The Democrat party is just as fragmented as the Republican party, but as of late, those factions are slightly less at odds with each other - although tensions are very much there.
1. New Deal Democrats. These are the "classic" welfare state Democrats who trace the party's goals and politics back to Franklin D. Roosevelt. They advocate for government-supported social programs to ensure a certain standard of health and living. Programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, WIC and food stamps form a cornerstone for social justice and equality. They feel that ultimately, the measure of a nation is how that nation cares for its least fortunate, its infirm and its elderly. Labor (particularly organized labor) also factors in heavily.
2. Diversity factions. The United States is a melting pot of persons of every race, sex, creed, sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture. The government must work to eradicate prejudice against all other persons, regardless of race, sex, orientation, etc., and must enact and enforce legislation to ensure that minorities are not unfairly discriminated against. If this means quotas must be in place, the benefits of the perceived short-term inequality far outweigh the long-term social benefits.
3. Environmentalists. We have one planet, and we all have to live on it. Once natural resources are gone, they're gone forever. Once a species of animal or plant is extinct, it's gone forever. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the future survival of not only the human race, but all species on the planet. If the air becomes unbreathable and the water undrinkable, there is no fall-back plan.
4. Civil Libertarians. The rights of the individual are sacrosanct. Your rights end where mine begin. The government has no right to tell me how to raise my children, what to do with my body, how to believe or what to believe. "I may disagree with what you say, but I will die for your right to say it." The poster child for this faction is the ACLU. (It is worth noting that many civil libertarians will also vote Republican, depending on the perceived level of governmental freedom. In the aftermath of 9/11, however, legislation in the name of national security has firmly pushed the civil libertarians to this side of the fence.)
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I'm not so sure that there's much life left in the "New Deal" segment of the Party. Labor (except for teachers and public service people) is about dead. The Democratic Party is no longer the Party of the "little guy." Instead the party is controlled largely by big money, just as their Republican rivals are. In fact, in recent years the Republicans have been more successful at raising "little guy" money from the rank-and-file. The Democrats, on the other hand, are more beholden to their major contributors.
This is why no Democrat at the national level can be opposed to abortion. The big donors today tend to be socially "progressive." Interestingly, they have a decent amount of corporate money behind them.
And to confuse the whole thing even more, we have Obama essentially taking a 'family values' tack lately, pointing to the importance of responsible, wage-earning fathers who live with and care for their kids. ("Holy Focus-on-the-Family, Batman!) He is directing this principally toward the black community, where absentee fathers are a major problem. But it's still a moral thing.
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