For the past few years, simmering debates have taken place among scholars, journalists, and pundits over the meaning of polarization in American politics. One of those debates has been about the level of polarization in the broader public. … The second debate has been about the nature of polarization among elites, especially in Washington. …
Those debates have heated up in the past week or so with the release of a monumental and impressive new study of the electorate by the Pew Research Center. The study offers overwhelming evidence of a sharp increase in polarization and in tribal political characterizations over the past two decades, but especially in the past few years. CONT.
Norm Ornstein