It’s no great secret that America is increasingly polarized politically.
For a revealing animated infographic, see America’s political polarization in 3 charts …
According to Pew surveys: (1) there was a political divide in the Clinton years, but also a sizeable overlapping middle (2) there was a slight convergence to the middle in the post 9-11 Bush years, and (3) there was a widening divide and shrinking middle during the Obama years.
Fast forward to today.
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According to Pew’s most recent survey:
The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on fundamental political values reached record levels during Barack Obama’s presidency.
The nation’s political cleavages on most issues have widened in the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Americans have never been as divided along partisan lines as they are now.
The gap between Democrats and Republicans continues to expand on questions about the role of government, race, and immigration.
The average gap between self-identified Democrats and Republicans on these questions was 15 points in 1994. Today, it’s 36 points, having nudged up from 33 percent in 2014.
Today, virtually all Democrats, 97 percent, are more liberal than the median Republican, and 95 percent of Republicans are more conservative than the median Democrat.
Pew’s bottom line:
“Each party has become more ideologically homogeneous, and more hostile toward the opinions of members of the other party.”
Ouch.
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