Political parties still run the show in America. They pick candidates, raise money, and decide who gets power in Congress and state governments. Saying parties don’t matter is wrong. But something bigger has changed underneath.
People dislike the other side a lot more than they used to.
For decades, surveys have asked people how they feel about their own party and the other party on a 0-to-100 scale (like a “feeling thermometer”).People still feel okay about their own party — around 70 out of 100.
But feelings toward the other party have dropped hard: from about 48 in the late 1970s to the low 20s in recent years. A lot of people now basically rate the other side near zero. They don’t just disagree — they dislike or distrust them. This is called affective polarization: it’s more about feelings and dislike than pure policy differences.
More people don’t want the party labelsIn 2025, a record 45% of Americans called themselves independents (not Democrat or Republican). Only about 27% each claimed a major party.Most “independents” still lean one way and vote that way. Still, a lot of people are tired of both parties and don’t want the labels.
Trust in the parties is low.
The fights are more about culture and “what America is” than just moneyOld-school politics was often about taxes, jobs, and the size of government. Those issues still matter a lot — people care about prices and the economy.But the bigger splits now are often cultural and identity-based:Views on abortion, guns, immigration, gender, schools, and free speech.
How proud people feel about America
Whether the country is mostly good or needs major fixing
Surveys show huge partisan gaps on national pride. A large majority of Americans say the country is “greatly divided” on the most important values. Education level also plays a role: college-educated and non-college voters have pulled further apart on cultural questions.In short, many people sort themselves by bigger questions of identity, values, and national direction — not just “raise taxes or cut taxes.”
What this means in plain terms
The two parties are still the teams that fight the battles and win or lose elections. But the actual conflict they organize has gotten more emotional and more about culture and identity.That’s why some people say the real split is between people who “love America” and people who “hate America.” Others see it as a fight over fairness, rights, or change. Both sides often accuse the other of not truly supporting the country.The parties aren’t irrelevant. They’re just carrying a deeper, more personal kind of divide than they used to.This shift shows up clearly in the data. It helps explain why politics feels angrier and why compromise is harder.
From: Grok
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