Pondering, I have no doubt that those on the left view it exactly as you describe. I’m sure those on the right view their party in the same way. But what of America as a whole? Most Americans view the two major parties unfavorably. 56% have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party, 60% of the Republican Party. These figures are very dynamic and change constantly, so this gives you just for today as tomorrow they’ll change. What this tells me is neither party is like much outside of their base of support. Today the Democratic Party is disliked a bit less than the Republican Party.

You have 56% of all Americans wanting a viable third party as they’re tired of having to choose between the hard left and the hard right. This is a fact neither major party can fathom. Why neither is loved. Which shows in the rise of independents from 30% in 2006 to 43% today as the two major parties continue to shrink. The anti-voter reigns supreme here, today. Those who vote against a candidate or party, not for the other party or candidate, but against. Who that other candidate or party is is irrelevant as long as the candidate or party they’re voting against loses. If our two major parties didn’t have their monopoly on our election system, if we didn’t have our 2-party system, more like every other modern democracy with multi-parties, our two major parties would be huge losers. But neither major party wants to hear this and I’m sure you don’t either.