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Why we’re polarized

Somerville

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A book review by Norman J Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute Scholar, originally published in the NYTimes

The book, Why We're Polarized is by Ezra Klein
Why America’s political divisions will only get worse

Klein describes neatly and concisely what has changed in our electoral politics, using political science research from scholars like Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster of Emory. In the 1970s, voters tended to split tickets between, say, congressional and presidential races; in that decade the correlation of the two votes was 0.54. In the 1980s it rose to 0.65. Now it is 0.97! Just as stunning, another researcher, the political scientist Corwin Smidt, found that today’s self-proclaimed independents “vote more predictably for one party over another than yesteryear’s partisans.” The key here, however, is what Abramowitz and Webster call “negative partisanship” — that people are now more motivated by their antipathy for the other party than by affinity for their own. The willingness of ardent Trump supporters to stick with him through scandal, outrage and actions that may damage their own economic standing becomes more understandable — criticizing him or seeing him suffer a defeat means that the evil enemy has gained a victory.

What Klein adds especially to our understanding of how we got here — why Trump is more a vessel for our division than the cause, and why his departure will not provide any magical cure — is represented in his overall thesis (. . .)

Klein makes clear, drawing in part on my work with Thomas E. Mann (which, in full disclosure, he praises), that the parties have reacted to, and weathered, the drive toward polarization in different ways. By doubling and tripling down on a more homogeneous group, Republicans have become more cultlike and resistant to compromise or moderation; Democrats, in contrast, have “an immune system of diversity and democracy.” Klein says that “if polarization has given the Democratic Party the flu, the Republican Party has caught pneumonia.”

The following paragraph is the one that most affected my thinking on the Electoral College - a system laid out in the Constitution for a very different world than the one we know.
For those who think demography is destiny, Klein has an answer, and it is an unsettling one. Baked into the political system devised by our framers is an increasing bias toward geography and away from people. As the country grows more diverse, the representation and power in our politics will grow even less reflective of that dynamism. By 2040, 70 percent of Americans will live in 15 of our 50 states, and 50 percent will live in just 8 states. The Electoral College will be less responsive to the popular vote, and we will likely have more elections where the winner of the popular vote loses the presidency — and it could be by five million or six million or seven million votes, not the 500,000 margin for Al Gore in 2000 or the three-million margin for Hillary Clinton against Trump.

Thirty percent of Americans will elect 70 of the 100 senators.
 
Yeah trumpism wont leave even after Trump is gone, neither will the divisions.
 
Why we’re polarized

Trump obviously. Although this all started with Gingrich and the Republican created propaganda network, Fox News.

What I don't get about Fox is, as it was created to be a republican editorial platform, why did it go radical republican instead of mainstream, centrist republican.

It took a fringe group of people from the radical right, nurtured and grew it until we have the Democracy ending Trumpist movement.
 
Will we be looking at a nation that is even more divided than it is today? Will violence with attacks on political opponents become ever more prevalent? I hope not but in the meantime, I live in a tiny community on an island where I can speak openly with friends who have opposing political views.

U.S. political divide becomes increasingly violent, rattling activists and police

“We are sort of at the stage of polarization where there are more and more people who are seeking confrontation, where they are not simply satisfied with disagreeing with the other side or yelling at the other side, but they want to confront,” said Mark Pitcavage, a historian and senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. “We are not just a polarized society — we are increasingly a confrontational society now.”
(. . .)
In some places, police have been on the defensive as left-leaning activists, politicians and faith leaders have accused them of not protecting them, while cozying up to conservatives. Some police leaders say they are struggling to stay ahead of the country’s coarsening divide, which they say is being fueled by rampant misinformation on social media designed to stoke tension.

“It seems like we as a country have moved right past the discussion phase of things and now we just are at the stage of conflict, being at odds, distrust and disbelief,” said Lance Arnold, the police chief in Weatherford, Tex. “This is not who we are, and it’s almost like we are living in a different time and a different place.”
(. . .) participants on all sides said the chaos has left them concerned that America’s democracy is teetering uncomfortably, rattling their confidence that either the law or neighborly goodwill can prevent even worse confrontations in the weeks ahead.

Armed vigilantes, stoked by team Trump, threaten us all
 
Yeah trumpism wont leave even after Trump is gone, neither will the divisions.

Indeed, these deplorables are all now out of teh closet. No longer ashamed of their failed lives and abhorrent behaviors.
 
Indeed, these deplorables are all now out of teh closet. No longer ashamed of their failed lives and abhorrent behaviors.

But it's the liberals who are always whining.
:lamo
You people wake up every day offended by something.
 
Trump obviously. Although this all started with Gingrich and the Republican created propaganda network, Fox News.

What I don't get about Fox is, as it was created to be a republican editorial platform, why did it go radical republican instead of mainstream, centrist republican.

It took a fringe group of people from the radical right, nurtured and grew it until we have the Democracy ending Trumpist movement.

Its a shame that opposition media doesnt have a full grasp on this and in certain talk shows have mirrored this strategy. Its one of the big reasons i never liked Olberman. I remember when that guy sent a Troll to Hannity’s forum to grab a gotcha, forgetting what he did also implicated many of the democratic posters of the site. I think after Ailes, fox news forgot they had to at least keep an air of legitimacy while satisfying their biggest moneymakers, now they dont even pretend.
 
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Trump obviously. Although this all started with Gingrich and the Republican created propaganda network, Fox News.

What I don't get about Fox is, as it was created to be a republican editorial platform, why did it go radical republican instead of mainstream, centrist republican.

It took a fringe group of people from the radical right, nurtured and grew it until we have the Democracy ending Trumpist movement.

FoxNews, much like America is becoming divided also. I have read that Rupert Murdoch is not happy with the president's acts. Hannity, Ingraham, and Dobbs have called for the firing of the Fox reporter who supported the story that Trump called dead veterans "suckers and losers".
 
But it's the liberals who are always whining.
:lamo
You people wake up every day offended by something.

Dude, get real. Your cult is one of victimization and hate.
 
But it's the liberals who are always whining.
:lamo
You people wake up every day offended by something.

So the 'conservatives' who whine about their religious rights being oppressed, their right to discriminate against those 'others', how the libruls are gonna take away their guns, that God needs to be front and center in society - they aren't offended.

Look in a mirror before laying charges against those you dislike - please.
 
So the 'conservatives' who whine about their religious rights being oppressed, their right to discriminate against those 'others', how the libruls are gonna take away their guns, that God needs to be front and center in society - they aren't offended.

Look in a mirror before laying charges against those you dislike - please.

Liberals have been using back door policies on guns for years.

And, I could give a **** what the evangelicals think.
 
Your cult is all about hate and division and you are not honest enough to admit it.

What ****in horse****. Just stop, it's off putting. Black is not white, up is not down.

There is no secret that Trump's strategy for himself personally is to divide the country.

Everything Biden says is to make this one country again.

This post of yours is seriously nauseating, you just lie and lie and lie. Knowing full well you are lying. It's........
 
But it's the liberals who are always whining.
:lamo
You people wake up every day offended by something.

Dude, get real. Your cult is one of victimization and hate.

And here is a wonderful example of how accurate the op is.

Politics in america has devolved into complaining about the others rather than what one can do.

I agree with the op. the good sheeple of america are being bred to hate each other.
 
This points out that it is true we are divided. Seems people have forgotten how to compromise. No wonder Congress is gridlocked.
 
And, I could give a **** what the evangelicals think.

Really, you are in bed with them. Yes, with teh morons of teh country that even Bush laughed at even though they got him close to elected.
 
And here is a wonderful example of how accurate the op is.

Politics in america has devolved into complaining about the others rather than what one can do.

I agree with the op. the good sheeple of america are being bred to hate each other.

Exactly. But who is doing the breeding? It is Putin and Trump enabled by Fox.
 
This points out that is true we are divided. Seems people have forgotten how to compromise. No wonder Congress is gridlocked.

This was started under Gingrich and the radicals who became the teabaggers and evolved into Trumpets.
 
This was started under Gingrich and the radicals who became the teabaggers and evolved into Trumpets.

You may be correct. What is sad is how partisan politics has now infected the general public. One reason I am very careful on what I say in discussing politics even among friends.
 
Why not just allow states to secede so they can escape progressivism?
 
Liberals have been using back door policies on guns for years.

And, I could give a **** what the evangelicals think.

If you don't "give a **** what evangelicals think", why are you only attacking liberals for their whining? The fundies out there are just as loud, if not louder, and certainly have much more influence in the White House and the Senate than those whiny libruls.
 
You may be correct. What is sad is how partisan politics has now infected the general public. One reason I am very careful on what I say in discussing politics even among friends.

It is so true. The announced Trump supporters I give second consideration to now. Both in business and personal life.

I just feel it is morally wrong to look the other way when people embrace such... evil.
 
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This was started under Gingrich and the radicals who became the teabaggers and evolved into Trumpets.

I think we can go back a few years before Newt rose to power, back to Robert Welch founding the John Birch Society in 1958, followed by reaction to LBJ signing the Civil Rights Bill in 1964.
 
Exactly. But who is doing the breeding? It is Putin and Trump enabled by Fox.

Why not look at the people themselves? until the people of america start insisting that politics be about how to make the country better rather than how to complain about each other then you all just give the putins and trumps the leverage they need. Your leaders will not put a stop to this because they used it to get into power.
 
A book review by Norman J Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute Scholar, originally published in the NYTimes

The book, Why We're Polarized is by Ezra Klein


The following paragraph is the one that most affected my thinking on the Electoral College - a system laid out in the Constitution for a very different world than the one we know.

The reason we're polarized is because Democrats, NeverTrumpers and their propagandist corps in the media have been entirely unwilling to accept the results of the 2016 election. They had the whole thing figured out. They'd gamed every possible scenario and planned for every contingency and then the American voters went and ****ed everything up so now they're pissed off and have no ability whatsoever to be the least bit introspective.
 
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