Demopublicans vs. Republicrats: despite the notion that an ideological chasm separates the national Republican and Democratic parties, the record shows that there is little difference between the two.(ELECTIONS)(Cover story)

When pundits and politicians give us their expert opinion about the battle between Republicans and Democrats in the November 7 congressional elections, they generally describe the opposing forces as occupying opposite sides of a giant political divide. The Republicans, they say, occupy the conservative high ground--or low ground, depending on the perspective of the commentator--while the Democrats occupy the liberal low ground--or high ground. Of course, since the mainstream media are liberal, the Democrats are usually portrayed as occupying the higher ground.

The Republican Party has been associated with conservatism and the Democratic Party with liberalism ...