In my mind, there are 3 overarching categories in American political culture. There are the moderates, the liberals, and the conservatives. The moderates just don't care for the most part, or they dislike both sides' views so much that they do not wish to affiliate themselves with either. This second prong of the moderate section I will refer to as undecided in the future. The moderate group, in my estimation, makes up about thirty five to fifty percent of the American populous. There are also the Conservative and Liberal sides of the spectrum, both of which are far more vocal about their beliefs. The liberal side generally pushes for large amounts of personal freedom and government intervention in citizen's lives. Conservatives believe for the most part believes that the government should intervene in the citizen's life only when they must. Conservatives in general are also more prone to support war and economic stimuli such as tax cuts.
The moderates are divided into two groups. These are, as i have previously stated, the undecided and the uncaring. The uncaring are, unfortunately, the larges subgroup of any of the subgroups existing within this particular theory. I would estimate that about 95% of moderates simply do not care about politics, and this much out of a demographic that makes up somewhere between 30 and fifty percent of America's voters is a significant number. The undecided are, in my mind, the most politically active and idealistic of any groups, as they are well informed to both other sides agenda and believe in their own so strongly that they disagree with both. These people are, however, in the vast minority.
I divide conservatives into four groups: The religious right, the blind right, the idealist right, and the extremist right. The religious right in my estimation makes up about 50% of the conservative side. This is due to the fact that religious most religious people believe that conservatism is the political stance they should take based on their religion. There is also the blind right, which follows the right simply because they are registered with it or because they’re friends, teachers, bosses, etc. follow it. The idealist right follows the right because they believe it is the best way to create the best society possible. They are also generally less judgemental and bigotted than the extreme right. Many members of the religious right fall into this category as well as religious right, but i would say that about 10% of the right falls into this category only, and not the religious right as well. The last group is the extreme right. These are the people that most of the rest of the right is ashamed of and the ignorant left generalizes all the right as. They constantly get up on their high horse and throw judgements at others in an illogical manner, not taking issue with their own faults or the faults of their political allies.
The Liberal side is the side with which I affiliate myself for the most part, except for issues such as abortion and affirmative action. The four subgroups of the left are the same as the four subgroups of the right, except the religious right is replaced by the intellectually acceptable right. This is not to say that no leftists are religious, as I and many others are, but religion is a significantly smaller factor in liberal doctrine than in conservative doctrine. The first group i will address is the blind left. I would say that the percentage is about 30% for the left just as for the right. The next group is the intellectually acceptable. I would say this group constitutes about about 40% of the left. These are people who subscribe to liberal doctrine simply because other 'smart people' do so or because someone in a position of influence around them has impressed their views upon them. They themselves are generally a moderate of some sort but are changed by their associates. They have, however, been so indoctrinated that they believe what has been told to them by the intellectual establishment simply because the intellectual establishment said so. This of all the groups in this entire theory makes me the most angry, as they are generally ignorant and stubborn in argument, though they do not even believe in their doctrine from personal thought, but because a teacher, intelligent friend, or boss told them to. The next group is the extreme left, which i would say constitutes about 25% of the left. There is a wide range of extremism and focal points within this group. People within this group include political correctists, though they belong in the blind left as well, affirmative action supporters, environmentalists, labor strike coordinators and other union activists, and the majority of demonstrators. The last group, making up only about 5% of the left, is the idealist left. They are tolerant of different views, but can defend their views in an intelligent manner. They are also generally more abstract and thorough in their arguments. They subscribe to the leftist agenda over the issue of personal freedom, but this is not the case 100% of the time.
This is not solid fact, simply my opinion and analysis of the political situation within the US.I would also like to remind you that this is not a critique of political parties, but of broad political doctrines.