Enlighten me please: Does the Two Party system in the USA results in a 'it's either black or white' society?

I think this issue is often overstated. In multiparty nations, the parties still have to form governing coalitions. The coalitions function basically like American parties.

These coalitions are perhaps more freeform and less stable than the Republican or Democratic party. But it’s not like either American party is ossified. The Republicans used to be the party of civil rights and the Democrats of racists; that switched completely in the 60’s. Republicans under Nixon created the EPA; now Republicans hate environmental regulation.

I also don’t think it’s arbitrary that the ideological groupings you mention fall together. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the kind of person who believes in evolution and science also tends to believe in environmental protection and carbon taxation.

For those whose beliefs genuinely are mixed between the two parties, well, the nature of politics is choosing the lesser of two evils. In the meantime, such a person might work with the lesser of two evil parties during the primaries to coax the party more towards his or her beliefs.

It’s not quite as simplistic and black-and-white as that. There are crossovers of all kinds. Not all Democrats want to restrict gun ownership, for example. Not all Republicans are strongly opposed (public policy-wise) to abortion. Republicans aren’t all stupid, Bible-thumping morons (despite the overwhelming view of them that way in this particular forum), and many Democrats are equally fundamentalist Christian (or Jewish or ‘other’) as the most fundamentalist Christian Republican.

You can’t even divide along class, occupation or economic lines, either. CEOs and movie stars are members of both parties, as are welfare recipients, retirees and the military.

The primary aim and idea of the two-party system, I believe, is to attempt to create more stability in government, as the reins of government tend to pass (slowly, and in different cycles) between ‘only’ those two parties, and the more or less broadly appealing ideas of each.

And then after the elections, many of the elected simply do what they want to do in any case.

I’m not very articulate when it comes to politics, but we technically don’t have a two-party system. We do have third parties—several of them, even—but they rarely get votes because their parties are not as well known, have a poor reputation, matters of money, etc. My brother is not registered with either of the main parties, but with a third party group (Libertarian) and I am registered to none (Independent) and vote for whoever I feel will do the best job regardless of what party they belong to.

But as previously mention, there is plenty of division within the two parties on the forefront. We’re a mixed up bunch of folk.

@muppetish That’s the best answer. We’re a mixed up bunch of folk.

Polarization has become the norm in the US. Compromise used to be possible and to happen all the time. There is will for it among most of the general populace, but since candidates need hardline outliers to make up the numbers to get elected, they have hardened their positions.

Sure, if we had another party(s) in play other than Twiddle Dee, and Twiddle Dumb, That will not happen, because Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb will figure a third or forth party will side with the other side leaving them out in the cold.

If there were more players in play, things would get done quicker, there would be more honest brokering going on, and less partisan in-fighting. That makes too much sense for us Yankees.

I don’t think so. Both parties have constituents that don’t agree with each other on everything. Or anything. It is worthwhile to note that Republicans, Conservatives, and Christians overlap, but not completely, in the manner of a Venn iagram. I suspect that there’s a similar arrangement on the Left. Heck, there are Republicans that aren’t really Republicans, Conservatives who mean something else by the term, and Christians who just like the support that they get for lip service.

It is telling that Barack Obama has been criticized for at once being too liberal and not liberal enough. Often by people that voted for him.

Thank you, people, I see that it is not as black and white as I thought it was and your answers made me wiser!

Well even though I walk around the center dividing line between the American versions of Conservatism and Liberalism I’m definitely on the Libertarian side of the fence from populism. Since being in this position does not really align myself with any political ideology or partisanship from what I have experienced liberals or the left (I hate using terms in this way) allow alot more leeway and dissention than many self proclaimed conservatives or the right would. It seems in this age of the modern Republicans that they have moved far enough to the right that the way you’re supposed to think on every issue is already carved into stone for their followers. I’ve seen this on the left as well but not quite as much. This is one of the reasons why we’ll likely never see a Paul/Johnson ticket.

The extremes of each party or ideology does indeed see the world in black and white but the majority of Americans, both the voters and politicians themselves have alot of shades of different colors in them regardless of how each one classifies themselves.