It seems to me like one of the things that has happened works like this: The Republicans, for some short term political gain, will take a position on an issue, then the Democrats will take the opposite position, for no rational reason. Some time later, the Democrats will take a position on an issue, and the Republicans will react in kind. So, over a period of time, nothing either party does makes any sense to a rational observer.

                Nothing points this out like the issue of illegal immigration. The Democrats should be opposed to illegal immigration because it drives down the value of the wages of working Americans. The Republicans should be in favor of illegal immigration for the very same reason. But Democrats seem to encourage illegal immigration, while Republicans are finally beginning to take a stand against it.

                There are number of issues like this, many of which could certainly be straightened out if America simply had a strong third party.