Does Party Trump Ideology? Disentangling Party and Ideology in America

TLDR

Ideology and party affiliation are tightly linked, making it difficult to determine whether conservatism drives Republicanism or the reverse. The election of President Trump provides a unique opportunity to separate party attachment from ideological commitment. By using Trump’s own policy statements as conservative and liberal cues, the study found that low‑knowledge respondents, strong Republicans, Trump supporters, and self‑described conservatives most readily align with party cues. The results suggest that many U.S.

Abstract

Are people conservative (liberal) because they are Republicans (Democrats)? Or is it the reverse: people are Republicans (Democrats) because they are conservatives (liberals)? Though much has been said about this long-standing question, it is difficult to test because the concepts are nearly impossible to disentangle in modern America. Ideology and partisanship are highly correlated, only growing more so over time. However, the election of President Trump presents a unique opportunity to disentangle party attachment from ideological commitment. Using a research design that employs actual “conservative” and “liberal” policy statements from President Trump, we find that low-knowledge respondents, strong Republicans, Trump-approving respondents, and self-described conservatives are the most likely to behave like party loyalists by accepting the Trump cue—in either a liberal or conservative direction. These results suggest that there are a large number of party loyalists in the United States, that their claims to being a self-defined conservative are suspect, and that group loyalty is the stronger motivator of opinion than are any ideological principles.