How do you know if you are a Democrat or Republican in US politics?

Everyone may have a different reason for choosing the political party with which they associate themselves in the US. The most prominent political parties in the US are the Democrats and the Republicans. Traditionally, the Democrats were considered "liberal" when it came to social issues and the Republicans were considered "conservative".

However, more recently, and as in the example of President Obama, although many are members of the Democratic party, they are trending more toward the middle stance of moderates instead of the far left (liberal). The Republican party has moved very far right (conservative) in social politics and policies especially with the introduction of the extreme far right "Tea Party" group within the Republican party, which has been the trend in recent history for the Republican party.

In this way of looking at things, some say that the policies and practices of Abraham Lincoln and even Ronald Regan fit more today with the voting of the Democrats than the extreme right voting of the Republicans on today's issues. It is a rather dramatic change toward the far right positions. The Republicans would argue that the Democrats have gone too far left. However, most political analysts say that if you look at the issues and the positions of current and past Presidents and politicians through their voting record, it is the Republican party platform that has moved further right. At the same time, many of the Democrats have actually also moved toward the right and closer to the middle, much to the chagrin of the Democratic far left and even some among the moderate Democrats.