Robert Reich | Why Republicans are Disciplined and Democrats Aren’t [View all]
http://www.nationofchange.org/why-republicans-are-disciplined-and-democrats-aren-t-1374845972
Republican discipline and Democratic lack of discipline isnt a new phenomenon. As Will Rogers once said, Im not a member of any organized political party. Im a Democrat."
The difference has to do with the kind of personalities the two parties attract. People who respect authority, follow orders, want clear answers, obey commands, and prefer precise organization and control, tend to gravitate toward Republicans.
On the other hand, people who dont much like authority, recoil from orders, dont believe in clear answers, often disobey commands, and prefer things a bit undefined, tend to gravitate to the Democrats.
In short, the Republican Party is the party of the authoritarian personality; the Democratic Party is the party of the anti-authoritarian personality.
In "Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics" (Cambridge University Press, 2009), Jonathan Weiler, professor of international studies at UNC Chapel Hill and his co-author, Marc Hetherington, use statistical models to determine whether someone is a Republican or Democrat. It turns out that the best predictor of party affiliation is someones score on an authoritarian personality scale that measures many of the traits I mentioned above.