According to Teun A. Van Dijk, the following “ideological square” has been found to be pervasive in ideological discourse:

  1. Emphasize Our good things
  2. Emphasize Their bad things
  3. De-emphasize Our bad things
  4. De-emphasize Their good things

Here’s my take on the Ideological Square:

  1. Exaggerate Our Good Things: Our vision is good and true
  2. Exaggerate Their Bad Things: Their vision is evil and false
  3. Minimize Our Bad Things: Our vision has no serious downside
  4. Minimize Their Good Things: Their vision has no merit

The Square constitutes the essence of ideology.  Political leanings are more or less ideological, according to how well they align with the Square. Applying this metric to political groupings in the US,  I would say progressives are the most ideological, followed by libertarians, followed by Republicans.

 

Reference:

Van Dijk, Teun A. Politics, ideology and discourse. Elsevier Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Volume on Politics and Language (Ruth Wodak, Ed.), pp. 728-740. 2005.