Alignment of the 2 Major U.S. Political Parties

A Model for Understanding U.S. Political Alignments

There are only 2 major political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans. However, there are many types of Democrats and many types of Republicans. Democrats tend to be liberals and Republicans tend to be conservatives. Still it is common to find Democrats who are social conservatives AND economic liberals, and Republicans who are social liberals AND economic conservatives. All of the variations below are possible, including the most common one: moderate. Both parties lean toward the center, towards moderation. When either party is successful in electing a president, it is almost a certainty that it has successfully captured 'the middle' of the political spectrum.

Use the model below to try and characterize George W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Jesse Jackson. Where do YOU find YOURSELF?

Liberal (Democrat)

Conservative (Republican)

Economic Liberal: Govt. must solve problem of poverty; Govt. must regulate business activity

for government-run welfare, healthcare programs
for government-required affirmative action programs
for increases to the minimum wage
for increased govt. spending on education
for stricter pollution control regulations
for more health and safety regulations
for protection of American workers against foreign competition

Moderates

Economic Conservative: Govt. must encourage business opportunities

for lower taxes to encourage business investment
for reduced regulations on business activity
for balancing government budgets by reducing govt. spending
for free trade with foreign countries

Social Liberal: celebrate diversity and expand individual rights

for abortion rights
for gay rights
for hate crime laws
for artistic freedom and 'controversial' art
against the war on drugs

Social Conservative: support traditional values

for prayer in the schools
for death penalty
against gay rights
against burning the flag
against public profanity
against sex-outside-of-marriage
against abortion rights
for harsh punishment of drug offenders