This talk will describe how what we think of as the contemporary political divide in the United States is far more complicated than it appears in the typical “red state-blue state” coverage we see in the news media. While we tend to think of Americans being “liberal,” “moderate,” or “conservative,” American public opinion is primarily organized around two types of issues: economic and cultural. Things get complicated because some people have liberal views on both types of issues, some have conservative views on both types of issues and others have views that are liberal on some issues and conservative on others. This talk will describe the far-reaching consequences of this insight from party identification, voting behavior, political participation, media use, the 2016 elections and the future of American political conflict.