Will the parties switch positions in the next 50 years?

[Bo]

I'd say No.

[tarheel-leftist85]

what's to switch if their positions are the same?  Obama/Dems passed Mitt Romney's insurance/pharma bailout.  O lobbied for Bush/Paulson/Bernake's bankster bailouts, we're still funding mercs in Af-Pak and Iraq.  Really, what's the difference?  Oh, they have different niche markets:  the young "urban" intellectuals versus the pious cowboys.  That their positions (and goal) are identical is only part of it; the parties are mutually-reinforcing agents of this policy, such than when one legacy party becomes temporarily unmarketable, the other assumes control and perpetuates the same policy outcome trajectory and impressing the illusion of choice upon the public (not that all of them believe it).

[Derek]

both parties are too far to the left for America

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

what's to switch if their positions are the same?  Obama/Dems passed Mitt Romney's insurance/pharma bailout.  O lobbied for Bush/Paulson/Bernake's bankster bailouts, we're still funding mercs in Af-Pak and Iraq.  Really, what's the difference?  Oh, they have different niche markets:  the young "urban" intellectuals versus the pious cowboys.  That their positions (and goal) are identical is only part of it; the parties are mutually-reinforcing agents of this policy, such than when one legacy party becomes temporarily unmarketable, the other assumes control and perpetuates the same policy outcome trajectory and impressing the illusion of choice upon the public (not that all of them believe it).

I think the main reason why I hate Obama so much was that he lied about "change". Obama is just another out of touch lying politician.

[Mechaman]

Yes.

It's more likely than you all think.  The American Political System was made to change, unlike some other boring parties.

[justW353]

I think the Republicans will move further to the right around 2020.

After they move far-right, I see a mass exodus from the centrist part of the party to a new third party.  Soon, the Democratic centrists will follow, and the Democrats will move slightly further to the left.

I don't think they will switch positions, but I think we will have a third party President by 2040.

[DS0816]

Will the parties switch positions in the next 50 years?

I don't know about the time frame, but it's happened before. (Look at the maps, beginning with the Republican Party's first election in 1856 and through at least the first third of the 20th century.)

[Antonio the Sixth]

It took 100 years for the democrats to switch their views, and even longer for republicans. so no.

[minionofmidas]

They'll switch some of their positions.

[President Mitt]

2012 might be the year for it as well. There are two available scenarios that I see for a realignment in 2012.

One in which Mike Huckabee gains the Republican nomination, and the Republicans shift to the left on economics. This is probably the most likely option for a change in the political spectrum, as it will shift the Republicans to the statist (or more so) direction, and the Democrats in the opposite. In 2016, the Democrats might take more tepid steps towards Libertarianism, such as starting to support gun rights (a la Brian Schwietzer) and be less prone to supporting the War on Terrorism (and civil liberties) and wars in general.

The other, less likely scenario, but one where many here are hopeful for, is Gary Johnson (or somebody like him) is somehow able to maneuver through the Republican field and snatch the Republican nomination. The bible thumpers, neocons, and southern statists ditch Johnson, and the Democratic Party shifts to the right on Social issues, and foreign policy. The Republicans gradually become more Libertarian, and the Democrats sink back into the statism expunged in the Wilson years (albiet a little less racist). This scenario would probably take much less time to be complete, as Social Conservatism is hardly foreign to the Democratic Party, and Isolationism was a historically Republican plank.

[??????????]

Improbable that either the two parties or the nation exist in fifty years.

[Bo]

Improbable that either the two parties or the nation exist in fifty years.

I will quote you on this in 2060.

[President Mitt]

Improbable that either the two parties or the nation exist in fifty years.

Or this website for that matter.

[Bo]

Improbable that either the two parties or the nation exist in fifty years.

Or this website for that matter.

No. This website must remain.

[War on Want]

No. The parties have solidified ideologically for the most part.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Yes, parties will continue to pander and flip flop on issues when it is politically convenient.

But as for ideologies, I think it is established that the GOP is conservative and the Dems are liberal.

But the meanings of "conservative" and "liberal" are hardly static.

For example, Grover Cleveland would have been described as a liberal Democrat.

[Derek]

The democrats have been moving to the left since the hippy movement and the GOP has been moving to the left since 2004. This is why the tea party is so favorable in the eyes of the American people. Look at how much closer people say they identify with them compared to Barack Obama. It's time for change and the conservative movement is just the way to do this. Conservatism and true classical liberalism combined with a good dose of Libertarianism is what this country will always fall back on. Fads of socialism and feminism will come and go, but in the long run they have no place in our homeland. Thank you veterans for your service to this country and protecting our freedoms.

[ComeAndTakeIt53]

No. The Democrats are so Liberal now it's not even funny. At least way back when the Republicans were also somewhat Conservative. The Democrats were just more. But to change the system - you've got to be IN the system.

[Devilman88]

Who's to say the same issues of today will be the issues of tomorrow?? Anyways, I could see they Republican Party become the left party and the Democratic Party becoming the right party as the issues change through out the years. It happen before.

[Derek]

The democrats are so lustful for power that they are willing to vote for things like the healthcare bill instead of listening to the people. They don't even care about being voted back into office because they know that things like the healthcare bill bring such disaster that eventually the government will have to act again and will give the ruling class more power. Today's democratic party would not be recognizable to JFK or even Humphrey. They are a national party no more. As for the Republicans, it's good to have an alternative, but I also like seeing moderate Republicans being voted out of office in favor of tea partiers. They stand where our founders would have and that's what matters.

[Del Tachi]

Democrats will continue their march to the left and eventually abandon the center, leaving Republicans to become the party of Rockefeller again.  A conservative third party will most likley arise on the far-right. 

[Mechaman]

I predict that the parties will change positions once the Democrats nominate Biscuit Eating Bigot as their presidential nominee (like they did in 1896)........

[Vepres]

I think foreign policy will be far less partisan that it has been in the coming decades, maybe even social issues (we're talking 10-20 years from now), but economic issues, I can't see it.

[Bo]

I think foreign policy will be far less partisan that it has been in the coming decades, maybe even social issues (we're talking 10-20 years from now), but economic issues, I can't see it.

I agree with you that the parties' foreign policy positions might become closer to each other in the future since the world is becoming a much more peaceful place and thus there is going to be less disputes on how to conduct foreign policy. And in regards to social issues, I still see certain social issues dividing the parties in 20 years, such as abortion, gun rights, affirmative action, illegal immigration, weed, and the death penalty.