The Southern Captivity of the GOP ND Breaking the Two-Party Monopoly
             Through reading these two articles, I have been shown a side of politics that I haven't quite seen before. Growing up only exposed to the Republican and Democratic parties, it isn't realized that our governmental system could be so drastically different than how it is setup now. These two topics of Southern governmental ideas and the uncommon view on our party system were unheard of to me.
             Never learning about the Fuhrman Effect or Finkelstein Box made this even more interesting. Seeing the research that has been done clearly shows how voters feel and how candidates are presenting themselves. It wasn't that surprising than many conservatives are being pusher away because many Southerners are imposing their opinions and beliefs on them. Many people are content with feeling a certain way about different issues, but when hen they feel they are being threatened, pushed towards one side, or force to be labeled by which party they recognize themselves as, they tend to back away.
             The statement that "democrats are no longer a liberal party-or at least they are far less liberal than the Republicans are too conservative. Whereas 58% of Republicans identify themselves as conservative, only a third of Democrats identify themselves as liberals" was surprising to me for two reasons. This makes it seem as though people are not identifying themselves with label anymore, yet that contradicts the whole idea of being involved in a party. And secondly it seems as though both parties are becoming weaker in their convictions, as though there is not that major a difference between the two parties. Showing that the Republicans have become too conservative and too liberal at the same time is very thought-provoking for they are seen as two opposites in politics, yet makes sense due to Republicans view that others' opinions are incorrect and liberal becaus...