Political Polarization in American Politics Chapters 10 - 17

David Leip’s Atlas of Election Results. 2016 Popular vote as of 16 November 2016

David Leip’s Atlas of Election Results 2012

2012 County Map – Obama vs. Romney

The Economist Magazine

The New York Times

Size of Lead: New York Times

48D -- 52R (After LA Runoff)

193D – 242R After two Run Offs in LA and counting one R ahead (Issa, R-CA)

Chapter 10: The Two Key Factors Behind our Polarized Politics Jeff Stonecash Chapter 10: The Two Key Factors Behind our Polarized Politics 1. Fundamental Disagreements about what and how government should do. 2. A long-term realignment brought this debate into sharp focus. Namely the movement of Southern Democrats into the Republican Party.

Stonecash

Francis Lee Chapter 11: American politics is more competitive than ever, and that is making partisanship worse. 1. The period most similar to the 1980 – Now is the “Gilded Age” 1876 – 1896 – both are periods of close and alternating party majorities, as well as of fierce party conflict. 2. Competition for power, not only ideological polarization, contributes to our confrontational contemporary politics (this is a distinction without a difference).

Lee

Alan Abramowitz Chapter 12: How Race and Religion have Polarized American Voters 1. Mass Polarization is largely due to the fact that Democratic and Republican elected officials represent electoral coalitions that differ sharply in their social characteristics and political orientations. 2. The population is increasingly non-White. 3. There are deep differences between religious and non-religious people.

Abramowitz

Abramowitz

Abramowitz

Hans Noel Chapter 13: How ideological activists constructed our polarized parties. 1. Distinguishes “liberal-conservative” conflict with modern day division – First Dimension is best understood as Regulation of the Economy. 2. Second Dimension captures divisions (usually regional) within one or both Political Parties.

The 16th Amendment: Allowed Taxes on Income Ratified 3 February 1913

The 17th Amendment: The Popular Election of Senators Ratified 8 April 1913

The 18th Amendment: Banning Intoxicating Liquors Ratified 16 January 1919

The 19th Amendment: The Right of Women to Vote. Ratified on 26 August 1920

Andrew Gelman Chapter 14: How better educated whites are driving political polarization 1. He is only concerned with Abortion. This limits his analysis considerably.

Gelman

Gelman

Gelman

Matthew Levendusky Chapter 15: Are Fox and MSNBC polarizing America? See Arceneaux and Johnson and Stroud and Curry in American Gridlock

Kevin Arceneaux See Arceneaux and Johnson in American Gridlock Chapter 16: Why you should not blame polarization on partisan news See Arceneaux and Johnson in American Gridlock

Matthew Levendusky and Neil Malhotra Chapter 17: The media make us think we are more polarized than we really are 1. When asked, people think that Democrats and Republicans are further apart on issues than they actually are.

Levendusky- Malhotra