PARTY DEFINITION AND PARTY DIFFERENTIATION

Abstract

This article contrasts the “issue profiles” that emerge when the two major political parties are defined according to differing criteria. Over a wide array of issues, and from 1948 to die present, the Democratic party as defined by behavioral criteria (voting support) has been more “liberal” than its self-identified counterpart, while behavioral Republicans are persistently more “conservative” than self-identified GOP partisans. Ladd and Hadley note that in periods distinguished by rapid social change and partisan realignment, the adequacy of self-perception for determining the definition of party membership is called into question.