The growing polarisation of American politics
My American friends have long insisted to me that political opinion in the USA is more divided than at any time they can remember – and they are right.
As part of a year-long study of polarisation, the Pew Research Center has conducted the largest political survey in its history – a poll of more than 10,000 adults between January and March of this year. It finds that Republicans and Democrats are further apart ideologically than at any point in recent history. Growing numbers of Republicans and Democrats express highly negative views of the opposing party. And to a considerable degree, polarization is reflected in the personal lives and lifestyles of those on both the right and left. The report states:
“Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines – and partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive – than at any point in the last two decades. These trends manifest themselves in myriad ways, both in politics and in everyday life. And a new survey of 10,000 adults nationwide finds that these divisions are greatest among those who are the most engaged and active in the political process.
The overall share of Americans who express consistently conservative or consistently liberal opinions has doubled over the past two decades from 10% to 21%. And ideological thinking is now much more closely aligned with partisanship than in the past. As a result, ideological overlap between the two parties has diminished: Today, 92% of Republicans are to the right of the median Democrat, and 94% of Democrats are to the left of the median Republican.
Today 92% of Republicans are to the right of the median Democrat, and 94% of Democrats are to the left of the median Republican. Partisan animosity has increased substantially over the same period. In each party, the share with a highly negative view of the opposing party has more than doubled since 1994. Most of these intense partisans believe the opposing party’s policies “are so misguided that they threaten the nation’s well-being.”
You can read the full report here and the seven key findings here.
June 13th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
I had not checked in with NightHawk for several weeks when instinct this morning told me to sign-in. How timely. The article is spot on accurate, particularly after the stunning primary defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (the right-wing even eats their own).
Right-wing conservative philosophy has hardened to the point where any compromise on controversial issues would “violate” their principles. The fault lines of polarization break primarily along rural vs.urban lines (a divide that actually goes back to the beginnings of the US). Rural areas tend to be predominately white, fearful, non-secular, lower income, etc. Urban areas diverse, higher incomes, secular, etc. Look at any “red” state and you find “blue” voting areas generally clustered around cities. The same is true in “blue” states where “red” voting clusters surround rural communities.
Many factors are cited, such as the popularity of right-wing talk radio and FOX cable news which communicate right-wing propadanda 24/7. The result has created a political stalemate: right-wing conservatives dominate local congressional elections but fail to appeal to the broader constituency needed to win national or many larger state-wide elections. There are no signs that this deadlock will be broken soon which does not bode well for American democracy.
The last time in our history when the country was so divided was just prior to the Civil War and it took 600,000 dead Americans to bridge our differences.