In the 1970s, when I was a kid, I asked my mother to explain the difference between the two major parties. "Democrats," she explained, "are the party of the working man. Republicans represent big business."
She was a Democrat, obviously. Still, I'm sure Republican families had their version of my mom's binary, perhaps something along the lines of: "Republicans believe in less government and more hard work. Democrats want high taxes and welfare."
The two-party system was easy to understand. Now it's a muddled mess — especially if you're a Democrat.