Michael Espinoza

I am a PhD candidate at University College London, Institute of the Americas. My research focuses on Republican conservatism, rhetoric, and the socialist label with the framework of four-party politics. I hold a BSc in History (with a minor in Political Science) from Central Michigan University and an MSc in US Politics and Contemporary History from the University of London.

My PhD thesis focuses on conservative Republican criticism of Democrats in post-Cold War America. From the conservative perspective, Democrats support policies that favour government over the free-market. Conservative rhetoric uses key words to further bolster their assertions. This rhetoric accuses Democrats of supporting core ideals which are liberal, socialist and un-American in their tendencies.

The intent of conservatives is to portray their party as the party that will defend true and authentic American values against the liberal values of big government Democrats. In each chapter I analyse how Republican conservatism now embodies a movement that is much more flexible and extremist in its language, and as a result makes modern day Democrats (and even Republicans of previous eras) out to be supporters of socialism.