Preface
In the history of American politics, there have always been periods of bipartisanship. During the Cold War, Presidents Johnson and Reagan both saw cooperation and support from their conversely aligned Congressmen. In 2002, President Bush was able to pass the Iraq Resolution through Democratic support. One thing, however, remains constant throughout these times: presence of an external threat. The end of the Cold War brought about the age of low politics; no longer burdened by the external threat of the Soviet Union, the American political system could now afford to argue about every manner of domestic issue, regardless of how petty or parochial. As a result, the United States Congress is more sectarian than it was just a generation …show more content…
In a polarized system, ideological views become vastly divergent, forcing any policy measures to essentially become black and white; this allows the electorate to achieve a higher degree of perspicacity, as party positions are easier to pin down. As well as providing clarity for the electorate, these systems also tend to be more accountable. Driven apart by their ideologies, the parties are immiscible and internally homogeneous, increasing a party's ability to keep their campaign promises in the event of a victory. Furthermore, political polarization has been shown to increase voter turnout. Following the end of the Second World War, as well as the years throughout the Cold War, the percent turnout of voting age population (VAP) can be seen following a general trend of declination. Seemingly correlated with the general trend of polarization, percent turnout of VAP within the last decade has increased, which, perhaps, offers better representation of the electorate …show more content…
However, even within this tame political arena, Democrats still identified strongly with their candidates and rooted intensely for them, and vice versa for Republicans. Although past electorates were undoubtedly just as zealously partisinal as contemporary voters, the political polarization seen today is unlike the partisanship of the past. Transitioning from an age of high politics, American Congressmen, in recent years, have no longer been unified by the external threat of the Soviet Union (or any serious international threat for that matter); instead of debating foreign policy, domestic issues have filled the gap. Now free to debate every manner of domestic issue, party lines have become more concrete, leading to an excavation of the center of the bell curve and a decline in ‘across the aisle’ mingling. In contrast to prior decades, it was enthusiastic partisanship for their candidate (and by extension, their party) rather than having fundamentally incompatible beliefs that fueled their pious
In the history of American politics, there have always been periods of bipartisanship. During the Cold War, Presidents Johnson and Reagan both saw cooperation and support from their conversely aligned Congressmen. In 2002, President Bush was able to pass the Iraq Resolution through Democratic support. One thing, however, remains constant throughout these times: presence of an external threat. The end of the Cold War brought about the age of low politics; no longer burdened by the external threat of the Soviet Union, the American political system could now afford to argue about every manner of domestic issue, regardless of how petty or parochial. As a result, the United States Congress is more sectarian than it was just a generation …show more content…
In a polarized system, ideological views become vastly divergent, forcing any policy measures to essentially become black and white; this allows the electorate to achieve a higher degree of perspicacity, as party positions are easier to pin down. As well as providing clarity for the electorate, these systems also tend to be more accountable. Driven apart by their ideologies, the parties are immiscible and internally homogeneous, increasing a party's ability to keep their campaign promises in the event of a victory. Furthermore, political polarization has been shown to increase voter turnout. Following the end of the Second World War, as well as the years throughout the Cold War, the percent turnout of voting age population (VAP) can be seen following a general trend of declination. Seemingly correlated with the general trend of polarization, percent turnout of VAP within the last decade has increased, which, perhaps, offers better representation of the electorate …show more content…
However, even within this tame political arena, Democrats still identified strongly with their candidates and rooted intensely for them, and vice versa for Republicans. Although past electorates were undoubtedly just as zealously partisinal as contemporary voters, the political polarization seen today is unlike the partisanship of the past. Transitioning from an age of high politics, American Congressmen, in recent years, have no longer been unified by the external threat of the Soviet Union (or any serious international threat for that matter); instead of debating foreign policy, domestic issues have filled the gap. Now free to debate every manner of domestic issue, party lines have become more concrete, leading to an excavation of the center of the bell curve and a decline in ‘across the aisle’ mingling. In contrast to prior decades, it was enthusiastic partisanship for their candidate (and by extension, their party) rather than having fundamentally incompatible beliefs that fueled their pious