capitalization question:

Soul

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I'm getting mixed messages:

Republican/Democrat
OR
republican/democrat

I think it's the first one, but people I believe are just lazy are confusing me.
 

Chase

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No surprise, my AP Stylebook presents it with some ambiguity. I'm thinking whomever wrote the article also posts for Dictionary.com:

"Capitalize both the name of the party and the word party if it is customarily used as part of the organization's proper name: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party.

"Capitalize Communist, Conservative, Democrat, Liberal, Republican, Socialist, etc., when they refer to a specific party or its members. Lowercase these words when they refer to the political philosophy.

"Examples: John Adams was a Federalist, but [one] who subscribed to his philosophy today would be described as a federalist. The liberal Republican senator and his Conservative Party colleague said they believe that democracy and communism are incompatible."