TRCSF said:
I assume you're being facetitious when you're labelling the Democratic party as a hate group.
As for criteria of what makes something a hate group, I'll refer you to the Southern Poverty Law Center. If you're unfamiliar with their work, they're quite the authority on hate groups.
http://www.newyorkblade.com/2005/6-10/news/localnews/antigay.cfm
Political parties are banned in some countries, so it's not entirely facetious, but, obviously, political parties aren't considered hate groups in America, in spite of some biting political rhetoric.
Your 'typical' hate group, like the KKK, is pretty easy to classify, as well. The groups that engage in violence, or advocate violent solutions, are clearly hate groups.
The CCC is pretty clearly associated with the KKK, which makes them easy to classify, in spite of the fact that they never resort to violence or any illegal activities, themselves. Likewise, other hate and terrorist groups have had their own front groups.
The groups that target a specific group of people without violence (physical or verbal) - target them strictly though the courts or legislation - are a little harder to classify without a more precise definition. This is the area where a vague term could wind up being applied to a whole range of groups, from Focus to the Family all the way to political parties that pool together to make sure as many people from party win elections over the other party as possible.
By time you get down to political parties, their actions are designed towards a practical purpose - gaining a majority in legislative bodies so that their own legislation is more likely to be passed. To me, that's clearly politics and not hate actions.
It's not entirely clear when you start talking about social issues. Are anti-abortion groups hate groups? How does someone
else getting an abortion affect someone who is opposed to abortion? Are atheists that demand all references to religion be removed from public places hate groups? That could be (and often is) perceived as religious persecution.
I think that if you want to prevent folks from doing what they want, you have to prove that behavior hurts you and others like you in some significant way (which is why I wouldn't want to defend Focus on the Family - their headquarters are here and a popular bumper sticker around town is "Focus on Your Own Damn Family"). But, I'm not sure every group that tries to impose their own beliefs on others can be categorized as a hate group without turning the term into an ordinary political insult.
but thanks for the added info... the conservative parties are certainly solid set in ignorance, brotherhood, fear, and conspiracy for sure. Yes, morals too. Morals = Fear.