Would it be fair to call the Democratic Party, a “liberal party”? Would it also be fair to call the Republican Party, a “conservative party”? Probably not, because not all members of the Democratic Party are liberal and not all Republicans in their party are conservative. In the United States, the major parties are “indistinct” in their makeup. This means that the party’s label does not necessarily equate to a party’s ideology. For instance, the Republican Party is made up of conservatives, libertarians, and liberals, while the Democratic Party is made up of liberals, socialists, and conservatives. Many ideological perspectives fit under each party’s label. Contrast that with the major parties in Canada or in the United Kingdom. Each country has a Conservative Party, a variation of a Liberal Party (in the UK, it is called the Liberal Democratic Party), and a Labour Party, which leans in the direction of socialism. You know where each party stands in regards to their ideology. Parties that have definitive ideologies are called “distinct” parties. There are those parties in the United States that are distinct in their ideology. Among those include the Libertarian Party and the Socialist Party USA.
Why aren’t more political parties in the United States “distinct” in their makeup?
Politics Matters 