Republicans vs. Democrats | Differences and similarities between the two political parties

Big thanks to Michigan State University Political Science Researcher and Professor Matt Grossmann and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Florida Sean Freeder who help me unpack how the U.S. political party system has (d)evolved over the past century and why the parties have become increasingly divided over the past few decades.

To learn more about my guests you can visit their websites.

Matt Grossmann: https://mattgrossmann.tumblr.com/
Sean Freeder: https://seanfreeder.com/

The Republican and Democratic parties have changed a lot over the past 150 years. We typically think of the Democratic party as one that is more tolerant of cultural differences, progressive beliefs and values, and for the poorer classes of society. This hasn’t always been the case. The Democratic party was once the party of white southerners who wanted to expand slavery across the western U.S. Overtime, however, this has changed. During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the Republican party began to shift its focus from being openly tolerant and supportive of desegregation, toward backing a primarily white working class demographic as the Democrats began to capture a more diverse voter base. This trend has persisted into the present day. More recently, we are seeing somewhat of a shift from Democrats being the party of the poor, to Republicans capturing almost all of the struggling economic class in rural American.

Interestingly enough, Grossmann points out that while politics may well be more divided than ever, the evidence shows that our views are not anymore extreme than they once were. Meaning that while we are choosing and sticking with a side more now than ever before, our views and beliefs are still pretty moderate and aren’t becoming increasingly extreme. I suppose that’s good news. But the bad news is clear, the trend is one of becoming increasingly divisive and sticking with your chosen party, meaning less communication, flexibility, and compromise across the political aisle.

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