Americas Political Centre of Gravity

[Redneck]

IMO An interesting article on where the US parties lie politically left or right!


What Happened to America’s
Political Center of Gravity?
By Sahil Chinoy

JUNE 26, 2019

The Republican Party leans much farther right than most traditional conservative parties in Western Europe and Canada, according to an analysis of their election manifestos. It is more extreme than Britain’s Independence Party and France’s National Rally (formerly the National Front), which some consider far-right populist parties. The Democratic Party, in contrast, is positioned closer to mainstream liberal parties.




These findings are based on data from the Manifesto Project, which reviews and categorizes each line in party manifestos, the documents that lay out a group’s goals and policy ideas. We used the topics that the platforms emphasize, like market regulation and multiculturalism, to put them on a common scale.

The resulting scores capture how the groups represent themselves, not necessarily their actual policies. They are one way to answer a difficult question: If we could put every political party on the same continuum from left to right, where would the American parties fall?

According to its 2016 manifesto, the Republican Party lies far from the Conservative Party in Britain and the Christian Democratic Union in Germany — mainstream right-leaning parties — and closer to far-right parties like Alternative for Germany, whose platform contains plainly xenophobic, anti-Muslim statements.

The Republican platform does not include the same bigoted policies, and its score is pushed to the right because of its emphasis on traditional morality and a “national way of life.” Still, the party shares a “nativist, working-class populism” with the European far right, said Thomas Greven, a political scientist at the Free University of Berlin who has studied right-wing populism. These parties position themselves as defenders of the “traditional” people from globalization and immigration, he said.



The difference is that in Europe, far-right populist parties are often an alternative to the mainstream. In the United States, the Republican Party is the mainstream.

“That’s the tragedy of the American two-party system,” Mr. Greven said. In a multiparty government, white working-class populists might have been shunted into a smaller faction, and the Republicans might have continued as a “big tent” conservative party. Instead, the Republican Party has allowed its more extreme elements to dominate. “Nowhere in Europe do you have that phenomenon,” he said.

The situation predates the current administration, Mr. Greven said. While we could analyze Republican manifestos only through the 2016 election, since then, President Trump has openly expressed approval for politicians like Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of France’s National Rally, who was recently ordered to stand trial for posting pictures on Twitter of killings by the Islamic State.

The Democrats fall closer to mainstream left and center-left parties in other countries, like the Social Democratic Party in Germany and Britain’s Labour Party, according to their manifestos’ scores.

And the United States’ political center of gravity is to the right of other countries’, partly because of the lack of a serious left-wing party. Between 2000 and 2012, the Democratic manifestos were to the right of the median party platform. The party has moved left but is still much closer to the center than the Republicans.

To calculate these scores, we used a statistical technique called correspondence analysis, analyzing how frequently the party platforms mention each topic coded by the Manifesto Project. Each mention of a particular category pushes the party’s score to the left or the right.

To see how it works, here’s part of the Republican platform, which lauds free enterprise and traditional morality:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... right.html

[Redneck]

Looking at those graphs where would Australian parties lie

I would think Labor just ceft of the median and the Liberal-Coalition just to the right.

Somewhere more to the centre than British Labour on the left or Conservative on the right

Your thoughts?

[Redneck]

Cont....Oops Missed some)

Left and right roughly map onto today’s notions of progressive and conservative, though newer issues like climate change don’t always fit neatly into those buckets, and the meaning of left and right can shift from country to country. In our study, the categories that contributed most to the left-right scores were both economic, like Marxist analysis, and social, like references to a “national way of life.”



The Republican Party’s position among the European far right is especially striking because of the United States’ two-party system, which leaves less room for fringe groups. As a result, parties are “forced to deal in platitudes, usually in competing for the center,” said Richard Bensel, a professor of political science at Cornell.

But, he added, there’s “something very strange happening in recent American politics”: Theory says that two-party systems generate “moderate, unprincipled parties,” but the Republicans and Democrats have grown more distinct.

“Democracy doesn’t work with that kind of polarization,” he said.

Sahil Chinoy is a graphics editor for The New York Times Opinion section.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... right.html

[Redneck]

Looking at those graphs where would Australian parties lie

I would think Labor just ceft of the median and the Liberal-Coalition just to the right.

Somewhere more to the centre than British Labour on the left or Conservative on the right

Your thoughts?

Bump

[Texan]

With Democrats going guano crazy to the left, Republicans have nothing to lose by going to the right. Sensible moderates won't support socialism in a traditionally free market, capitalist, Constitutional society. Democrats are running off a cliff and are trying to keep the American economy down to blame it on Trump as a desperation weapon for the upcoming election. It's Russiagate, Collusiongate, Impeachmentgate, Covid19gate, ........... until the Democrats get the results they want or lose all ability to wage war by losing control of the House and exposing the willing media as the shills they are. Do the Democrats even have issues to run on besides ban guns and orange man bad? It's not working. Do you see the lines of Californians outside of gun stores to buy their first guns. These people are finally having to jump through the hurdles that their masters put in front of them and it won't go well if rioting breaks out and the people suffer. They can't blame their problems on Republicans because CA is 2/3 Democrat with all statewide offices under Democrat control for decades. Schwartzenager was the only exception and he was a RINO married into a Democrat political family.

[Redneck]

Asked by cods elsewhere why I posted this!

didnt know you took it this seriously red..

to me it s a game whos popular / whos playing to the loudest groups.......what are the polls saying... ::)

what they say one week its the opposite the next..

and no one really cares...

I am just interested in what is really the position of the parties, this article is just an opinion.

I just laugh about the way some on this and the other forum rave on about left and right when really in the US there is no real left wing major party as I see it.

They carry on like

"Them Fvvcking commies are coming to get us - Where are my guns?" ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Redneck]

With Democrats going guano crazy to the left, Republicans have nothing to lose by going to the right. Sensible moderates won't support socialism in a traditionally free market, capitalist, Constitutional society. Democrats are running off a cliff and are trying to keep the American economy down to blame it on Trump as a desperation weapon for the upcoming election. It's Russiagate, Collusiongate, Impeachmentgate, Covid19gate, ........... until the Democrats get the results they want or lose all ability to wage war by losing control of the House and exposing the willing media as the shills they are. Do the Democrats even have issues to run on besides ban guns and orange man bad? It's not working. Do you see the lines of Californians outside of gun stores to buy their first guns. These people are finally having to jump through the hurdles that their masters put in front of them and it won't go well if rioting breaks out and the people suffer. They can't blame their problems on Republicans because CA is 2/3 Democrat with all statewide offices under Democrat control for decades. Schwartzenager was the only exception and he was a RINO married into a Democrat political family.

Yep paranoid!

They carry on like

"Them Fvvcking commies are coming to get us - Where are my guns?" ;D ;D ;D ;D

Of course Trump is blameless on everything!....Pigs arse he is!!

[Texan]

Here is how I see party beliefs. I am a conservative with some libertarian leanings, so consider the source, but it'll be pretty acurate.

Republicans:
For the traditional family and moral values. They don't care what adult you want to sleep with, but they don't want to have gayness pushed in our faces and sold to our kids in schools. The parents have control over the moral influences of their children and not the state.

Multiculturalism. They are pretty accepting of other cultures, but don't expect us to adopt a foreign culture or even cater to it. We don't like the idea of providing ballots in 30 languages or allowing sharia courts. If you come here, learn the language don't expect a handout.

Welfare state limitation. Welfare should be reserved for those who truly need it and not for able bodied people who are too lazy to work. They don't cater to multigenerational welfare families who get more welfare for every bastard kid they produce. Life choices have consequences and they expect people to realize that.

National way of life. We are Americans and unapologetic for it. We work hard and play hard and try to be a good influence and definitely not a burden on other nations.

European Community. We left Europe 244 years ago. They can do Europe and we will be Americans. No animosity, but we will go our way.

Military. They believe in a strong military as a means to acquire peace through strength.


Democrats:

Peace. They want to minimize our military strength and take a back seat in world leadership. They just want to be another country.

Keynsian demand management. They don't value capitalism nearly as much as the right. They want the government to make wealth distribution more "fair". The rich are more likely to be seen as someone who took money from others than as someone who worked harder.

Constitutionalism. They see the Constitution as a "living document" that is subject to reinterpretation as times, technology, and the language changes. Individual rights are more likely to be seen as getting in the way of "fairness" and political correctness.

Controlled Economy. They want government to limit big business and make policies to redistribute their wealth to the lower class. They are always looking for ways to grow the government and it's influence.

National way of life. America is just another country and is no more or less right than any other country. We should yield to global powers and work for the common good of all nations and trust their leadership.

Military. See peace above.

Marxist analysis. They want government to control as much of our lives as possible, from educational goals, retirement, healthcare, and social and moral values


Libertarian Party: Smaller than the others , but this is roughly their platform

Strict Constitutionalism.

Minimal government. Individuals should be responsible for as much of their lives as possible and government should stay out of our lives.

As much personal freedom as possible without becoming anarchy. (drug legalization, religion, etc.....)

Absolutely minimal taxes and government spending. The less the government taxes you, the better.

[Nom De Plume]

Here is how I see party beliefs. I am a conservative with some libertarian leanings, so consider the source, but it'll be pretty acurate.

Republicans:
For the traditional family and moral values. They don't care what adult you want to sleep with, but they don't want to have gayness pushed in our faces and sold to our kids in schools. The parents have control over the moral influences of their children and not the state.

Multiculturalism. They are pretty accepting of other cultures, but don't expect us to adopt a foreign culture or even cater to it. We don't like the idea of providing ballots in 30 languages or allowing sharia courts. If you come here, learn the language don't expect a handout.

Welfare state limitation. Welfare should be reserved for those who truly need it and not for able bodied people who are too lazy to work. They don't cater to multigenerational welfare families who get more welfare for every bastard kid they produce. Life choices have consequences and they expect people to realize that.

National way of life. We are Americans and unapologetic for it. We work hard and play hard and try to be a good influence and definitely not a burden on other nations.

European Community. We left Europe 244 years ago. They can do Europe and we will be Americans. No animosity, but we will go our way.

Military. They believe in a strong military as a means to acquire peace through strength.


Democrats:

Peace. They want to minimize our military strength and take a back seat in world leadership. They just want to be another country.

Keynsian demand management. They don't value capitalism nearly as much as the right. They want the government to make wealth distribution more "fair". The rich are more likely to be seen as someone who took money from others than as someone who worked harder.

Constitutionalism. They see the Constitution as a "living document" that is subject to reinterpretation as times, technology, and the language changes. Individual rights are more likely to be seen as getting in the way of "fairness" and political correctness.

Controlled Economy. They want government to limit big business and make policies to redistribute their wealth to the lower class. They are always looking for ways to grow the government and it's influence.

National way of life. America is just another country and is no more or less right than any other country. We should yield to global powers and work for the common good of all nations and trust their leadership.

Military. See peace above.

Marxist analysis. They want government to control as much of our lives as possible, from educational goals, retirement, healthcare, and social and moral values


Libertarian Party: Smaller than the others , but this is roughly their platform

Strict Constitutionalism.

Minimal government. Individuals should be responsible for as much of their lives as possible and government should stay out of our lives.

As much personal freedom as possible without becoming anarchy. (drug legalization, religion, etc.....)

Absolutely minimal taxes and government spending. The less the government taxes you, the better.

That was an excellent summary.

[Redneck]

I thought I would post this from OZPOL, as the poster made me look at US Politics quite differently - hadnt really thought of it in that light!

Note- heavily editted due to crazy use of uncopiable fonts

Cont 2 Missed some)

Left and right roughly map onto today’s notions of progressive and conservative, though newer issues like climate change don’t always fit neatly into those buckets, and the meaning of left and right can shift from country to country. In our study, the categories that contributed most to the left-right scores were both economic, like Marxist analysis, and social, like references to a “national way of life.”



The Republican Party’s position among the European far right is especially striking because of the United States’ two-party system, which leaves less room for fringe groups. As a result, parties are “forced to deal in platitudes, usually in competing for the center,” said Richard Bensel, a professor of political science at Cornell.

[highlight]But, he added, there’s “something very strange happening in recent American politics”: Theory says that two-party systems generate “moderate, unprincipled parties,” but the Republicans and Democrats have grown more distinct.

“Democracy doesn’t work with that kind of polarization,” he said.[/highlight]

Sahil Chinoy is a graphics editor for The New York Times Opinion section.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... right.html

That's correct "DEMOCRACY doesn't work with that kind of polarization".....

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times........Contrary to Australia's belief, & contrary to the world's belief....hell, even contrary to the ill informed beliefs of many Americans.......America IS NOT....IS NOT A DEMOCRACY.] It was never intended to be a DEMOCRACY....many of the Founding Fathers despised the thought of America ever becoming a DEMOCRACY!

No, America is not a DEMOCRACY........America is a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC, based in small part upon some DEMOCRATIC principals.[/b]

The closest thing to being correct is the thought, one could say that America is a Democracy --- in & of it's own form --- it's own unique form of Democracy, but as the Founding Fathers wanted & intended it, so they instituted it......they founded America to be a Constitutional Republic, where the government derives to power to govern solely through the consent of the American People, based on laws framed within the Constitution of the United States of America....]WE THE PEOPLE.......