The polarization of America | Guest Opinion 

Polarized political parties have been pretty much the norm throughout American history.

The Federalist and Republican factions emerged from George Washington’s cabinet to become the nation’s first parties. The two-party system that developed throughout the 19th Century became bitterly polarized over slavery in the 1850s, sparking the Civil War, and polarization has continued to develop to the deeply divided positions held today.

The tumultuous presidency of Donald Trump, capped by the attack on our Capitol, vividly laid out the stark divide we see today in America. Trump won because he successfully appealed to the identities, grievances and fears of voters who felt our traditional political system was not meeting their needs. He lost because more voters vehemently disagreed with the vision of America that he demonstrated.

Trump’s defeat and Joe Biden’s victory is not likely to change the role that identity politics plays in our political system. Indeed, the 2020 election may have increased our polarization — as evidenced by the millions of new voters who voted and the continuing controversy since the election.

The Columbia Basin Badger Club’s April 15 online forum will explore the good and bad sides of that polarization. Our featured speaker will be Dr. Seth Masket, an author and professor of political science at the University of Denver, where he is the director of the Center on American Politics. He is the author of three books — most recently Learning from Loss: The Democrats 2016-2020 — and specializes in political parties, campaigns and elections and polarization.

Masket notes that pundits, politicians and reformers often cite polarization as a significant problem but rarely provide much evidence to support their claims. They also tend to offer “cures” for polarization that aren’t necessarily rooted in fact.

His research looks at potential causes of polarization. His studies have found no evidence to support claims that party spending, legislative professionalism, chamber size, gerrymandering or primary election rules are responsible for the rise in legislative polarization, at least at the state level. Instead, he contends legislative polarization is largely due to economic inequality, distribution of voter public opinion and a decline in political reporting by local media.

Our partisan divide is also our ideological divide, and an identity divide. That is, the parties have sharply divergent views about the best course for the country, and are perhaps as ideologically distinct from each other as they’ve been since the Civil War.

What’s more, our social identities increasingly determine partisan lines. Race, gender, education, sexual preference, religious observance, whether we own a gun, where we choose to live and even what kind of food we like to eat increasingly overlap with partisanship.

This has helped to create a rise of “negative partisanship” in which Democrats and Republicans increasingly see each other as not only alien but also dangerous to the country.

And yet, partisanship can be helpful in structuring government, in getting people involved in politics, in helping people to understand complex issues and in turning people out to vote. Join the Badger Club as we explore this vital issue.

Register for this online Zoom forum at columbiabasinbadgers.com to receive a confirmation email with a link to complete your registration on Zoom. Cost is $5 for nonmembers, free for club members.

This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 3:33 PM with the headline "The polarization of America | Guest Opinion ."