environment, Support clean air and water and are willing to fight those who may jeopardize it, believers of global warming and actively take steps to slow/ or counteract the process, they support individual privacy and last but not least they are strongly opposed to government monitoring.

The Republican Party is "pro-life" (opposed to abortion), opposed to same sex marriages, do not support stem cell research, against high minimum wage because they believe it hurts small business's and cause's them to raise prices to compensate the difference, interferes with other countries and doesn't care about world opinion (for example, the war on terrorism in Iraq, for god sake leave them alone already and let them believe in what they want. As long as it is not hurting us or our allies. Who says the way we do things is right. It may be right for us but not for everyone. It like saying that just because one person drives a Mercedes does everyone have to own one? I hope you understand my analogy here.) they Favor tax cuts, want individuals and companies to pay for universal health care, they want more money to be spent on national defense (Who's going to mess with us? Really, we may be one of the youngest countries on earth but we are also one of the strongest.) Strict on Immigration, believe that strict environmental standards hurt businesses (why? b/c they actually have to pay to dispose of their chemical waste. This makes me think of the movie Erin Brokovich with Julia Roberts and all those people getting sick and dying because PG&E weren't disposing of chemicals properly.) They are skeptics of global warming, Fiercely opposed to personal privacy and support government monitoring.

Both parties are opposed to torture in prisons.

I hope this helps, what I got out of this is that Democrats are kinda like hippies; they fight for the rights that were given to us. Where as the republican party seems to care more about paying government officials more than they are worth and are trying to take our rights away. I don't personally support gay marriage (maybe b/c i am straight) but who are we to tell someone who they can and cannot fall in love with? Nor am i a supporter of abortion but I do believe that it is a smart decision for some people. For example if I was the victim of a sex crime and pregnancy was the end result I probably would not want to keep the baby because it would remind me on a daily basis of that horrible experience, I would also be afraid that i may resent it b/c of the way he/she was conceived, not to mention have to worry whether he/she would grow up to be a horrible person like their father and put people through the same thing i had to endure. Another example is what if a prostitute gets pregnant and is on drugs the baby will probably be born with an STD like herpes that can be transferred to the baby when it is being born and will probably end up in a trash can in a plastic bag. Do you think it's right to keep that baby from starving to death cold and alone? It makes me tear up just thinking about it. I have 2 children and they are my world. I can't imagine anything bad ever happening to them.

Obviously because of my rant I support the democratic party.