Sunday, March 17, 2024

Where Are Republicans On The Political Spectrum

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Republicans Have More Friends Across The Political Divide Than Democrats Study Finds

When David Huzzards friend posted some QAnon conspiracy theories on Facebook in the fall, Huzzard first assumed the best of intentions. He recalls thinking: Maybe they just got tricked.

Huzzard, a 40-year-old pet store owner in Virginia Beach, is well-versed in the art of maintaining friendships with people who dont vote like he does. Huzzard is a Democrat in a city that narrowly went for President Biden in the 2020 election.


Then his friends rhetoric got stronger. Shortly before the election, Huzzards friend posted on Facebook again, this time sharing falsehoods about how mail-in ballots were subject to fraud. Huzzard and his wife were taking extra caution to avoid covid-19 as they were expecting a baby in November and planned to vote absentee. Huzzarddidnt address the issue with his friend directly, instead publishing his own Facebook post saying: If youre against mail-in voting, youre against my voting rights and youre no longer my friend.

Still, Huzzard and his friend remained cordial whenever they saw one another in person. He considered inviting this friend and her husband over for dinner. But as the other couple continued sharing online disinformation about the efficacy of masks and the vaccines, Huzzard and his wife decided that for the safety of their family and their unvaccinated children, they would no longer socialize with them.

Emily Guskin contributed to this report.

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Partisan Ideological Leanings Unchanged

Although Americans as a whole are a mix of ideological viewpoints, the two major political parties have become increasingly polarized over the years in their tenor.

The 51% of Democrats identifying as liberal matches the prior high from 2018, but it has been near this high-water mark for the past five years. The next-largest group of Democrats are ideological moderates, at 35%, followed by conservatives, at 12%.

While the conservative share of the Democratic Party is not insignificant, it has shrunk by more than half over the past quarter-century, falling 13 points since 1994. Moderates have seen similar shrinkage, down 13 points, while the percentage liberal has about doubled.

Line graph. Annual trend from 1994 to 2020 in Democrats’ ideology, with 51% in 2020 identifying as liberal, 35% as moderate and 12% as conservative. This marks a sharp change since 1994, when 48% were moderate, 25% liberal and 25% conservative.


Ideological uniformity is much higher among Republicans, 75% of whom now consider themselves conservative, up slightly from 73% in 2019 and the highest proportion yet in Gallup’s trend since 1994.

Meanwhile, one in five Republicans describe their views as moderate, down from 33% in 1994, while just 4% say they are liberal, similar to most years.

Line graph. Annual trend from 1994 to 2020 in independents’ ideological views, with 48% in 2020 identifying as moderate, 29% as conservative and 20% as liberal. This is consistent with the broad pattern since 1994.

How We Got Here


California is now all but synonymous with the Democratic Party, but for decades it leaned to the right. Republicans won the state in all but one presidential election between 1952 and 1988, and California had both Democratic and Republican governors during that period.

Republican recall hopefuls seek to differentiate themselves in San Francisco debate

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Rancho Santa Fe businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley of Rocklin traded views on issues such as homelessness, the minimum wage and Gavin Newsoms zero car emissions executive order.

The state was once known for producing moderate Republicans who tended to hold more liberal or at least libertarian positions on social issues than the national party. But as the state grew more blue overall, its shrinking GOP contingent became decidedly more conservative.

Consider Californias last two Republican governors, Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.


The whole way both men conducted their administrations, it was generally pro-choice, fiscally conservative, pro-environment, said Joe Rodota, an author and political consultant who worked for both Wilson and Schwarzenegger.

Experts say Wilson and Schwarzenegger embodied a more moderate California Republican ethos than the positions taken by most of the 2021 Republican gubernatorial field.

Party concentration has also moved inland, with Republican votes in Los Angeles and the Bay Area starkly declining.

What Is The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats


Republicans and Democrats are the two main and historically the largest political parties in the US and, after every election, hold the majority seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as the highest number of Governors. Though both the parties mean well for the US citizens, they have distinct differences that manifest in their comments, decisions, and history. These differences are mainly ideological, political, social, and economic paths to making the US successful and the world a better place for all. Differences between the two parties that are covered in this article rely on the majority position though individual politicians may have varied preferences.

Climate Change And Pollution

How the Democrats See the Political Spectrum How the ...

Pollution in the United StatesClimate changeClimate change denial

Trump rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, repeatedly contending that global warming is a “hoax.” He has said that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” a statement which Trump later said was a joke. However, it was also pointed out that he often conflates weather with climate change.


Although “not a believer in climate change,” Trump has stated that “clean air is a pressing problem” and has said: “There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of climate change. Perhaps the best use of our limited financial resources should be in dealing with making sure that every person in the world has clean water.”

In May 2016, during his presidential campaign, Trump issued an energy plan focused on promoting fossil fuels and weakening environmental regulation. Trump promised to “rescind” in his first 100 days in office a variety of Environmental Protection Agency regulations established during the Obama administration to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, which contribute to a warming global climate. Trump has specifically pledged to revoke the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the United States rule, which he characterizes as two “job-destroying Obama executive actions.”

Trump wrote in his 2011 book that he opposed a system to control carbon emissions.

Parties Favouring Populist Rhetoric Are More Likely To Be Nationalistic


What do we know of populism? Populist movements are typically nationalistic, critical towards immigration and cynical about liberal democratic principles.

The above chart illustrates a pretty clear trend: the more multilateralist you are, the less populist you will be. There are, however, some quite clear outliers. Both Syriza and New Zealands National Party are classed as multilateralist populists. And then,of course, there are Denmarks Social Democrats. Sensitive to the collapsing support for the hard-right Danish Peoples Party, the Social Democrats tacked right on migrants issues in their 2019 election campaign as they sought to tempt voters to their side. Party leader Mette Frederiksen told one televised debate: You are not a bad person just because you are worried about immigration. The party topped the poll – albeit with a reduced vote share – and Frederiksen became prime minister.

Since this is the first year the survey has been carried out, we cannot measure change. We cannot say, for example, to what extent Trump has changed the way the Republicans are positioned. We can only say that – right now – the world sees his party as highly populist, poor on ethnic minority rights, and prone to undermining basic democratic principles. That might be a concern for us, but its probably not for him: insular populists tend not to care what the rest of the world thinks.

Confidence In Scientists And Other Groups To Act In The Public Interest


Though the survey finds that climate scientists are viewed with skepticism by relatively large shares of Americans, scientists overall and in particular, medical scientists are viewed as relatively trustworthy by the general public. Asked about a wide range of leaders and institutions, the military, medical scientists, and scientists in general received the most votes of confidence when it comes to acting in the best interests of the public.

On the flip side, majorities of the public have little confidence in the news media, business leaders and elected officials. Public confidence in K-12 school leaders and religious leaders to act in the publics best interest falls in the middle.

Fully 79% of Americans express a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in the military to act in the best interests of the public. The relatively high regard for the military compared with other institutions is consistent with a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, which found 78% of the public saying the military contributes a lot to societys well-being.

Confidence in the news media, business leaders and elected officials is considerably lower; public views about school and religious leaders fall in the middle.

More Negative Views Of The Opposing Party

Beyond the rise in ideological consistency, another major element in polarization has been the growing contempt that many Republicans and Democrats have for the opposing party. To be sure, disliking the other party is nothing new in politics. But today, these sentiments are broader and deeper than in the recent past.

In 1994, hardly a time of amicable partisan relations, a majority of Republicans had unfavorable impressions of the Democratic Party, but just 17% had very unfavorable opinions. Similarly, while most Democrats viewed the GOP unfavorably, just 16% had very unfavorable views. Since then, highly negative views have more than doubled: 43% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats now view the opposite party in strongly negative terms.

Among all Democrats, 27% say GOP policies are a threat to the well-being of the country; among all Republicans, more than a third think Democratic policies threaten the nation.

Even these numbers tell only part of the story. Those who have a very unfavorable impression of each party were asked: Would you say the partys policies are so misguided that they threaten the nations well-being, or wouldnt you go that far? Most who were asked the question said yes, they would go that far. Among all Democrats, 27% say the GOP is a threat to the well-being of the country. That figure is even higher among Republicans, 36% of whom think Democratic policies threaten the nation.

Foreign Policy And National Defense

Republicans supported Woodrow Wilson‘s call for American entry into World War I in 1917, complaining only that he was too slow to go to war. Republicans in 1919 opposed his call for entry into the League of Nations. A majority supported the League with reservations; a minority opposed membership on any terms. Republicans sponsored world disarmament in the 1920s, and isolationism in the 1930s. Most Republicans staunchly opposed intervention in World War II until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. By 1945, however, internationalists became dominant in the party which supported the Cold War policies such as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO.

Issues For Which Location Plays Some Role

Though taxes and concern about the budget show relatively little geographic variation, one topic that touches on similar issues of government size and scopeopinions of Obamacareshows more . Support is strongestbetween 60 and 70 percentin the Bay Area and central and coastal LA, and weakestless than 40 percentin the rural far north and east of the state. Yet most of our places remain lukewarm toward the law, with support between about 40 and 60 percent. This includes most of the Central Valley and most of the coast outside of central and coastal LA and the Bay Area.

Where Do Trump And Biden Stand On Key Issues

Reuters: Brian Snyder/AP: Julio Cortez

The key issues grappling the country can be broken down into five main categories: coronavirus, health care, foreign policy, immigration and criminal justice.

This year, a big focus of the election has been the coronavirus pandemic, which could be a deciding factor in how people vote, as the country’s contentious healthcare system struggles to cope.

The average healthcare costs for COVID-19 treatment is up to $US30,000 , an Americas Health Insurance Plans 2020 study has found.

Inglehart: Traditionalistsecular And Self Expressionistsurvivalist

World Values Survey

In its 4 January 2003 issue, The Economist discussed a chart, proposed by Ronald Inglehart and supported by the World Values Survey , to plot cultural ideology onto two dimensions. On the y-axis it covered issues of tradition and religion, like , , and the importance of the law and authority figures. At the bottom of the chart is the traditionalist position on issues like these , while at the top is the secular position. The x-axis deals with self-expression, issues like everyday conduct and dress, acceptance of and , and attitudes towards people with specific controversial lifestyles such as , as well as willingness to engage in political . At the right of the chart is the open position, while at the left is its opposite position, which Inglehart calls survivalist. This chart not only has the power to map the values of individuals, but also to compare the values of people in different countries. Placed on this chart, European Union countries in continental Europe come out on the top right, Anglophone countries on the middle right, Latin American countries on the bottom right, African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries on the bottom left and ex-Communist countries on the top left.

The Republican Party General Policy And Political Values

Left vs Right: US Political Spectrum

The Republican Party is often referred to as the GOP. This abbreviation stands for Grand Old Party. Its logo is an elephant. The Republican Party is known to support right-leaning ideologies of conservatism, social conservatism, and economic libertarianism, among other -isms. Thus, Republicans broadly advocate for traditional values, a low degree of government interference, and large support of the private sector.

One main standpoint of the Republican Party platform is a strong focus on the family and individual freedom. Generally, the Republican Party therefore often tends to promote states and local rights. That means that they often wish for federal regulations to play a lesser role in policymaking. Furthermore, the GOP has a pro-business-oriented platform. Thus, the party advocates for businesses to exist in a free market instead of being impacted by tight government regulations.

Actions While In Office

American Health Care Act2017 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act replacement proposals

President Trump advocated repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act . The Republican-controlled House passed the American Health Care Act in May 2017, handing it to the Senate, which decided to write its own version of the bill rather than voting on the AHCA. The Senate bill, called the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” , failed on a vote of 4555 in the Senate during July 2017. Other variations also failed to gather the required support, facing unanimous Democratic Party opposition and some Republican opposition. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bills would increase the number of uninsured by over 20 million persons, while reducing the budget deficit marginally.

Actions to hinder implementation of ACA

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

President Trump continued Republican attacks on the ACA while in office, including steps such as:

Ending cost-sharing reduction payments

Cost sharing reductions subsidy

President Trump’s argument that the CSR payments were a “bailout” for insurance companies and therefore should be stopped, actually results in the government paying more to insurance companies due to increases in the premium tax credit subsidies. Journalist Sarah Kliff therefore described Trump’s argument as “completely incoherent.”

Religion And Marital Status

Ideological groups are distinguished by certain societal attributes, such as , marital status, and gun ownership, yet are relatively similar in terms of race and ethnicity. Generally, liberals were more likely to be secular, single and in possession of a college degree while less likely to own a gun. Conservatives, most of whom adhere to as well as fiscal conservatism, tended to be more religious and more likely to be married, employed and own firearms.

The majority of Social Conservatives and Pro-Government Conservatives attended church services once a week. Weekly churchgoers were also in the plurality among the general population and all ideological demographics, except liberals. Of liberals, a plurality, 43% attended church services “seldom or never”, compared to 25% of respondents overall. Conservatives were also more likely to be married than Liberals or the Democratic voter base in general. Finally, 77% of Enterprisers were married, compared to 44% of Liberals.

Disadvantaged and Conservative Democrats had the highest union membership rates at 23% and 18% as well as the highest percentage of minorities . In terms of gun ownership, the majority of Enterprisers and Social Conservatives had a gun at home, compared to just 23% of Liberals. Liberals were the most educated group with 49% being college graduates compared to an average of 26.5% among all the conservative groups . Disadvantaged Democrats were the least educated, with only 13% having a college degree.

Nolan: Economic Freedom Personal Freedom

Nolan Chart

The Nolan Chart was created by libertarian David Nolan. This chart shows what he considers as “economic freedom” on the horizontal axis and what he considers as “personal freedom” on the vertical axis. This puts in the left quadrant, in the top, in the middle, in the right and what Nolan originally named in the bottom. Several popular online tests, where individuals can self-identify their political values, utilize the same two axes as the Nolan Chart, including The Political Compass and iSideWith.com.

The Us Presidential Election 2020: Last Lap Reflections

27 October 2020

For the vast majorority of voters, this extraordinary election is more like a referendum on the incumbent. Youre either for Trump or against him.

Being against Trump is a whole lot easier than being for Biden. Joes lacklustre persona was painfully evident during the last debate, when he scrambled an alarming number of his words, and recited the Covid-19 death toll as if he were memorising a shopping list.

The truth is that he has difficulty thinking on his feet. When the President ludicrously equated himself with Lincoln in anti-racist achievement, Biden didnt think of reminding him of LBJs Great Society. When Trump chanted his mantra against socialised medicine, Biden might have mentioned that when Roosevelt introduced social security, Republicans hurled the same S word. You could be forgiven for wondering whether, in the top offices of Democratic Party HQ, theres actually a real appetite for winning this election.

Americans tend to like their Presidents to be assertive, positive and with an energetic presence. Alas, they also almost always elect the taller candidate. Trump, in all his awfulness, ticks those boxes.

Even Obamas vigorous campaigning for Biden may backfire. It seems to underline the comparative inadequacy of the carry-over from the previous administration.

Two questions should be foremost in the voters minds, regardless of whether they opt for orange or beige.

Figure 11 Views On Gun Control Display A Strong Urban

NOTES: Question wording is In general, do you think laws covering the sale of guns should be more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now? Shading represents the share of Californians who say laws should be more strict. Estimates come from a multilevel regression and poststratification model as described in Technical Appendix A. Full model results can be found in Technical Appendix B.

Wildlife Conservation And Animal Welfare

In October 2016, the Humane Society denounced Trump’s campaign, saying that a “Trump presidency would be a threat to animals everywhere” and that he has “a team of advisors and financial supporters tied in with trophy hunting, puppy mills, factory farming, horse slaughter, and other abusive industries.”

In February 2017, under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture unexpectedly removed from its public website “all enforcement records related to horse soring and to animal welfare at dog breeding operations and other facilities.” The decision prompted criticism from animal welfare advocates , investigative journalists, and some of the regulated industries .

Democratic Candidate Joe Biden

Reuters: Carlos Barria

The Democrats are the liberal political party and their candidate is Joe Biden, who has run for president twice before.

A former senator for Delaware who served six terms, Biden is best known as Barack Obama’s vice-president.

He held that role for eight years, and it has helped make him a major contender for many Democrat supporters.

Earlier this year, Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate.

The 77-year-old has built his campaign on the Obama legacy, and tackling the country’s staggering health care issues.

He is known for his down-to-earth personality and his ability to connect with working-class voters. He would be the oldest first-term president in history if elected.

According to 2017 Pew Research Centre data, a vast majority of the African American population supports the Democratic party, with 88 per cent voting for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections.

Why Are Democrats Left And Republicans Right The Surprising History Of Political Affiliations

Cognitive Inflexibility and Political Ideologies

The terms right and left refer to political affiliations that originated late in the eighteenth century in relation to the seating arrangements in the various legislative bodies of France. During the French Revolution of 1789, the members of the National Assembly divided into supporters of the king and supporters of the revolution.

The aristocracy sat on the right side of the Speaker, which was traditionally the seat of honor, and the commoners sat on the left. This gave birth to the terms right-wing and left-wing politics. The Left had been called the party of movement and the Right the party of order.

During the French Revolution, the National Assembly was divided into supporters of the king and supporters of the revolution. Lamartine in front of the Town Hall of Paris rejects the red flag on 25 February 1848

However, it was during the establishment of the Third Republic in 1871 that the political parties formally adopted the terms left and right to define their political beliefs.

The Representatives of Foreign Powers Coming to Greet the Republic as a Sign of Peace

According to the simplest Left and Right distinction, communism and socialism are usually regarded internationally as being on the left, opposite fascism and conservatism on the right.

In British politics the terms right and left came into common use for the first time in the late 1930s in debates over the Spanish Civil War.

Homosexuals Do Not Deserve Equal Rights

This comes from their religious beliefs, which form the basis for a lot of policy. Republicans believe that homosexuality is a choice and, as such, gay people should not be acknowledged in the same way as other groups. Therefore, according to a Republican, homosexuals should not be allowed to marry, nor should they be allowed to adopt children.

Popular Political Views In The Us

One thing that you will notice right away is that most popular political parties and political philosophies in the U.S. are located at the top half the of the diagram. The makes sense because in the U.S. most Americans value freedom . 

While there may be some outliers on the more authoritarian fringe, they have never received popular support in the U.S., although sometimes these groups will try to stir up support or try to trick the local population into voting for them by hiding their true motives.

Greenberg And Jonas: Leftright Ideological Rigidity

In a 2003 Psychological Bulletin paper,Jeff Greenberg and Eva Jonas posit a model comprising the standard leftright axis and an axis representing ideological rigidity. For Greenberg and Jonas, ideological rigidity has “much in common with the related concepts of dogmatism and authoritarianism” and is characterized by “believing in strong leaders and submission, preferring ones own in-group, ethnocentrism and nationalism, aggression against dissidents, and control with the help of police and military”. Greenberg and Jonas posit that high ideological rigidity can be motivated by “particularly strong needs to reduce fear and uncertainty” and is a primary shared characteristic of “people who subscribe to any extreme government or ideology, whether it is right-wing or left-wing”.

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