⇒ The Republicans believe in Limited Government

• In other words, the Republicans belive in the rights of states, tax cuts and reduced government spending
• They are hostile to the expansion of environmental regulation (e.g. Trump signed an executive order rolling back Obama-era rules aimed at curbing climate change and had pledged to put an end to the 'War on Coal')
• They do not believe in government intervention in healthcare (e.g. Bush vetoed the stem cell research bill and not a single Republican in the Senate voted in favour of Obama's healthcare reform)
• Reagan said "Government is the problem"

⇒ The Republicans believe in Social Conservatism

• Republicans are pro-life (e.g. Trump said he would defund planned parenthood because they help provide abortion) and believe in traditional family values.
• Republicans are also unsympathetic to alternatives (e.g. Congressional Republicans unsuccessfully tried to bring about an amendment banning same-sex marriage), promote gun laws, and believe in strong law and order

⇒ The Republicans believe in assertive foreign policy

• Republicans have been associated with the use of the military to protect American interests abroad (e.g. War in Iraq, Trump and North Korea). This was also seen during the 'neo-con' era of Bush, where the Republicans promoted democracy through 'regime change' in selected dictatorships.

⇒ Men differ from women on the use of violence and the surrounding role of governmentt (53% of men voted Republican in 2016)

⇒ Rural voters are attracted by the Republican's identification with loose environmental protection and support for gun rights. They are also attracted by Trump's promise to bring back mining jobs and cut immigration, which would bring back large amounts of agricultural labouring jobs (62% of rural dwellers voted Republican in 2016)

⇒ White voters are often Republican. Southern voters and working-class white voters are alienated by the Democrats' identification with minority causes (58% of white people voted Republican in 2016)

⇒ Elderly voters have recently turned away from the Democrats in reaction to Obama and his healthcare reforms and budget deficit solution. The elderly also tend to be more conservative, not supporting various civil rights issues (53% of over 65s voted Republican in 2016)

⇒ Business/Wealthy voters are attracted by the Republicans' policy of low tax and business-friendly deregulation (49% of those earning $50k+ voted Trump, but those earning over $100k tended to vote for Hillary Clinton)

⇒ Religious voters are attracted by the Republican party's association with Christian rights and values (Trump appointed a pro-life judge, Gorsuch. 58% of Protestants voted Trump, 60% of white Catholics voted Trump)

⇒ Moderate Republicans (Susan Collins)

• Moderate republicans are often conservative economically, although some are more liberal on social issues. Some moderates, such as Olympia Snow from Maine (retired), favour gay rights and are pro-choice
• Moderates are at odds with the religious right over issues such as prayer in schools. They were opposed to Trump's proposal to repeal Obamacare due to it stripping away key health benefits such as the right to maternity cover and mammograms, and also opposed to Republican plans to defund Planned Parenthood in 2016. They are prepared to work with the Democrats.

⇒ Religious Right / Social Conservatives (Ted Cruz)

• Social conservatives are adominant faction in the GOP. They believe that the federal government has some uses (e.g. federal funds for faith-based initiatives). They believe Creationism should be taught in schools
• They are wary of the civil rights movement (i.e. conservative on moral issues)
• Ted Cruz described transgender rights as "lunacy"

⇒ Fiscal Conservatives - The New Right (Paul Ryan)

• Known as Reagan Republicans
• Believe in privatisation and limited government
• Commonly associated with Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America (i.e. the 10 point legislative programme that called for a balanced budget)
• Hostile to unions and believe in low taxation
• Wary of federal spending and how it spiraled out of control during Bush's Presidency and does not believe the federal government is a positive force

⇒ Neo-Conservatives

• Neo-conservatives are mainly associated with foreign policy and are wary of multilateralism (i.e. working with other countries) if it is not in the US interest
• Favoured Iraqi war (advisors to Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld in 2003 were neo-conservatives)
• Anti-UN

⇒ TEA party

• 'Taxed Enough Already'
• They believe the government should get out of the way and reduce taxes (like fiscal conservatives)
• This faction for a time united the Rep party (apart from the moderate republicans who believed they would be committing electoral suicide by unting behind the TEA party)
• Recent government shutdown over the federal budget is largely due to the TEA party faction in Congress
• The TEA party is associated with the Freedom Caucus as well as fiscal conservatives (lawmakers known to never co-operate with Obama argued that Trump's healthcare proposals did not go far enough)

⇒ Now check out our notes on the Democratic party and the similiarities between the Democratic and Republican party factions