Actually, I’ve adjusted my party affiliation when I’ve moved to areas heavily dominated by one party in order to better participate in the primary system, since that’s where the real choice ends up being made. So depending where I live I’ve been a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent. Party affiliation is a very small part of understanding a person’s political philosophy, unless they belong to a party that’s outright extremist. Then it makes sense to use that as a template for judging their political views. But since the GOP and the Dems have historically been big tent parties, you can have all kinds of ideas and still be either one.