Why do Americans put up with their politics?

You have to remember how vehemently most Americans will defend classic liberalism

1. American politicians are given huge donations by interest groups like the health insurance industry.

2. Tax breaks for the rich plays into the American dream - all Americans somehow think that one day they will be so rich that they will be able to benefit from such tax breaks.

You would think so. But, most events they don't seem socially liberal.

Yeah, it is odd. I saw a poll which showed how most Americans choose what party they vote for according to social and moral issues, not economic ones, which would explain why a lot of Americans label themselves as conservatives, because socially they are, despite the fact that they side with classic liberal economics.

But conservative economic policies are often very similar to liberal economics. - Lower taxation and less government interference in order to leave people free to develop wealth. Edmund Burke spoke out against governments of huge spending and debts, at a time when the Tory PM succeeded in massively reducing the national debt by liberalising the economy.

As others have said, American politics has a refreshingly large spectrum compared to over here. There is ultimately very little between Labour & Conservative ideologically, something which can't be said of Democrats & Republicans at the moment.

It's funny you say that, as the Americans I know consider the Republicans and Democrats to be pretty similar. I think it's grass is always greener myself...

Interesting. I think that may well be the case. Of course, for years it was British politics which was ideologically divided, particularly around the time of Thatcher. It was (arguably) New Labour that led to this situation of mostly centrist parties, which has the benefit/negative of making coalition governments easier to form. And in America, it's only now with Obama that the ideological divide seems to be emerging between some degree of socialism and the Tea Party idea of fiscal conservatism and small government. After all, George Bush took many measures which, taken by Obama now, would be considered 'socialist', greatly increasing the national debt.

the voters' preference for emotional engagement over reasonable argument has allowed the Republican Party to blind them to their own real interests.

The Republicans have learnt how to stoke up resentment against the patronising liberal elite, all those do-gooders who assume they know what poor people ought to be thinking.
Right-wing politics has become a vehicle for channelling this popular anger against intellectual snobs.


The result is that many of America's poorest citizens have a deep emotional attachment to a party that serves the interests of its richest.