> However, this theory of "Two Americas" even if of
> unequal sizes, does not explain why left-of-the center
> candidates barely register in national elections. Such
> candidates are not merely defeated by the margin that
> reflects the unequal distribution of individual
> political preferences in the population - as the "Two
> Americas" theory would predict. They are altogether
> ignored, wiped out of the picture, failing to get even
> 5% of the popular vote, which in many parliamentary
> systems is the required minimum to have any seats at
> all.
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It isn't the Green party, with less than 5% support, but the Democrats who
are the representative left-of-centre party in the US. American liberals, in
their overwhelming majority, gravitate to the Democrats while US
conservatives rally to the Republicans. The base of the Democratic party
(antiwar, pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-environment, pro-union, pro-civil
rights) supports the social movements while the Republican base strongly
opposes them. The differences between the two parties are narrower at the
top, but DP leaders incline more to their Labour and Social Democratic
counterparts in Europe while the Republicans feel more of a kinship with the
Conservative and Christian Democratic parties.