Oftentimes, especially in the American political system, one major party likes to call out the hypocrisy of the other. Sometimes it’s Democrats accusing Republicans of being contradictory when it comes to being pro-life and yet in favor of the death penalty, and sometimes it can be Republicans accusing Democrats of hypocritical stances in freedoms, except when it comes to the 2nd Amendment. However, odd as it may be, these seeming contradictions might be a necessary function of both parties.
The major parties are big tent groups. They have to encompass many different constituencies in order to stay in power. However, while they might be able to get most of these constituencies to agree on a broad range of issues, they cannot possibly encompass enough citizens by one single stance. They must pick contradictory positions on issues that do not seem the least bit related in order to get as many people to vote for them as possible, hence the divide and seeming hypocrisy on some issues.
Parties who do not do this, such as the Libertarian party, are stuck forever in a smaller role. Single issue parties do not gather the necessary momentum in order to become major groups. In the American political system, only political parties that are broad, all-encompassing, and yes, even contradictory at many points can truly survive.
