In their new book, Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats (Oxford University Press, 2016), authors Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins reveal how Democrats and Republicans think differently about politics, rely on distinct sources of information, argue past one another, and pursue divergent goals in government. According to the authors, the Republican Party defines itself in ideological terms as the vehicle of symbolic conservatism. The Democratic Party, in contrast, is organized as a social group coalition. The authors presented their findings in the Washington Post’s “Monkey Cage” blog. Hopkins is an assistant professor of political science at Boston College.