Most people say they have their own thoughts and opinions on politics, but when it comes down to it none of that matters when you only have 2 choices in the end to pick from. There are “core values†that each side has adopted and as the years roll on they adopt new issues that arise year to year, which have now accumulated in every facet of life. Gay rights, gun control, gender pronouns etc etc. Politicians take each issue one at a time. Maybe you vote republican because you want lower taxes... but then to keep republican you compromise your views on gun control... not a big deal. Then it’s religion in schools, abortion etc etc.
Politicians have slowly dug into each core value, eventually consuming them all and people are compromising their own beliefs to match the party. It’s utter insanity when you think about it. There are still way to many people that just tow the party line regardless of personal beliefs.
Too late now. All the power is at the top. You’ll never read this system down without a full fledged revolution or mind shift across the country.