The Age of Hyper-Polarization
American government today can be easily compared to a cage-match; members of all levels of government constantly deride one another and exude a hostile working atmosphere. Just look at Congress, where members of both parties act as if they are on opposing battle-lines.
In decades past, this cutthroat partisanship was not the norm. Representatives and Senators from both parties would form bipartisan caucuses, and commonly socialize after hours. Politicians saw themselves as colleagues, and often had amicable relationships. This collaboration even continued on the presidential level; Dwight Eisenhower, for example, would invite Democratic and Republican leaders over every Tuesday to discuss their plans for the week. But today, such meetings are not regularly occurring and are mainly high-intensity and compromise-centered.
In the House of Representatives, regular meetings between leaders of both parties began to fade during the 1980s, and by Newt Gingrich’s speakership in the mid-1990s they became virtually nonexistent. The bipartisanship was seen by both parties as opposing their own progress, where establishing themselves as good and the other side as evil would ensure success amongst voters.
What caused this collapse of bipartisanship and cooperation? It could be that American citizens are now more ideologically opposed than ever before. Many Americans now hold consistently liberal or conservative views, and an increased rate see the opposing party in a strongly negative light. A Pew Research study of congressional votes indicates the the House and Senate mirrors this occurrence, with fewer and fewer overlapping votes since the 1970s. Congress is divided almost completely by party lines, with 93% of roll call votes strictly falling into proper party ideology.
Based strictly on voting, this partisanship could be attributed to the consolidation of conservatives and liberals across both parties. The Republican Party began as a disjointed party mainly unified by the common goal of eliminating slavery; the big-government wing of the party that originated from the ashes of the Whig Party faced opposition to the pro-business wing that later developed. The Democratic Party was similarly divided for many years amongst conservative Southern members and progressive members.
The adoption of the Civil Rights platform by the Democratic Party began to shape the parties as they are known today: one conservative and one liberal, with little room for overlap.
Beyond partisan politics, the goals of the United States as a whole have largely shifted. No longer are the American people united in large-scale war as they were for decades of the 20th century, and gone is the threat of communism. The American people have begun to shed the resulting nationalism that shaped the past century; there has been a concerted effort to ban displays of patriotism in schools, and many see schoolchildren reciting the pledge of allegiance in a non-favorable light.
American society has become more polarized than ever. And with a lack of serious threats of major war and communism, Americans no longer have any strong catalysts for unifying nationalism. With Congress following suit, and its members voting on strict ideological lines and largely refusing to reach across the aisle, the government reflects this change in society. The days of bipartisanship are now a relic of older times.
