Beyond Wishes and Dream states, there’s not a scintilla of substantive difference

Democratic and Republican: One party, one line

Democratic and Republican: One party, one line—Adapted from Andrew Gripp’s 2016 “50 Ways the Democratic and Republican Parties Are The Same.”

 

Nature of Two wings One bird Party

 

C

ontemporary Democratic and Republican parties are generally

• Liberal (or neoliberal), pro-capitalist, nonsectarian (though ideological)
• Extrajudicial: The Constitution of the United States does not mention political parties.
• Neither of the contemporary major political parties existed at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The mid-nineteenth century marks the start of the contemporary Democratic and Republican parties.

“Political parties in the United States are dominated by two major parties. Since the 1850s, they have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_the_United_States

 BOTH

Democratic and Republican parties

• benefit from gerrymandering
• thwart efforts to combat gerrymandering
• benefit from congressionally mandated single-member districts
• control the process of formally electing the president
• discourage support for third party and independent candidates—despite consistent polling showing that voters are unhappy with their limited choice of candidates and want more options in general elections

• benefit from strict ballot access laws that make it difficult for independent and third party candidates to contest elections
• benefit from narrow dual party control over the presidential debates
• view voting rights through narrow prism of what will benefit their members and candidates, or hurt the opposing party.
• receive considerable subsidies from the government at the local, state, and federal levels
• have altered their presidential nominating processes to protect their respective establishments to the detriment of outsider candidates
  

C

• ontinue to rely on super PACs for support—even though a majority of Americans believe there should be limits on the amount of money independent groups can spend on political campaigns
• remain highly dependent on lobbyists for campaign contributions and policy advice—though a majority of Americans believe lobbyists have too much power in politics
• part of the ‘revolving door’ in Washington— whereby former politicians become registered lobbyists or unregistered ‘government relations’ consultants
• are significantly wealthier than most Americans
• have been involved in scandals involving the solicitation and acceptance of foreign money

• have caused gridlock that has prevented the commission from enforcing federal election law
• engage in obstructionism and contribute to gridlock in Washington
• continue to win federal funding for "pork barrel" projects that benefit their constituents
• have used the federal government to monitor and silence their political opponents
• have used the federal government to monitor and silence their political opponents

 

B

enefit from ‘horserace’ election coverage that focuses primarily on strategy and personality

• have a dominant presence in the media
• continue [both candidates and parties] to deploy [negative advertising]— though Americans have consistently affirmed their opposition to negative advertising
• have access to vast amounts of information about voters’ lives— through contracts with privately-run partisan companies
• have supported taxpayer-funded bailouts—though highly unpopular in general population

• provided business favors to political supporters
• handed down controversial pardons and sentence commutations
• contributed to the growth of the federal debt
• approved policies that violated Americans’ civil liberties
• have deployed American forces without a congressional declaration of war

Regularly claim to speak for, represent the whole of ‘the American people’— despite a significant diversity in American public opinion, a plurality of voters self-identifying as independents

WAR PARTY (with two wings)

Both

•  recommend similar war policies—despite Americans’ split opinion on whether or how to fight ‘ISIS’
• have similar war positions—despite a diversity in US public opinion on war against/occupation of Afghanistan, and how to proceed
• present or hold similar ideas related to Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  

TRADE 

Both

 

B

oast similar positions on trade, with neither platform embracing outright protectionism, or unconditional free trade

 FINANCE

Both

• Party platforms avoid advocating drastic changes to the central bank’s role or structure
• Support the Export-Import Bank (EIB), which provides financial assistance to American businesses
  

ENERGY

Both

A

void outright opposition to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) method of capturing fossil fuels—despite the public’s split position on the use

HEALTHCARE

Both

Party platforms fail to endorse single-payer healthcare system—though some accounts show a majority of Americans support a single-payer healthcare system

 US STATES 

Manifested party dominance

• partisan officials, exclusively, oversee and administer elections
• Democratic/Republican parties (in most states) control primary elections by requiring voters to use a single partisan ballot for multiple races—barring voters from selecting other candidates outside the Democratic or Republican party
• In states without mandatory open primaries—dominant two (usually) allow non-members to participate only when (one or the other dominant party) is in the minority
• National Party leaders (Democratic Republican) oppose opening primaries to non-members
  

VOTERS 

Partisanship, Party

•  Identification with both parties on steady decline

P

ublic overall holds negative opinions of both major parties

Members of party 1 or party 2 harbor negative feelings of opposite (1 or 2) party

 

 

 

Sources

Gripp. Andrew. “50 Ways the Democratic and Republican Parties Are The Same. August 3, 2016

https://ivn.us/2016/08/03/50-ways-democratic-republican-parties-same/

At the time of his article, Gripp described himself as a New York City-based writer on American politics, international affairs, philosophy, and literature; a former political science professor; and a Georgetown University master’s level graduate in democracy and governance

 

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