The less populous a state, generally, the more the citizens can avoid dealing with diversity, and dealing with diversity (or not dealing with it) is a cultural feedback spiral.
As less populous states become more and more diverse, the feedback spiral reverses and views move leftward. (I'll use the term, though I hate the labels, which accentuate and lock in divisions disproportionately to actual differences.) Trump, and especially his Congressional enablers, are the last gasp of those who can't or won't handle diversity in the face of the shifting American demographics. Fear drives the sides to tit-for-tat tactics; a zero-sum strategy if neither side ever goes cooperative, and ultimately destructive of a society. Every revolution in history has occurred when zero-sum got too outrageous and one side became effectively incapable of responding tit-for-tat.
Mitch McConnell's GOP is an example of zero-sum gone destructive. Not even allowing the other side to get votes on bills? Hypocritical pseudo-rules that favor his party? That only makes sense if McConnell succeeds in securing permanent GOP government rule, but even that will only delay the inevitable unless America turned fascist.
69
@Barry Williams Red states are teeming with blacks and hispanics. Have been for many years. A number of blue states are lily white except for their cities.
8
That's a good observation, when will popular opinion and campaign policy towards this states change, though?
1
"You have in common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes." - George Washington Farewell Address.
It is this that we have inherited, a common cause. An idea which has, while flawed, endured many trials and tribulations. The Left believes they are right. The Right believes they are right. So therefore everyone is wrong. Would the Founders have ever thought the divisiveness would become so deep? Washington warned us against a two party system. The party in power will eventually abuse its power, since absolute power corrupts absolutely. The nature of man seems to be corruptible (Citizen's United is a case in point); money has corrupted the system so badly, it seems as if the common man and woman do not have a voice that matters anymore. The common man has become too easily swayed by political rhetoric because they are playing Candy Crush instead of paying attention. IF the people no longer care about the political system, it cannot function as intended.
17
The root cause of many of these problems is economic inequality. Not the inequality between billionaires and everyone else, but the inequality between highly educated professionals in the top 10% and less affluent families living away from the coasts.
The professional classes dominate some states, because there are a lot of them there and they have education and money, but that doesn't lessen the resentment from below. If the people they lord it over ever manage to get power, then they'll do the opposite, just to spite them. Nothing would give them more pleasure than to see the entire editorial board of the New York Times foaming at the mouth with rage.
Thus, Trump. It doesn't matter if he's rich, or if he helps the billionaires. Just as long as he sticks it to lawyers, the press, and college professors, he's golden.
12
You know what I blame for a great deal of the divide and rancor in this country? Facebook.
Social media has reduced grown adults to the level of sniveling five-year-old children, acting out and groveling for attention. It is the nature of these platforms for people to behave this way, and to say things online that they would never dare to say to another person face-to-face.
Cancel your account. Get out in the real world, and actually talk to real people.
---
I have never had a Facebook account. And no, I am not a luddite or an old fogey. I work in computing, and I love technology. I played with Friendster, one of the first social networks, for a couple of weeks back in 2002. I found its culture childish and petty then, and social networking has not changed its nature one whit since then -- except for getting exponentially larger.
17
Facebook has allowed to be who we are so don't pass the buck. if we are to expect better of our got we need to be better as people.
7
How important is it that Alabama remain a state? They're against women's rights and no longer believe in democracy. Let's add Puerto Rico if they'll have us.
19
I agree with those that say we are headed towards a breakdown of the U.S. as we know it, unless there is a great savor untainted by the outdated labels of Democrat or Republican. That person doesn’t exist, and the gulf between the fringe of both the left and right only becomes wider by the day. I think before this century is over, there will be a major calamity such as a major, bloody war that brings us together, or there will be a division of the country on the lines of liberal and conservative. I really don’t see any other outcome
5
Relying on a “great savior” is a bad idea. Either we’re all in this together—the “we” in “we the people” is not a mistake—or we all suffer. Everyone’s voice matters.
9
The Kennedy assassination, The Pentagon Papers, Watergate, Iran-Contra, The Lewinsky scandal, Iraq WMD's. These are some of the reasons I believe the electorate feels increasingly frustrated, distrustful of government and powerless. Add to that the ability to listen to what we want to hear and we end up marinating in our own righteousness. Add to that that it's easier to look at our phones instead of looking at one another. Add to that the lack of an imminent threat from a national enemy, and we prove that we will fight ourselves in its stead. And we need to DO something about gerrymandering.
If we remain too close to the portrait of the country, we will forever be obsessed with its flaws. Only when we step back and selflessly engage with others are we better able to accept and appreciate its beauty.
6
I believe one thing we are witnessing is a realignment of the two major political parties. The last time this happened was in 1968, in the aftermath of the civil rights movement and legislation. (Nixon's Southern Strategy, et al.)
1. 50 years ago, activism and iconoclastic views were the purview of the Left, and the Right was the party of stability and lowercase "c" conservatism. Today, the radicals are on the Right (Tea Party, MAGA hats), and the Left is the party of stability, Rule of Law, and the Constitution.
2. Democrats have long been the urban/big city party, and Republicans the rural/small town party. 50 years ago, American cities were in a shambles. People were leaving, there was disinvestment. Think "Escape from New York." Meanwhile rural/small town America was idyllic, with good jobs, schools, and civic institutions. Think Mayberry. Today the opposite is true. Most of the opportunity and jobs are in the cities, and rural and small town America is hurting. Democrats remain the party of the cities, and Republicans remain the party of rural and small town America.
3. Look at specific issues. Republicans used to be the Party of Free Trade. Now more Democrats support that, while Mr. Trump's Republicans are moving toward protectionism. Republicans used to be the Party of States Rights and local control, while the Democrats favored a strong central government. Today, contrast Mr. Trump's use of centralized executive power with Democratic initiatives in the states.
8
Sad, but America is afraid of its own shadow.
And, the root cause to much of the anxiety and tension is an unpredictable, mentally unstable man.
The author of "Siege" Michael Wolff was interviewed recently about his book by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.
O'Donnell asked Wolff if he had asked former Trump pal and consultant of sorts, Steve Bannon, whether Trump would win reelection?
"Stop!" Bannon replied, not wanting to reply to such a ridiculous question, according to Wolff.
I agree.
America will rid itself of this cancer and begin the slow process of governing, returning to the rule of law and Constitution.
One reason the country is divided is because many whites are terrified of the changing demographics, losing power to non-whites.
Trump strokes this fear, paranoia, and hate, giving them scapegoats.
He has pitted one against the other.
The Rubber Stamp Republican Congress finds it more difficult each day to explain Trump's words and deeds, most spawned out of impulse and ignorance.
Trump is slowly dismantling, destroying the economy — single-handedly. Holding American consumers hostage while doing so.
Republicans are frightened of Trump because it's hard to give up congressional power, perks, fat paychecks, and long vacations.
America was divided by a bloody conflict when another American said:
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." — Abraham Lincoln
9
It is interesting to see one repeated thread in these comments where Democrats (and I am one) are supporting states rights, local control, and a smaller or less influential federal government.
I don't disagree.
But it is interesting that this used to be the Republican position.
10
This interesting article missed the big enchilada - gerrymandering. This attack on democracy and voting sensibilities makes sure that most elected officials only have to please their pre-selected base, instead of answering to the truer diversity of their cities and areas. Gerrymandering must be outlawed. Supreme Court, are you listening?
13
As a Democrat I'm sick and tired of reading about red states and their intolerance, and in some cases out and out bigotry towards immigrants, women, and people of color.
I believe the days of reaching out and trying to find common ground with these people is over. They simply need to be called out for what they are. The Steve Kings, Donald Trumps, David Dukes, and sorry about this one, but Steve Scalise, are just the representatives of a bigoted intolerant Republican base. Is every Republican a bigot or racist? NO! Are the most intolerant, and bigots and racists Republicans? Yes. If we don't call this behavior out as a country we will never move past it.
22
It's obvious from any media source you read, follow, or watch that the country has become much more divided.
Many people point towards politicians who claim to speak for the majority of their constituents when in reality it's really only a sub-set of the populace.
A lot of people say that the president seems only to recognize his base supporters and never acknowledges anyone who did not vote for him.
Others look at the economic disparity in the country that favors some and crushes others.
I believe what has been lost in this country is a national dialogue for human kind. To see the world only as it relates to ourselves.
We seem to have forgotten that we all live on this one small planet and the misguided actions of a few will have lasting repercussions for us all.
8
@Lalo
"I believe what has been lost in this country is a national dialogue for human kind."
You are correct. The problem is that today's Republicans have taken individualism to an extreme. (Naked selfishness.) That can't end well.
These Republicans try to paint any common goals for our nation as the extremre of collectivism -- which is "Socialism" (or Communism). That does not describe where the Democratic Party is today, but it's all they've got.
But these people are driven to support their own selfishness, masked as the ideal of individualism, until the cows come home. We need to call them out on it. Selfish is as selfish does.
6
Politics isn't policy; but does shape it.
We all want policy to be representative of our own politics.
Diplomacy is the check and balance of politics.
Unions have been neutered, now let's limited campaign funding from the right, as effectively.
Not a single word about gerrymandering.
8
Which party's policies are in-line with the rest of the world's first world liberal democracies like Canada, France, Germany? Which party's policies are in-line with authoritarian dictatorships like Russia and pseudo-theocracies like Saudi Arabia?
Then you have climate change, a fundamental issue of survival recognized by scientists all over the world and even the Pentagon, hardly a left-wing bastion. On this issue the Republican Party is even more extreme. The only countries that have refused to sign Paris Accord are a few petro-states like Russia and Saudi Arabia.... and of course the US under Trump.
So I don't know about you. But I'm not going to agree to meet some lunatic halfway when he wants to drag both of us off a cliff.
21
We should all thank Trump for forcing the nation to squarely face the question: Is this nation worth saving? Trump has exposed the deep rifts within American society that may be intractable. Our history does not suggest that this generation is capable of resolving the question. But, then, previous generations failed as well. For example, Lincoln proposed that the Civil War had created a new nation, when we removed the scar of race. Unfortunately, the Reconstruction was subverted and racial caste system was sustained until two 20th century developments: school desegregation and the Civil Rights acts of the sixties. It's obvious the former has failed badly and the Supreme Court has all but neutered the Voting Rights act. While there has been progress at the edges, the central issue of whether we are capable of being a self-governing people who created a nation of laws is still possible. The fear among those foreigners who wish us well is that the American experiment, as a model of self-government, is over. Can we prove them wrong?
2
Its not worth saving. We should just break it up into 4 or 5 smaller countries.
2
I can think of a couple of very large countries that would be absolutely ecstatic if the US fell apart. Then it’s the Cold War all over again, with a much weaker America. You really want to go there?
7
Reading about South Africa I saw something apt - there were men who were on the losing side of the Boer War who retained such anger about the war that they continued to fight or resist after it was over. They were referred to by a name that translates to the "bitter enders".
We have a lot of "bitter enders" for the last presidential election in the respect that they continue to fight the last election over and over again.
It will take an exceptional group of politicians over years to return to some semblance of cooperation - if it's possible at all given the Citizens United influence.
6
What about abolishing the Senate; it may gives you more time to work on unification...It is sad for me to see the actual situation!Best
3
We have deep divides in moral values. I came from the Mason Dixon Line split among family backgrounds, Yankee mother and Confederate father, in the 1950's we always were civil and always agreed we were glad our Yankees won the civil war.
Now, I am not sure that all Americans could agree to even that. I find that some neighbors are people I would rather have nothing to do with. It seems pointless to pretend to even know each other, I have cut some old associates out of my life. I avoid them in the park or markets. I find their racism repellant. This split could lead to a break up of 50 states. Trumpism seems to bring out a mean spirit that people enjoy, they laugh if somebody brings up mothers and children at the border. They think liberals are "soft".
16
The Two-Party system under which our electoral apparatus and government function is absolutely dependent on fair play. When one party, the minority party, uses devious means financed by massive corporate funding to undermine the voting rights of the opposition - the two party system will fail- as it has in the United States.
7
One thing becomes clear by reading the comments to this story. If we don't change the direction our country is headed, we will fall into an ugly civil war that will resemble those fought in Yugoslavia, Spain, Syria, and Iraq. All of these wars made our Civil War look like a picnic.
People also need to understand that if conflict breaks out over "identities," you will be forced to side with your identity. You will not have the option of choosing which side you're on. Your individual views will not be relevant.
To see how these things play out, look to the Middle East or the Balkans. For example in Syria right now, Alawites are more or less forced to support the Assad regime. They may despise Assad, who is an Alawite, but there is a decent chance they will be facing a genocide at this point if his regime falls. Many rebels are so angry at Assad, they are not going to take the time to sort out the good Alawites from the bad.
There is still plenty of time to save our country from going down that dark path, but it will take work and a willingness to compromise to get us to change course.
7
Before you have your next chance to vote at the polls, spend some time voting with your wallet.
I am currently looking for a new vehicle. I will not be driving anything made in Alabama.
17
@Mike Fitz
I will buy something from China before I buy something from Alabama.
13
In the last few years, this question has been foremost in the minds of many Americans: What holds this country together? The question seems more complex and less open to solution than even during the run-up to the Civil War. Then the question was about slavery. Should we permit one part of the country to remain slave, while the other is free. Today, the poor are angry at the rich, evangelicals are upset with abortion, whites are upset about blacks and immigrants.
The conventional belief is that Americans are united by a belief in the rule of law, in democracy and free elections, and in freedom of speech. But these are thin reeds. The rule of law is under attack by a president who disregards the prerogatives of Congress, and seems above the law; democracy and free elections are being threatened by the the Russians; and freedom of speech is diminished by Murdoch and other media giants.
We need to come up with a more robust explanation.
60
@Diogenes
Fascism holds this country together. The Rich need the votes from the Red States and money from the Blue States.
11
@Diogenes Trump's flouting of the general norms and rule of law should be a warning to the people. IF all that holds us together is a piece of paper (Constitution) and IF the politicians (and people) are unwilling to support and defend it, this experiment is doomed. Open political discourse is a necessary element of this experiment, however the ongoing "silo-ing" of discussions are separating us more than ever.
8
I always thought of the US constitution as a binding contract: by agreeing to live in this country, one is afforded rights and protections under the Constitution. The stipulation is that one also agrees to be bound by the laws spelled out therein.
If one doesn’t agree, there an avenue to change it by running for elected legislative office, however one must play within the rules until such a time comes that one’s changes go through (and they may never since we’re a democracy and one person does’t get to make all the decisions that affect everybody else).
It’s a very flexible system of government that works really, really well when people abide by it, and it even has built-in checks and balances to correct itself in an attempt to prevent it from falling apart. It’s almost like it was expressly planned that way by many of the smartest human beings alive 250 years ago!
The only real issue I see here is that for the past howeversomany decades people have lost touch with the “spirit of the law” and instead have been more interested in the word of the law, and enough malevolent actors have arisen to try and subvert it for whatever reason (usually financial, but then that begs the question, “Ok, so you get the money. And then what?” etc.).
Maybe the solution is to just ban all businesses from having any sort of politically influential power, e.g. ban all manner of corporate lobbying from the 3 branches. Or maybe just require all elected officials to go to Colonial Williamsburg.
6
Facts don't seem to matter or register with some of my Southern relatives and friends.
14
I don't have Southern relatives or friends. Its better that way.
6
Who is willing to talk about the Christians?
Who is willing to take it to the Christians?
Who will have compassion for the Christ, whom the Christians constantly crucify?
It is our Christians who have kept the GOP alive and sent America into the shame of republicanism. The shame of gun-running, jail-stuffing, war-mongering, environment-destroying America - now, our poor world's only superpower.
The wealthy and powerful of America use this corrupted nationalistic idolatrous religion for their endless greed.
Republicanism is the problem. It has ridden in on the back of Christianity.
13
@Tracy Rupp
That's nuts. There are many Democrats who are Christian too.
4
@Tracy
Amen sister !!
3
@Tracy Rupp
Black Christians, White Christians and Hispanic Christians believe in significantly different things.
3
Maybe it's time to rename America to "The Divided States of America".
5
"Fifty States of Americs"
2
I know I'm not alone in being tired of all this. I grew up in a poor, dysfunctional family. I'm middle class now, but one disaster away from being poor again. I want politicians who have compassion, decency, and decorum. I want politicians who were not born rich. I want politicians who are willing and able to compromise and make concessions. I guess I also want my fellow citizens to do the same. I know this won't happen in my lifetime. What ever happened to kindness and compassion?
100
@Megan
Fox News.
18
If this power imbalance was arrived at fairly, I might shrug and say, "Well, OK." But it was not, and it's not OK. Gerrymandering, bending laws out of shape, big money interference and, I don't doubt, foreign interference as well have all polluted the election process. We need a radical shift of understanding from "I win, you lose," to an understanding that there can be abundance for all if we let there be. Where is the leader who will lead us to that? And can she or he win? And will they be allowed to?
13
We need peaceful balkanization in this country. America is to big to be a sustainable country. People deserve to live free from those who hate the and to raise their children and families amongst those who share their values and goals.
110
@Gerard - America is not big enough. Our Constitution can sustain its power over variable size, both geographically and population-wise. That has been proven by our nation's continual growth in both areas as we celebrated the Bicentennial and now head towards our Tricentennial. We should return to geographical expansion in order to include like-minded peoples within our nation. Governing individual states is not at all easier than governing a nation one thousand times as large. America still works! Let's get on with it.
4
@Gerard
It is understandable to take this view. To believe that slicing the USA into multiple pieces where like minded people can live a shared mindset. I do however see many issues related to this where I offer you of a few to consider.
At what point can we stop slicing or are we opening an unending series of partitions.
Our industry, what it is, does not depend on agreed politics and mores.
With the partitions can come many social and logical limitations including medical, educational and economic to name a few.
Will we be returning to dispirit paramilitaries such as existed prior to the first world war.
Will we be returning to local currencies or as has happened in Europe attempt to maintain a shared currency yet have unique nation states.
These are just a few issues that come to mind and I expect many more exist. We can and must muddle through this period and hopefully return to a nation that negotiates and agrees not everyone will get 100% of what they want. That politicians sit down and create rules and processes that work for all Americans!
19
@TDV
I appreciate your thoughtful comment. I would have to say that the answers to your questions on paramilitaires, currencies, etc are simply: yes. Until one group becomes powerful enough to consolidate power and/or several groups gain enough power to create some semblance of stability.
I wish we could get through this period to "normal" America, but I don't think the American people are ready to have the necessary conversations to do that.
2
Bottom line: did you bother to vote or not? Will you find the energy to bother to vote in 2020? HALF of eligible voters simply blew off the opportunity to stop Donald Trump: yet fully 100%of people seem riled. Let me promise something: If Trump wins again, my question EVERY time to any person I hear complaining will be: "DID YOU VOTE OR NOT??" IF they respond with a no, I am going to immediately shutdown the conversation. Don't vote? Don't complain, you're part of the problem. We have ONE chance out of this: ONE-->VOTE.
20
@canoe
Many Conservatives simply do not vote in California. Why would they? Many liberals do not vote in Alabama. Why would they?
4
Was Arnold Schwarzenegger elected by Democrats?
2
This is 50 BC and we await the Battle of Munda in 5 years. The only difference is that Gaius Julius Caesar was a literate man and brilliant strategist, who wrote books while on horseback and actually stood on the field of battle in the face of the enemy, while Trump had "bone spurs" and is more like Crassus than anyone, a slick property developer who specialized in buying people's homes for pennies while they were on fire. Bring on the Parthians.
8
When I first read this I found it very disturbing but as I thought about it struck me that this could become a profound experiment. If the Republican states restrict rights, keep wages low, cripple healthcare, underfund schools and other social programs, and foster racism and white supremacy while Democratic states raise the minimum wage to a living wage, provide healthcare for all, family leave becomes a given, schools are well funded in all neighborhoods, low income neighborhoods are given more help in building safe communities where all people of all races have hope, unnecessary prisons are closed, Jim Crow laws are abolished, and African American neighborhoods can rebuild and become nurturing of families because fathers aren't incarcerated or killed for selling individual cigarettes, etc then we might get to see the stark differences between two philosophies.
8
@Bruce
Weak Fed and strong States Rights was kind of the original idea.
The people can then decide which state has the best blend of Individual Liberty, Services, False Protection, etc.
4
@Bruce
We have a lot of that now. What states are donor states? What states are moocher states?
4
You forgot to mention California's new election fix. Now the two highest scoring candidates in the Primaries run in the general elections. And they plan to keep Trump off the ballot entirely. It's criminal.
3
Multi-voting schemes take away more choice than they really allow.
3
America is becoming more divided, to a great extent, because more Americans are more insecure all of the time.
The only thing we do anymore is give tax cuts to the rich.
That’s not going to make for a stable culture, society, or country.
Ronald Reagan started us on the path of “survival of the fittest”, and “government is the problem”.
Government isn’t much of a problem for the rich. Republican administrations have absolved them of any responsibility to country. Their fellow Americans are now just their servants.
Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell has the power to prevent average Americans from ever benefiting in any way, and he is more than willing to strip them of any sense of security that the have left.
Corruption at its finest.
103
@Grove
“Government isn’t much of a problem for the rich”
This.
13
@Grove
Average Kentucky people love Mitch and Rand Paul. Could not be happier.
1
Critically missing from this article is any discussion of ALEC, which is a behinds-the-scenes conspiracy by conservative power brokers and state legislators – essentially all of whom are Republican – to write and then pass highly conservative legislation. If there is a oneness to the set of bills being passed in Republican-dominated legislatures, it is directly due to ALEC.
There is NOTHING like ALEC on the Democratic side of the ledger. ALEC is troubling for many reasons, not least because it is a means by which relatively few rich individuals and corporations have nationalized their agenda, often without the recognition of constituents in the different states involved.
19
I am surprised that this writer did not go into the fact that ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) was writing all of the Republican legislation on their issues.
ALEC is the reason all the abortion laws proposed by Republicans in different states sound the same. It's because they are. Looking forward to an article exposing ALEC's agenda and who's behind it in the future.
16
This is classic for how Empire's die.
And this is clearly The Decline and Fall of the American Empire.
Pay attention, because our leaders don't care about your life.
18
Devolution of our country into a series of autonomous states cannot happen. Why? Nobody can afford it, not even California unless they form a single cooperative state with Oregon and Washington.
Some have mentioned that resentment politics is driving all the extremism on both sides of the aisle. That might be true, but the harsh reality is that we can't function without each other. Even if we hate and fear our neighbors, we are stronger together than we are apart.
Our enemies know this, so it's no wonder they are funding dissension in every aspect of our political process. It benefits them greatly if we can't get along.
10
$15 an hour minimum wage and legalizing marijuana? Oh Lordy! Next thing you know, they’ll be letting the ladies in public with bare legs and mini skirts!
26
How is it possible for you to write an article about this subject without mentioning the work of the Koch Brothers and A.L.E.C.?
18
The division comes from celebrities...stephen colbert, etc. talking heads on cable, The View. It tears Americans apart. They don't care. They're being paid millions for spreading hate. They go home to their doorman bldgs, houses in the Hamptons and laugh all the way to the bank while America is burning.
5
@Julia
Well, Fox News preceded Stephen Colbert by a good 15 years, and in fact, Colbert made a name for himself by parodying the nonsense that passes for regular fare on Fox.
21
@Julia
What celebrities hold traitors who took up armed resistance to the US government, and oppression of several other races (black, hispanic, native Americans) as heroes to be admired? Oh, wait, that would be a whole media network.
6
What utter, hateful nonsense. Of course, you single out slightly progressive voices, not radical, who dare to poke fun at or passionately inveigh against the trumpist assault on decency and the Constitution. Not to go full-scale 'whataboutist', but do you countenance the evil ravings of Pirro, Hannity, Ingraham and their vile Fox ilk. Somehow, in your antielitist screed, you ignore the worst voices to afflict American airwaves since the days of Father Coughlin. Speaking out against incipient fascism is nothing to be ashamed of. That Mr. Colbert is able to spin comedy gold out of trump sewage is amazing. Many of us only retain sanity in these hateful times through the wit of him, Seth Myers and, of course, their writers. Don't hate the messenger.
10
The legislature in Alaska was unfortunately simply put in the “does not quite fit in category. The lower house is actually controlled by a bipartisan majority (17 Democrats, two independents and 3 Republicans) with a Democrat serving as Speaker of the House and a Republican serving as the majority whip. Too bad the article did not feel it necessary to show that Alaska is a significant exception to the broad brush that was painted about contentious legislatures across the U.S.
4
Thomas Jefferson was, unfortunately, correct about the need for occasional revolutions...
Sadly, revolutions are costly, in life, limb and gold. Outcomes are uncertain...and painful for all.
Perhaps it’s time for the whole country to watch Kevin Burns “Civil War” series (with the famed Civil War photographer). Cry at Americans murdering Americans. We’re better than that now, hopefully.
But, the fissures are scary and real. Are we becoming a banana republic where our hope is that the military holds together, but does not overstep ?
9
@Lily
After watching Burns' Civil War series, follow that up with Henry Louis Gates recent series on Reconstruction. That will really make one cry, seeing how within 10 years, the country as a whole was comfortable with the South sliding back to their dastardly ways when it came to the treatment of their Black fellow citizens.
5
Name one thing on which both the Reps and the Dems are agreeing to,just one...
1
@yves rochette
Government does not work.
But, seriously, Medicare and Social Security, at least the Dems and GOPers who get it.
3
@yves rochette
I can name four:
1. More powerful Executive Branch (they've both been in love with it for decades until Trump).
2. Corporate Welfare
3. Mass Surveillance
4. War
There's much more, but I think you get the idea.
9
The article suggests the roots of the polarization can be traced to the 2010 elections.
That would imply it was the election of a black president which mobilized the right to move even further away from compromise than they already were.
12
I hope liberals are aware that prior to the 2018 election we were maybe 2 state legislatures away in terms of GOP control from the states being able to call for a constitutional convention, which requires 2/3rds of them to do so.
I'm really fearing liberals have punched themselves out and that 2018 was the high point of their activism.
3
I blame FOX news for spreading extremist right wing propaganda based on fake news.
22
@Joseph B
Nevermind the fact that Don Lemon, Rachel Maddow, and countless others were constantly beating the collusion drum 24/7 for 2 years.
7
@AZPurdue. Whereas Fox News started when?
6
@Joseph B - There are many other cable 'news' stations that are just the opposite. They just don't have as many viewers. Most people watch what they like.
I haven’t noticed that the South ever acknowledged they lost the Civil War and stopped fighting it.
18
@Rae
Yes, and they love to pretend that secession was all about "States Rights", and had nothing whatsoever to do with slavery. And teach their kids that treason committed on behalf of slavery was an honorable cause.....going so far as to call it the "War of Northern Aggression".
9
Don’t blind yourself by admiring your magnificent superiority because you were born north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
How dare you imply that racism is nonexistent in northern states.
Where was Donald Trump born? Not Alabama, Mississippi or Tennessee but New York!
There were riots resisting conscription to fight against the confederacy. Do you really think most Union soldiers were willing to die for abolition?
Grow up and fight to preserve our union.
1
Oh, and New Jersey has the most segregated public schools in the nation.
1
Scanning many responses, I think one of the things overlooked here is that the warping of our system is a big part of the problem, regardless of what side of the spectrum you're on. Gerrymandering is not new, but it's been taken to incredible levels by both parties in recent years -- I'd probably cite the republicans as leaders over the last 20 years, but that's me. Either way, it has to stop. It's hurting the country overall if you bother to look.
11
We are still just territorial animals who happen to wear clothes, drive cars, and scroll the days away. But each of us has our own definition for "territory".
7
This article is not about right or left It about having the same left or right politicians entrenched into the political process
This article is a poster child for term limits
Illinois being the best example of why there should be term limits for state / federal elected officials
2
@Longtime Chi - since elected politicians only reflect the wishes and fears of their constituents, term limits will not really change anything.
5
@laguba I think term limits will help a lot. An entrenched politician with a large campaign fund can cause much to occur that constituents would not care fir if they only realized it.
2
The last time the United States became disunited, it was very easy to see who the enemies were. Those who upheld slavery versus those who opposed it, and the enemies occupied fairly definable territories that could be attacked.
But when the enemy is modernity itself, whom do you attack? Scientists? Drag queens? Esalen recruits? Advocates of therapy instead of violence? Everywhere there are not only men who renounce male aggression but women who despise reproductive freedom. So where will the theater of war be, or has it already started?
Bullies make the most noise. Fear drives the easy way out. It would be helpful if we began to consider the forces in our ruthlessly competitive society that profit from the absence of love. Tormented individuals like Roger Ailes and his gang knew exactly what they were doing, but have lost control of the monster they created. Only love can rein it in.
10
America has always worked under a flawed constitution drafted to protect the interests of people who owned other people and wanted to steal the lands of still others. A monarchical presidency elected by elite electors, an appointed senate, and an electoral college skewed to protect the interests of underpopulated states.
This constitution has resulted in a civil war, has required innumerable amendments, and the bandaged product has been able to function a) because of America's vast wealth and resources, and b) because of the commitment of its leaders to principled of democracy and the rule of law.
The first is in jeopardy and the second has been subjected to a half-century assault by the Republican Party. The issue now is whether the constitution will continue to function.
14
@David Paterson - that criticism is hilarious considering it comes from someone who doesn't live here, and doesn't really understand our history or legal system.
1
@laguna greg
As 68 yo born American and history major, I agree with the initial analysis. Perhaps you might enlighten us in what you perceive is inaccurate, instead of just saying, "No".
5
@gratis - Oh, I think a "NO" is all this deserves and, besides, there's no room for it. Otherwise you would have offered something longer, at least an appeal to authority greater than academic credentials.
I'm really glad you enjoyed your history studies, but apparently they left out a discussion of bias or narrowness, of which the original comment seems to suffer. It is possible, even necessary, to see American history and its evolving legal system in other lights than only the two "flaws" mentioned in the first paragraph. I suspect that your reading of history has rejected other views for reason I can't begin to explain.
Perhaps you could explain to the rest of us why you see it that way.
1
The central issue is decency and practical responsibility. An understanding that urban civilization has wonderful advantages to benefit everyone if attended to and terrible consequence for everyone for neglect or bigotry. Most Americans know little of anything about actual socialism or cause and effect, but they can and will learn. Much of the extremism in the state houses is born out of a genuine fear that things are getting out of control. Be certain a reform era is coming and both Republicans and Democrats will get washed away if they don't understand what is happening. Look at the 1930's and 1960's to see what awaits us.
6
My first outside sales territory comprised Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. I had some good times and met some wonderful people.
9
Colin Woodard wrote a couple books that explains this phenomenon. America is not one indivisible nation. It was founded by 9 nations whose cultures continue to dominate till today, the dominant ones being the Puritans, and the Deep South.
The Puritans' values are about promoting and enforcing the common good: public education, health care for all, etc. They wanted to create a democratic society based on egalitarian principles, and today these values are held dearly by the Yankees in the Northeast and the Left Coast.
The Deep South is a hierarchical, paternalistic culture founded by slave owners who came from the Caribbeans. Their economy was based on the exploitation of a docile, uneducated labor force to benefit the elites, which has continued to today. In the past, this was enforced through blatantly evil institutions like slavery and segregation. Today, it is being propagated through subtle moves and legislations like: right-to-work laws, watering down education, promoting religion to make subjects (especially women) obedient, voter ID laws to suppress minority turnout, school vouchers to continue segregation, etc.
Unfortunately, the Republican Party has been completely hijacked by the Deep South. If we the people wish to continue as a nation, we have to resist and fight the racist and highly individualistic agenda of the Deep South at every election. Vote anything but red.
33
Hmm. Since Trump emerged from the Puritan Northeast and Bill Clinton hailed from the Deep South, which leader do you side with?
1
I disagree with the premise that the “division is a reflection of our values not our politics.” I think politicians — as representatives of corporate billionaires and foreign powers — have carefully curated a narrative of division for several decades for the purpose of attaining more money and power. The division we have now is a reflection of political and corporate (including religious corporations, ie, evangelical and Catholic) manipulations of the masses.
They have achieved this via death by a thousand cuts: gerrymandering, stacking courts, lobbying, voter suppression, dark money/ foreign money/ shadow money, propaganda, Fox News and conservative media, social media, mega churches...
The divisiveness is a man-made viral strategy that has been intentionally, insidiously crafted by sociopathic billionaires to distract us from seeing the truth — these are the tools and weapons of this new gilded age. Use your objectivity, remove your emotions and follow the money. Connect the dots. We are being manipulated.
30
The reality is that Democrats and so-called ‘progressives’ believe that they alone are ‘good’ and their opponents are not only ‘bad’ but evil, and that they alone are suited to run our lives.
Dems and Progs also believe things that are demonstrably untrue yet expect the rest of us to buy in.
Normal people, for good reason, push back and therein lies the source of the conflict. If conservatives just rolled over and obeyed their betters things would be just swell, I suppose.
14
“Normal people?” What is normal in rejecting the science of climate change?
4
You can blame the Republican party for this. Since Gingrich's takeover of the House in 1995, the GOP has pushed a no-compromise, hard-right agenda while doing everything in their power including gerrymandering, stealing a SCOTUS seat, and election fraud to make it happen.
What did they expect, when they've sabotaged the will of the majority at every turn? For almost 25 years we've dealt with and endless fusillade from the Republican party where their deeply unpopular agenda was rammed down our throats while they laughed in our faces. I'm glad they're getting a bit of comeuppance. It's about time that broadly popular, long demanded policy is finally being passed in our nation.
89
@Dominic - You are spot on about Gingrich and the "take no prisoners" era he ushered in during Clinton. It happened to coincide with the onset of right wing radio and Fox.
I will never forget the comments of a very wise person after republicans then took over the House & Senate:
"The republicans are on a power trip and you've (voters) have just given them the credit cards and the keys to the car."
It's been a he*LL of a bad trip, and look at where they've brought us.
13
What some might call extreme, left moves in the Illinois state legislature are little more than what we might have expected from moderate Republican governors and bipartisan state legislatures a couple decades ago. Besides a few of their more "controversial" actions, the Illinois state legislature is attempting to put the wheels back on after a period of austerity by an extremist, anti tax and anti union Republican governor who made a bad fiscal problem much worse by his refusal to compromise with Democrats and his vilification of the House leader. Nevertheless, this has prompted a call for secession of downstate Illinois from Chicago among some Republican radicals. Truly ironic considering how more taxpayer support of downstate areas originates in Chicago than in southern IL.
23
I have to shake my head when the article attempts to drawn a equivalence between the outrages committed by GOP and the Dems. Let's not even pretend they are in the same league shall we.
231
@HistoryRhymes, I wholeheartedly agree! Dems consistently try to expand the circle and Reps consistently try to shrink it. Dems policies offer help & hope to folks, whereas GOP policies slam doors shut & limit people's choices & aspirations. I know which group I'd rather have making my laws...
54
@HistoryRhymes
Yes, and just to be clear: it's the Democrats who vote to raise the minimum wage, protect overtime pay for low-wage workers, invest in education, invest in infrastructure, protect access to health care including for those with pre=existing conditions....
Republicans who distract with abortion while cutting taxes on the wealthy and underfunding public schools
58
I can't think of one good thing Republicans since Nixon have done for the common man.
They cheat to get elected (gerrymandering, voter suppression, get help from SCOTUS - see G. W. Bush 2X, trump & Vlad).
They promise tax relief (but give it to the wealthy), which runs up the debt, and trickle down that doesn't. Then preach fiscal responsibility by cutting necessary and citizen paid for services.
The economy always does worse under them, and improves under the Democrat that cleans up the wreckage.
They tend to prolong wars (Nixon), start them (Bush II) meddle in them (Reagan Iran Contra).
The party of small government insists on having jurisdiction over a woman's right to control her own body.
They give favored religious authority protection to the detriment of a citizen's freedom from religion (see denial of equal rights for LGBTQ vs. cake baker's, marriage, adoption).
They deny equal pay for equal work.
They bust unions.
They refuse to do anything to provide healthcare services at an affordable rate, causing premature loss of life and bankruptcies.
They cut funding for education, sciences, environmental protection.
They cut/defanged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and give banks the right to $$cru us again.
They do not care if thousands are murdered by gun violence.
Republicans do not like or care about democracy or Americans. They care only for $$$ and power.
D - to go forward, R- for reverse.
Vote them out before they take that away too.
150
@Deb, right on!
13
@Deb Amen, sister!
7
No kidding. The Republicans' goal has been One Party Rule for the last 40 years - while Dems lay sleeping, they've been at war.
Watch doc "The Brainwashing of My Dad" or read Jane Mayer's "Dark Money" or Nancy MacLean's book "Democracy in Chains"
To Objectivist: The "radical left" is a. not very radical and, b. much smaller and less radical than the radical right.
41
What if the polarization is about one side wanting to be able to remove civil rights from those they disapprove of and discriminate with impunity - oh, and shape and limit voter rolls to advantage their party?
23
This division is reflection of our values, not our politics. The Democrats want to protect human rights, protect the environment, take care of our children, have a living wage for all, and provide decent healthcare and education. Democrats call that freedom.
Republicans want to make sure only the white males are in charge, have state control over female reproductive organs, the rich and big corporations pay no taxes, guns are everywhere and unrestricted, an evangelical religious theocracy determines our societal norms, deny science and call it a hoax, burn as much coal and oil as possible, poison the environment if doing so boosts Wall Street profits, and eliminate collective bargaining. Republicans call that freedom.
Now! Are we just divided, or has half the county lost its mind?
People are not rational, they are emotional. This is not a distinction between left and right, this is a distinction between reality and fantasy. Dictators are very good at creating fantasies. That's how they acquire power. Their fantasies appeal to emotional responses. This what Republicans have done to take power. The Democrats are stuck with reality and reality is a much harder sell. It's tough to make things work. Fantasies, not so much.
1911
@Bruce Rozenblit
Once again, you nailed it with your opening sentence Mr. Rozenblit!
That reflection of values - not politics - has been growing for years. It has reach a supernova level.
207
@Bruce Rozenblit
Your descriptions of what democrats and republicans “want” are not supported by each parties policy statements and platforms.
27
Excellent analysis Bruce. Thank you.
126
If Kiefer Sutherland was running for President I vote for him. I like his act on Designated Survivor, Season 3, Netflix.
I don't like 'Lddle' Donny's act in the White House.
2
Why did this article not even bring up expanding Republican efforts to gerrymander districts in order to deny their own citizens of their constitutional rights to equal representation.
4
Lately, beyond the politics and power of Republicans in red states, the issue, at the back of every red state legislative hall is tax dollars and the inherent nature of relentless poverty. Red states are very, very poor states that have convinced their citizens poverty works. Red state citizens prefer to live without shared resources, strangely convinced that the poor eat their pocketbooks, when not using food stamps. Until that message by Koch wealth and the Republican playbook ends, red states will continue to wither and die. Stripping one gender of health care is a desperate play, even by Koch Brothers' standards. Blaming the poor, and now females, for all moral failures, is better than no taxation at all. Kansas tried living in a tax free zone, and no restroom on their highways is usable or sanitary. Rural schools closed, and children ride an hour, on a bus that breaks down often, to attend school. Oklahoma children are in school four days a week, not five, taught by adults who have not had a decent pay raise in ten years. These are the outcomes of failed states; not failed policies. I believe red statehood days are ending. They are stark, hopeless, and broken. It's just a matter of time.
7
The Kochs have made a great effort to turn local governments into conservative bastions. They have created legislative templates for states like Wisconsin altering the election districts gerry maundering out the other party, and changing the state agenda. Democrats don't have much money for state elections or conspiratorial bent (as shown in the recent hard drive story). The Koch investments have paid off . This is bad news for the rest of us because most Americans are in the center and now think government does not work except if you are a one percenter.
6
@Anon
Better call George Soros. His money directed toward Democratic issues and candidates is so pure.
2
@AZPurdue
ALEC is a Koch creation. The set the agenda.
5
@Anon - and there is still no democrat equivalent to ALEC. Also, the dem's have nowhere near the kind of money the Koch's spent to influence local and state legislation in all 50 states.
2
Now more than ever we need more than two political parties to temper this polarity and extremism.
One far right: tea party, evangelicals, fiscal/social conservatives.
One moderate right: fiscal conservatives, but more moderate social views, the old GOP before religion and lobbyists took hold.
One moderate left: socially liberal, but fiscally responsible and reasonable, not extremist in any direction.
One far left: more socialistic tendencies, higher taxes to provide for more equality, etc.
Until we have more choices the politicians will not be forced to moderate. A multiple party system does work in other democracies.
4
In Georgia, it was a stolen election. Stacey Abrams lost by 55,000 votes. There was broad and deep voter suppression and problems with the election itself.
The consequence? An abortion ban for all practical purposes. Part of the GA law says that miscarriages can be investigated, and it doesn't rule out charging women criminally. It may very well cost Georgia its more than $9 billion movie industry.
These Republican state governments do not even pretend to represent all citizens of their states. They represent only the most conservative. Polls continually show that universal background checks, Roe v. Wade, healthcare, and other policies are supported by majorities in these states. That doesn't matter to the legislatures or governors--usually white and male.
This trampling of individual rights including those of women, of minorities, of LGBT, and other groups means it may take a revolution for normal citizens to be represented again. The blue wave was strong in 2018.
Will people be allowed to vote? Or will polling places close or be moved, voters like an elderly black group literally taken off the bus taking them to the polls in Georgia, massive purges of voter rolls, Russian hacking (both in Georgia and in Florida), limited hours, etc. continue?
9
@SMB
Any time a Dem loses an election it was "stolen". Give it a rest. Abrams lost a close election....period.
3
@AZPurdue - the courts still don't agree with you, or your party would not be losing gerrymandering cases every time they come up..
1
@laguna greg
I guess I missed that case where the election results were overturned and Stacy Abrams was sworn into office.
Link please?
1
Irony. From 1945 - 1991 the United States fought the Cold War to prevent a one-party, autocracy to take overr the US, and the world. Nearly 20 years later, the United States has effectively two one party states; "blue" and "red" The only thing keeping balance is a handful of "purple" states with mixed party governments.
The 1% did a great job, over the past for or so decades, to create what amounts to a dual autocracy. This country, in some states, resemble China (one party only choice). My county actually has had ballots for county offices with just only Democrats; no opposition.
Unless the people take their country back, the US, in less than a generation, will be completely polarized.
3
That is what the federal system is for. You can live where you want, and have more of an effect on the state legislature than the federal.
The one exception is Global Warming. When that takes out the Red states first, the Republicans will be whining for federal aid. The farmers already are. Will the Dems humor them? You will only get more of it by subsidizing it, as the Republicans should know (but probably don't).
3
There is something terribly wrong. And there is tension. What I think is needed is a Blue Wave with a rip tide. Republicans no longer stand for anything remotely resembling the promise offered by the U.S. Constitution. They would feel much more comfortable under a strong-man government with oligarchs, like Putin's Russia.
6
We need Bernie Sanders—
A New Deal for all Americans.
[Even the fraction of 1%—it’s time to come back to reality, to real equity.]
Let’s mold our famous American capitalism so it works for everyone. It used to go that direction.
2
@srwdm - Please! Bernie can't get elected in the general election. Even if he could, he will only cause more dissension than Trump. He's also only a 3-note wonder; he has no grasp of foreign policy or any experience in it.
2
Americans are united now as they have been over the past century, back to when most wanted to stay out of WWI. Later they were united in opposition to the Iraq invasion in 2003. Americans were united in opposition to the bailout of the banks in 2008. Most opposed the Trump tax cuts. Most wish to see money spent on improved public works and transportation and less on the military and pentagon. Above all Americans are united in their disdain for the two major parties and know that the relative fortunes of each bear negligible impact on their lives and those things they are united about what needs to be done and not done.
5
It's all about intellectual capacity.
These uneducated faith based absurdists are dragged through their existences by their emotional impulses.
They don't have the capacity - like their beloved orange leader -to think and analyze objectively based on facts and accrued knowledge.
BUT one or two generations will reduce them completely as a viable cultural/political force.
The ones left will have to rely -even more than they do now -on their hated uncle sammy.
14
Reagans "city upon the hill" is a trumpster fire at this point, and conservatives shriek at people trying to put out the fires.
12
Disagree strongly and fiercely with those comments that suggest we divide the U.S.! Please do some research you will find that though the Red States are controlled by the Republicans, there is a growing movement against them and their draconian and fake values!
We, must stand up for our unity! Majority of Americans are in FAVOR of CHOICE! Majority of Americans believe Trump is a liar and crook! Majority of Americans are swinging closer to wanting him impeached!
We DO have unity! It’s just that drama and sensationalism is what sells newspapers and get people to watch TV!
We are united, we have been too quiet time to PROTEST and protect our Nation from fascism!
PLEASE VOTE!
12
I am tense , because I have a president who broadcasts one lie after another, and then there is Fox News ,which conflates the lies to a brainwashed public. Then, there is Mitch Mcconnell, who obstructs any bill that doesn’t serve the white,corporate interests of the country. Then there is attorney general Barr, who I also distrust,not to mention a cabinet of business owners and fools who are advancing their own corporate interests. This doesn’t feel like a democracy anymore,with Trump and his incompetent family members who use every trick in the book to turn the government into an autocracy. Climate change is happening, and ignoring the warning signs at this point is suicidal...for our world.
22
So- the big major division is over abortion? Seriously? On either side you are willing to throw everything else in the toidy to prevail on that ONE issue? Everything else? Well, it sure smells like the Religious Radical Foaming Right sure wants it that way. Worked in the fearful of the Religious Right sticks but won't play in democracy overall too well. Not as long as state legislatures made up of real Americans have any sway over their own borders. Tough noogies.
6
There seems to be a tyranny of the slim electoral majority in every state as well as in the federal government, and tyranny of the majority is still tyranny and thus unconstitutional and un-American
5
It seems that the Civil War never really ended.
Read "A People's History of the United States" by the late, great Howard Zinn.
America has always been a country divided. Americans stole the continent from Native Americans, committing genocide in the process, and enslaved millions of Africans.
Americans destroyed the eastern forests and tall-grass prairies, created the Dust Bowl, and put Japanese-American citizens in prison camps.
Construction workers who backed Nixon and the Vietnam War beat up hippies.
Now we have the Trumpers--people attracted to a corrupt grifter, demagogue, and would-be dictator.
These are the same people who thought Tony Soprano and Walter White were admirable characters.
Just remember: "Evil only triumphs when good people do nothing."
14
Thank God for Illinois! At least, finally, something is going right in our state! Now, if only the governor and legislature can figure out and make a rational fix to the financial mess that we're stuck with........
8
@Chicagogirrl13
Chicago and Illinois have been run by Democrats for decades and they have run the city and state into a deep financial ditch. You really think they will solve Chicago and Illinois problems? If so, you must be dreaming.
But Illinois union bosses are still rejoicing.
1
Among voting adults in Alabama the Majority is Republican 52%, Dem 35%, NA 13% ... the population in that State is roughly 4.8 Million with 3 Million in the 18 -64 years old voting range.
That means, with just the Democrats (no Independents or "moderate" GOP unhappy with the Right-Wing Zealots) there are 1.05 Million Alabamians that can take to the streets, protest, shut down, strike, making their voices heard outside of the ballot box.
Unlike our European brethren and a long way from the protests of the 60's ... we are a "well managed" lot in the U.S., unwilling to take a more active, larger role in political dissent.
But from the Women's March in 2017 I think things are going to change with more activism ... because Oppression and Suppression of Rights are starting to hit closer to home for many, and those people will be willing to fight back.
7
@Gene, did it ever cross your mind that possibly those 1.05 million Alabamans don't agree with you, don't want to march and protest?
1
@AZPurdue ... sure AZ but I got to think ... look at the protests in Alabama over this one issue. Look at the poverty, suppression of rights ... oppression, lack of opportunity if you are poor and/or black.
You can only kick someone so much before they get tired of getting kicked do you agree? Maybe I should ask you AZ to get a feel for you. Do you go along with all the wrongs I wrote above?
2
When we can get back to the place where we all agree on what the facts are and only differ in what we think the facts mean we will be much closer to unity.
As long as what people believe to be factual correlates more with their zip code than with reality we will continue to have division. I only see it getting worse, not better. Thanks FOX.
6
@arusso: An "establishment of religion" is a belief held on faith that cannot proven by science practiced by anyone who is competent in the field.
3
For me, retired in a foreign country, this represents the decline of America, but only in part. As I see it, it doesn't start in the state legislatures, or in Washington, but in the home, and on the streets. I think someone in the 70's coined the term 'culture of narcissism', and I think this is the result. Combine that with billionaires who suffer from the same, but who no longer have an allegiance to any one country in particular, and who generally have a disregard for the common man and woman, you have a picture of the moral state of the world, not only of the United States.
6
Why is the thought of just doing the correct thing: dividing up the country, so difficult?
I know of almost no downsides and huge positive gains for a permanent division.
I see no need to live with liberals, and likewise, they see no benefit in being around me.
We offer each other nothing and our lives are prevented from moving forward to the goals we each seek and the happiness we both want and deserve.
I've got a US map and some magic markers for the task at hand. Ready. Set. Let's go!
3
@Paul: This US isn't big enough to hold the both of us, eh? How far is to your nearest neighbor out thar in Kansas?
8
@Paul- it's a nice thought, and may seem attractive. But you can't afford it. Literally. Especially after the terrible state you're in after, what is it now, 10 years of a Tea Party governor and legislature literally ruining your state economy?
3
I live in Ohio and am a Democrat. I despise the way the state was gerrymandered to create the Republican majority--Ohio voters are actually fairly evenly divided, so it misrepresents the voters. Of course, who cares about constituents? Who cares about what voters actually think or want? Mostly no one in the state legislature cares about voters. It's all a big power grab and forcing their views on the whole state.
I am appalled at the heartbeat bill that was recently passed. And I have had it with the backward-looking policies that champion non-renewable energy. Even knowing that renewable energy creates jobs and looks to the future in so many ways, our old Republican white guys have defunded it and practically have heart attacks when anyone mentions concern over the environment.
They have wrecked the public school system with profit-generating charter schools that are failing and apparently accountable to no one. Businesses complain mightily about not having educated workers, but what are the first things they ask for when they move into an area? Tax abatement. And how do we pay for our schools? Property taxes. Which has been ruled illegal by the state Supreme Court, but the state government can't figure out a way to fund schools that is legal. Our roads and bridges are a mess, but recent talk about a gas tax that would actually have paid for improvements, congressmen raised it but not enough to do the job--because TAXES. GASP!
16
My day dream is that the Confederate States once again ask to secede.
This time we let them.
And they take the rest of the Red States with them.
I would have to move but it would be worth it.
26
Let's start a fund to help this happen. Great idea.
Sherman should have been told to just keep on going.
3
The United States is in its second Civil War, without slavery as the problem. I quite often wonder if our nation would not be better off as two distinct nations, one more progressive and the other more backward looking .
30
Shame on all those who believe the break-up of the United States is an appropriate answer to our current ideological divides. Remember the late sixties and early seventies? They scared me. Remember "Wild in the Streets," where a young demagogue became president, poisoned the water supply with LSD and interred everyone over thirty in prison camps? That was the ultimate statement on where we feared our nation was heading. Now this! Get your heads together, individually as well as nationally. This decade and the coming decade scares me more than the 60s-70s ever did. Cooly, ask yourselves, who gets control of the nuclear weapons? Who gets control of Wall Street? Who gets control of transportation and food distribution or any other services that are now nationally assured? And what ideology are you truly espousing? Giving up is not in our national nature. Get your heads together and start acting and talking as one nation. Trump is as much an aberration as was the fictional Max. Don't be fooled into believing our current divisions are the new norm.
9
I say massive rallies : “Restore American Values “. The real ones, not the fake ones.
Otherwise we can’t tell our children and grandchildren we really fought to save our country from fascism.
I cannot understand why this is not happening.
10
Please contact your local Indivisible group, there’s one in every community. You’re correct we MUST get out and protest!
1
@Betsy Groth APRN There's a deep divide among the populace as to what constitutes "American Values". That's why it's not happening.
2
So Restore American Values is different from Make America Great Again?
1
The NCSL map is a great illustration of the coming Balkanization of America. And I meaning that literally -- I can foresee a day when like-minded states join together and form their own regional republics.
11
This isn't surprising. Since the New Deal, legislation passed by Democratic legislatures has uniformly been inclusive and expanded rights. That done by Republican legislatures has been just the opposite. In/out group legislating is a really lousy way to govern in a democracy.
5
You just need to recall when the republicans put Japanese-Americans in extermination/concentration camps during WWII. Now they attack women and other minorities.
2
I think if the blue states stopped subsidizing the red states, a lot of this would get straightened out.
The blue states would have plenty of money for universal coverage and a strong welfare state and everyone there would be happy.
Red states would see their uninsured soar, their people unable to retire, and their businesses and young people leaving for blue states.
They would then have to compete, raising their taxes and expanding their welfare states.
Then we're all OK.
29
@David Doney - A lot of these imbalances are caused by Social Security and Medicare. Do you propose stopping Social Security and Medicare for people who live in red states?
Actually, many of them moved there after retiring, since they couldn't afford to pay the taxes in the blue states!
So that's what the nation's legislatures have become: mirror images of their federal counterparts. Is it any wonder?
It seems like it comes down to: The Democrats cannot fathom not wanting to support higher wages and better jobs access to housing, education and healthcare and a safe society for everyone! and in the same breath, Republicans cannot fathom why anyone would want a government that makes sure all those things are available to all of society without regard for income status or race or gender.
No Republican was ever harmed by any of these things (wages, housing, etc.) being available, but even Republicans are harmed when these things are unavailable.
Democrats do believe in a free society and that it's being attacked. It's the same free society the religious right says they believe in. The difference is in the later, Republicans legislate by codifying religious beliefs into state and federal laws flying under the banner of religious (or market) freedoms.
Our country is caught in a national Hatfield-McCoy feud that will last way beyond the boomer and the millennial generations.
It give scorched earth a whole new meaning. Sad!
10
I would like to point out that this article sins with false equivalency.
"Forcing" tolerance or legislating measures to fight global warming etc by when having the majority is not equivalent to restricting access to abortion or promoting carbon emitting when having enough votes.
It is to claim that allowing only one religion is equivalent to permitting all, and only a matter of majority.
3
The main division is intellectuals versus fundamentalists. As another article in today's times says:
"She embraced evangelical tenets, like trusting God, not one’s own feelings."
Fundamentalists, who made most governmental laws a part of their religious beliefs - such as making unlawful interracial marriage marriages and forbidding abortion.
As the intellectuals become a larger segment of society with more power, the laws based on Protestant and Catholic religious thinking are being changed to where the individual thinking and choices are being supported in law.
As for compromise: no fundamentalist cares to compromise on "Jesus" or the bible. Interesting enough, the King James bible was not accepted for 100 years by the same families who swear by the King James bible today.
10
This shows that America is essentially 2 very different countries, blue America; progressive, diverse and forward thinking, and red America; conservative, repressive and stagnant. Want proof? Look at New York or California compared to Alabama or Mississippi. The two would be better off as two actual separate countries based on their two divergent directions and ideologies.
15
Exactly! And Blue states are thriving financially, compared to Red states which struggle constantly!
7
@Omar, why is it that so many progressives move to conservative states? They come, vote red, and are determined to turn their new states into NY and Calif. Stop.
because we are trying to help you guys....
4
I'm currently reading Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire; A 500-year history. We are deeply rooted in religious extremism, conspiracy theories, and racism. I don't see much hope for moving forward.
7
Look what happened in Europe with the rise of fascism, a very dark time. Yet humanity rose up and fought to kill that evil. I’m a grandmother of children, I have HOPE that we will rise up and change the trajectory we are currently on. Please consider becoming politically active in your community we must get the vote of everyone in order to course correct.
The US practically two party system is evidenced based proof of failing political system. It is time to shift to a parliamentary government whereby its citizens elect from multitude of political parties and the parliament elect its prime minister based on coalition. US bicameral government has become too dysfunctional and Donald exacerbates this dysfunctionality similar to his corrupt family business.
1
I'm really fine with this and I don't worry about it. To me, there in an explanation. It's about the white majority losing it's grip on power, and some in that majority simply don't like it.
Well, too bad. Time is against you.
14
The division is one-sided and completely the fault of the Republicans. They opposed anything and everything President Obama proposed, fighting him every step of the way. They took the majority on the Supreme Court by blatant cheating. They’ve demonized constituents that aren’t part of their narrowly defined view of America. They’ve steamrolled over precedent and remade America as a place of bigotry and hatred fueled by greed.
I have nothing positive to say about Republicans. They need to take a long walk off the short pier of politics. And take a shower. That said, if they even tried to reach consensus through compromise, I would listen. That’s the difference between someone like me and a Republican.
25
How long before the red states decide they want to get together and form their own country?
10
@Teddy
They already did in 1861.
16
@Teddy Not soon enough. We control the energy, manufacturing and majority of food production. As the old saying went Let the blank freeze in the dark.
4
@Teddy They can't afford it. It's the blue states who are paying for the federal government, and the red states who are receiving most of the benefits.
Really it's the blue states who should secede. Why should California put up with getting less representation in the Senate and the Electoral College? Why should we let the federal government tell us we can't take action on climate change? Why should be pay more in taxes than we receive in services while the blue states get the benefit? Etc.
12
At one time, when referring to this country, the plural was used: it was "the United States are" or the "United States were." The Civil War seemed to end that way of referring to the country, but as we have seen recently, the resentments that were suppressed after the War Between the States never went away. I am afraid we are heading back to the plural reference of this nation. We are no longer "one nation, indivisible." The gap between us is too great. I am glad I was born when I was, in the aftermath of World War II, when unity seemed more important than it does now. I am sorry that so much divides us, but I cannot accept the world that Mitch McConnell has created and the rest of the GOP has enabled. I am so embarrassed that the world knows that a buffoon is the President of the United States and that he has court jesters to continue to facilitate this farcical tragedy.
19
Many we’ll responses but we need brainstorming solutions...how about we start by addressing issues which should not be political...the pending loss of blue collar or minimal education jobs due to automation, the mounting education & car loan debts and yes, climate change. FEMA doesn’t have sufficient funding to handle flooding, fires & hurricane displacement. These topics effect everyone similarly required less of politics.
6
Too much party control for issues that require dialogue and compromise. And each party either reacting ineffectively to the demagogue leader in the WH or not reacting enough. Overpaid public servants.
3
I agree that the basis for our current predicament stems from errors post-Civil War, with the expediency of Reconstruction and readmission of the slave states to the Union. Big mistake. They should have remained under military occupation for a generation, no citizenship, no statehood. Look at what they are today, the Confederacy Version 2.0. Still fighting the Yankees. Only this time they call them Liberals or Democrats. Same thing. Sad.
12
We’re basically dealing with a group of people (Democrats) who simply cannot accept they lost the presidency after an 8 year run and as a result childishly resist any potentially moderate idea that Republicans or centrists have to offer. It’s been one giant tantrum for two years.
4
It could explain Dems behavior, but not Reps. Why they don't look for compromise and throwing tantrums?
7
“Childishly,” and “tantrum,” are not words a wise Trump supporter should be using.
They...remind everybody.
19
@AVR
This is one of the most overly simplistic arguments Republicans have been touting without recognizing the majority of Americans simply don't want to be dragged back into the past days of white supremacy, Jim Crow and a time where women had no rights outside of the home.
15
If this is our United States, then I am glad to live on the west coast. People vote and also vote with their feet. I expect my property value will keep going up.
10
@Concerned Citizen
Don't lose any sleep on my account. Choosing to live in a blue/green state is anything but irrational. And if memory serves, capitalist exuberance led to the last big crash.
3
@Concerned Citizen- I guess you haven't been reading but the "crash" is not coming to our coast. But I am afraid it has already hit yours and is not going away.
Good luck you. You'll need it.
Its really astounding how much real jealousy plays into politics in this country today. Coastal blue states, by and large, are successful, prosperous, and vibrant. They're the centers of our technology development and finance. The populations leaving those states, are people that can't or won't adapt to the new economies. I say this living in upstate NY and watching areas around me flounder and struggle to bring back a past they'll never recover. In my area, they're only a couple of hours away from Times Square and it might as well be Andromeda. This divide is less political than it is cultural. The current Republican mind set seems to driven largely by the agendas of conservative Christians - both Protestant and Catholic. They are all about what you can't do, about enshrining their theologies in law - even disguised to get around the pesky 1st Amendment, using laws with catchy names like "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" to institutionalize discrimination. The right has developed a partnership with the extreme religionists in this country that, as a group, have more in common with ISIS or the Taliban than any of our nation's founders - true free thinkers and students of The Enlightenment. Education for the sake of learning is looked down on. Intellectualism is denigrated. The world changes faster than these people can handle and they're using their religion and politics to try to pump the brakes. They will in their fear run us off the road and into a ditch.
15
"This division is reflection of our values, not our politics." They cannot be neatly separated. Our politics both reflects our values and exploits them.
4
The political choice is clear. We can have an oligarchy where only the rich have rights, and the wealthy dictate the conditions for survival for everyone else, or, we can have freedom and equality for all.
People like Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, etc, do not work for this country. They work only for themselves.
If someone told Donald Trump that he could have a billion dollars if half this country starved to death, how long do you think it would take him to decide? This is the essence of the problem.
The GOP runs the government solely for their own benefit. To the detriment of everyone else. No wonder they have to steal more and more elections to stay in power.
Is there anyone that doesn't know that the modern GOP would end elections altogether if given the chance. Their belief in their own superiority is almost as great as their complete and utter lack of it.
Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Ann Coulter, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Sean Hannity, Grover Norquist, etc, etc, etc. These people are the epitome of what the GOP stands for. Has there ever been a bigger silo of manure then the modern GOP?
The answer is no. And yet, 40% of this country can't lap up enough of it. And this is not conjecture, or hyperbole, it's fact.
Donald Trump isn't some wayward curmudgeon, he is a monster, plain and simple. And his singular goal is to inflict as much pain and suffering on those who don't worship the ground he walks on, while doing everything in his power to enrich himself.
40
I think the reporter missed an opportunity to enlarge this story by analyzing what the division and tension reflect about and portend for the country. That seems to me to be the bigger story and the only point in discussing state house divisions.
1
When legislators and governors, such as those in Alabama (AL), insist on allowing RAPISTS to maintain parental rights even over embryos/fetuses and over children conceived via RAPE; while simultaneously PUNISHING VICTIMS (and the child) by forcing them not just to maintain such pregnancies through to birth, but also to have to contend with, and likely continue to be abused by the rapist for at least the next 18 years via family court proceedings and orders, as well as via the RAPIST'S INFLUENCE on the CHILD, the legislators & governor are in effect legalizing what is, to many (most) people TORTURE.
Yes, she could give up all of her own parental rights, but that would leave the (innocent, right?) child in the hands of a known rapist &/or those who support him. Or with strangers, if such a child didn't end up being so damaged by states' notorious foster care programs that s/he can't get adopted. FORCING VICTIMS, then, to have choose between some having to CO-PARENT WITH the RAPIST, on the one hand, OR, on the other hand, to UNDERGO the HARDSHIPS & RISKS of a pregnancy and birthing (and try to heal associated mental health trauma) only to HAVE TO TURN CHILD OVER TO the RAPIST and/or his family supporters is also a CRUEL and IMMORAL form of psychological ABUSE.
When someone(s) attempts to create a particular, and particularly HARSH and HEARTLESS brand of Christian, patriarchical THEOCRACY in the US of A, it is they who polarize the people & pit them/us against one another.
20
Unfortunately, I don't think our American culture is strong enough to mend this rift. A culture steeped in glorification of the wealthy and superficial, a culture of self-centered religions, a culture preoccupied with the latest mobile device or clever smart-phone application - what can it offer to heal real divisions or even counter the self-assured rhetoric of the demagogue?
11
Clearly the two party system isn't working.
3
I will be spending three weeks in Colorado and New Mexico this summer, and I have planned my trip to make sure I do not spend a single dollar in Republistan. I have to stay overnight in Lincoln, NE, but that's it.
18
There is no need to compromise anymore, gerrymandering has taken care of that. Why compromise when you can skew the electorate in your favor? Why compromise when you can use procedural loopholes to stack the courts with unqualified judges that share your parties political values? Short answer, you don't have to.
It is all laid out in the citizenship question court case. Republicans are using every trick in the book to cement their power - and Democrats are catching on and copying. Get rid of gerrymandering and have the people vote for judges.
5
Civil unrest, rebellion, civil war, revolution, anarchy.
Pick your poison. One of these or a combination are lurking just over the horizon.
The country better wake up real real quick, or we're all going to rue the day we let the country slide down the slippery slope to one of the above.
We're at a crossroads. Let's hope we choose the right road to go down.
Hyperbolic? Some will say yes, others no. Let's not find out.
13
The UNITED States is failing.
It's time for Sexit (the South exits the U.S.), and it can take the midwest with it.
The west becomes a new country, Pacifica. The north-east (MD, DE, PA, NJ, CT, NY and New England) becomes a new country, Lincoln.
9
"The whole nation is speaking about how divisive we are" ... That sounds like something Yogi Berra would say.
8
Ha. I love that.
3
We fought a war about breaking up the union into two countries. It was about the issue of slavery. Not about the freeing of slaves but about slave owners conviction that unless every state accepted slave owning, eventually the practice could not be sustained. In the end, it became clear that slavery must go, or the union could not last. The end of the war did not bring harmony and good fellowship. In fact, it took until the next century before all were recognized as equal citizens, and some even object to that now.
But the great opportunities for great prosperity for the most people was never realized at the state level, only at the national level. If we were to split into several countries we'd still end up in some kind of confederacy simply because we would benefit most from it.
Allowing the current disputes to fracture the country would be a big mistake. But tempers run high when people are convinced that other people are trying to subject them to circumstances against their will. There is plenty of that these days. But if you look at the issues, the common theme is that the other people are untrustworthy and we cannot allow them to do as they will and trust that they will do the right thing. Nobody can be free and safe in a country where people think that way. Mutual trust is the foundation of liberal democracy. Mutual mistrust is the foundation of oppressive governments.
The disease of American politics has reached its apogee. I remember after Hurricane Andrew devastated my home town of Miami, how everyone came together as human beings assaulted by a common threat. For two months there were no Republicans, there were no Democrats, there were only Americans, Americans opening doors for each other, sharing resources, and acting selfless.
Ditto and most visibly after the 9-11 attacks, before that became fodder for politicians’ gamesmanship of one upping each other in their “patriotism” and waving the colors while plotting against our own communities as soon as it was back to business as usual.
And now we have born witness to the final metastasis of this particular cancer of partisanship and worse, using politics and the government of the ALL the people of our shared land, as fodder for personal monetary gain. Trump is right in only one word he uses, Disgraceful. But the disgrace is his, and from the foul fruit of his chicanery and hubris and all his enablers who gleefully spit on the graves of those forefathers they thump their chests as revering, pinning little flags on their hypocritical chests.
This disease will play out until we cure ourselves or perish. We are no longer the United States, but rather, the grossly DIVIDED States of incendiary hatred and bigotry that serves a small fraction of traitors to our highest principles. Men and women who have gladly forsworn our dignity for the shallow concept of “winning” Oh say can you see?
9
The problem is not partisanship. The problem is Republicans. This makes me sound very partisan, and it’s true. I’m on the right side of history and nothing will convince me otherwise. They’re likewise convinced (if deluded) and so the only answer is a fight to the finish until enough conservatives age and die. If this seems “hyperpartisan” to you then maybe you fail to appreciate the stakes for all marginalized people—your vaunted compromise would leave them out, yet again.
15
Well here in NJ we're completely controlled by an inept, weak Democratic Party that, between the Governor and the State Legislature, has done nothing but fight amongst themselves and accomplished absolutely nothing in two years. I despise the Republican Party and the damage it has done to this state, but Murphy and the Legislature have done nothing but waste everyone's time. I can't blame the Republicans for that.
8
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/06/texas-lawmakers-deliver-school-finance-property-tax/
The intense focus on overhauling school finance and the property tax system left little time for social conservatives' priorities — a sign the Legislature moved to the middle on divisive issues following the 2018 midterm elections when Democrats picked up seats in both chambers.
2
@Clareanartist
Yay and finally. Texas is turning blue.
3
Ok, so it looks like our representatives (either party) have devolved developing policies aimed at providing the common defense and securing life and liberty into a game. I travel for work, and see many adult people playing games on their devices in airports all over this country, so I guess the children in our government are representing the children in their districts. I say it’s time for grown ups to be grown ups. Who ever started the “wear your big boy/girl pants” way of referring to the legislative process anyway? This not pre-K folks. This is real life, and when everything we do and stand for is reduced to winners and losers, everyone loses. Don’t put on big boy pants, or big girl pants. Study the issues, talk to the experts, come to a consensus and do something for a change instead of trying to get on FOX or MSNBC for your 15 minutes.....Or fund raise for the next term.....This is ridiculous. There are real challenges for the country, from IT security to climate change. It’s time for SOMEONE to do something real about it. PLEASE!
4
As always when reading comments from Democrats and so-called ‘progressives,’ I am astonished by things they post that are simply not so.
4
@EGD Examples please.
13
@mash
Name your place or it is imaginary to most of us, written for a comment.
I grew up in Utah, a red state. They did not vote for Trump and when I, a Democrat from the Northeast, when I “get into it” with them, we all basically want the same things.
The only people benefitting from feeds like this who describe irreconcilable differences are divisive politicians like Trump and the media moguls promoting them. Keep giving Trump air time and maybe the end of the world scenarios so popular with those under forty just might work.
Every day MSNBC, CNN, FOX and the New York Times leads with this animal. Maybe focus on income inequality, healthcare and infrastructure and drill down on the circus around Trump (Mcconnell, the Kushner’s, Graham et al) and maybe we will get somewhere.
Media is addicted to the circus more than the average person, and they hold the power. Take some responsibility for the train wreck you are feeding.
10
If people have been paying attention they'd know this has been the game plan of the GOP for the past 4 decades -- going back to Reagan and his quote--The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." Their plan is to divide and conquer and keep the power in their hands despite a diminished majority. I'll always remember the comment made by my pretty non informed brother in law who is a trump guy, VN vet and "christian" who was living in CA at the time (but now lives in AZ)--he said to me about 15 years ago---Pretty soon us whites are gonna be a minority here in CA. I said and what's the problem with that? Well he hemmed and hawed and then changed the subject--and not so many years later moved to AZ. This spring him and his wife were visiting and I asked him about his small business he'd owned in CA which he'd sold in 2007--he sold the building-- which was commercially zoned-- for a pretty nice profit. I asked so what's the new owner doing with it? He said well he's a Chinese guy and after he bought it the city rezoned the area and he wasn't able to do anything and was basically forced to sell it to the city (ie developers with connections) who have since turned it into part of an industrial park. He kind of chuckled and said oh well -- good I sold when I did. Too bad about the Chinese guy--ha ha. So there you have it. One small anecdote about how "it" works and the mindset which keeps the GOP in power.
2
Putin is getting everything he wanted. And we're all letting him. We're falling into the trap of division and ugly twitter rhetoric (lots of it coming from POTUS). We must be better than this. We must read news from multiple sources and not only the ones that validate our beliefs. We should read the Mueller report and make our own decisions about what we are comfortable with. We were attacked, plain and simple. Our president clearly did not want that attack investigated. I don't care what party you belong to, this should concern everybody. And it should be eye opening that the reason for the attack was to weaken Democracy and our president attacks the pillars of Democracy on a daily basis.
12
Yeah, of course, it is Putin who forces American politicians to ignore the opponents. Of course, it is Putin who forces American politicians to gerrymandering. I even suspect that Putin was the cause of the American Civil war
1
Bipartisanship is dead. It doesn't matter whose fault it was. And it's a little late to wring your hands about one party being unfair to the other.
1
Lest the GOP returns to it's Eisenhower/Reagan roots, divided government will only be a short-run problem for the Democrats.
For decades the Republicans have been working tirelessly to take our nation back to a time that never existed. They long for the Father Knows Best/Leave it to Beaver fifties which, in reality, were only halcyon days for white male Americans.
The current core constituency of the GOP consists mainly of old white guys and their little Missessess who are waging a hopeless battle to preserve white male domination in America. So far their only successes have been the red states.
The tides of evolving demographic change are washing away the final vestiges of the twentieth century and its archaic socio-economic models and their attendant with all the prejudices, greed and lack of empathy
Were on the precipice of a paradigm shift in the core values of our nation, from right to center-left, that will gain momentum which each new generation to arrive at voting age.
3
@Rob Vukovic I am not seeing the Republicans bringing back the economic system that powered the 1950s. Things like unions, job security, fair wages for most people, and pensions.
2
It seems that many red states are looking for divisive issues--abortion, scientific method, environmental protections--to justify a large rebellion. I don't see what they have to gain by turning the nation into antebellum Alabama.
11
As I drive through the South and meet and talk with its residents, I find that part of the country more Foreign than countries I've visited throughout Europe.
13
@RonRich
I’m from Austin by way of Wisconsin. I enjoy my visits to Chicago. I guess I am from the south. I see lots of disturbing, “foreignness” in my state and the south but I see this same thing in other regions of the country. I think it’s best when traveling to seek what we have in common. It’s too easy to focus on the extreme differences.
2
The phrase I have heard that best describes the situation is that the US is now in a “cold civil war.” But cold wars can turn hot and the US could end up tearing itself apart.
5
We're in a world where your political opponents are now not just wrong but evil. Both sides agree on that. They just disagree which is the evil one. Now what politician wants to be seen compromising with evil?
1
I'm just amazed at what has happened over the last 40 years, how the U.S. has regressed.
6
When you look at the list of laws used as examples in this piece you can’t help thinking that the Democratic ones are based on the whole in common sense and a belief in the general goodness of people and their right to live quiet lives the way they see fit without fear - and the Republican ones - well, can anyone help me out here?
8
There may be some ways we can reasonably separate into the groups we want to be in. For example, we might allow different citizens to opt into different tax schemes based on what services they want to receive and what programs they want to fund. Someone who wants to might pay low taxes, in return for losing access to freeways, the post office, public libraries and schools. Some might choose to live in a racially homogenous community, in return for losing all access to cities. Some might elect for access to guns or abortions, in return for losing access to communities where these have been banned. This wouldn't work for everything -- climate change, national defense would be hard to organize this way -- but in a nation in which so many want opposite things, we might be able to accommodate a lot of that without offending the preferences of others. We would probably be better and stronger as one nation, but nothing says we have to be. We could even have two presidents, running two separate governments for the polar opposites. Why not? Competition is good, no?
Perhaps we have reached a point where transition - peacefully, not another hot Civil War - into several regional autonomous entities is the next logical step.
We are a huge, diverse, cacophonous continental nation, and for a variety of reasons - historical, cultural, geographic- the concept of "nation" has been virtually erased, and we are struggling for a rationale to remain as one country.
As a resident of the Northwest, I wish my brethren in Alabama and Mississippi well - but if they want to establish a fundamentalist Christian theocracy, re-institute slavery, ban education beyond 6th grade, outlaw all news except state approved Fox News, appoint a king to rule their land, and pretend its 1860 I want no part of that.
The cultural and economic strains seem untenable and unsolvable. But we don't have to hurt each other. We can decide to peacefully evolve into separate nation-states that have "relations" with the other regions, but don't co-exist with them in the same nation.
It's all over but the shouting.
8
It's hard to compromise when one party does not believe in facts. The acceptance of outright lies, made up stories, cheating, gerrymandering, bullying, etc. by Republicans makes it very difficult for any one no matter how noble they are to work with a party like this. There is no other choice but to go to political war and fight for what is right. We're long past compromising. Luckily I believe the vast majority of the American people want to do what's right and fair and their voices are being heard and will be heard.
6
So if our conservative-leaning SCOTUS with its latest two judges installed using highly questionnable tactics/judgment declares abortion not to be a fundamenral right, we should accept that? Let's be very clear that the entire GOP IS the far right, stuck in the middle ages and entirely motivated by greed and need for control. Democrats advocating for action on the environment, equal rights, gun control, social justice, etc. are just reasonable people. They're the new center. You can't even argue anymore that the GOP has any interest in fiscal responsibility. Reserve far left for anarchists, a proper contrast to the far right...no control versus total control.
6
Watching Donald Trump undo everything Obama is illustrative of what we can expect.
One-party rule makes laws that are repealed when the other party takes over. When the legislature or the executive are split, nothing gets done.
We should restore cooperation and compromise. The only way that works is if we go back to earmarks, require a super-majority or socialize with other members.
And if we get rid of the money in politics. Extremists are there for the power, not public service.
3
In terms of policy and ideas, America is not as divided as people say it is.
When you look at the polls on most issues, they show that the people of America believe in liberal causes; abortion, gun control, climate change, etc. The problem is that pundits and other people in power are giving too much of a voice to a minority group of older white and more male voters and basically giving their voices just as much weight as the rest of the country.
Remember, Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million. Since Clinton's victory in 1992, Democrats have won the popular vote in all but one presidential election.
9
@Concerned Citizen
I'm not cherry picking dates. The point is that in 24 years, the republicans won the popular vote only once, and that was George Bush's second term, after 9/11.
Second, I am aware that the popular vote doesn't count, thats exactly the point I was trying to make. Republicans rely on the electoral college in order to win. If the vote was based on who was most popular, and had the most popular policies, the Democrats would win every time.
1
If the agenda of the majority party in a state includes items which pose an existential threat to the minority party – such as gerrymandering or burdensome voter registration requirements which will affect the minority party members disproportionately – the minority party will fight back vigorously.
Then, if the minority party manages to become the new majority, it will take steps to increase the chances of holding onto the majority.
It is not a situation of either side becoming meaner just for the fun of getting even.
First of all, incumbents are afraid of losing their jobs. Secondly, they spend so much time maneuvering and strategizing, there is not much time to sit down with the other side and try to negotiate compromises. Thirdly, they are scared that compromise will be viewed as surrender by the hardliners in their own party.
The momentum is difficult to stop. Each side needs a couple self-confident leaders who want good governance to be the guiding light – not short-term political victories.
1
The magic of gerrymandering, that’s the only way the republicans can stay in power. But what happens, is their long standing policies don’t work, the people in red states are much poorer than those in blue, and that’s simply because the Republican Party doesn’t care about their constituency, because they know that a majority of their constituents will still vote for them. Which is why they boldly hold up FEMA money (forget that is socialism too) suddenly pretending to care about the deficit.
The Republican Party is only interested in enriching their benefactors, and themselves along the way (Kushner is a prime example of self-enrichment. But republicans won’t ask themselves how would we react if Obama has used AF-1 to travel to is private business, not to play golf, that’s just an excuse. Because I’m here to tell you, if Obama had the same investigation leveled at him that Trump does, and obstructed justice as Trump has, the republicans would have been burning effigies of Obama, they would be screaming for impeachment. Graham was all for Clinton’s impeachment, saying that it was a “cleansing” of the office, that ignoring a subpoena could have impeached both Nixon and Clinton, oddly he doesn’t feel the same way today, I wonder why.
3
Since the 50s, America has been producing a lot more first grade consumers than first grade citizens. When individual immediate satisfaction is paramount, someone else has to clean up the mess. I'm afraid there's not too many citizens willing to pick up a shovel. The silent majority won't do the job. Many of us are dazed and confused.
Same collective behaviorial patterns are observed in Europe. Dysfunctional governing systems are unraveling social fabric.
I may have another 25 years to go. I would hate to see violence erupt in North America or Europe. Right now the voices of reason in the Western world are being shut up. All we hear are the tenors of emotional rhetoric. Doesn't look good for peace.
4
I think people that have voted Republican in Alabama and other Red States, states which all seem to rely on ALEC and other special interest groups for their canned, red-meat legislative priorities rather than the needs of their people, may think their party has gone too far with this round of anti-abortion, restrictive voting laws, and poor election and education funding.
4
It seems to a popular theme among those who tend to favor the democrats that eliminating gerrymandering could help with our troubled political climate.
Without gerrymandering, a democrat couldn't get elected between New York and Los Angeles.
The red states with large blue cities, (Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado) would become permanent red states.
Look at a color coded map of every presidential election broken down by congressional district, it's blue on the edges, solid red in the middle with tiny flecks of blue.
4
@Jonathan Arthur
New York doesn't need gerrymandering to get a Democrat elected.
Which may in large part explain why Donald Trump doesn't like to come back here.
4
No it’s the other way around, it the Republican Party that abuses gerrymandering, but as usual Trumpists follow their own backward logic, like the follow their backward party.
2
Those maps are misleading because the tiny blue dots in the big red state are tiny in land area only. If you look at the same map adjusted by population density you get an entirely different picture
4
The country is not so divided as gerrymandering would have you believe. The majority of Americans want access to affordable health care and education, a decent living wage, security in retirement and common sense gun control. A powerful minority beholden to big money, using divisive issues like race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation and identity is preventing any of the things the majority of Americans support from becoming a reality.
20
Maybe I'm just hopelessly biased, but I can't abide the suggestion that both sides are to blame, and that all we need is compromise.
Only one party is purging voter roles, indulging in illegal gerrymandering and rejecting policies that have super-majority support (stricter gun control, lower drug prices, paid family leave, net neutrality, etc.). Not to mention stuffing courts, stealing Supreme Court seats, and blocking popular legislation at the national level. This party also benefits from a flawed electoral system that gives it control of the White House even when its candidates lose the popular vote. (Yes, I know it's in the Constitution, but you'd think the "presidents" who win this way would approach their jobs with humility and a desire to respect the will of the people. Instead, the last two have governed as extreme partisans.)
The Democrats have spent decades trying to appease Republicans on welfare reform and budget austerity, but Republicans are never satisfied no matter how unpopular their ideas. Their policies have grown increasingly extreme, even as they've become less responsive to voters and in some places even tried to bypass voters altogether (gerrymandering and vote purges).
So is it any wonder Dem voters have had enough? We don't need the parties to work together, at least not yet. What we need now is to defeat every Republican we can until the GOP stops being the party of angry old white people and starts trying to win voters over with its ideas.
26
@Jeremy
Just one or two questions: Is "angry old white people" meant to be a pejorative trope or just a means to obviate a reasoned and thoughtful Hegelian dialectic with the opposition? And what about all the old black people who belong to the GOP?
2
Ideas? They’d have to possess a shred of basic elemental human decency with something beyond personal gain and the amassing of personal wealth as their modus operandi.
I fled for a month to breathe. To let the murderous horrors slip away from my field of vision. To recover. To repair. To revive my battered American soul so abused and destroyed by a tiny elite whose intentional malice, inhumanity, and cruelty have devastated my every noble principle taught me in my childhood by my immigrant parents.
My father was a Republican. My mom a die hard Democrat and lover of the Kennedys. My first traumatic memory as a child still in swaddling clothes was witnessing my mother screaming and crying for hours, falling to the floor in defeat and horror the day JFK was assassinated.
They loved one another and civilly discussed their points of view at the table. However, my father who so admired Nixon, was furious and unforgiving before his abuse of the laws he so respected had made his mantra over and over in my youth, “we live in the greatest country in the world.” Had he survived the heart attack that killed him and lived to see this gross criminality and open faced contempt for Hispanics in particular. He would have died a twice broken man. Such was his belief in America’s essential honesty and high values.
I now carry the cross of that betrayal for him. Though, like my mom, I was always a Democrat. And I have severed all ties to any one who calls themselves proud Republicans.
3
I live in one of these zany states where conservatives own the legislature and executive. They continue to churn out the craziest stuff one can imagine.
But we are now close to reversing the trend in Arizona. We can only hope that a Democratic majority is elected in 2020.
If not, it will be the same old goofy stuff from the guns, racism and religion lobby.
20
And with the evangelicals making their way into government at all levels, we need the Supreme Court to rule whether or not these laws that are being written by the Republican Party don’t violate the establishment clause of the constitution.
1
With each such article illuminating the ever-expanding gulf between the left and right, I suggest stipulating to our complete and bluntly irreconcilable differences and looking to make a case for a peaceful partitioning of this country.
Would someone please tell me why this is such an alien concept, one so impossible to conceive.
Will it be somehow better to opt for Civil War 2.0 with groups of both houses up and out in the night, guns and ball bats in hand, hunting down and eliminating known neighbors of the opposition? I think not!
Yeates had it right; the center will not hold...and isn't! And when we finally twist off our axis, then what?
I ask what it will take to open our minds to this much less costly option. What current equivalent of John Brown's Harper's Ferry raid will it take for us to see the inevitable? And if we fail to act then, what will our generation's firing on Ft. Sumter look like...let alone the consequences?
3
For most of my life I have been known as Mr. Nice Guy, always trying to keep the peace, mainly by just being quiet. No more. Last week when the parents of a friend of mine said that 300,000 criminals were coming into this country every month, i had had enough. I told them the wall is wrong and ALL of us come from immigrants. I usually get mad, which keeps me from arguing effectively, but it is relatively easy to debate the self-serving, often incoherent policies of this president. His supporters are simply not going to get away without being educated on what the true facts are, and i'm pleased with myself that i can finish the "discussion" by relishing the confused look on their faces.
26
Well played, Wamsutta !
3
Correcting misunderstanding is one thing, going all out open borders? argh.
The absolutism I've observed over my lifetime seems to emanate primarily from one side of the political aisle. The other side of the aisle is endlessly cajoled into "meeting in the middle" or "compromising" or urged to "reach out and understand" the permanent aggrievement of the others. A side whose grievances, might I add, seem rooted in a fundamental anger at the inevitable and incredibly hard-won progress of life, society, knowledge, and equality.
A few things could be done that could cool tempers and reduce the retribution in our politics. One, would be to ensure that every person's vote is counted fairly and equally. No more games, no more gerrymandering, no more stripping of voter rolls. Another would be the elimination of pay-for-play politics with the endless rivers of dark money and high powered corporate interests corrupting our politics. If the American people could have faith that their opinions are being accurately recorded at the polls, and that those elected are actually working on their behalf without the distortion of outside influences, I believe a move toward comity would be more likely.
9
The vast majority of folks do not fall in the far right or far left—-we are in the middle. The folks doing all the commenting here in the NYT or in conservative publications are the vocal minority caught up in the emotions of very politicized issues. We in the middle are oh so blessed to have friends with many diverse political perspectives. And we find many ways to respect each other and our varying opinions/insights. Quiet Respect is more common in this great nation. Political power swings back and forth over the decades and we can survive and prosper in these swings, given the stability in the majority.
5
Now let's take it one step further, and put forth a policy where federal tax money collected from blue states can only go to other blue states and tax money collected from red states can only go to red states. Let the likes of Alabama, Mississippi, and the rest of the Olde Confederacy and other like-minded states find out what it's like to support themselves instead of leeching off of California, New York, and other blue states that are actually creating a positive economic impact.
As this article clearly shows, we are no longer the "United" States of America.
12
@Vesuviano
Or, perhaps, a sanctuary state like California with around 13% of the nation’s population but with around 30% of the nation’s welfare load actually pays the full cost of its welfare policies instead of having Federal taxpayers chip in.
1
@EGD
That would suit me just fine. As a matter of fact, I'd be perfectly okay with the breaking up of our now disunited country. California could join up with Oregon and Washington, we could call ourselves Westeros, and go our merry way.
We should break up into four nations. Anything that touches the pacific is one nation. Anything north of Virginia that touches the Atlantic is another. Anything that touches the Great Lakes, but not the Atlantic is a third. The rest is a fourth. Set the clock for five years where everyone has time to make arrangements as to where they want to live and make the move. We cannot go on like this.
6
Remember Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America. That was the point where the right threw down the gauntlet. Derision and outright rejection of political opponents was to be the new politics.
In the ensuing decades, the first line of attack on the Democrats was that they were mumbly mouthed, elitists, bleeding hearts, and weak.
Now that they are wearing boxing gloves let's see how the Republicans like it. Maybe some of them will extend an olive branch--I hope so--but if the Democrats wish to survive this period, they must follow the base finally. We are not backing down.
7
Trump is the Great Divider. He thrives on anger and chaos. If the GOP doesn't do something to stand up to him, I fear our democracy may be irreparably damaged. Not the party I grew up with.
8
The internet is eroding human relations and economic insecurity is making people more aggressive. When individuals feel their way of life is in danger they will run for the ideology they believe will protect them. This generate a lack of simpathy for others which will consequentially generate hate issues such racism, xenophobia. Lets shut down social media and online retailers and make our world great again (before 9 11 2001)!
1
It hurts...it hurts so much that this beautiful, wonderful country with its great citizens is out of its own volition engaged in a battle of agendas that emphasizes 5% difference over 95% similarity, slowly killing itself from within.
Please stop. Please come to your senses and see the good in your fellow countrymen.
6
It is time to split apart the states into like minded provinces. The West Coast (HI, WA, OR, CA) should form its own government - It is like we live in a different country than Red State people do already. I feel these Red States are holding us back financially as well as socially - We would be better off on our own.
5
Spot on...the residents states are a ball and chain on progress...they disparage us whilst be subsidise them ,provide them with our advanced technology and entertainment...the sooner we part ,the better...
They are, they are in fact a drag on our economy, how much do we give to these people to rebuild their homes, probably better than they were before they were flattened. Yes that socialistic FEMA, that’s billions every year, not to mention the manufacturing that is done is done in blue states because that’s where the roads infrastructure is. Big business doesn’t want to do business in red states, you know it’s a sad day for red states when Hollywood wants to pull out for doing business in backward states.
1
“From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be it’s author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.”
Abraham Lincoln
5
A wise history teacher in 8th grade taught that the Constitution was written to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. But now our government- Democrats and Republicans- have become exactly that. It is a shameful and scary development.
2
Single issues politics has flourished with the open spigots of Citizens United and the hyper-targeting of the internet. With a president who hung a "For Sale"sign at the door of the Oval Office and Republican Party in complete lock step while also wetting its beak, you have a perfect storm of division .
4
‘Diversity’ is wonderful....until it manifests as irreversible cultural and ideological divisions that tear apart any notion of national unity.
So-called ‘Progressives’ will often point to countries like Denmark as ideal semi-socialist utopias. Well, guess what? Denmark et al are small, predominantly homogeneous countries.
They don’t struggle with the deep cultural divisions that we have in the United States. And considering the rate of illegal trespassing into our country by impoverished foreign migrants, I predict the divisiveness here is only going to get worse...much worse.
6
If a highly conservative and retrograde political agenda continues to be pushed through unabated in Alabama, what will the state look like in the coming years as other parts of the country move in the other direction and incentivize young, educated, and skilled people to leave (Alabama) both for economic opportunity and socially progressive laws? Power and wealth will become more concentrated than it already is in the coastal/urban areas, cultural and political resentments will continue to smolder, and the country mouse/city mouse divide widens. I can only see partisanship in US politics getting worse in the near future.
3
Ah the NYT champions of false equivalency. As if both parties are somehow equally to blame for our current disfunction. Start to acknowledge the facts on the ground, thats not partisanship its journalism. We have one party (the GOP) who rejects basic science and facts and one that doesn't. Articles like this that spin politics as some sort of game of left and right are ridiculous. The GOP party is a scam to take money from everyone and give it to the rich. This is obviously not a popular agenda with the rank and file members of they party so they keep them in line by stirring up racism.
8
Once again for free speech, making the point--Cultural Marxism at NYT stomps on with the backstage censors:
No surprise here. Trump was the gauntlet. The cause was the Obama Cultural Marxist stomping of the left and unrelenting oppression of the deep-swamp Mandarin class, e.g., Brennan, Comey, Strzok, Mueller, an immutable ensconced ooze, it seems, a bureaucracy with the power to accuse, condemn, and punish at will. Our Sovietized mass-media promulgating their narratives and snipe hunts ad nauseam.
California's politics, for example, along with Sacramento, has been "occupied" by Lenin's Bay Area for more than a decade. Silicon Valley has been the leader with its oligarchic attack on California's conservatives, having to live with its multicultural fiscally suicidal open-borders-illegal immigrant agenda, pressing down the wages of its poorest citizens and disrupting its poorest communities not to mention the constant drain on public resources. Gavin is their fool and Harris is their message.
At some point a "winner" will emerge. It seems, from this point, it will be either a painfully slow and steady, but at times violently animated, synthesis or a sudden and surprising revolution.
Given too often how such things begin and end, let's hope it is the former--though it is clear the black-masked Antifa Gramsci Marxists seem to have the edge, at least here in California.
1
June 11, 2019
Either we learn and function as a ""Untied States of America, ""
or we fracture / fragment our social political national fabric that must live with accommodations to our Union of values and tolerances toward reality existentialism.
“Man is condemned to be free” – Jean Paul Sartre
“ Beware that when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you” Nietzsche
JJA
1
I think Alabama is in a race to the bottom, and the incoming Democratic administration (hope, hope) should threaten to expel Alabama from the union unless they restore sensible abortion laws in that state.
1
One party control is far more dangerous than you might think. I was a database administrator in Oregon and caught an Oregon Health Plan contractor selling laboratory results. They were literally selling HIV, STD, leukemia and cancer test results. A 20 year truck company driver was fired when his company found he had leukemia. Families were denied home loans because the wife had breast cancer. Employees were “laid off” or not hired over a child having a disease, the employee and spouse going to marriage counseling. I was fired. The governor literally solicited bribes to help the company. I filed for whistleblower retaliation and the state “lost” the filings.fortunately, I recorded all telephone calls with the state and my former employer and prove every bit of it. Still in court, the case even has exposed federal judges working as state agents. It’s going to make the best true crime novel ever, but it is what will happen in those one party states. Oregon is just unusually sleazy.
2
I’m a huge believer in splitting this country up. Let the Red and Blue states go their separate way. As a blue state resident, I’m sick and tired of watching my state’s federal tax dollars not be spent in my state but instead go an prop up the red welfare states. As a gay man, I’m sick and tired of my rights being under constant attack from the Red State Evangelicals.
I believe in the Constitution’s premise of All Men are Created Equal. If it was up to the Red States; this country would be an Evangelical Apartheid Theocracy.
14
@Sterling
States?
No, break it up into red and blue counties. That way intolerant urban leftists wouldn’t control the fate of suburban and rural people.
If it was up to the blue states, this nation would be a monstrous leftist dictatorship where dissent would be punished by the State.
2
The problem is one party promotes the general welfare of the people (democrats) the other seems to be fixated on creating a religious state(Republicans) Or uses religious issues to create one that functions for the benefit of the few, the rich. The people in Alabama and some of these other states have to recognize the disparity between parties. The Republicans have gone off the rails into bigotry, authoritarianism, (religious based fascism), with no respect for the majority who wants something else.
3
A yuge defect of “political tribalism” is that its based on hate, not love. Trump fans the flames (he loves controversy and division) and so it gets worse and worse. Worldwide authoritarians love it (Putin, Xi, Orban, etc) because a fractured America increases their power and influence. 2020 will be revelatory of our cultural future. Regardless of the standing of the economy at that time, what kind of people are we? What of integrity, decency, fairness, values, honor, etc etc ? I don’t care if my wallet is fat if I’m ashamed of my country’s leadership and direction. What happens to my children in that world?
“We must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.”
— Ben Franklin
1
This is more dangerous both-siderism. You paint both parties as moving to left and right extremes with the implication that the majority of Americans occupy some moderate middle ground, but that is NOT what is going on!
The CRUCIAL piece of information you fail to provide to your readers is that the policies that the Democrats are fighting for are ones that polls show a SUPERMAJORITY of the American people want:
82% support increasing the minimum wage.
76% support raising taxes on the ultra-rich.
70% support legalizing marijuana nationally.
69% support stricter gun control.
62% support protecting safe, legal abortion access.
It is wildly irresponsible to not make this crystal clear. Either mention that the US populace has moved significantly "to the left" over time, or better yet recalibrate your scale so that these Democratic policy positions are your new "center, moderate". Reserve "far-left" for Marxism and anarchists.
Also make it clear that the Republicans' agenda is one that a supermajority of Americans are AGAINST. On issues like gun safety laws, abortion, and gerrymandering they even vote against what a majority of Republican voters want! Now THAT is some real far-right extremism.
Articles like this that equate the positions of both parties as being "far to the left" vs "far to the right" are dangerously irresponsible. The NYT has generally excellent journalism, but gaslighting your readership with this sort of article has got to stop.
9
@ɘlbe Unfortunately, polls aren't votes. If they were, Hillary Clinton would be president and a lot of things would be different.
Politics isn't a one-to-one proposition. A small number of very passionate individuals can drive policy in ways that a larger number of less committed people can't.
To take just one example: people who oppose gun control and much more passionate than those of us who support it. We can blame the NRA if we want to, but the real reason we haven't seen any real reform of gun laws is that there are a lot of people who passionately oppose any new regulations, and they vote.
I agree with the idea that Republican extremism is largely to blame for the great divide in our politics, and I can't abide the "bothsides-ism" that seeks to blame Democrats equally. But polls are just polls. Votes are votes. We need votes in order to change things.
2
These suggestions urging bipartisan cooperation and reasonable compromise are too little, too late. Democrats have been "playing nice" for decades and this is where it got us.
Finally Dems are playing hardball and now we are forced to listen to the manufactured outrage of the people who are taking apart our country for personal gain?
If one can look at the words and actions of our political leaders over the last twenty minutes, much less twenty years, and not see a glaring and grotesque difference between those who want to collaborate and those who want to consume at any cost, then I am at a complete loss as to where to even begin to compromise and am forced to ask: Why should we even make that effort?
No one is coming across the aisle from the other side and they haven't for decades. The enemies of freedom and civil rights have bought and paid for the Republican Party and a handful of democrats, anonymously nonetheless, and these individuals have zero compassion and will brook no argument against them.
Our countrymen fought with blood and iron for the freedom from the worship of kings, queens, and religion. What has replaced by that? Money. Money is our monarchy and state sponsored religion and that is a problem.
The health and well-being of families, women, and children should be more important than making money and the private interests of the wealthiest individuals on Earth.
3
Humans by our very nature may be tribal animals. Hard to believe, but there are some behavioral and thought traits that are simply written into our DNA. We are also very different from each other. I know it is also hard to believe nowadays but we are not created equal.
The shift can be and should be connected to the rise of technology. With the rise of technology came infinite communication platforms. With the rise of these platforms came a major shift in the commoditization of news and the decline of objective journalism.
During the same period, there has been an unrelenting focus on identity politics. The politics that attempt to view and define all aspects of life through the lenses of class, race, and gender. The purveyors of identity politics know that mankind is tribal by nature, and their goal is control and power.
1
The political culture of this country is far more nuanced and evolving than this dark, static analysis would suggest. Read in today’s Times about Arizona’s evolution form a Republican stronghold to a possible battleground purple state. http://tinyurl.com/y4b6svvq
What is our problem? The political extremes have gotten hold of the political process, and they are using it for their own private religious war. But they reflect neither the needs nor the wishes of the vast, moderate center. The Right has manned the barricades against the loss of white male hegemony. The Left rails against that fading hegemony but then substitutes its own merit-based exclusion zone. Meanwhile, the millions caught in-between often don’t know where to turn. The extremes may worry about the end of the world, but the center worries about the end of the month.
If liberal Democrats were smart, they would forgo grandiose schemes like impeachment and the Green New Deal, at least for now, and focus on defeating Trump at the polls in 2020. That means adopting a more sober, humble and respectful attitude toward the center, an implicit acknowledgment that they don’t have all the answers, after-all. If they could but manage that miraculous transformation, millions of moderate and swing voters would fall gratefully into their arms in 2020.
1
I’m a huge believer in splitting this country up. As a blue state resident, I’m
1
We can't begin to have discussions and compromise until we can agree on common sets of facts. That means depending on science and observation, and as long as religion keeps getting dragged into the picture there is not much chance of that. We've got 5 card-carrying Catholics on the Supreme Court. We have a representation system that over-weights the rural and less educated and then elects an unpopular minority supported populist. Our really big problems are largely a result of too many people with unevenly distributed resources, and our use of the peoples' commons (air, water, and earth) as garbage dumps (CO2, ocean flotsam, and chemical pollution everywhere else); massive pollution is universal.
3
I have a friend who married a well educated guy in the sate of Kentucky (ultraconservative spot I'd say) who made a lot of money (legally) on his job that paid six figures. She was divorced after 28 years of marriage to this guy in Connecticut. According to her, the attorney that represented her during the divorce told her how lucky she was as to where she was divorced. Kentucky divorce proceedings are not as generous to the dependent spouse as they are in Connecticut.
1
We are simply paying for the mistakes made during post-civil war reconstruction - the consequences of which have come to a crescendo. The Southern states forfeited their rights to statehood and should have been re-unified as U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, with no representation whatsoever in Congress.
We need a new John Lennon song for us to "Imagine" what it would've been like without the south - the home of extreme right wing'ism, the post-civil rights Republican party, and now Trumpism. Imagine livable wages, people not going bankrupt due to healthcare, increasing rather than decreasing life expediencies, first class affordable education and daycare, a clean environment, and far less gun violence.
The cancer of the South was always a manageable tumor - now it has metastasized and spread via the modern GOP and its corporate enablers (many of which are, I am aware, in wall street, far above the mason dixon line). I welcome enmity. animosity, and yes, polarization, against this new confederacy. Who wants to work with or compromise with something that is demonstrably against anything of value?
4
Get rid of gerrymandered districts (state and federal) and the natural moderation of our politics will come to the fore. We have divided ourselves into the most partisan enclaves. Artificially.
We are not nearly as divided as we think.
Here:
www.pollingreport.com
Open that link and prove to yourself that people are moderate and even lean liberal on most major issues.
It's the unnatural districts that exacerbate the division.
3
It is the greatest fallacy of our times that all problems can be solved by political ideology. Legislatures were at least in theory created to address the concerns of all of citizens. However political ideology too often robs our legislators of discernment, pragmatism, compromise and independent thought--the same qualities, unfortunately, found lacking in a pack of barking dogs.
Democrats are convinced that we are divided because they are always right and 1/2 the country just needs to come around to their way of thinking. Can't we all just agree with AOC?
2
@Jerome
FYI. AOC doesn't represent the voice of the majority of Democrats.
Try again.
6
"Republican-held states have rushed forward with conservative agendas as those controlled by Democrats have pushed through liberal ones." This should have read Republican held states have rushed forward with an agenda of hate."
4
The best example of why we have this divide.
True story.
More than 20 years ago, we bought a house with acreage in outer suburban Atlanta. The entrance to the property faced a small subdivision (about 1/4 acre), with the rest of the property and house behind the subdivision.
We did not make ourselves known to the neighbors because we preferred to live in total privacy, but they had different ideas.
About a month into our occupancy, a statue of Jesus appeared on our front lawn. We had no idea how or why Jesus was there and whose idea was it. We figured whomever put him there had to go through our mail and discovered three things about us; we were Jewish, Democrat and, worst of all, from NYC.
We threw Jesus in the garbage, who then miraculously reappeared. We threw him into a gully and he crawled out. I even threw him out at work and he reappeared in another form.
This forced me to confront neighbors and when I found out whom, they could not grasp the concept of freedom to believe as you want to believe as long as you do impose your beliefs upon others.
That weekend, this neighbor brought other neighbors onto our property, along with their pastor.
Imagine being castigated by a group of people on your own property because you believe differently from them.
We called the police. Instead of removing them from our property, they too jumped in.
Years later and after numerous incidents of ostracism, we just could not take it anymore.
We left for another part of the country.
I wonder why?
7
What a bizarre experience.
Hyperpartisan hyper-gerrymandering is the root of all this evil. The SCOTUS has the power to fix this but, sadly, the SCOTUS is about to make it worse (if that's even possible).
1
Theirs is no divide , clever marketing by the media, one party system pretending to be two, both representing a minority of people in each, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN have a total nightly viewership of around 3.8 million .
340 million current population, that’s how you get a Trump Presidency.
We would’ve better off as a nation if we had politicians willing to compromise. That art of negotiation has almost ceased to exist.
1
Our politics for 40 years has been a battleground between those with visions of an inclusive America, with political and economic justice for all, and those protecting a heritage and culture based on race and class-based divides.
Your reporting equates Democratic policies favoring medical care for the poor; a woman’s right to choose; a higher minimum wage; and gun control, all popular, with Republican policies favoring gun rights, opposing minimum wage legislation, cutting Medicaid, and right to work legislation.
The effect of gerrymandering by GOP legislatures to bake in Republican control and radical GOP agendas are not mentioned in this article, and is underreported generally.
Want to understand divisiveness? Consider ALEC, the Tea Party, the Koch brothers and other radical conservative donors, and the movement borne of the reaction to 60’s legislation and progressive court decisions on our politics.
We’re in a New Reconstruction. Comity and decency and norms mean less and less as GOP politicians grab what isn’t theirs while the getting is good. Demographic changes will swamp them soon. Their motto: take the money and run.
3
If a foreign power wanted to destroy the United States by weakening it from within, they would instruct someone to pit one group of Americans against another and to plant false information. But that's not neccessary. We already have a president and a TV network performing these tasks.
I don't know where the country goes next but the fact that we can even debate your right to own a silencer for your gun pretty much says it all.
2
India divided into two countries, I'd be perfectly happy for the US to do the same. As it is, it's not working. And there's no way we can heal the rifts. They're too deep. The anger will continue unabated.
So let's divide. Let's be real.
4
The elephant in the room is the relentless attacks by the liberal left. Mostly attacks against Trump but also against "white America- especially men"; law enforcement and capitalism. The left has adopted the untruth of good vs evil or a Us vs Them approach to everything. I can't think of anything where they don't use this approach. Anyway- to me it seems as if this is the main culprit.
2
Are we more divided? Or has gerrymandering given us governing officials governing to one end; getting reelected.
When are educated workers.. the brain trust of Corporate America going to say no working in States like Georgia and Alabama. I lived in Atlanta from 1974-1995. I went to College there and campaigned hard for Jimmy Carter, the favorite son.
I wonder why “the South” has moved so far right. The only thing that comes to mind is mega churches, the NRA, and tribalism. We have never been so divided. I could never live there not that Florida is a whole lot better. I have never seen my country so divided. This coming from a Patriot. But maybe my Revolutionary War roots from the north are different than the Civil War roots of the south.
2
Let's agree to disagree and split the country into multiple parts/separate countries. Country no. 1: CA; OR; WA; HI;
Country no. 2: FL; AL; MS; AR; LA; TX; SC; NC; VA; MO; TN; KY; IN; Country no. 3: NY; NJ; MD; DC; MA; VT; DE;
Country no. 4 -- everything else.
As a Libertarian, I say “Welcome to the club.”
1
In my opinion, a lot of this began with Ronald Reagan's trashing the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, followed almost immediately by the introduction of Rush Limbaugh on AM radio, and then by FOX News, founded by foreign-born propaganda-for-profit mogul, Rupert Murdoch, in 1996. All the seeds of division were planted in less than a decade.
We have seen the divide grow every year ever since, as the former Republican Party morphed in lock-step, fake story by fake story, into a new corporate-sponsored right-wing theme:
"The white middle-class are the victims of deep-state government, godless elitists, feminists, brown people, and immigrants, and a global scientific conspiracy."
Almost every story on AM Hate Radio or FOX now attacks one or more of the above categories. They provide their mob of frustrated listeners with half-truth talking points designed to divide and conquer America's masses, directing their attention toward scapegoats and away from America's real enemy: Insatiable corporate greed.
And now these misled fools finally have their King, Donald J Trump. A man who is too lazy to read or even pay attention during intelligence briefings - a man who has a history of bullying, business failures, and shadiness. A man who aligns himself with murderers Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Mohammad Bin Salman. A man who takes his marching orders from hate monger, Sean Hannity.
And his self-proclaimed "Christian" base cheers his hatred and blame... In the name of the Lord.
2
IMHO it would be better for the USA to split between the Red/Blue States and find some sort of trade/defence agreements on which you would not have the type of infighthing you are in now. The GOP is what it is and the Democrats cannot change it.The societies know 3 steps in their evolution:Feudism,Capitalism and Socialism.The Red States move from Feudism (slaves exploitation) to a beginning of Capitalism (mainly predatorial); they will still evoluate to Socialism within the next 50 years...The Blue States will then be far away from thoseS
Red states.Let's find a way to accomodate those different states of mind and still protect some form of a limited Federal Administration for the future of the USA.Politicians shall become realistic on the big differences between NY/CAL and AL/WV! Best
2
"America grows more divided". That is an understatement. I know Americans that are literally sick from how the current POTUS has been breaking the laws of the Executive Office with no ramification from anyone for years now.
A perpetual liar. Think about that our POTUS lies blatantly on a daily basis to Americans and the world! This is insane.
4
We wouldn't be so divided in the south if black votes were not suppressed. Who really knows what the politics are in the New Jim Crow South?
3
Speaking only for myself without the bullhorn of Fox and right wing radio, this once-upon-a-time long ago, fiscally conservative, socially moderate republican, has been quietly doing a slow burn since Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris and Antonin Scalia purloined the 2000 election and played dirty politics all around (trashing McCain) to do so.
Then again, in 2004, Swift Boating an actual combat veteran who served with distinction. Then the Tea Party, and the ACA, and Mitch, and Merrick, and Kavanugh, Roe, and on it goes. One egregious affront after another.
With the installation of trump, aided by a hostile nation, and all of the republican dirty tricks prior that made it possible, if republicans think that because we're not wearing our politics on our hats, that they're going to cake walk into another one, well, I hope they keep thinking that.
Trump, for me is the final straw. But I'm no camel, my back is not broken. There's a reckoning coming, I hope it will be peaceful.
33
@Deb I'm no camel either, Deb. My back is intact. Let's sane people, the real patriots, turn out in record numbers to fix this deplorable mess in 2020. If we don't,
I do have confidence, after the 2018 results, that most of America is fed up with this party of sold-out traitors, corporate-owned frauds, and outright liars.
3
This article somewhat misrepresents the situation in Illinois, where the most important single piece of legislation--the budget--was passed on a bipartisan basis. It's true Illinois is moving to the left, and on many issues (notably abortion) there was fierce GOP resistance, but Pritzker deserves some credit (if you think bipartisanship is creditable) for working with the GOP on the budget.
6
Further proof that Trump is the worst thing that has happened to America since the Civil War. Problem is that it's not just Trump. It is those who see Trump as a POTUS who has no sense of morality but will do what it takes to get their own personal agendas passed regardless of whom he hurts in the process. Trump and his supporters and abettors in Congress and state legislatures will not realize what they have done before it is too late. Only the American voter in 2020 can prevent a second civil war.
13
It is not that Illinois legislators or voters have moved further left in the past few years. The problem is that the former Republican governor, a neophyte legislator, dug in his heels and refused to compromise and legislate. The business of the state, especially the budget, came to a halt during Governor Rauner's tenure. Previous Republican governors in Illinois have done what was best for the state and accomplished a lot.(I've voted for many Republican governors because I felt they were the better candidates.) Pritzker seems willing to compromise despite the fact that he has an almost veto-proof majority in both Houses.
4
The policies that are supported in government will be decided by who wins the election. The polarization that is more evident is a result of the repeal of the FCC Fairness Doctrine that allowed Rush Limbaugh to go on the air. It continued with Fox News. Republicans have never suffered a penalty for their uncompromising stance on their policies only recently. Today's Republicans will not compromise. Obama tried and failed. Republicans have attacked free and fair elections. When Republicans have lost control in the States, they try to limit the incoming power of the incoming administration. That is the fundamental problem, not the disagreement which should be decided by the voters and who they elect in a fair election.
5
Do you really think the growing gap in politics is because of certain states being racist and right wing and others not?
Well, if you do, I beg to disagree with you. J.D Vance, for one, a writer from a "red state" has shown us the humanity of these states. Again and again, the red states have been let down by loss of jobs, and automation of their livelihood and pollution of their natural resources. They are left behind, without work, and their economies are not thriving. As some Silicon investors have started to do, there needs to be investment in these states with jobs, with new innovation. Instead the opiate epidemic is ravaging their unemployed counties. They need what all of us need: a comfortable life and the ability to provide for their children, and the ability to progress in their lives. Until the coastal states see this and value these resource-rich red states, China will do the investment, and we lose these valuable peoples' contribution to our life.
4
@K.M Why do the people in these states continue to vote for the rich man's party? Why do they empower the party that refuses infrastructure spending and hates the social safety net? Why do they support the party of deregulation and union busting?
The "coastal states" aren't holding the Vance Belt back. The Vance staters are partly responsible for their woes.
2
@K.M So they expect the wealthy in the Blue States to rescue them with investment while demanding the right to further codify regressive thinking on women, people of color, homosexuals, and non Christians, to name a few? And who do you think is removing the environmental protections for the natural resources? Attracting innovation requires some interest in being forward-thinking. Dropping a sentimental longing for "the good-old days" would be a great place to start.
3
@Lady Edith It is coincidental that Silicon Valley happened where it did. Along with my community, we are all benefiting from it in many ways, as well as our kids. As we invest in the rust belt, whose auto industry was decimated, as well as other industry, people get better educations, are not resentful of our coastal states, and feel they are getting what they need too. Why do you think they want to remove protections? They need jobs just as you or I do. It is easy to dis the red states, but much harder to really grapple with the real problems and try to solve them. There are forward thinking individuals in these states who need funding. Maybe they have a solution for water problems with farming, or growing corn. I have got news for you, but without the midwest and central California, none of us would be eating well.
1
Some would argue that the situation we find ourselves in today is the result of no goals for the Nation to strive for. There is no longer a Cold War, nor a moon shot, or war to rally around for example. The lack of leadership and vision for the future is abysmal.
4
Climate change should and will be the great rallying cause of our nation and world.
1
I don't feel like Americans are divided. When we protest, we protest on Saturdays and Sundays, because we're completely united in our commitment to money and property. When our bombs drop on foreign countries, we all pretend they didn't fall from our aircraft. And if anyone does speak up, they speak only in general terms, taking care not to insinuate that an American (read: soldier) had anything to do with it... The idea that the 'global force for good' might do something terribly evil is patently unthinkable! No one is undermining prisons or courts (even though they're a far cry from anything resembling justice), nor is anyone on the right or left challenging representative governance (even though it solidifies oligarchy). The real apparatuses of empire have our full, undivided loyalty.
4
@Tad R. One might even argue that our partisan bickering (which has very little bearing on the real work of the empire) constitutes a unified commitment to party politics.
1
Hyper-partisanship is only a symptom of our national illness. Money is the root of the evil, especially in our elections. Citizens United will be shown to have been a nail in the coffin of democratic elections in our country.
But there's also a temporal problem. All the votes had hardly been counted after the 2018 election when campaigning for 2020 started, and the flames were enthusiastically fanned by the media. Why? Nothing less than competition for advertiser dollars, the life-blood of the media megaphone, the basis for the demise of objective, non-partisan journalism.
Both money in politics and partisan, post-truth, faux journalism -- television and digital -- are causing deep rot in our democratic political process. It's going to be hard work to root them out, but it'll be necessary if we are eventually to rescue our democracy.
3
One thing that really hurts political consensus is the belief that “if you give them an inch, they will take a mile”.
In reality, we are capable of drawing lines and doing “a”, but not doing “b” or “c”, but the current political climate considers compromise or accepting one proposal of an opponent to be party treason.
In school, I learned in debate class that any kind of “slippery slope” argument was an example of a bad argument—a logical fallacy. In other words, it was illogical—and we got marked down if we made such bad arguments. Yet our politicians make illogical slippery slope arguments all the time.
So one side rejects a bill requiring all gun owners to store their guns in a locked cabinet because they believe that a locked cabinet will lead to the confiscation of all guns. That is a bad argument—people make distinctions and draw legal lines all the time and there is no connection or cause/effect between gun safes and gun confiscation, but one side clings to an illogical argument.
It’s impossible to come up with rational solutions to a problem if ANY solution from the other side is automatically rejected simply because the other side suggested it or if one side believes that any concession will create the imaginary “slippery slope”.
If we are going to work together in the country, we need to work together using reason.
3
The blame lies with the partisan judges on the courts who engage in a fiction called "presumption of constitutionality" when faced with partisan discrimination in the drawing of district lines. No such presumption is reasonable and we are seeing the results. If someone benefits from legislation or is someone's partisans benefit from legislation, such as districting, there should be no presumption against. Parties will do what parties will do. The judicial branch members need to cease being cowards in robes.
3
Is it any wonder why we have such polarization? Too many life long politicians and political families. Case in point the Pritzkers of IL, Beshear family of KY, Cheneys of WY, and the Clintons.
1
Hold on the NYT about Illinois. Illinois was once known as a mfg capital of America. There were more machine shops consolidated within the O'Hare area than anywhere else on earth. Now the majority have fled the State.
The democrats have had full control of the State House and Senate for decades. Michael Madigan, Who has been Speaker of the House for decades,has virtually bankrupted the State with his patronage contracts from everyday contracts to huge retirement benefits for all union workers of the State.
He even has his law firm fight tax increases that he promoted.
With the voting corruption in Chicago and downstate, he has a strangle hold on the fiscal responsibility of Illinois.
There is no opposing view or plan accepted by Madigan. Rauner was no bargain, but he tried to cut taxes which never happened.
Now with Pritzger as Governor, Madigan and Pritzger want to amend the State Constitution permitting the income tax to be raised from the maximum 4.2% up to 7+% and tax people making over $250k. $250k is a teacher and someone working for Com Ed of the City of Chicago.
1
@Bently
When I worked in the northern Chicago suburbs, there was no shortage of people who commuted in from Wisconsin despite some awful traffic (just an fyi for those unfamiliar, the commuter rail system also extends into Wisconsin).
My guess is those folks were thoroughly unimpressed with the Illinois Democrats and voted.
I blame Trump for the majority of discord.
5
I grew up in Chicago under the tenure of Richard J Daley in the 60's. The Democratic Machine. When I got my driver license test you had to put a 20 dollar bill on the dash or the wrad appointed tester would not pass you. Cops would pull you over looking for a bribe or they would "pull you down to the station" and play games for hours. Half the governors of the State go to prison eventually. Ahh the Democrats. So pure and trustworthy. Give me a break. I actually met 2 governors. Otto Kerner and Dan Walker. Met Daley as well right before the 1968 Police riots at the Democratic Convention. The Dems today would do well to cease this hypocrisy they espouse ad nauseum. They make Trump look like Michael the archangel.
3
Our method of electing representatives from local to the president should be totally reformed. I like the idea of the Single Transferable Vote which forces the candidates to try to appeal to a large swath of their possible constituents rather than just their base (Trump's road to success).
It's hard to explain but Radiolab had a great episode of how it works in Ireland, https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/tweak-vote,
a reddit discussion of the episode,
https://www.reddit.com/r/Radiolab/comments/9ub0gg/episode_discussion_tweak_the_vote/
and the Wikipedia explanation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote.
Something has to be done and soon. Our elections are anything but democratic.
1
We forgot what happened in Wisconsin , The Lame duck Republican Senate passed a bill which took down the basic rights of governor and it was approved by outgoing Wisconsin Republican Governor Walker who has lost the election . Even after losing the Governorship they put a block for the incoming Democratic Governor .
6
As long as we keep up this ‘my kindergarten is better than yours’ view point, we remain divided.
No, Blues are not better human beings than Red. No, Reds are not more American than Blues.
This is a 300m+ people country.
We need to get along and learn to compromise (neither side likes that dirty word, compromise), there is no way you can get these many folks to agree on the same thing.
We cannot have a country where everything is my way or the highway. That does not make a group, it makes for a bunch of individuals only too happy to see the other side fail.
The only other solution will be an authoritarian government where what is good for you is decided by a few people far away from you.
And for those who keep saying ‘we’re already there because Trump …’ – none of you have experienced this. Specially if you claim this. We are the last free country on earth, because we can still find ways to get along, but that is slowly going away because we think ‘every one who does not think like me is a primitive ape’.
Go live in Cuba, China, NK, or religiously run governments; those are authoritarian governments. Let’s not go there, none of you could handle it.
1
I'm surprised that the article makes no mention of gerrymandering. The parties in charge at the state level are drawing increasingly safe districts for their state representatives and senators. This is part of what is fueling the polarization. Just look at what happened in Pennsylvania as a result of the successful challenge to the gerrymandered map drawn by Republicans in 2011. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately struck down the map and redrew the congressional districts. After the district were redrawn, the Pa. legislature turned from red to purple, more accurately reflected how Pennsylvanians vote in statewide and national elections.
4
More to the point - who is in control of the state elections? Especially in the critical electoral college states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all of which have Democratic governors and GOP legislatures. (I've written off both Florida and Ohio as hopeless cases where voter suppression under complete GOP state control will tip the balance in their own favor).
4
@Mau Van Duren
Don't forget forget voter suppression in Georgia, North Carolina and the other southern states with large Black communities that tend to vote Democratic.
2
Florida reinstated 1.4 million felons to the voter roll. Not all will vote ,but probably most . These votes could make a difference.
Neo-nazis saluting our president while shouting "All Hail Trump!" while Alabama increases the infant mortality rate by denying Medicaid expansion and then shuts down Planned Parenthood, claiming a blob of cells no bigger than a flake of dandruff is sacred....
... why shouldn't I be stressed.
10
Great article.
Show the trip so far that results when you give Nazis an inch. (Not very) eventually, they'll kill us all.
2
Change the electoral system from a plurality winner takes all to a mediated proportional representation system; the consequent multiparty system based on coalition building across partisan lines will force the electorate into compromise on foundational issues. Caveat: do away with a system in which 15 rural underpopulated states deliver 30 senators, and yet their combined population is less than CA. Currently, the vote of a resident of Wyoming is nearly 78 times that of a Californian. Find a different formula to hold the Republic together.
Currently, the Republican Party is the party of territory, it represents large swath of US territory; in contrast the Democratic Party represents nearly two third of the population.
Admittedly such structural reforms are very hard, but these are long overdue in order to modernize the US state.
5
None of your New York Times picks comments point out the glaring omission in this article--the percentage of women in the legislatures in question.
2
When you don't work at being "one" -- it does not occur.
Hyphenated America does not work ... nor does demonizing the "other"
Read the comments. Most are "I am right and you are an idiot"
This is hardly the first analysis to suggest that hyper-partisanship is wrecking the country: https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/9/5/16227700/hyperpartisanship-identity-american-democracy-problems-solutions-doom-loop ("We need political parties. But their rabid partisanship could destroy American democracy," Sept 2017).
The motto for too many things these days is "never back down." Here is a representative paragraph from that essay:
"Years of bad faith and negative partisanship have convinced both elites and voters that the other side cannot possibly represent them, and that therefore negotiation is impossible. These animosities are nurtured and honed in conflicting media narratives, with each side consuming only the information diet that puts them in the right, nodding at the commentators who say the other side is acting in an “un-American” fashion."
We need some degree of consensus for the country to function. Let us hope we can find it. Our problems are not insurmountable but our intolerance may be.
Will the calamities of concern to George Washington--one of our revered but flawed Founders--in his farewell address come to pass? They just might: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/washingtons-farewell-address-warned-us-about-hyper-partisanship-214616
2
The country is divided, all right, with the minority currently in power pushing to impose their will. They are not in power because they received more support and votes from the citizens, but because (Trump was right about this!) they rigged the system.
While in power, their second most important goal is to continue the rigging that they might maintain - or even increase - their control. Their first and most important goal is to stack the judiciary. This was done before Trump was even elected by failing to proceed with a nomination to the Supreme Court.
This minority has done everything in its power to undue the beneficial acts of the last 100 years, especially those made during the 8 years under the first mixed-race president in our nation's history. Have no doubt: if there is money to be made from previously protected natural resources or elimination of regulations, this group will find a way. Concentration of wealth into the hands of this small minority is their goal, and to hell with everyone else. They want to build their treehouse and pull the ladder up after them.
That minority is the Republican Party. They got their power through manipulation of all forms of media, gerrymandering, propaganda, and outright lies to the public. Some of them are decent people, but this independent voter cannot stomach the thought of ever voting for one again.
Divided? You bet. It's us vs. them, and the R's cannot stand a close inspection.
6
@Chris
"They got their power through manipulation of all forms of media"
You can't be serious! Aside from Fox, the networks and cable stations are all in the tank for the Democrat party.
1
What is behind this ultra-polarization? The Internet and vitriolic propaganda organizations masquerading as news outlets. The rise of Fox News and it penchant for spreading opinion as news and fact has brainwashed many, including my brother. The more he watches, the angrier he becomes, and the more it is damn the other side...compromise is a four letter word.
There are echo chambers on both sides to be sure. But the conservative right-wing has perfected the method of agitation through propaganda. The Left does not have half the influence those on the Right do. These harden, angry people then elect similar people into legislatures who do not govern, but rather rule.
It will take a national emergency or catastrophe to jar us out of our camps and make us realize that we are stronger together and if both sides give a little, we all win.
6
The country is observing turmoil in it’s political system. Fortunately, we have not yet refused to tolerate people with who we disagree in our daily lives, yet. But in this crazy time, we see people forming teams and committing to loyalties politically which pretty much prevent working together. We can forget dealing with real problems until this political conflict has played out.
Each side is out to abridge everyone’s liberties and control over their own lives. Each is defending everyone’s liberties and control over their own lives. They are just different ones. Both are self righteous about restricting people’s liberties where it tolerated others doing things which they do believe are wrong. each also wants to be left to act as they want because they believe that they do no harm.
We have a President who creates problems that he thinks he can control, even though his history tells him that his ability to manage risk sucks. We have a Congress that is composed of sycophants for the bozo in the White House and outraged opponents who cannot work around this cabal of knuckle heads.
1
In most states, citizens are far less skewed towards the left or right as their state elected officals might indicate. In the reddest states, there are brigjht blue pockets - cities primarily - and red bands in the bluest - predominately rural. And yet even the Crayola politics may not take into account those who just don't vote. So roughly, we are a 50-50 country, but election systems have been torqued to favorite one party over another, generally the incumbents.
The idea, long part of the local and national political landscape, has been to govern for a divided populace with a divided legislature and executive officials. That idea has been scrapped into a zero sum game where governing is not the objective, but winning is. To the richest, it seems, are the spoils of elections.
Worse, with few exceptions, news outlets, social media, and flame throwing podcasts have raised the drawbridges, stocked the moats with dragons, and portray anyone outside their belief domain as some sort of other, vilified in every possible way.
We used to govern by consensus, by compromise, by finding common ground. Admittedly, we produced some pretty crappy laws and policies, but also some magnificent ones. There is no reason why that cannot become the norm again, save the take no prisioners attitudes run amuck.
2
I think this all started with Gingrich and the goals of winning at all costs. Damn civility, speaking truth and pursuing higher ideals. The Republican Party has devolved into one that can’t win in the marketplace of ideas but by cheating, gerrymandering, slaughtering civility and perverting facts and truth. Country is not first for them.
8
the operating principle of federalism is that stateways and folkways can adapt to each other in ways that centralism cannot. the separate states can evolve legislative solutions or programs that can be models for the other states; the nation benefits from *bottom up* innovation.
it also means that a top down change that obliterates folkways and is really global in scope will produce different folkway responses. it's easy to interpret these as originating in politics, when politics is actually the reactive symptom. the top down roe v. wade ruling in 1963 is an example of what happens next.
i'm not alarmed about political "tension" ... the political pendulum swings and will swing again. i am more alarmed about the reactive world views that have been produced not by bottom up folkways but by top down divergence in social media, education, local economies and infrastructure growth.
the economies of infrastructure are the cause. look at a map of voting districts and you will find a ribbon of liberal blue, from louisiana to virgina, created by the interstate highways. the real issues are where the internationalist, open market, free trade, digital, pro growth and pro profit infrastructure is taking us.
the fact that the debate is playing out on social issues is a red herring. look at any voting map, then at an infrastructure map, then ask yourself: where do i think the infrastructure is headed, and do i like where we are going? that by itself will determine your politics.
1
Every state is different, and I for one respect that. The values in New York are entirely different from that in Alabama, and it is reflected in the laws that have recently passed. I would not want this country to look like NY, or any other state, in its entirety. I don't think anyone would. That is freedom, and I am grateful for it.
The problem comes when we no longer trust those in power (and that includes both parties) to have our best interest at heart. Also many no longer trust the mainstream news media.
It is up to each of us to reflect, discuss, and confront where there are strong differences. One of the results is this division you talk about.
2
I have read the majority of the comments and realize that few Americans understand how our country is supposed to work and has been pretty much successful for a long time. Perhaps we should have on line or televised teachers explaining how this democracy is supposed to work. Our population has grown so much it is possible that our system is breaking down but I don't really think so. We can do it but first we much understand what we are doing. It doesn't seem so now.
2
A mission of one party has been to squelch women's autonomy over their reproductive health, reducing access to abortion while simultaneously opposing school-based sex education and greater availability of contraception.
A mission of one party has been to stifle the voices and votes of those with differing ideology through voter suppression measures and gerrymandered district maps.
A mission of one party has been to further enrich the wealthiest among us, while simultaneously attacking worker unions and the laws and institutions which protect victims of fraud.
A mission of one party has been to risk the health of our planet in the course of feeding an insatiable corporate greed.
Neither of the two major parties are innocent; both could stand to listen much more and shout much less. It's not difficult to understand how increasingly polarized our politics have become. But when one party's goals have, as consequences, the suppression, silencing, and repression of other groups of people, along with peril to our planet, it speaks volumes.
7
"The roots of the polarization in state legislatures can be traced to elections in 2010..." Long before that, Grover Norquist expressed satisfaction with the success of the GOP's campaign of "nasty bitterness" in DC, and declared the intention of spreading that to every state house in America. Long before that, Gingrich advised his fellow-Republicans not only to defeat their opponents in argument, but also to "demonize" them. The roots of polarization are deep in America: the influence of racism and religion are clear in that polarization.
5
This is a terribly misleading article because first of all, almost half of all eligible voters don't vote. And secondly, because of Gerrymandering even when people do vote their voice gets diluted. So your whole premise is wrong and when polled, most Americans support the commonsense ideas put forth by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for helping us regain our democracy and our dignity.
5
@lzolatrov " almost half of all eligible voters don't vote" the biggest problem that common sense does not prevail in the US. Voter turnout is even lower for local elections, sometimes in the single digits. Not acceptable.
1
Progressive values are antithetic to conservative/religious ones. Nothing new here. The only difference is the tone and viciousness of the language used in politics, particularly since the arrival of Trump. Again this not new. We just need to remind ourselves of the excesses of the French Revolution. I am an atheist but while I find religion odious overall, I do share some of its positive aspects such as the belief in the golden rule and the need to be one's brother's keeper... We can live together if we are open to diversity.
3
Repeal and replace every single Republican 2020. America is counting on you to save democracy.
4
@Angel
So how does a 100% Democratic majority save democracy?
@Jon Galt
Maybe because Democrats have a history of reaching across the aisle and are willing to compromise -- which can't be said for Republicans, who couldn't even come up with a viable replacement for the Affordable Health Care Act -- even though they had over the 8 years during the Obama administration to come up with something.
I’ve said this in other similar columns on this topic.
We need MANDATORY NATIONAL SERVICE to forge a common identify.
Only when we work together with each other for a common purpose will we be united.
3
This is a poor story that misses the real issues.
The rise of the dishonest right-wing media, thanks in large part to Ronald Reagan and the dollars of oligarchs, has created a major divide in this nation, with the rights and privileges of the ultra-rich being represented by the Republicans and the rights of everyday Americans being represented by the Democrats.
As a result, you see money and political power flowing to the top. And issues like global heating, which is based on solid science laid down over decades, being discounted, while anti-science propaganda rules the political world.
It's false equivalency to blame both parties.
3
Overblown. I don’t think the country is as divided as it was during the Vietnam war. California is different from Alabama. So what? Big deal. If we had a sane, competent President, this would not be news.
5
"Redmap, its multiyear plan to influence redistricting. The $30 million strategy consists of two steps for tilting the playing field: take over state legislatures before the decennial Census, then redraw state and Congressional districts to lock in partisan advantages. The plan was highly successful." NY Times
Control of state legislatures=control over drawing districts (gerrymandering)=win the national legislature.
Republicans were Machiavellian and unethical, following a plan that's wrecked our system of government.
2
It’s not pointed out how the R states are poor and the D states rich. Maybe Texas is an exception so it might turn D any year now.
2
There are exceptions. Check out how “rich” Illinois is.
I’m extremely tense about the reaction of the base if trump loses the 2020 election by anything but a landslide. I have a hunch a lot of well armed angry white people are looking for a crusade.
4
@Mark
Perhaps, but it would lay bare the real, fundamental truth about many Republican voters, particularly the Trumpites. It might be enough to sway those who are on the fence.
Why does Mr. Williams question the “fundamental right” of a woman to choose abortion as something that the Supreme Court needs to decide on? The question has been settled, and the overwhelming majority of Americans accept it. His phrasing suggests that a minority should change that.
4
The divisiveness is primarily caused by the Trump-led GOP that is essentially racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic, and refuses to rein in the National Rifle Association. In addition, the GOP has declared war on our Judiciary, denies the separation of powers between the 3 branches of government, and is led by a president who never tells the truth when a lie will do as well. We have an all out assault on our Constitution by our reprobate president. Let's end the disingenuous false equivalency and admit that, as Pogo said: We have met the enemy and he is us (but us is the Republican Party led by Trump and his right wing cabal.
3
My wife and I almost moved to Georgia and NC back in the late 80's for jobs, that we ultimately turned down. Both states were beautiful, and had their charms. Now, I would never in a million years consider living there, nor any state run by the GOP for that matter. Nor would my kids. Some days it seems like the US is becoming Yugoslavia.
5
@JS - why not? Georgia and North Carolina are still beautiful states. Is politics really so overwhelming for you that it drives your life? I'm a conservative and I live in liberal central. So what?
1
The country is divided because the Republican Party has become so extreme, it doesn’t respect the rule of law, or election outcomes, or the idea of compromise. It’s no longer a conventional political party, but a faction only interested in serving the interests of the super wealthy and corporations. Despite mass shootings, it refuses to restrict ownership of military-style semiautomatic weapons. It tries to systematically suppress the minority vote. It not only has repeatedly tried to sabotage and repeal Obamacare, it wants to repeal coverage for pre-existing conditions. It is reversing fifty years worth of environmental protections. It supports a felon in the Oval Office. On top of that, the GOP is home to the KKK, white nationalists, and nativists who are suspicious of anyone who isn’t white. This is extremism writ large. There’s no equivalent in the Democratic Party today to the tiki torch bearers, the Alex Joneses, the anti-Semitism and the flirtation with Nazism that gives the GOP and its base energy. Black Lives Matters grew spontaneously out of police brutality and the Occupy movement inspired efforts to raise the minimum wage. People who blame both sides aren’t paying attention.
3
It's time for the split. Those who want to join the collectivist hive-mind can go one way and the people who want to live free can go another. Please note: We will be enforcing our borders. Once the socialists have ruined everything they have, do not expect we will allow you to come here and ruin everything *we* have. I think this is fair, we don't want to stand in the way of your Utopia. Have at it.
1
@John
You don't collect social security or anything like that, do you? Because that's socialism at work.
1
@John - One of the many problems with your post, aside from the hysteria, is that it makes no sense whatsoever given the socio/political climate in your own state. Perhaps you should venture over to the Main Stream Media to learn the truth. Good luck!
2
Everyone is following the fake leader. Bullying is now “in.” Vote differently!
3
The Divided States of America. Its been that way for decades but is now fully embedded in concrete. This is not a happy country. In fact, it is a country full of resentful people mostly looking backward, not forward. At the helm is a man full of bile and lies, antagonism and bitterness, and a whole lot of Americans think that is just fine. I don't think anyone is going to pull us out of this cesspool anytime soon. Sad. Bigly.
2
This is why we are divided as a nation. We have corrupt GOP abusing women and kids and still getting elected. The supporters don’t know right from wrong and we will be like Iran soon with their dictatorship government. Next the GOP will bring back stoning in public to save on court costs.
2
Chemical castration of child rapists seems common sense to me. Are the Democrats / liberals in this country truly more concerned about the rights of the child rapists over the rights of children to not be raped? This is where the left wants to take us?
2
@willt26
I agree--i don't see any issue with chemical castration.
These people have lost their rights.
@willt26 - in Red States, Many things you consider “common sense” are viewed by intelligent people elsewhere, and even within those states, to be archaic, crude and cruel. When a state is defined by such “common sense” it becomes the target of derision, and sees its smart young people move far away.
I 'm evidently prejudiced, since I agree with the (somewhat rough?) comparison of Democratic reality with Republican anti-science fantasy.
So I put a high priority on education, and on making the assembling of facts an attractive exercise, a pleasure. There can be and should be a Joy in Science.
5
@Carroll: Liberty is freedom from beliefs that cannot be substantiated.
Our Federal system of government does allow us one possible option: move to another state with a different mindset and different government. Not ideal, but possible. There are plenty of people who have moved out of the South to a state which is more progressive. There are hordes of people moving from California to Texas to escape high costs of living and I guess liberal government.
That said, most divisions are rural vs. urban in any state, and that is not easily solved.
3
@Robert kennedy: The founders wrote the "commerce clause" into the Constitution in obvious anticipation that the states would engage in destructive internecine competitions. It gives Congress blanket powers to suppress them. That's why the states elect drones to the Congress and Senate today.
This is exactly what Madison warned us about in The Federalist Papers: factionalism.
I personally find it distasteful that the Republicans want to control women's bodies more than they wish to control the federal deficit.
15
Is anyone surprised that there is so much division? The choices are clearer than ever.
The Republican Party has only one goal: hang on to power at any cost. If that means destroying America as a democratic republic, they have chosen power over democracy.
They reject science, they embrace bigotry and racism to energize their base, and they serve only the interests of the rich. They are willing to take help from Russia and any other source that will aid them in this.
There can be no common ground with them. They are not interested in governance; only rule. Since Reagan they have worked to delegitimize any opposition to their rule. They have constructed a media empire to craft their own reality and deny all other views. They have proven incapable of providing for defense, and they reject the common good.
Democrats are not perfect - but they are not evil. They are trying make the world better in the face of multiple threats. Republicans don't believe that's possible. Theirs is the mindset of looters, taking what they can while they can.
That's all we need to know. The critical choice for use all is which side will prevail.
19
@Larry Roth
Thank you, Larry - you explained this perfectly particularly in your fourth paragraph. You're right - The Republican Party has no interest in governance, only rule, and there can be no common ground because of this. Every time somebody starts lecturing about how we "need to work together" I want to laugh in their face, especially if they are Republican or conservative. I have nothing in common with people who want to turn me and other women and LGBTQ people into second-class citizens.
3
@Larry Roth: I think President Carter is a sincere "born again" Christian sporting a back full of knives planted by his purported brethren.
I've been spending the academic year in the Boston area for a long time, and have always been struck at how condescending the locals are when referring to people from the Midwest and South. One hears the expression 'flyover country' often, in a dismissive tone. Isn't that a form of prejudice, and the opposite of being a true liberal?
11
@Maria da Luz Teixeira: It is a whole different experience to drive a car with New York plates in Massachusetts. I have a car with local plates to drive there. It is way more mellow.
Sports is like religion. Divisive.
1
It’s hard not to be “dismissive” when one considers how much money they take from us while also insisting on owning our bodies and destroying our environment.
4
@Therese: I think you missed the point of dismissing whole regions out of hand. Note that Trump lost Illinois, Minnesota, and Virginia in 2016 (Trump won 34% of the vote in Massachusetts, by the way). Regarding 'owning our bodies', these Midwest and Southern states have the same abortion laws as Massachusetts (pregnancy can be terminated up until 24-28 weeks): Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The reason for the hostility is that Republican policies have been put in place throughout America, but Republicans represent less than a third of the country, and most of their policies are antithetical to the values of most Americans. We're sick of it, but are hamstrung by Republican gerrymandering & other dirty tricks they've played to gain power without having the support of the majority of Americans. It's the stuff of revolutions - unless we can undo their nonsense through the ballot box so resort to violence is unnecessary. We shall see...
9
@Debra - really? What Republican policy is worthy of violent revolution in your view? Tax cuts?
1
@DRS
Abandonment of rule of law, supporting corruption, vote suppression efforts and attempting to turn women and LGBTQ people into second-class citizens are good places to start.
1
Alabama's state government has clearly become psychotic. I feel so bad for the people of that state.
4
The primary cause of this split can be laid at the feet of the 88-year old Australian born American citizen-of-convenience who runs FOX News and much of the British and Australian press. He has created an alternative universe for his incessant viewers who thrive on the combative, emotive, if grossly misleading fare, that has steadily split the US in half.
He has had a more destructive impact on the US than the 9-11 bombers and his name will live in infamy.
19
I really don't get this abortion issue. What is it? You don't want to be pregnant? You can't take responsibility for your own actions? You can't control your own body? You won't take birth control?
Frankly, i think it is pretty easy to not get pregnant. If you want an abortion, i am sure there will always be a place you can get one by procedure or pill. You can always take a morning after pill.
4
@Driven
You do realize that MEN are 50% responsible, right? Your mother did teach you that, didn't she? And you do realize that birth control can fail?
And what about the victims of sexual assault? Are they responsible for their pregnancy?
3
You can always mind your own business and follow settled constitutional laws. For starters, the right to privacy and the separation of church and state.
4
@Quin
I guess some people don't want to do, although i frankly don't care one way or the other. I just wanted to know why people make such a big deal out of it when it such a simple issue.
Well, congratulations to all, as one begets the other. Where is the one state where we might find balance?
What’s your definition of balance? MA seems like a good one. You get what you pay for.
1
We live, supposedly, in the United States of America, but the states have never been united except in times of war -- and changes in the world are making war in the traditional sense of occupying the opponent's territory very unlikely. And as this article demonstrates, even the states are not internally united. Sadly, there's no way to unscramble the egg.
“United at times of war”? I don’t recall much unity during the last war of choice, and rightly so.
2
@Therese True. I was thinking of World War II.
It is not impossible to remain highly optimistic.
Maybe all this is good, and it is the result of the death of mind numbing commercials on television. People have moved to “pay to watch”, like Netflix. Or YouTube, watch what you want, when you want.
The fact that people even care, one way or another, it’s a good sign.
The first step is that people even care. The following step is that the majority makes the right decision.
Wouldn’t call myself a conservative Democrat. But I’m a democrat that isn’t overly excited by legalization and some other progressive pet issues. I’m presumably one of those that Republicans are hoping will think that Democrats have gone too far, which I sometimes do believe.
I can assure any republican that they have burned all bridges, during these past 2-3 years. I will never in future trust anyone who continued to call themselves a Republican during this administration.
623
@Dev
Exactly... every article comes with the idea that I must be democrat to be against Trump... I'd argue, that's just common sense at this point... that I've never really been a democrat but for the majority of my life I've absolutely been anti-republican.
I think anyone with a penchant for critical thinking has to be anti-republican at this point.
51
@Dev
I'm with you. In the past I would always consider a Republican running for office, and have sometimes voted for one. Never again unless they have a grand awakening. Their actions since Newt Gingrich ran the House have increasingly turned me away from them.
47
@Dev We're in the fix here that our Governor is a Democrat that is anti-abortion rights. So what do I do when election time comes around?
2
Follow the money. We are divided and led by mega amounts of filthy lucre washing about our election process. The two gubernatorial candidates in Illinois spent over 230 million dollars combined in the general election of 2018. Point is money creates more tension, creates and exaggerates more petty
causes, infuses zealotry into a pay-to-play system, and invents blinders and ignorance to the detriment of cooperation and passing good needed laws. And as with all money the recipient has to serve somebody and that is what’s makes it so unhealthy
for our democracy.
Get the dark money and the benefactors out of elections and you will see a sea of change in all our statehouses and the Whitehouse.
11
@SenDan
Repealing Citizens United will require a Constitutional Amendment. That will never happen.
1
The people of this country have lost their tolerance for the differences amongst us that we in more harmonious times when we all felt unified.
Pro-choice verses anti-abortion, liberty verses allowing a sinful termination of life. Voter red tape intended to suppress voting by Democrats by Republican law makers. Democrats asserting that regardless of the safe ownership of guns by all but a few gun owners, the rest must surrender them because Democrats just will not trust them. Trump plays on fears about changing demographics by expressing bigoted stereotypic views felt by Republicans who fear others will take away their way of life. Intolerant attitudes all.
2
Reading articles such as this one simply affirms that a good part of the nation's legislators have adapted Mr. Trump's narcissistic attitudes by pushing their agendas blindly without regard to what others need or what could be beneficial for their constituents, only what they feel will get them re-elected. This, in my opinion, and it is the fuel for the division in this country and that which will not allow for discussion and the ability to even look at each others' views.
They have bamboozled their electors to believing that whatever they want is virtuous and meritorious because it is swaddled in shiny MAGA wrappers and that it is beneficial for the country in the long run, regardless of the deals and how they are executed.
As this is done state by state, even as the division is created within a state, it will be harder to untangle the mentality. First and foremost, we need to find a way to stop the narcissism that seems to be the fuel for the division in the first place.
2
I thank God everyday I live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We have some Republicans who aren't hard right but sensible. Gov. Charlie Baker is a fine Republican and I'm a registered Democrat who voted for him.
3
@deathless horsie
My issue with any Republic politician in any Executive office is they then could nominate Right leaning judges to Court judgeships for lifetime tenure. Not good.
@Blank
There are only 12 states where judges have lifetime tenure
@GMooG
They serve until age 70 in Massachusetts. Far to long for any Republic Governor to have any sway in judicial decisions of any State.
Every time we bicker amongst ourselves- putin wins!
There is only one candidate listed in the Mueller report and publicly acknowledged as the favorite of putin.
DJT!
The next election gives us all the opportunity to fix at least part of the problem.
8
Another important factor not really discussed in this article is that those elected to office are more often than not from the more extreme wings of the party. Those willing to compromise or take a middle ground in the GOP are called "RINOs" and are run out of the party. Democrats who are centrists are told they are not progressive or liberal enough. The result is that there is no compromise possible. We also have been taught from the top not to compromise or seek middle ground. Mitch McConnell has demonstrated this from day one of the Obama Administration, declaring his main reason for being was to deny Obama a second term - not legislate on behalf of the nation. He continues this program and it sends a message. Democrats are not blameless in this type of action, but the GOP has abused their power completely. "Winner take all" and one party politics is ultimately destructive though, and is not beneficial to a functioning democracy.
5
I kinda feel like the story is different for Democrats in the party, it often seems they are chided or written off for being too progressive. Although AOC has made it through despite her progressive rhetoric, and Warren is moving things back to the left, Sanders is consistently written off by lifelong dems as not a "true dem" even though his policies are incredibly favorable to average people. the DNCC recently enacted rules to prohibit consultants from the party who work to primary (challenge and unseat) incumbent Democrats. This is an anti democratic move and one that says progressivism isn't welcome
What we need today is not only laws for the legislature to follow, but hard deadlines and ramification enforcement should those laws be broken.
The founding fathers failed to envision the degree of such brazen disregard/respect for the spirit of our laws.
I would not consider myself a progressive/liberal if I did not think that Republicans are exponentially more guilty of this than Democrats.
24hr "News" is the prime culprit, turning politics into a obsessive sport, where winning at any cost (ie Merrick Garland) rather than cooperation is ravenously cheered at the sidelines by overworked underpaid, and mis/underinformed public regurgitating social wedges while ignoring common injustices.
Lastly, make happy hour for our representatives mandatory. Tip O'Neill most probably died with a liver the size of Kansas, but the country was better for having this social hour away from cameras.
A quiet dark room, sitting one on one with a little booze can sometimes work cooperative miracles and turn a perceived enemy into a friend.
2
Mr. Rozenblit's comment describes exactly the divide in this country. He rightly recognizes that it is values, not politics, that divide us. I cannot improve upon his words, but I will say this: We are simply in an irreconcilable situation.
We either have a nation that believes in equal rights - regardless or race or ethnicity, or we don't. We either have a nation that values protecting our environment, or we don't. We either have a nation that respects women's rights to control their own bodies, or we don't. We either have a nation recognizing health care as a right, or we don't. We either have a nation recognizing the separation of church and state, or we don't.
The fact is, there is no middle ground on any of these positions. And the composition of state house representation bears out how far apart the divide is now.
The solution is obvious. But it isn't simple. And it isn't painless. Partition. It is time to partition this country. Those of us who do not want to live in a racist Republic of Gilead should be able to do so. After all, we make up some 60 percent of the citizenry. We should not be forced to live under minority rule, especially in a nation whose values are anathema to our own.
It's time. Partition the country. Nothing will be gained by letting the circumstances fester. Trump voters aren't going away. But neither are we, and we shouldn't be forced to live in any country they love. Partition. We should start now.
4
The GOP refuses to face modern scientific reality. Political parties in the U.S. have undergone great changes in the course of our history some of which became extinct such as the Federalists and the Wigs. The GOP may be headed the same way as it offers no solutions to pressing national problems preferring to live in the past.
3
Amazing how, in response to an article about how divided the country is, many commentators below post a comment to the effect of "yeah but my side is right!" One of the most popular comments below contends that Republicans literally want only white males in charge (that must be news to the Alabaman Republicans who chose a female governor, the one who is signing the new pro-life law!) And you wonder why the country is so divided...
10
@R.P.
FYI
Partisan Composition of Women in the 50 State Legislatures | 2018
Democratic Party 1,148
Republican Party 705
Third Party 9
Nonpartisan (Nebraska)
13
1
The issues that divide us are easy to fix.
The issue of abortion is one we should not be still arguing about. All sensible adults know that it is wrong to take away access to safe abortion for women. That women who are denied access are put in harm's way and that women will continue to seek it out regardless of its legality. That the best thing to do, therefore, is to keep abortion safe and accessible and to protect a woman's right to choose in perpetuity.
We shouldn't be arguing about gun control, either. All sensible adults know that gun control is necessary and the fact is most people want some form of it to be enacted.
We have a serious leadership crisis in our government at all levels. People of maturity, integrity, and who have had the realization that while the world cannot be made perfect it can be made safer and more secure for many, seem few and far between. We need to do a better job of educating people in this country. Our divisions start very early, probably at home, and they are influenced and cemented once people who have been schooled in them get into power.
Sometimes I think the issues are less important than the perennial need of men in power to keep finding things to argue about rather than actually fix. Banning all abortions in your state is not a fix for anything. It is the provocative move of a bully, and about as far away from real governing of human beings as is imaginable.
5
@Me
>All sensible adults know that it is wrong to take away access to safe abortion for women.
If you believe that murder is wrong, and most of us do, and you believe a fetus is human, that is not a simple thing to compromise away.
If "controlling my body" caused the death of a 38 year old or a 90 year old I don't expect that my actions would be unquestioned or widely accepted.
Also, I you want to get rid of the second amendment, I refer you to article V, the amendment process.
“All sensible adults” agree with your positions? I guess they must - if they don’t, they must either be not sensible or not an adult...
There are many people in this country (nowhere near a majority, but millions nonetheless) who are absolutely convinced that abortion is murdering babies. They don’t think of their position as “controlling women’s bodies,” they think of it as saving babies. And no amount of discussion, reason, court decisions, etc will change their minds, because, murdering babies is hard to compromise on. Guess what? They have rights and their vote counts as much as yours.
Many, many people in this country own firearms, are responsible firearm owners, and pose absolutely no more threat to their fellow citizens than any other law-abiding citizen. Many of those see the history of gun-control efforts, in this country and others, and are understandably nervous about “well-meaning” encroachments on their rights or a “slippery slope” of gradual erosion of these rights (which was the explicit strategy of gun-control groups in the 80s and 90s, btw.). Guess what? They have rights and their vote counts as much as yours (actually more, in this case, as we are talking about a Constitutionally-guaranteed right.)
Your reduction of those that disagree with you to fools, dishonest actors or children is symptomatic of the problem facing our country - vilification of the “other side.” We would all be better off if we attempted to understand those who disagree...
The basic problem is that the current Republican party has added a strong dose of religion...namely its evangelical base...into its political DNA. Many of these folks are absolutists and unwilling to compromise whatsoever on issues like abortion and guns.
Many Democratic proposals on these issues have been compromises and not "our way or the highway." But Republicans refuse to consider measures that might be considered sensible and reasonable. Look at the battle over bump stocks and assault rifles.
There was a reason the Founding Fathers separated church and state. Republicans have forgotten the reason.
6
I have to say I'm not a fan of the women dressing up in Handmaid's Tale costumes. It makes the whole protest cartoonish. These are serious matters as we all know. Further, the opposition hardly reads or watches the Handmaid's Tale anyway so the point is lost on them.
It reminds me of this time during the Iraq War, I went to a protest in San Francisco. There were people all dressed up in crazy outfits. One woman had on a Star Trek costume with a sign "Trekkies Against War." In my head I was like "This is not a joke. People are dying. This is not a costume party."
Similarly, I feel protests in New York against Trump after the election had devolved into creativity contests over who has the most witty sign. As if that will sway the next election or push for impeachment now. I ask what percent of those protestors with witty signs and costumes voted? I guarantee it's not 100%.
While you're hunting down costumes, the opposition is doing research, outreach, and fund raising to support their cause.
It's time to get serious liberals.
4
@M.
When Margaret Atwood wrote "The Handmaid's Tale" many years ago, she predicted that America would take a sharp turn to the religious right and that women's rights would be eroded. That is why the costumes are so relevant. They epitomize what is happening in many states in the US.
"And in Colorado, where Democrats dominate in the capital, Republicans were so upset about the stream of new laws being passed that they demanded each bill be read aloud to slow the pace."
This is obnoxious and intolerable. For American lawmakers to behave in this way is shameful. In my own business life, this is not a viable way to solve problems or make sustainable changes. Who do these men and women think they are? Debutantes?
5
@Hanna
A few years ago, Democrats in the Indiana general assembly fled the state to prevent a quorum and to escape the jurisdiction of Indiana authorities to return them to the legislative chamber.
The Supreme Court already decided, decades ago, that abortion is a fundamental right. To act as if it's not, when we are waiting with bated breath to see if the five conservative men in the court prefer government overreach over 'settled law' according to Kavanaugh, is to cede the fight to anti-woman control freaks.
While we're at it, let's stop pretending an updated minimum wage and graduated income tax are sharply to the left. These are centrist ideas.
"In recent months, Illinois legislators have moved sharply to the left, deeming abortion a fundamental right for women no matter what the Supreme Court might decide, raising the minimum wage, taking steps to legalize recreational marijuana and introducing a graduated income tax."
4
A+ for the marriage license bill in Alabama. That's a great way to get the state out of the business of marrying people.
—EMF
@AMF
Denying rights given to one class of citizens from being bestowed on any other class of citizens is discrimination.
In a sense, this country has always been polarized and divided. It fought a Civil War after all. But the tensions right now seem based upon fairly clear differences. On one side there is a belief in human rights, the right of women to control their own bodies, Scientific evidence that the climate is changing in dangerous ways, that lesbian Gay bisexual and trans people should be treated fairly and with dignity,, that police officers should not shoot unarmed black people when they pose no threat, etc etc. On the other side is the belief that white men should control everything and that workers should subsist on very low wages so that their bosses can reap the benefit of their labor and line their own pockets, that women are second-class citizens, that brown and black people are not fully human, and that the rule of law is only for the poor not for the rich. It’s no wonder times are tense !
8
Can’t we just settle this with a “Spanish style” solution? Their civil war solved an awful lot of problems didn’t it? Not only did their nation go from dirt poor to First World but their far right culture was forever discredited and the far left as well. Sounds like progress to me. Don’t liberals believe you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs?
Btw I am suggesting things aren’t nearly as partisan as during the era of the rival totalitarian communist vs fascist inter war era.
Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, now deposed, said it:
“Divide and conquer”
That’s all you need to know.
3
And he did. I’m from Wisconsin, I oughta know.
Elections have consequences.
2
“The whole nation is speaking about how divisive we are,”
Don’t sell yourselves short, this stuff is making international news.
4
I recently had a job offer to move to a red state. I decided not to go, since I couldn't live in a place like that. The US southeast has grown over the past few decades because their cities offered a modicum of progressive life. Now, with passage of laws like the abortion ones in Georgia and Alabama, the ugly racism and fake religious piety have reared their ugly heads again.
People with educations simply don't want to live in these places anymore.
5
@Joe
I have 2 post graduate degrees. I like many things about San Diego, but I am deterred by the crazy high taxes and stifling regulations.
As noted by others , this article completely ignores the fact that gerrymandering by Republicans has resulted in Republicans holding all the power in a state. So lawmakers and governors of Red states feel safe in supporting legislation that is extreme and that actually harms lives (lax gun regulation and stringent anti-abortion laws). The legislation would likely be much more moderate, if citizens were fairly represented.
6
I truly wish we had a multi-party system whereby parties would be forced to have coalitions to govern. I can imagine a more moderate and sensible governance.
4
States are supposed to be the laboratories of good governing. May the better party's ideas lead to a more fruitful, economic, happy life for residents and businesses. And lead to people migrating to the better-living states. Then we'll see whose ideas are best.
5
@Marc K.
California has 12% of the population while we pay 16% of the Tax Revenues.
1
My opinion, this more than anything is the cause:
2008 70 million Democrats voted
2010 40 million Democrats voted. GOP took the House plus 11 additional state legislatures. Since this was a census year, GOP started redrawing voter districts and passing voter suppression laws.
Despite 2018 turnout, we are still not seeing Dem participation in state elections, many of which are off-year. Often every year, and sometimes more than one a year.
14
You’ve hit the nail on the head. You have to admire the absolute zealotry of Republican voters. They vote consistently in every election. Democrats not so much.
2
Illinois now has a $45 billion infrastructure improvement program to fund road and transit repairs after years of deferred maintenance. And it will fund the expansion of certain roads and the extension of commuter rail to once rural Kendall County. This is not a liberal or conservative program. It’s good government.
15
@Joe Smith
How is your pension funding? Oh--and what is your bond rating?
1
With such division of political opinion, why has mobility fallen to such lows? Discontented people should be moving to states that support their values. Why stay where you are not wanted? Women should be abandoning the southern states. Just leave and let those who remain deal with their own mess.
2
@landless
Well, for one thing, Trump told the people of Ohio. PA, and WV that coal, auto, and steel would be coming back, and they should stay where they are. No need to move.
2
They cannot afford to leave or live in the expensive progressive cities everyone wants to live in.
1
@Misplaced Modifier
See, that is the thing...everyone does NOT want to live in progressive cities.
We don't all like high taxes, stifling regulations, big government, etc.
And some people just prefer mountains or forests or wide open spaces to concrete jungles.
The State’s are the laboratories of democracy. Let the red states go their way, and we will go ours. Let the red states cut education funding and promote guns. Let them cut funding for infrastructure, let them trample on women’s rights. Let them mandate school prayer and ignore the opioid epidemic. Let this great experiment in democracy play out. I, for one, am glad I live in Chicago Illinois, and not Birmingham Alabama.
10
If you take Texas out of the equation, the red states all live off the largess of the Federal Government. They are basically welfare states living off the wealth generated by the blue states.
Let’s institute a balance of payments system where, excluding DoD expenditures, all federal expenditures in excess of a state’s receipts (tax rev) to the federal government are treated as two year loans that must be repaid. If not repaid, no federal expenditures.
3
@Kurt
Are you sure that blue states don’t have significant pockets of red? Such a partition could create problems particularly with food and other necessities in cities.
In local and state elections a small amount of money goes a long way. It is essential, no..its urgent to recognize the role of Citizens United dark corporate money. It has been used systematically across the nation by Republicans to buy state legislatures and governorships by putting large funds into those elections. The objective has been to use Republican majorities and administrations at the state and local level to aggressively gerrymander and to enact Democratic voter suppression legislation.
Yes, there is a cultural polarization represented by the willingness of 40% of American voters to support the ignorant wannabe dictator Donald Trump. However, we cannot ignore the organized suppression of our democracy by the extremist, hard right billionaires that control the Republican Party.
4
What the legislators in Democratic-controlled states like Illinois are doing is not "liberal." If anything, Democrats are the new "conservatives," trying to conserve and preserve existing rights that generations of people fought hard to achieve.
Meanwhile, the Republicans in Alabama are anything but "conservative." They want to radically remake America through their racist, sexist, homophobic lense. And rich Republicans and corporations are happy to support them as long as it means they pay less in taxes. Frankly, they could care less about these social issues. All they care about is maintaining and expanding their ever-growing piles of money.
9
You are missing the larger point, they want a theocracy, nothing more, nothing less.
4
No one wants to hear it, but America is not an exception to history. You can only keep the lid on for so long. As the temperature rises, the divisions deepen and the likelihood that they will be healed without bloodshed diminishes.
10
When i hear liberals talk, what i hear is - give me your money to redistribute to those who do not have what you have. It seems every policy/idea a liberal has comes down to taking from one to give to another. I will never have what some other people have and i am okay with other people having more.
Why wouldn't we be divided if one half is constantly trying to take what the other half owns.
4
What I hear when "conservatives" speak is, " You will bow to our morality put forth by OUR God". Their God means nothing to me and their morality means less.
6
Is this meant that be ironic? Do you enjoy your fire department, police and public schools? Do you like your highways and roads? What about public parks, libraries, and social security and Medicare when you retire? No one is taking “your” money to redistribute. We are ALL paying a portion of our income so that all of us have services and benefits when needed. We all benefit from pooling our money, just as insurance is a pool. The reason poor people are poor is NOT because of social services. It is because private corporations do not pay living wages. Corporations hire cheap labor from third worlds.
By the way, please do your research. The red states are bleeding us in blue states dry. Most of our taxes go to support poor, rural people in the southern and middle states. Meanwhile, corporations and their billionaire owners have so much problems care wealth they no longer have anywhere to spend it. The real welfare takers are the red states and behemoth corporations.
6
@Driven
But do you believe in "chipping in" to cover shared expenses? Our current financial system makes it possible for millionaire moochers like President Trump to benefit from city infrastructure (streets, sewer systems, roads, bridges, public transportation, power and telecommunications lines, etc.) but not pay taxes to support that infrastructure. If President Trump (and other millionaires like him) chipped in their fair share, then New York City would have a much nicer subway system and improved infrastructure. That is what liberals would like to see--people chipping in to support their communities and their country.
6
Thank you, Mr. President. You have succeeded in bringing out the worst in us. And your base loves it because they no longer have to be “politically correct.”
8
No matter where you fit on the political spectrum, this is a very thoughtful article to read in tandem with the NYTimes account. We are in fact enduring a civil war; how it proceeds and ultimately ends is up to us - the politicians themselves are not mature enough to handle it. https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/americas-cold-civil-war/
Here is the thing...
When one side pushes to hard in one direction, there is a NATURAL push from the other side to balance things. I blame the Democrats here... They are so set to push America into something it is not, that the other side is pushing back just as hard.
2
The Republicans have been pushing for over 40 years. You just don’t like the push back to the center, which is ironic considering your post.
3
RE: “Some 700 miles to the south, the Alabama State Capitol, dominated by Republicans, has raced in the opposite direction.”
I have come to feel that Trump's wall may, in fact, be a good idea. It just needs to be placed somewhat further north than the Mexican boarder and then I would happily pay for it.
5
@Marie
Only if he is required to stay on the other side of it.
2
They need only 38 to change the Constitution and no president or court can stop them.
We're talking no abortion anywhere, open gun carry everywhere, public money to private schools, reapportionment of electoral votes to perpetuate Republican federal control. A permanent Republican House of Representatives thanks to redistricting.
They've been planning this as a measure to control a non-white majority in this nation.
Today they have 30 and they're coming for a freedom near you.
4
I could not have said this better.
2
While I don’t agree with New York’s decision to flaunt getting an abortion like it’s some kind of fun experience, the laws passed in AL, MO, GA, OH, etc. are clearly far out of step with the laws and norms of the nation since Roe was reaffirmed by the S.C. in ‘92. In one instance it’s a matter of “poor taste/poor messaging”, while on the other it’s a matter of disenfranchising citizens. There’s a difference.
Republicans seem to make similar leaps like this - reveling in false equivalency - across a broad spectrum of issues such as gun control, voting rights, taxation and immigration.
“It’s all too complicated for me so let’s just annihilate it all.”
“Kill the beast.”
“Drown it in the bathtub.”
There is a zero-sum mentality that is spurred on by deep undercurrents of misogyny, anger, ignorance and racism. How is anyone supposed to fix that in a positive, constructive way?
I understand the frustrations of progressives and sane, reasonable Americans. However, talking about splitting this great nation is not the solution.
My fellow Americans, take a deep breath and say “ E PLURIBUS UNUM”!!
1
I'm waiting for the next asteroid.
1
And what does the New York Times do to bring the country together? Well, it solidifies the Hate Trump movement, ok. But does that bring the country together. The Times and all the other Dem/Progressive media outlets should tone down the anti Trump and do something positive and talk about an alternative approach to government... such as working with the opposition... to move our country forward for all... for all.
3
Obama tried that. On literally the FIRST day after he was elected McConnel said the entire plan for Obama's entire term was to shut down every single thing he attempted. Nice try but those are fighting words, you can't expect us to be nice now.
3
@bflobob
If you have no expectations for the future and any and all possibilities... then I feel sorry for us not only as a country but as a society. Have hope!
The biggest problem is that the news media is 97% extreme left. During this administration no good will be reported. During this administration you won't see real coverage of the daily illegal immigration. Something has to change and make the news more balanced.
3
@P McGrath
This is false. 85% of all media outlets are owned by the same 6 multi-National conglomerate corporations. These corporations have one thing in common: PROFITS.
1
"A house divided against itself cannot stand!" Remember that one folks? Whether in 1860 or 2019; the song remains the same. Of course; rather than having your greatest President in the White House; you have a demagogue intent on become the Arsonist In Chief.Having successfully beating the extremist partisanship drum for 3 years now; Trump continues to be deaf, dumb, and blind to anyone who does not kiss his (fill in the blank). It is all well and good about talking moderation and finding common ground; but when Republicans continue their scorched Earth agenda there is no middle ground to be found. Max Boot in his honest and soul searching book " The Corrosion of Conservatism" came to the sad reality that (in his words) the only thing remaining to restore sanity is to burn the G.O.P. to the ground and start again. This from a die hard life long conservative. America has not left the Republicans; they have abandoned the Constitution of your nation; to their eternal shame. Or to use the words of Desmond Tutu on fighting an evil philosophy; "You do not argue with a FRANKENSTEIN; you DESTROY IT!" There is only one way the U.S. will overcome this bitter divide. Enough Americans must come to their long lost senses and heed the words of Abraham Lincoln. The world saw what happened when the fanatics did not over 150 years ago. DO NOT go down that insane path again. Start by dealing with the clown in the White House; and his mindless "ME FIRST" agenda that serves no one but TRUMP.
1
In the last civil war, we were divided by slavery. Now we are divided by abortion. Fundamentally they are the same, the enslavement of black people and the enslavement of women. It's no accident that the anti-abortion people have aligned themselves with the super wealthy whose goal is the enslavement of everyone but themselves.
2
My observation in the NE is that Republicans simply don't like change or things that are "different" while Dems thrive on "different".
It relates to international culture, race, new ways of doing things, etc. In general, anything "different" creates "fear", and Republicans seem to just fear change and the unknown more than Dems do.
5
The parties don't trust one another. They don't respect one another. When there is a chance for compromise they stand reflexively in opposition to one another. Instead of governance they choose showmanship, and brinksmanship over discourse and debate.
Why? Because deepening the chasm between the parties is in both of their interests as it promotes their power. After all, compromise would only serve to obscure the parties' differences and encourage some independent free-thinkers to occasionally crossover between the two. But, by sharpening their differences the parties force individuals to choose between two starkly different narratives, and once someone chooses a side, he or she becomes a puppet to that party's cause, standing for anything and everything partisan but, above all, in simple opposition to the other party.
The solution?
A third party. Or more. Just not two. When there are only two parties in existential opposition to one another, how can that end well?
3
Badly. Candidates are reduced to common denominators and no one is served.
What we need is some limited direct democracy to settle the perennial controversial issues like abortion, guns, and gay rights. These hot-button emotional issues are corrupting our representative democracy that should be addressing healthcare, climate change, economic inequities, technological change and immigration policy. We need binding national plebiscites on those issues. The constitutional amendment process gives too much power to state legislators and takes too long. How we could get both parties in Congress to authorize such plebiscites in its present state of dysfunction is another conundrum.
5
Those of us who can vote with our feet, that is, live where we are most comfortable, will do just that. The problem with this scenario, is that there are many who cannot, for a variety of reasons. What do we do about the rights of the minority? I have not heard a good explanation, nor do I possess the answer.
2
If the Supreme Court would rule that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional, that would go a long way to reversing this problem. But are the members of the Court themselves nonpartisan enough to rule that way?
18
America has always been divided along political lines! George Washington would not even talk to those opposing his views, and Lincoln was elected with only 29% of the vote. Now comes Trump who a successful businessman who always puts America first, which runs contrary to the established practices of decades past, which tended to put America last. So the establishment seeks to simply get rid of Trump, even if it discredits the USA, and sinks America. During the 2 year Mueller investigation the D's pushed their mountain of money to the middle of the table and said, "all in, on Mueller!" On that bet, they lost their farm, and the 2020 election!
4
Trump was NEVER a "successful businessman". Where did you get that statement from? He was a successful conman.
3
He bankrupted casinos. I wouldn’t call that a “ successful” businessman.
3
@Clay
Not close.
If you think the submission of the Mueller report is the end, you are sadly mistaken. The work is just starting with hearings this week. But go ahead and ignore them.
And if you know now in June 2019 that DJT will win again in 2020 that all but assures another blue wave.
Keep it up. Ignore the things you don’t understand or don’t like.
All it does is help Democrats.
Honestly...I like the way you (don’t) think!
3
Mr. Righter isn't right about this Illinois voter. Pritzker and the IL Congress are doing so much better and faster than many of us had dared hope. It's such a breath of fresh air after the past few years to live in a state shoring up the rights of women, the LGTBQIA community, low wage workers, and those who need healthcare (so, most everyone!)
14
So refreshing? ... Your state government is BANKRUPT! Do you understand that? The Illinois govt cannot afford pay for the things that it wants to buy. You have the worst pension status in the nation. Your bonds are one notch above Puerto Rico. It’s all a load of hooey. The golden rule applies - the one with the gold makes the rules, and Illinois’ state government has run out of gold. Illinois’ credit rating isn’t worthy of a used car lot. This all ends ... poorly.
1
The one good possible outcome here is that people have examples to look at for what happens when you vote for Democratic policies vs Republican ones. Maybe the contrast will help clarify what these parties *really* stand for.
8
In very recent years, the only way things in state and national legislatures are accomplished is by one-party rule. There is little compromise. Each party wants "what it wants" and they do not care for what's good for America. This is especially true of the far left. They only want to preserve the direction of their party. This all came to a head when the left shut down conservative speakers on campuses, verbally attacked conservatives in public places, led boycotts, etc. I believe the far left is responsible for the divide and it's very destructive.
5
For every example of bad behavior by extreme leftists there is at least one corresponding travesty by a right winger. (And you know it). The problem is extremism itself.
4
@J. G. Smith, it's interesting the journalist quoted a political scientist from Berkeley, the cradle of the free speech movement in the 1960's, and now the seeming cradle of Anti-Fa and rejection of 1st Amendment. And with zero sense of irony, the political scientist blamed GOP for the division and dated it to 2010. Many former Democrats or independents who once leaned Democrat may disagree.
2
Private universities can choose who speaks at their campuses. Or do you believe the government should interfere in that? As to "verbal attacks" and protests, those are - at least for now - protected by the 1st Amendment. Or are you against that, too, for people whose views run counter to your own? #RepublicanHypocrites
First of all, Alabama and Illinois really shouldn't be compared as if the two were comparable. One has nearly 3x the population of the other and has the 3rd largest metropolitan region in the US.
Next, according to BallotPedia, 42% of Americans live in a Republican Trifecta state while only 34% in a Democratic Trifecta. But the current trend favors Democrats. In 2018, 6 divided states became Democratic (CO, IL, ME, NV, NM, NY) while 4 Republican became divided (KS, MI, NH, WI).
It looks to me that the Republicans over-reached after 2010 and the Democrats are clawing their way back. I put more of the blame for the so-called "tension" on the Republicans. They have and have had power but made it clear they wouldn't share. The Democrats are simply playing the game now.
Sadly I have no idea how we can get out of this vicious game.
6
What is needed is constitutional reform at the federal level: The Electoral College and the Senate.
The Constitution is NOT democratic, and we are not in a genuine democracy. Hence the national minority party, the Republicans, have control over the majority of the population. The Republicans are busy jamming the federal courts with their appointees, hoping to maintain power that way.
Until the Democrats control three quarters of the state legislatures, constitutional reform is not possible. The Republicans have benefited from gerrymandering, voter disenfranchisement, the NRA, Evangelical Christians, Dark Money, and even Vladimir Putin to get to where they are today.
IF we could become more democratic, there would be a possibility of getting the Dark Money out of politics and reducing the influence of extremist politics.
Big If.
7
The possibility that our differences will always divide us is only that - a possibility. If you accept it as a rule, then where does the division end? First we divide into a Republican nation and a Democrat nation, then they divide into Republican-female, Republican-male, Democrat-female, Democrat-male nations? What then? Republican-female-over-30, Republican-female-30-and-under, and so on? At some point, working together despite our differences is what we must and will do, because it is right, because it is safer, because it feels better, and because it gets things done that help us. I'm not saying it's easy. It often isn't. But all of our great social institutions and accomplishments - democracy, marriage, courts, military, cities, symphonies, movies, schools, space exploration, books, medicine, peace, families, and on and on - happen when people find shared goals and work together toward them. Divisiveness inevitably dissolves itself. Working together works.
My read of American history is that these divisions have been with us from the start. This left/right divide is baked into the American experience. A number of these alienated right wing viewpoints, have been articulated well before trump came onto the scene; the difference presently is that there is no shame in articulating and advocating for them.
I disagree with those comments predicting the demise of our "United" States.
The right-wing is having its day in the sun - - - and it's not a good look. trump is merely the right wing's attempt to "even the score" after President Obama by ensuring that they would not vote for that woman.
I don't know how 2020 will turn out. What I do know is that America is an idea that was born of the enlightenment. Right wing attempts to subvert that idea are so naked in their execution; as to guarantee that they will fail. The trick though is whether their failure will come about sooner rather than later.
The takeaway from all of this? Democrats and Republicans cannot get along, cannot govern effectively, and adamantly refuse to represent the American People properly. A generation ago, deals were made, compromise the key word. I miss those days.
1
Don't worry, Minnesota will be next.
A large majority of voters want something in the middle. Politicos know that this isn't what riles up voters. So, they capitalize on the hot button issues to get these people to come out and vote for them.
Meanwhile, major issues that affect everyone are hardly ever talked about, like our crumbling infrastructure. The prognosis is not good, in short.
4
The backward and intrusive republicans that want to control people's lives will eventually lose. From women's reproductive rights, to marriage equality, to all the progressive issues that move history and culture forward, the people who try to stand in the way of personal freedoms will be voted out! Younger, educated and fair minded people will not stand for the republican intrusion into daily life.
2
The binding up of wounds at the end of the Civil War is coming unraveled. Ending slavery did not end racism in this country nor did it end inequality. Those whose lives have depended upon industry or agriculture find themselves flailing in a new global economy. We are not "united" -- and perhaps have only been united momentarily when a common threat arises. That's why we should be wary of what politicians and the so-called "Deep State" may be cooking up to re-create the illusions of unity. As a nation we have become too big to be sustained, too diverse in backgrounds, experiences, ideologies, and values. To speak of "Founding Fathers" and the original bases of our union is to apply mythology to the current reality since most of us were not included in their vision, either. Maybe it is time to acknowledge what divides us, to separate into nation states with somewhat permeable borders. Maybe the North and South should never have been united in the first place?
1
The tone of government is set from the top. Chaos and anger are catching, and become the norm of discourse.
3
There is no give on common sense rights.
A woman's right to choose.
Children not fearing for their lives when going to school.
Woman's pay equality at work.
Clean water, air to breathe and on and on.
I hope the fight intensifies ASAP as history tells us surely the republicans will.
4
From where I sit, even if this administration, its president and Republican controlled senate were eliminated tomorrow, does anyone honestly think the mood and divisions within the country will change? The fact remains those divisions were ALWAYS there and this President and Republicans just brought it all out in the open for ALL to see in its "hateful, divisive glory".
Clearly, no matter what happens going forward, for those that think that "hope" and "time" will rectify everything, think again. Lincoln stated "a house divided cannot stand".
You have some very serious decisions to make America and before your democracy is totally dismantled, maybe the "house" will have to be ultimately divided after all.
1
States restricting abortion access and marriage equality are undermining the constitutionally guaranteed law of the land. I don’t think that’s the same as passing a graduated income tax or a symbolic amendment affirming a woman’s right to bodily autonomy.
1
I am exhausted hearing about cooperation, compromise and"working with both sides of the aisle" -- It's never going to happen. Let's just deal with whatever comes our way and make the best of it. At the end of the day- the rich will get what they want, the poor have nothing to give and the middle class will keep footing the bill. It's been this way since Reagan and has only grown worse.
I will say this, when they finally take my job, I am renouncing my citizenship, moving to Guatemala and re-entering the U.S. as an "asylum seeker" .. They are getting treated better than anybody!
2
Can anyone name one law, just ONE, that has been sponsored and passed by Republican legislatures at the state or federal level that actually helps people? Show me a law that demonstrates kindness and compassion and that is inclusive rather than exclusive. show me a law that increases, rather than decreases individual rights and liberties for all Americans and not just gun owners or Evangelicals. Good luck finding one.
3
Gee, it might not be this way if when one person lies and the other person tells the truth, the media didn't portray it as a he said/she said debate and leave it at that.
2
John Edwards, the now disgraced former Congressman and once upon a time presidential candidate, was right about there being two Americas. More people should have paid attention.
1
Agreement on the meta level is lacking, that we share mutual needs, but on the operative level we need not agreement but tolerance for disagreeable views and willingness to find compromise. The conviction that we share mutual needs makes this possible.
Trump’s vitriol, borrowed from right wing media, is driving this country right down. The anger and resentment that it unleashes is distracting us from real challenges including global warming and the mass extinction of species, the basis for our lives on this planet.
1
It's not entirely accurate to use the Illinois legislation as an example of strict party-line voting. While a few bills were party-line (the abortion bill, the proposed graduated state income tax amendment), the marijuana bill split across party lines (several Dems voted against it, several Republicans supported it). In particular, the gambling bill (sports betting and casinos) and the budget (with a $40 billion infrastructure program) both passed with large bipartisan majorities.
2
Democrats and Republicans have no constitutional right to the political hegemony they have usurped and then buttressed with law after law and rule after rule. Some creative lawyer needs to start a class action lawsuit - or a RICO lawsuit - to break their hold on power. Because their control is undeniably denying you and me our rights of self-governance.
The toxic divided path that the divided Republican party embarked on ten years ago to destabilise the Obama presidency has not only caused institutional disruption and the policy vacuum at the government level but also fuelled the nativist impulses in the large sections of society that have a potential to cause serious social chaos in the country making it difficult to govern the US let alone the plight of millions of ethno-religious minority groups that are likely to face extinction. The Trump era is simply a prelude to the future the US is cursed to face.
4
There's only one party that has been reaching out to compromise and it's not the republicans.
1
I see commenters arguing for the fragmentation of the United States! How far have we fallen if these ideas sound like a reasonable solution!? Has the current hopelessness of our current political landscape robbed us of reason!? I will not let the sacrifice of the Union soldiers, and all American combatants thereafter be in vain. I will not let the vile machinations of covetous foreigners such as Murdoch or local-grown greed such as the Kochs split this country in two. It will be difficult, but I hope that we can keep the idea of America alive. While Lady Liberty's fire is currently but a small flame, so long as there are those that believe in her message can it be kept alight forever.
1
There is one area of strong bipartisan agreement across politicians of both the national and state parties, even if not supported by voters. And that is support for the permanent military-industrial complex and military Keynesianism uber alles. While the GOP is typically thought of as the party of the Pentagon, it was President Clinton's Democratic administration that launched the ultimate pork-barrel project that even the military does not want (Lockheed's budget-busting F-35 fighter jet). It was Obama-Biden Pentagon that let fellow Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont pressure the US Air Force into "fudging the numbers" (as reported by Boston Globe national security correspondent Bryan Bender) to force F35 basing smack dab in the middle of Vermont's most densely populated area, regardless of negative impact on health and home values of thousands upon thousands of the working poor; working class; elderly; veterans; and legal immigrant refugees. Vermont Democratic Party held control of legislature and governor's office at time of basing decision and for all the Democratic Party's talk about "democracy," they have chosen to not only ignore the US Air Force's initial basing ranking Burlington dead-last but also to ignore the votes of the 3 cities surrounding the airport who all voted against the F-35 (Winooski; South Burlington; and Burlington). This plays out again and again across America. Obama campaigned against the wars & then continued them all 8 years.
1
Alaska also has a divided legislature.
2
People need to read the preamble of our Constitution, understand it, and embrace it:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of ..."
If this founding principle of the Constitution is not acceptable to you as an American citizen... then I encourage you to leave and immigrate to Russia... where partisan tyranny is the rule of law.
2
There is once again a false equivalency in this discussion. One party is responding to the needs and wishes of the majority of people while the other party is responding to the needs and wishes of those with big money. The majority of people in red states do not actually want to ban abortion, they do want gun control legislation, they do want at least medical marijuana, etc. Money really is the root of all evil.
2
I'm sorry, but could easily be that BOTH parties are "responding to the needs and wishes of those with big money". That is what we need to guard against, and most D's have shown no reluctance to fawn over "big money" donors. Their "front runner" is a prime example.
1
@Chris - So, don't vote for Biden in the primary or the general... I won't do that either, for sure. Problem solved. On to the next problem...
This administration thinks that it can reshape the meaning of democracy that includes ideas that take us back 200 years. The notion that you can create a unified religion, ethnicity, and race in a country that has layers of an indigenous base w a colonial history and migrations from all over the world. I was sitting w a group of people talking about backgrounds. Does anyone have any real idea of their background? It makes the human stronger rather than endure the inbred struggles of aristocracy. The power of unity is the power of respect and gratitude for the talent of our diversity.
1
In other words, the Koch brothers and others of their ilk are beginning to see a return on the money they invested in purchasing state governments. The switch in strategy became apparent after the ROI for state politicians was greater than the Kochs could expect by purchasing our "representatives" in both houses of Congress.
1
@Albert D'Alligator, also, with Paul Ryan wing of GOP diminishing, Koch Brothers funded groups have now announced (as well as Chamber of Commerce) that they will fund Democrats as well as GOP who do their bidding on continuing to reject the recommendations of African-American, Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and the bipartisan Jordan Commission on Immigration from the 1990's (that Trump & Grassley and Cotton & Perdue have tried to revive).
1
The United States of America's power and influence and standard of living comes from its united identity. We are all Americans. That should be emphasized and not forgotten. To me it's appalling that anyone would even talk of splitting up. In my opinion, bad forces in the world are trying everything they can think of to foment disunity and the loss of a common American identity. There is a constant effort to sow major dissension and disharmony within America itself and between America and its closest allies. And way too many people are playing right into the hands of these bad forces in the world. It's not rocket science: united we stand. If Americans can't get into some sort of civilized way of governing - which will at times have to involve realistic compromises and a civilized agree-to-disagree approach -- then America will be weakening itself and falling for the whole con. Hopefully we are not that dumb.
193
@ps
In some sense we were divided from the start; that is the nature of a federal system. The individual states within the union, and cities within those states can choose to govern differently. We are not always united, nor should we be. There is no magic that created a nation of 350 million people and made it the perfect size. Canada is a similar country to the US; we are not united; yet Canada and the US agree to disagree on many issues and peacefully co-exist. The US has to get over the idea that everything needs to be decided one way for every American in Washington DC. We are a diverse nation; the free people within it will make different choices; this is a positive, not a negative. If we allow the different peoples of the United States to govern differently in many ways, when we do come together it will be easier to find common ground where we really need to, in those areas where only the federal government can govern.
7
@ps
Those bad forces in the world are just continuing what was begun domestically. Think back to Fox News and the likes of Newt Gingrich to see when things really began to turn.
38
@ps
The forces trying to divide and weaken America are right here in America. They are Fox News and the entire right-wing media machine and universe, and now the Republican Party which in the time since I arrived here (1975) has moved so far to the right they've almost embraced white nationalism.
33
Yes, we are living in an increasingly divided nation, but we are beginning to understand the root causes. Over the past 40 years our nation has undergone major transformations in the workplace, culture, social awareness, and values. The GOP harnessed the emotions and sentiments of those who resisted those changes... and used them to solidify a conservative base in states they could control through gerrymandering and the like.
Now we have a country that is divided, almost by "political design"... but that won't last forever. The younger and increasingly more urban population will end up dominating the political landscape. It may take 10 or 20 years... but it will be the reality of the 21st Century.
3
Slavery is no longer the dividing point between the North and the South. Instead, economic, educational, social, and cultural issues make for the vast gulf between the average residents of Illinois and Alabama (to use the Times' example). Yesterday's WSJ had an article about how the Southern states are falling behind economically, and noted the Southern reliance on farming and manufacturing rather than on tech and services. One could easily use their colored map to define the outline of two separate countries and use the 250th anniversary in 2026 of what is now the US as a changeover point.
Then each country could elect officials to legislatures that would be able to pass laws more easily. Each could make its own national laws about health care, education, minimum wage, abortion, trade policy, immigration, civil rights, marijuana, and other issues that are highly divisive in today's USA. Over time, people with strong political beliefs and social concerns would move to be where they are most comfortable. The new setup would be a bonanza for corporate lawyers, as well as for those who make flags and related paraphernalia. Today's large companies are already multinational, so they already know how they would adjust. Sorting out the military would be a huge problem, but it's a price many of us would be glad to pay.
This article fails to ask if these legislatures are reflecting the will of the people? In North Carolina the Republican Party has controlled both houses and the Governor's mansion for many years and enacted a slew of laws which are not supported by the majority of voters.
It would have been far better for the writer to go into how one party control is less about doing the people's business and more about special interests and legislating to win elections.
20
@Russell Elkin, very true. We have family in Greensboro and it is sad what has happened in NC. And it cuts both ways, as you indicate, because here in Vermont, with super-majority Democrat control, (and until a few years ago one-party control under Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin) the Democrats let their special interests control Montpelier. Fortunately, their outrageous overreach and hypocrisy was called out by the voters in this typically deeply blue state and an old-fashioned moderate New England style Republican governor was elected to succeed Shumlin.
1
Nation with over 300 million free thinking people divided in its thinking and debate is a strong nation as long as the division is non violent and not damaging to interpersonal relations. As long as each one of us keeps an open and unbiased mind to listen and to comprehend the multi facets of the issues being debated it will only result in a better nation.
Yes there are people stuck in times gone by and ideas that are from the distant past. Such people need to be bypassed in order to move on. Let the ballot box be the path to change and progress. Vote in 2020.
2
Once again, the kind of article that creates false equivalence. Republican legislatures keep pumping out reactionary laws trying (and slowly succeeding) to turn our country into a dystopian oligarchy that benefits no one. The democratic legislatures produce laws attempting to improve the lives of most Americans without harming anyone. Of course there is an impasse when one side is attempting to lift people up while the other is looking to control and oppress them.
5
All loss of bi-partisanship can be traced back to one individual in recent times: Newt Gingrich in 1995. When he took over as speaker of the House, he ramrodded his conservative agenda without any of the bipartisanship of past speakers like Tip O'Neil or Tom Foley. The acrimony he created gradually spread to state legislatures serving as a blueprint for our current state of divisiveness. No surprise now with the progressive lurch after years of excesses by Republican-controlled state bodies.
3
@Kris
Uhhh....everything Newt passed was signed by William Jefferson Clinton. Psst...He was from a different party. This is the definition of bi-partisan. Thank you.
1
The Sunni and the Shia have been living this kind of coexistence for centuries, so what’s the problem?
1
It is hilarious to see all these comments from left leaning readers bemoaning the division and the eventual breaking apart of the union, while at the same time these left leaning readers will unabashedly proclaim that DIVERSITY IS GOOD, PERIOD.
O rly?
4
@Emily - Don't be silly. If anything, the USA will get bigger by adding more states, not splitting.
1
If you know there is, generally, a conservative/liberal divide and you see, or allow, that the respective points of view, are genuinely and deeply held, if you, override or steamroll the other side, you will always do so to your own peril.
Columnist David Brooks once said, "Both of the great parties were founded on noble ideals." If nothing else, is that not a place to find common ground?
Of great surprise to all the Texas legislature, although controlled by Republicans, got down to the peoples' business this year and actually accomplished a few things for the benefit of the state's children. So miracles do happen sometimes -
The main reason for the country divide is trump and the gop ( 2 evils) and their reigniting racist tendencies that were under the covers.. now with the two evils in our nation will once again have to deal with these caustic issues.
I a proper rational democratic process all parties are heard and any decision takes into consideration the arguments offered by every party. Possibly giving more weight to the arguments of the bigger party. In two party systems there is a tendency to not discuss and provide arguments anymore but to enact the 'winner takes all' rule.
This is highly inefficient because the laws one majority party has pushed through wil be withdrawn by the other party when they have become a majority. Etc.Etc. Etc. That in the end gives a bad name to 'democracy' and might result in the end of it.
I feel like this is an unintended consequence of state legislatures not electing an upper house like how senators are elected to the US Senate. Regardless of opinion on how the US Senate operates, it sure does give the minority voice which could be a check on some of the extreme policies on both sides of the aisle.
People no longer know how to speak to each other. Expressing opinion use to follow two general paths: either after some credibility was established, or with a shared understanding by both speaker and listener that the opinion would not be taken seriously or held up to scrutiny.
Now technology makes all opinions equal and a flood of uninformed or ill-considered opinions is the norm. In very short time, this new normal has worked its way into senates and halls of congress where old models for discussion, argument, and compromise are no more.
Democracy's devolution began with the end of plain old give-and-take face-to-face talking.
2
Lincoln didn’t do us a favor by keeping us united.We are still divided, maybe more divided.We should consider dividing the
the States by the majority of the Party they belong.Each State would get more accomplished by having a Majority Vote.We can be united for defense, or any other process that would benefit the States together.We would Have Two Presidents Representing The two Parties.
2
Don't worry. That is already happening. The way things are going, the US will slowly move to being just an amalgam of very different regions which will evolve quite different from each other. That way you won't need a literal partition. That will come through economically and culturally. The coastal states will look quite different from those occupying the interior.
Divisions of this kind will only become exacerbated by the rural-urban divide some have pointed out.
1
Prior to the election of Ronald Regan, Americans could mostly choose from a menu that included many centrist politicians, Democrat and Republican, who seemed to work together on important issues. Richard Nixon is credited with many advancements in social and social-economic policies that benefited most Americans. Since Regan, the libertarians (Republican money changers on steroids, and followers of programs leaning toward socio-pathology, along with Tea Party Patriots- more of the same but heralding suburban mantels, have rued the day and promoted the "winner-take-all" American political dynamic. It would be comforting to know that people, not special interest groups, or lobbyists, could, at the very least, discuss difficult issues, but Republicans and the "sound bite" "gotcha" hedge-funders will never, ever agree to talk. So, I think that it is important to support every liberal, progressive idea and program out there; otherwise, the Kochs, the Trumps, the Kavanaughs will ruin our Democracy.
15
@C. Davis - I was anti-Kavanaugh only due to the disrespect Republicans showed to Merrick Garland. I accept Kavanaugh and wait to see how he turns out working as the newest member of the SC. As always, time will tell.
Having virtually every American state under just one party's control is hollowing out the middle in American politics.
As long as conservative and progressive people Americans exist - and they always will - the American political system will only function longterm via compromise. For that, a strong middle is necessary.
The only people who can forge that are voters.
3
There were no parties at the time of the signing of the United States Constitution. Parties, like everything, are impermanent. Once a party starts to dominate in a legislature, it will naturally fracture into factions. The problem highlighted by this article is not polarity among the electorate but homogeneity of choice, with two monolithic national parties competing in highly heterogeneous districts.
This situation (in the states where exec and leg are aligned) sounds like how things go in parliamentary systems where we elect a party and give them a few years to do things. What is interesting is the hint that our parties don’t have the capacity for measured and sober use of their power. Instead too often they go into a frenzied flurry of law making in lieu of taking advantage of the situation to be thoughtful.
2
Meanwhile, in Ohio, which is about 48% Dem and 52% Republican right now the state house and senate are overwhelmingly Republican due to gerrymandering. The voters overwhelmingly approved a new method of redistricting that is bipartisan and the Republican legislators are trying to block it.
19
@Joe Dems are pretty good at gerrymandering districts too.
3
@AZPurdue The point is that the people of Ohio (Dems and Reps) voted for a new bipartisan method of determining state house and senate districts and the Republicans are trying to block it. That's the point.
1
This "division" in America is what we saw in the 70's. This is a generational change that has always been rocky . Super charged by the fast past of technology and what that has meant for the access to information both real and fake and changes in our daily lives , has made change that was once uncomfortable yet slow has become fast and frightening to many.
Just look at how many members of Congress still don't understand basics like the internet or social media yet they are responsible for keeping us relevant and safe in a changing world. How can that not be a recipe for disaster?
Those clinging to the past always use fear as their last defense to hold back the future. They enact laws that were deemed wrong years ago to try to bring back 'the good old days" . I fear it will be a long and bloody fight but you can not stop the Future. It is time to open ourselves up to this future if we expect to survive. Look at the world- where is the most human misery?- In countries led by Authoritarian regimes that repress the rights of minorities and women through lack of access to education and information. Is that where we see America going? I do not.
You can not put the Genie back in the bottle. If we can not accept change then we will not survive the future
11
The Genesis of this chasm we find ourselves in can be found on 12/24/09.
This is the night the Democrats shoved through ObamaCare on a reconciliation maneuver to push the largest tax increase in American history coupled with the destruction of the American Health Care System, of which 87% were happy with having gotten insurance through their employer or buying insurance on their own.
Not a single Republican idea incorporated, but one. That was Senator Craig's insistence that the Long Term Care provision be held to a financial metric that could not be undone. When they found that including Long Term Care in ObamaCare was going to cost another $1 trillion annually, Democrats wisely conceded that even this was a bridge too far.
That fateful overreach by Democrats cost them 70 moderate House and Senate seats in 2010, followed by more in 2012 and 2014.
Those 100 moderate Democrats were replaced by Tea Party type Republicans. It's like taking 4 25 pound weights even distributed across a teeter totter and replacing them with 2 50 pound weights on the ends. There's nothing in between to counter balance the extremes.
It's going to take another generation (20 years) to recalibrate the disbursement of ideologies evenly along the bell curve due to the overreach in 2009.
Word of warning for others..including Pelosi who is trying to restock her closet of flying monkeys (moderate D's who can be sacrificed)?
Go slow. Find compromise..realize we are a divided nation of 330,000,000.
7
@Erica Smythe So an 0.9% payroll tax on people earning $200,000 a year, and a $650 penalty to defray the cost of free riding was "the biggest tax increase in American history"? Meanwhile, the return on health care stocks has been quite robust. Perhaps you are referring to the experience of consumers? In your state, the Medicaid expansion under HF 9 insured some 200,000 people who had previously gone without.
I suspect that your actual complaint is personal: you would like to pay less to your private insurer. Maybe you should take that up with them--or, better yet, support a full public option.
6
@Erica Smythe, Obama-Biden should have stuck with bipartisan infrastructure as top priority. Also, they should have stuck by their promises to end the wars and change Bush-Cheney foreign policy. Instead, they continued the wars, even after killing Bin Laden, and expanded the neo-con, intervention-first regime change nonsense to Libya, Syria, Ukraine, etc. They brought zero accountability when Clapper lied under oath about mass warrantless surveillance vs US citizens on US soil. They reauthorized the Orwellian-named "Patriot" Act. They brought zero accountability when Brennan lied about CIA violating agreement with Senate and instead breaking into Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee and spying on them in arguably illegal domestic counter-op versus torture investigation. After voting Democrat or farther to the left from age 18 until age 38, it was in 2013 that this voter permanently left the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, the trends that began during Obama's 2nd term and continued during Hillary's presidential campaign have only become worse since Trump was elected. Democrats scream bloody murder when Trump tries to withdraw from Syria and Afghanistan. Democrats continue to support Lockheed's budget-busting F-35 fighter jet, the loudest jet ever built, complete with bomb-like sonic booms, and basing it in densely populated areas, to destroy health and home values of demographics they pretend to care about. Hate to say this but no surprise they lost to Trump.
3
While it is true, the Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver to get the legislation passed, The ACA was always a Republican (Romney care in Massachusetts) borne idea, it’s intellectual roots spurred by free market ideas. The Republicans in the House or Senate weren’t open to any kind of compromise and . In fact, they used false claims of Death Panels to instill fear in their constituents and derail any political wins (or good policy) for the Democrats and Obama. Frankly, the ACA was always more of a moderate Republican idea than what left wing progressives really wanted (single payer). Too bad they chose party over policy.
3
The important thing to remember while reading any Dem vs Repub analysis by the corporate media, is that there are more independent voters than voters of either party, by a wide margin.
The reason for that is that the Dems and Repubs can only appeal to voters with the issues such as abortion, marijuana legalization, gun control etc., because on economic issues, they have absolutely nothing to offer the majority of voters, owned as they are, by corporate America.
Unless the Democratic Party can break free of its corporate ties, working people and those who desire social justice and robust climate policy will be without significant political representation.
Meanwhile, the liberal spectrum of the corporate-media will attempt to convince you that the Dem party supports social justice issues and strong environmental policy, despite no proof for that beyond the level of rhetoric.
8
@Ed Watters
Another significant contributor to the divisiveness is the media's corporate ownership. Corporate interests now influence what does and doesn't get reported. For example, a negative news report on a particular product or person may get downplayed because the media's parent company has an ownership interest in or financial ties to them.
The media has, a as a result, gotten much more risk averse, essentially parroting what's out there already. If AP runs it, so will they all.
Most significantly, in its quest for subscribers/viewers it has tailored its message to suit the tastes of particular viewing cohorts. This leads to the creation of the equivalent of partisan infomercials, which are designed to sell a particular viewpoint.
3
@Ed Watters, exactly, very well said. Democrats embrace buzz words like "diversity" while embodying environmental racism in their actual policies. Even in overwhelmingly "blue" states such as Vermont.
2
According to what I have read in regard to this Alabama mandate chemical castration consists of taking drugs that suppress the production of testosterone in males. Well, that already happens naturally as men get older. Old perverts should already have low testosterone. But aside from the punitive motivations, depriving men of natural testosterone can be debilitating to their health. It's not the testosterone that makes people pedophiles. It's their personality.
Alabama is turning into a medieval, ignorantly brutal state. And look! It has a woman for governor who actually believes this stuff and signs these bills, full of righteous certitude.
10
There is no contempt like self-contempt.
1
either split into sep countries or get the new civil war started already. Seriously
12
@Nate I vote for disunion, but where would that leave (for instance) the 12 million-odd Texans who are liberals? And, for that matter, all the liberals in the Deep South?
@Nate - The real solution is to dilute the special interests by expanding the USA to include more people.
Gerrymandering anyone? The way we divide congressional districts in this country is at the root of all this polarization -- in addition to the already-mentioned sequestration of news/media/facts, etc. Whoever thought that the way to divide the population was to have the lawmakers of one party "redraw" the districts for everyone must have been drinking Kool-Aid...or not. This practice has to be STOPPED!
11
Like the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the demise of Hitler's hoped-for "Thousand-year Reich," the end of the British Empire, and the collapse of various Chinese Dynasties, all cultures and their belief systems have eventually disintegrated and come to an end.
Changing objective conditions, internal conflict born of inconsistencies in any worldview, the erosion of internal restraints and external agreements among "citizens" all have played a part.
Will the great American experiment in democracy be any different?
Not long before he died, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts offered not an answer, but an appeal to our better selves that still resonates at a time when so much is at stake...."The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”
5
@SA, I believe Ted Kennedy said that at the 1980 or 1984 Democratic convention, after he lost the nomination. He may have repeated it or echoed that again later, shortly before his death.
Ted Kennedy would have been so disappointed in Obama-Biden. Democrats in 2006 and Obama-Biden in 2008 pretended they were going to be different than Bush-Cheney foreign policy and overreach of national security state. In contrast to Kennedy's speech at 2008 convention, talking about Obama not committing troops to a mistake, Obama-Biden infamously continued the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan their entire 8 years, ending their term with shameful distinction of longest wartime president and vice president in US history. Even after killing Bin Laden toward end of first term, they continued Afghanistan ad nauseam, to hand off to Bolton and Trump. They continued Iraq, with some troop variations, and then took page from Bush-Cheney playbook by trying to hide continued involvement by hiring thousands upon thousands of private military contractors. They expanded the neo-con, intervention-first regime change nonsense to Libya, Syria, Ukraine, etc. They then endorsed the Iraq War voting Hillary, who Ted Kennedy rejected in favor of Obama back in 2008. The Bobby Kennedy '68 Democrats who are against military Keynesianism uber alles have been purged from the party. People like Ted Kennedy and Paul Wellstone, who voted against Iraq, are gone, & pro-Iraq Biden remains.
1
The Republicans control the legislature in several states only because of gerrymandering. I believe Eric Holder, who is leading a campaign to end gerrymandering, said the Democrats lost 7 state legislatures because of gerrymandering in the last election. People of all political views should be able to agree that the US should have fair elections but in too many states it is said that the representatives are picking their voters rather than the other way around. The reality seems to be that most Americans prefer the Democrats to the Republicans but the views of Americans are not being manifested as representation in government. The Republicans have decided to win elections unfairly by gerrymandering. voter ID laws, purging voter rolls, mot permitting ex-felons who have served their time to vote, having an inadequate number of voting machines available in certain areas, and whatever else they can think to rig the process so that they win.
22
Thanks for this comment. This truth is overlooked so much of the time. Gerrymandering is a fact. So are ID laws and voter purge rolls which target minorities. Yet the amount of coverage these issue get in the MSM is minimal. Why?
2
Just maybe a paragraph or two about gerrymandering on both sides thwarting the will of the electorate?
An article about the formation of non partisan citizens commissions on redistricting? So that we might have real representational democracy?
Some lines about where this fight has been waged and is being waged, in the legislatures and courts?
4
Exactly and how some cities (and countries) are experimenting with ranked choice voting to create better representation.
Didn't know this fact, interesting.
Not since the pre-civil war days has our country been so divided. And though today there seem to be more fronts of division, the most contentious is abortion.
Abortion, right or wrong, is ultimately a question of personhood: who can claim to be a "person" and when does one become one.
The pre-civil war Supreme Court Dred Scott ruling deemed that an African American was not a person and therefore had no rights.
The political division of pre-civil war is well known. The results are well know too, it took a bloody civil war and three constitutional amendments to right that Supreme Court wrong.
To those who may despair, we can take solace from that bit of our history as proof that we can overcome.
5
from the Chicago Tribune
It turns out residents of blue states send more tax money to Washington than they get back in federal help, while residents of red states send less money to Washington than they get back in federal help.
In 2015, for example, New Jersey got back only 74 cents in federal spending for every tax dollar its inhabitants sent to Washington, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government. New York got back 81 cents on the dollar, Connecticut 82 cents and Massachusetts 83 cents.
But when you turn to the red states, it's the opposite. Mississippi received $2.13 for every tax dollar that its inhabitants sent to Washington. West Virginia received $2.07, Kentucky: $1.90 and South Carolina $1.71.
21
@Louis J
I demand a refund!
If we break up this country according to politics, consider how it would look geographically. The divisions would go county by county, not state by state. California would be a mostly coastal city blue one and another one that would be a mostly inland and partial coastal red one. The state needs both to prosper. The country needs all of us to prosper.
Our differences largely have to do with liberty and our tolerance of other people’s liberty. Money is used in elections to manipulate people’s concerns over those issues. We focus upon the political contests so much that we never talk to each other long enough to understand any other dimension of our dissatisfactions. Republicans and Democrats are furious because they think that they are the focus of efforts to disenfranchise them or to abridge their liberties.
4
There is nothing more divisive than one group's deciding they abhor a president and demanding he be removed from office, I can assure you.
5
@AACNY. Did you say that in 2014?
8
@AACNY
At yet at the same time, there's nothing more divisive than a divisive president.
5
@AACNY especially when that President is a pathological liar, fraud, and racist, and has proven such over just the last few days, let alone the last two years!
2
history books will have to be rewritten, as clearly the Civil War did not definitively end at Appomattox Courthouse, but is still going on today. some might say the opponents now are the forces of the past in battle with the advocates of the future, but I believe it is the same old struggle between the Old South together with the places colonized by Civil War refugees from the defeated Confederacy v those in favor of any progress at all. no longer the Blue v the Gray, now it's the Blue v the Red, but it's still like whistling Dixie to me.
3
Remember Walter Cronkite? All of us used to watch the same three channels.The conservative viewer and the liberal one had the same facts presented to them. Now it's boutique news, where you can get spoon-fed exactly hat you already want to hear.
Each 'side' steps out the front door which his or her own custom-tailored reality installed, and is it any wonder that we look at one another as crazy for not seeing the same political landscape?
I lean WAY to the left. But I read and watch a wide swath of reporting. If I didn't, I'd have no idea why the right is so mesmerized by Trump, and so willing to sweep his daily ugliness under the rug of USA! USA!
Tailored news programs which preach only flattering, carefully selected facts to their choir are not helping our democracy.
23
Exactly what Russia wants... Americans fighting Americans.
Russia always feels insecure when they are not the 800 lb gorilla in the world. They cannot take down the US directly.. so they are following long standing practices of sowing discontent and misinformation within and letting their target just do a slow burning implosion.
Wake up people.... stop playing into their hands here.
11
I reject all Republicans, all religious people, all on the extreme left ("democratic socialists" and such), and, generally speaking all extreme and all anti-science views. Sometimes I wonder if the only people in my camp are my own children.
4
Democratic socialism is extreme left?
Here in Sweden the Social Democrats are, at best.....center left.
@NomadXpat The concept of "democratic socialism" is different in the US of A than in Europe. Bernie Sanders is kind of an extremist. PaulN (I actually lived in Sweden back in 1973/74, in Djursholm)
George Washington warned us about political parties in his 1796 Farewell Address:
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."
To add fuel to the partisan fires, we got Citizens United and laws allowing big money to buy their politicians and political parties.
So much for politicians representing the needs of everyday middle-class constituents and politics as the art of compromise. To keep the voters voting, big-money politics is treated like a blood sport and valued only for its ability to entertain the masses.
We moved from blue state NY (where state politics is conducted with 3 guys wheeling and dealing in a backroom) to red state Utah (which is a virtual GOP theocracy).
The day we moved in, neighbors came by to introduce themselves, and 2 said: "Please don't judge us by our politicians, they are out of touch with the citizens."
In 2018, Utahans voted for medical marijuana, ending gerrymandering, and expanding Medicaid, which the legislators have taken as "suggestions" and refused to fully implement.
The result is the citizens are out in the cold, & democracy is a sick joke. Example: Trump is POTUS, but we voters didn't elect him.
10
You’re correct. We did not elect Trump. He was installed by the Russians and is an illegitimate president. If only the Democratic Party had not been bought for cash by the Clintons we may have had a choice. And now we see Clinton-3 (Biden), that back slapping, hair fondling elitist corporatist who speaks of certain African American men as clean and good looking. As the D-party big wigs seek to exclude all others, it assures itself of four more years of Trump the Russian. Kids, millennials, put down your phones and gaming consoles and do something like run for office! Trust me: you’ll win. Us old timers will vote for you.
Fox news commentators not all but most are not telling to truth on many subjects. They are the ones dividing our country. Their broadcasting should be cancled.
10
@A. Stanton Jackson
Oh, stop! Ever listen to the likes of Don Lemon and CNN? Give me a break.
Other comments have suggested balkanization of the states.
I'll start: Washington, Oregon, California together. The rest of you can talk among yourselves.
2
@Bailey Not Oregon or Washington East of the Cascades. This area would much prefer to be part of Idaho, Montana, Utah group.
4
Definitely Massachusetts, pretty much the cluster of New England states.
@Therese Plus New York and New Jersey, thank you!!
Belligerent behavior gets one’s attention. Donald Trump. Rap ‘feuds.’ The ridiculous guy in the House of Representatives who can’t seem to locate his jacket. Pretty much any box office movie.
Belligerence can naturally lead to violence. For all the talk about it, I see very little ‘turning the other cheek.’
2
Headline, "... America Grows More Divided". No, America does not "grow" more divided. A more accurate headline might be: "States One Party Rule Divides America." As those who seek to attain or maintain power and wealth have have often done through history, pitting people against each other, dividing, making enemies of the "other" ensures the domination of the powerful. Note "rule" rather than "govern". And history also makes clear, when the disparities between the few and the many become too great, it does not end well for people. Many polls demonstrate what people have in common, even about difficult issues like guns, healthcare, the economy. The assertion that people are polarized does not reflect the reality, as many commentors here have pointed out, that people are being polarized by partisan lawmakers who are disconnected from their responsibility to work together to serve all the people.
3
Democrats for Freedom and Fairness.
Republicans for Repression and Exploitation.
yup, that's the choice.
Vote Blue in 2020!
9
@Louis J
So long as Democrats continue to aid, abett, and advance the interests of ‘undocumented’ aka illegal aliens over the best interests of the American citizenry, they will not get my vote.
4
@Michal
And as long as you continue to get news from FOX, Facebook or social media platforms, that's exactly what they'll have you think.
2
@Michal - I have a strong feeling you could not separate documented from undocumented if you tripped over them.
If your "party" comes before the country, you are no patriot.
If your "party" comes before the rule of law, you are a criminal.
If your "party" comes before your morals, you are no member of the society in which you reside.
A patriot thinks of the benefits to their country of their actions, not of the benefits to themselves.
A criminal thinks of the benefits to themselves only.
A member of society works to assure that others in that society are treated equally and with respect with no one being treated as a lesser member.
695
@dfhamel fine sentiments, exactly what was brought forward in the American Constitution. But the royalists and King Donald I don’t believe in any of the above. That’s exactly why we kicked the King and his tories out of America starting in 1776. They tried coming back in the rural South between 1860-1865, but every one of the points you mention was reaffirmed. I would respectfully like to add one point to your list: rule by the majority- if you don’t have that, you have autocracy, not democracy!
31
@dfhamel, precisely the reasons why Trump and the Republicans are not patriots but do manage to be criminals.
50
But, what can you do when one party seeks to weaponize patriotism, the rule of law, and morality?
If a group of people protest the actions of a corrupt police officer, one party says that’s exercising constitutional rights. Supporters of the other party attempt to silence protesters by claiming they are unpatriotic (NFL players kneeling) and by implying one can’t both protest corruption AND support law enforcement (“blue lives matter”)
If a group organizes to provide constitutionally protected medical treatment for low income women and men (Planned Parenthood), one party says that group should be protected and, perhaps, partially publicly funded. The other party fabricates videos smearing that organization (Center for Medical Progress) and moves to defund and, in the case of Alabama, outlaw a constitutionally protected medical procedure.
If a major national politician accepts the support of hate groups, demonizes entire countries and races of people and bribes his way out of potentially career-damaging scandals, one party speaks out against these actions and tries to investigate. The other party gets in line behind this politician and, instead, demonizes the politicians speaking up and attempts to block the investigations.
I appreciate the idealism of nation before party, but one party seems to have a consistent disregard for patriotism, the rule of law and morality unless those things serve their interests or those of its leaders.
I say vote Democrat. Win elections.
23
There is either a new civil war coming or hopefully a peaceful separation of the country into smaller groups of states with common interests. As California and others states become third world countries the rest of the nation will not be part of it for long. This has been brewing with or without President Trump and will likely be over in the new twenty years.
3
Third world California? You mean the 5th largest economy in the world?
California a third world country...because it's multicultural?
I have to say this is sort of funny...and obvious when it comes to saying the media leans left. When democrats are in charge and promote their agenda...that half the country thinks is radical...it's good government. When republicans are in charge and promote their agenda...that half the country thinks is radical...it is an example of how divided we are as a nation. Clearly, this doesn't make sense, OR, the media is biased.
1
Last time I checked Massachusetts had a Republican (non-Trumpist) governor and a Democratic-controlled legislature. Is this not divided government? Charlie Baker is liberal enough to have been elected in MA but a Republican nonetheless.
2
Redistricting on a party neutral basis based upon a full census would go a long way toward making parties find a center again.
7
The only time this country was “United” was when white men had a total grip on power and women and POC’s were not allowed to vote, possess land or run for office. Every moment since 1865 has been a fight for the underrepresented to have equal access. This fight may never end.
Don’t romanticize the our history. It has always been a divided nation.
4
What are the forces that are working to divide us? Let me count the ways.
1. Precision Gerrymandering
2. Electoral College Politics
3. Extreme Wealth Inequality
4. Social Media
5. Fox News
6. Voter Apathy and failure to Participate
7. Russian Operatives
8. Rapidly changing technology and the impact on people
9. Donald Trump
We should call it Political "Climate Change", and we had better figure out how to get back to normal or there will most certainly be a "Let them eat cake" followed by an "Off with her head" revolution sometime in the future.
It feels very scary to those of us who can imagine how our present situation could continue to devolve into a seriously dystopian and/or violent future.
8
@Renaissance Lost
Citizens United!!! Closely linked to your #3 and all the rest.
Wealth rules in this country, not citizens, and since the mainstream news media are now in the game for clicks and profits (not service to country), the wealthy can easily manipulate votes.
We're getting to the point where one person can choose the president. Think of the Kochs, the Mercers, Sheldon Adelson.
Russian meddling makes it all worse, but Citizens United and the oligarchy are the real problems.
3
I agree.... add Citizens United to the list.
1
"And they approved requiring sex offenders who commit crimes involving children to undergo chemical castration at their own expense."
Hard to argue with that one. We'd be having a different discussion about Roy Moore if the law were in place already.
The article skips over the central point though. The state divide did begin in 2010. However, the cause had little to do with Republican electoral gains. The cause is the hyper-sophisticated and overtly aggressive gerrymandering that resulted from those gains. Democrats naturally responded in kind but they would have done the same thing if the positions had been reversed.
If state legislatures actually represented the political composition of their states, we wouldn't have this problem.
Take my state, Utah, as a good example. Utah is most definitely Republican. Around 66 percent depending on the year. However, Republicans control over 80 percent of the state legislature thanks to the 2011 gerrymander. The only thing that moderates their actions relative to Alabama is they know their position is inherently weak. They don't actually possess a super majority. One bad governor's race could easily stall their agenda for years.
We witnessed a similar scenario in Wisconsin recently. You saw the perverse outcome. Solve gerrymandering and you'll solve most hyper-partisanship.
4
Didn't we use to condemn the USSR and China for the very same thing?
1
A house divided we've become/as Lincoln once did warn/It tears apart consensus now/A thing which we should mourn/Our politicians do not deign/to stab us in the back/Instead they stab us in the front/as manners they hijack.
We still live with the echos of the frontier mentality of our founding. We are enthralled with the idea of individualism. This is why we are one of the few countries in the world with predominantly single representative districts and winner-take-all voting systems. This is a failure of our governing institutions. Fix the way we choose representation and we can move to a more centrist and pluralistic polity.
2
If you cannot tolerate someone who disagrees with everyone else, then you cannot have democratic governance, you cannot live as you like.
1
Most states are under one-party control for one reason and one reason only, gerrymandering.
Think of the good old bell curve. Most Americans fall relatively close on either side of the middle, and if we were left to ourselves we could resolve most of our differences with modest compromise.
But compromise and cooperation doesn't sell. Conflict sells.
So the media and our political elite push the extremes and promote conflict.
5
Gerrymandering, while pernicious, would not be necessary for Utah to be Republican, or Massachusetts to be Democratic. Many phenomena fall into a bell curve, but not everything does. Political polarization has not simply affected politicians or the media. There are also fewer centrists among voters.
While centrist Democrats and moderate Republicans used to provide bridges between the parties that allowed for compromise, that is much less true. Viable third parties could serve the same function. Rank-choice voting could allow them to emerge. Opposing such measures is where the two parties agree.
1
Instead of looking at what's happening to this country on a state-to-state basis, which is already somewhat divisive in its own right, I look at what's happening to the U.S. on the whole and its political divisions are unmistakable.
And so is the general feeling of distrust and enmity that comes along with it.
We're at a point where it's not only Republicans against Democrats, it's North against South and East against West in an endless circle of animosity.
But by far, there was nothing more alarming than when all three branches of our government were effectively controlled by just one party -- and not only because it was the Republicans, but because it meant that there would only be one way of legislating everything in a country whose very diversity decries the notion that one size fits all.
There's a reason why the motto of the United States of America is E pluribus unum:"Out of many, one".
Now all we have to do is live up to it.
1
I just read the poem "If my vagina were a gun." If anything shows the utter hypocrisy of some lawmakers, that was it.
Reading pieces like this makes me wonder how long the country can last, with or without Trump.
The inability--actually, unwillingness--to compromise is at the heart of the matter, solidified by severely segmented information sources, and many holding two versions of truth (note to America: there are many viewpoints and ideologies, but only one fact-based truth).
What I see is an ongoing Civil War, one not fought with guns (although sometimes it is) but political power, that once gained, thumbs its nose at everyone else.
Lincoln described a "house divided that cannot stand," in decrying Civil War, but he likely never envisioned a time like this when the battle grounds aren't over physical territory but over values, ideas, and truth itself.
546
@ChristineMcM
not to personalize .... but, most of your posts are not what I would call "lessons in compromise"
12
@ChristineMcM
And what I see going on is an ongoing race war which is in itself part of the Civil War currently being waged against all persons of color in this country.
Make no mistake about it.
The divisions are not only still there -- but they're getting worse.
42
@ChristineMcM Please dont confuse values with truth. Truth is empirical, verifiable & repeatable by otherwise disinterested parties. Think particle physics or the consequences of too much salt in a human diet. Disagreements on abortion, guns, religion, immigration, freedom, etc., are all a clash of values, not a clash over truth.
In the process of trying to win someone over to your point of view, say on climate change or corporate speech, the truth might get stretched a bit. Is that what you mean?
6
Notice what the party that claims to prize "freedom" from govt control does when it gets power. They immediately try to control people's reproductive choices, spousal choices, personal decisions about wagering, or to ban ingestion of herbs for medicine or pleasure.
The other party gets busy lowering medical costs, which advances our freedom from excessive costs.
Which one really knows the meaning of "freedom"?
10
@Jomo Where, exactly did the left lower medical costs? Please tell me, as California is surely not the utopia you espouse, especially since obama indirectly ran all but two insurance companies out of the state.
2
The Alaska legislature is divided between a Republican Senate and a “coalition” House- the coalition being led by an independent former democrat, and consisting of 15 dems and a few republicans. So perhaps that’s 48 states with one-party control?
3
How much has gerrymandering played into this division of one political party rule? Throughout the county, this decadal biased rigging of elections will only continue. Get ready for another round in 2021.
3
So, per the article, here's what Dem legislatures are trying to do.
-Raising the minimum wage.
-Reducing greenhouse gases.
-Banning conversion therapy.
-Reinsurance programs to lower health care costs.
-Expanding gun control.
And here's what Republicans are trying to do.
-Banning abortions.
-Restricting unions.
-Making it easier to buy guns.
I dunno, I'm not seeing much of a choice here.
19
@Zach You’re right. We have no choices, especially given the slanted nature of this article.
2
Really the solution is so simple it's baffling--enter smaller minority parties who will be required for a coalition type government. The rest of the world has caught on. Why not us?
Oh yeah...the whole American power trip thing.
1
It boils down to religion in our government now: the fear of death and fear of women, that religion has created. Under the evangelical Republicans' dominant white male credo, people simply must have their guns, under the fantasy that having a gun will spare them from death. And they must control women's bodies, as the fear of women making their own life choices terrifies them, while they cling to their fantasy that a fetus is a real person. The simple upholding of the separation of church and state could mean a lot for reinstating common sense into our government.
1
Sort of like the years 1836 to 1860. You know what happened then!
2
America was born and bred in a violent rebellion.
A revolution against the denial of their divine natural equal certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The rebels were primarily white European Anglo-Saxon Protestant men who owned property including enslaved black Africans and land and natural resources stolen from brown Native American pioneers.
America was sustained in a violent civil war that freed the black enslaved into separate and unequal existence.
America was reformed by a very brief period of reconstruction and white women's suffrage.
America was further reformed and remade in a peaceful black African American led civil rights movement that benefited white women more than any other Americans.
Instead of rebelling against foreign hacking and meddling in American elections by Israel and Russia, Trump's America is encouraging and ignoring it.
Instead of violently seceding and fleeing to Richmond the malign sons of Confederate Alabama aka Addison Mitchell McConnell,Jr. and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions ,III remained in the District of Columbia. Trying to reverse the outcomes of the Civil War, Reconstruction and Civil Rights eras.
2
What large/small businesses/corporations do business in Alabama and other States still living in the 19th Century? Keep Women barefoot, in the kitchen and ignorant. Is this their motto?
2
I would like to see those red dressed handmaidens go sit down quietly in an activist church. But three times as many of them. The doors are open to everyone. Take the protest to the source.
Diversity is desirable....up to a point....after which it inevitably descends into a vitriolic cacophony of competing interests, ideologies, and cultures. That’s what we have now, and it’s chaos.
The battle over immigration is a case in point. The last thing this country needs is more ‘diversity’. What we need is national unity and common purpose...and that’s not going to happen while millions of impoverished foreign nationals are stampeding illegally across our undefended porous borders.
3
A national divorce is looking better and better every day
3
@Vin
Then Putin will have won.
3
@jeito Meh. Putin has become the bogeyman under the bed. My concern regards people in this country, and how we have seemingly irreconcilable differences. For instance, in a significant portion of the country, state legislatures are rushing to strip women of their bodily autonomy - the most basic of civil rights. It's too big a chasm to leap to find common ground with people for whom women are little more than reproductive vessels beholden to the state. No thanks.
Alabama approved "... requiring sex offenders who commit crimes involving children to undergo chemical castration at their own expense". This in the same state where Roy Moore is considering another run at the senate? Wow.
6
@Derek Martin
What is the problem?
My sympathies to the Democrats. It's clear that their entire 2020 election strategy has come down to the reality check in which either we impeach the President before the election, or we stand zero chance of overcoming a hugely successful first term. Good luck, but it sounds like millions of special interest donor money will be wasted in the next year and a half by the Democratic candidates (all 20 or so) that could be have probably done some good for those in need in this country.
5
There is less and less reason why people with such different viewpoints as liberal/dems and conservative/repubs should be forced to live under a single set of laws and societal norms. It's no longer workable.
There is no way to compromise on issues like abortion, free ownership of guns, government health insurance, graduated taxation, racial equality, and so many others, because there is no middle ground -- they grow out of completely different but deeply rooted views people have, so it's one or the other and each side insists on its way. As a result, we have fractured into two camps that are no longer willing to live together under one set of rules.
Unless something fundamental changes soon we are ineluctably moving to two separate nations. We have no real choice but to find a way to manage the breakup in a way that will minimize the disruption and hopefully avoid chaos.
170
@John Binkley Love this idea.....the red states would loss a fortune in the money transferred from blue states.
The red states would then be 'just another 3rd world country' with repressive laws.
Right now the blue states are paying the red states to stay in the union. Instead...lets pay them (say, 1/2) to leave !!!!!
55
@John Binkley How could that possibly work? Like the partition of India and Pakistan? Not happening. Demographics are against the Republicans. It's only a matter of time.
27
@John Binkley I see no viable pathway for that solution, however tempting it may seem. If one factors in gerrymandering, it's also very unfair.
An alternative is a unifying idea and a policy that can educate people from different education and cultural backgrounds to understand what they have in common. Please Google my name and "Collaboration Vouchers."
6
What was once known as the republican party is now something underground, outside of democratic forum and discussion it exists as an entity unto itself fashioned by strategy and tactic rather than cooperation and consideration.
That John Kelly is profiting from incarcerated asylum seekers and children locked up in kennels illustrates the desire of what was once the party of Eisenhower is a desire to change The Constitution to fit industry into what has turned our system of taxation and health and human services to a Terry Gilliam lookalike.
5
@Guy Walker : What is the John Kelly angle? Can you explain?
More he said, she said. The actions taken by Illinois are beneficial to most people. alabama on the other hand is back to the 19th century.
8
We are all at fault here folks. I know too many people who avoid talking to anyone from "the other" side and dismiss them as something less than themselves for holding different views. There are only two kinds of people: good people and bad people. This has nothing to do with their voting record.
4
@James - I am married to one from the trump side (25 yrs.), now separated. My every attempt to talk civilly, resulted in a fiery volcano of fury from "the other" side - pure irrational, spittle flying rage. How am I at fault?
The percentage of women in the state legislatures of the states mentioned in this article.
Alabama - 15.7%
Tennessee - 15.2%
Ohio - 26.5%
California - 30%
Illinois - 30.5%
Oregon - 41.1%
Colorado - 47%
Nevada - 50.8%
That pretty much tells you what’s going on here, doesn't it?
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
www.ncsl.org
15
This is the era or political spoilsmanship To the victor goes the spoils of war. Much like Viking marauders ransacking a village the victorious political party steals all control. This works for wars of pillage and plunder but utterly destroys the fertile lands of democracy.
3
The real story here is less about the divisions than about the policies passed by Democrats and Republicans. What we are seeing, isn't new. Nor is it surprising. Democrats, for the most part, want to address inequality and environmental degradation. Republicans, however, are increasingly driven by irrational fear about human beings's ability to make choices at odds with their own, and this leads to policies shaped by rigidity and draconian punishment. This is not a party that can appeal to more than a minority of voters unless they continue to rely on various means of voter suppression.
10
if Pence assumes the presidency, he can always fall back on the Inquisition. the policies of the religious right (aka the right) are fixed and set in stone. you just can't Torquemada anything.
1
The principal divide is economic; we have socialism for the rich and corporations and capitalism for everyone else. The republican party's sole objective is to preserve this status quo.
12
Just because a party has power in a state, it does not mean that party has the support of the majority of people in that state. Most states are gerrymandered to produce red legislators. Blue voters do not have a vote. Even in a National election, wit the lowest voter turnout EVER, Trump could not win the popular vote. To say this country is tense is a gross misstatement. THIS election, 2020, is probably the most important election in the history of this country. Our government has steadily, day after day eroded our way of life in ways that could never even occur to Trump. If this is NOT turned around the U.S. is doomed as is the entire planet. NEVER HAS THERE BEEN SO MUCH AT STAKE.
9
The underlying cause of our increasingly uncompromising politics is partisan gerrymandering. The threat comes not in the November elections where Republicans and Democrats contest but increasingly in the party primaries where the most uncompromising views too often prevail in the knowledge that the deck is stacked: the party that drew the district lines will win. Hopefully the Supreme Court will rein in this out-of-control gerrymandering.
4
@Neil: I wouldn't hold my breath on that; especially after SCOTUS gutted key provisions for minotities, in the Voting Rights Act, naively declaring in so many words, that racism no longer existed.
2
Putin investing in Trump was the single most effective geopolitical tactic of the modern era. Who could have predicted how easy it would be to destroy the USA's sense of unity, purpose, and even right and wrong?
8
Republicans in Colorado have decided not to abide by election results, and are pressing ahead with recall efforts, including one against a legislator who fought for reasonable restrictions on guns after his son was shot and killed. Unlike Democrats, Republicans are not waiting for November 2020 but acting now.
The roots of our current dysfunctional partisanship clearly trace back to Newt Gingrich. As far back as the 1980s, but most vociferously in the 1990s, he promoted that the "business of politics" wasn't about governing; it was about keeping your own party in power.
His strategy worked, for the most part. Even though the majority of Americans actually support Democratic policies, Republicans have largely controlled legislatures at both the state and national levels ever since Gingrich became the Republican's main strategist.
When you go back and read his speeches, it all becomes clear; and downright frightening. Numerous articles over the years have dubbed him "The Man Who Broke Politics."
Truly evil.
10
Progress? Or stalemate? Those are the choices now that the Republican Party has become so extreme: global warming is a hoax; healthcare is socialism; and no taxes, ever, not even on the wealthiest, for anything. Recently the South Dakota legislature voted down a college scholarship program for poor high school kids denouncing it as socialism, and even worse, as a Democratic idea. Now, you even have Republican legislatures outlawing the morning-after pill because every fertilized egg is sacred.
This is not your grandfather's Republican Party. They have made themselves into a caricature of the reasonable and responsible party it once was. There is no choice but to vote them out and banish them to the extreme fringe where they belong.
3
I actually think democracy is dead in this country.
We are owned by a corporate militaristic structure.
We are no different than any other people on the planet, all subject to manipulation and being led around by a reptilian brain. No offense to reptiles.
if it happened in a "civilized" country like Germany, it can happen here and what is scaring me now is the continued demonizing of refugees and immigrants .
As if all our woes are their fault.
10
A large pocket of the rich have found that manipulating ignorant, racist, and superstitious people is their best way to maintain power. Accordingly, they seed the soil with distrust for education, science and sensible economics. They convince the poor to distrust each other and to fight over crumbs, while the rich get all the cake.
When anyone points out how the wealthy have tried to starve public education, reduce worker protections while giving themselves bigger tax cuts, or proposes a defense against it that person is charged with trying to start a fight. Well, the fight is on and most Americans are losing.
5
This is the consequence of the two-party system. You get a cartoon version of politics where only total destruction of the other side will do. There’s no room for bargaining or for questioning the status quo; you get one package deal or the other, that’s it. The parties, both with stagnant, vapid ideologies, would not last a moment in a system where new parties could stand a chance of winning. Many people in the comments are calling for Balkanization of the USA, and this is indeed the only way we’ll see an end to this psychotic political system. We are unfree as long as the diktats of federal power brokers override the political will of the people everywhere. We are unfree when we lack the ability to make any meaningful and lasting change in our own states. We are unfree in this country altogether; the constitution is broken, the government is broken, and they’re both rotten to the core. The American experiment was a dismal failure, and we need to wake up to that. It can’t be salvaged, and it will never improve.
2
Now analyze the effects on the nation as the media grows more partisan and divisive.
2
On this we agree: partisan news is bad for the country.
1
These are very perilous times. The Right-Wing, cultish GOP is preaching violence and guns. restricting rights, hatred and bigotry.
BIG BLUE WAVE in 2020.
Save our democracy.
Reject the Right-wing authoritarians.
2
@Louis J - Well and simply put neighbor (I wish you were next door!)
Correction: America is not "growing more divided." It is being deliberately split apart by Trump and the GOP sect now in congress. Don't blame the victims.
2
If you believe in evolution, whenever some species becomes dominant, bad things happen. Jared Diamond and other writers/historians have written excellent books on the demise of civilizations based on this thesis.
The American "founding fathers" acknowledged this in their writing, Our political and legal systems are based on the idea of diversity as an expression of "equality". The "common man" secured our independence from England in 1776, and post WWII the leveling of all Americans to service to a common cause produced unparalleled growth.
1
Why doesn't Alaska's legislature count as divided? The Senate is controlled by the Republicans, but the House is ruled by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, with more Democratic than Republican members.
4
With all due respect to comparing Illinois to Alabama, the same starkness appears across the river in Missouri.
The divide is wide and deep: guns, unions, taxes, education, healthcare, abortion, etc.
While I am a native of Illinois, but lived in Missouri for 30 years I have witnessed dramatic, right wing shifts during that time. The state is really not recognizable (from a political point of view) from the time I moved here...
Missourians (especially out state) tend to overwhelmingly vote against their own economic interests, being single issue type of voters (abortion, religion over gay rights, gun rights, low taxes, fear of the other, etc.).
A disconcerting example of this shift right has been the fact that for over 20 years, there has been a dire need to rebuild I-70 between St. Louis and KC. No one wants to pay for it (sales tax, gas tax, tolls, etc.). So the highway continues to degrade, ultimately negatively impacting our economy.
5
The article's assertion that all but one state legislature is controlled by a single party is not correct (hence, the statement "...Democrats, who won control of six new legislative chambers, meaning that they now dominate both chambers in 18 states. But Republicans continue to control the majority of state legislatures, with 29." 18+29=47)
In addition to Minnesota, where the Republicans hold the Senate by one vote--due to the GOP's good fortune of only electing state senators in presidential election years, meaning none faced the voters in 2018--there are two other exceptions.
One is Alaska. While Republicans control the state senate and have the largest number of representatives in the house, the lower body is actually controlled by a coalition of 15 Democrats, 8 Republicans and 2 independents. The remaining 15 Republicans constitute the minority. The speaker is an independent. The coalition is more progressive than the GOP governor and senate majority.
The other is Nebraska. While practically speaking, the GOP does control its single chamber legislature, its members are actually elected on a non-partisan basis; they don't run under a party line. There is no majority or minority party; the only caucuses are regional groups. It is largely--though not always consistently--a conservative body.
2
Our system of "representative democracy" is neither representative nor democratic. Allowing states like Wyoming to have the same number of senators as California, for example, is preposterous. The problem is that the Senate has too much power in comparison to the House. It's fine to give some extra consideration to smaller states so that they're not entirely swallowed up by the larger ones, but what's happened is that it's gone entirely the other way and the smaller states are imposing a tyranny on the majority. Nominations to the courts approved by the Senate. Treaties approved by the Senate. One senator representing 400K people has equal power to a senator representing 40M - preposterous. I firmly believe that our system is broken beyond repair and good riddance to it. I hope the time will come when the breaking point IS reached and the vast majority of Americans say ENOUGH and demand systemic changes to our form of government which is no longer representative of the will of the majority and therefore should not be defended but replaced by something better. I doubt I'll live to see this happen but sooner or later it must.
45
Wyoming and New York have dissimilar opportunities and challenges. Straight democratic voting would lead to a national government that make it the government for the most populous states but nobody else. New York residents could and would strip people in Wyoming of any say in the national government. Yes, people in Wyoming have a disproportionate say in the Federal government, but it allows the country to manage a big and diverse country by our Congress with compromises and willing participation that otherwise would not be possible.
3
@ManhattanWilliam
Your opinion only makes sense if you think the US is a simple massive national entity, and not a more complex confederation of states.
And good luck relying on simple majorities to determine the rights of all people.
2
@ManhattanWilliam
I agree. I have long thought it highly destructive with the winner take all scenario and minority rule. If you vote for someone and lose you have no voice and are literally without representation.
People should have representation for their ideas and thoughts at all times. This would require a larger pool of representatives but it is necessary to be able to directly communicate and have contact with ones representatives to keep corruption at bay as well as to hear and listen to different view points.
Minority religious rule with a hand of tyranny though will destroy this country. There is no discussing anything with republicans as seen by Trump and McConnell. It’s their way or the highway.
232
With increasingly sophisticated and unapologetic gerrymandering, made possible in part by an increase in self-sorting, even a state with a fairly close popular vote divide might have little chance of having a split legislature.
Aware of this, the state representatives often have incentive to govern as a primary candidate and not as a general election candidate. The barriers to entry to run for a state seat are fairly low, so there is very likely to be a plausible primary challenger who can use a simple and obvious strategy of repeating party soundbites from news shows or talk radio then questioning an incumbent's party purity. The result is governing for, approximately, the quartile voter instead of the median voter.
There are many more states with a split in the US Senate or a split between governor and US Senate, and while part of that may be explained by "luck" or by specific candidates affecting individual races (cough, Roy Moore, cough), it seems likely that gerrymandering explains some of the disconnect between statewide election results and the division of seats in state legislatures.
4
I’ve always believed in the two-party system: it tends to simplify governance and it satisfies our need for good v evil choices. But as a a thought experiment, what if we magically converted to a parliamentary system where various parties could group themselves along the political spectrum, and could force their voice to be heard by the ruling party.
Very, very messy to be sure, but what do we have now?
3
@Guano Rey
Because of the electronic age why can’t we add in the ability for voters to veto or over rise government leadership. Might take 60% for veto but would allow us to check authority. This should be the case for all conflicts either way. We should always as a people have the right to veto armed violence by our government.
New Mexico offered a variation on this theme. A Democratic legislature and governor passed and signed a bill to close background check loopholes for unlicensed dealers (for instance, gun shows). Red, mostly rural county sheriffs decided they wouldn't enforce the law. Sworn to uphold the law, the sheriffs decided they didn't much care for this one.
11
Democrats do the same thing. Obama decided that he would not follow the ACA law that requires the government to provide long term care insurance. “So sue me”. If you have gone broke with nursing home bills because the Obamacare long term care insurance provision was ignored, please blame Democrats.
2
Illinois Republican: “I have no doubt that there are Democratic voters saying, ‘Hey, this isn’t what I signed up for,’”
Democrats used to say the same about so-called moderate Republicans. Then the Electoral College (not Democracy) gave us Trump. And then some Democrats sobered up and decided to push back. Notice, please, that I did not say "fight back" - that is not the Democratic way. (see Jerry Nadler for example)
4
Much of the blame for the current state of affairs in Ohio rests with gerrymandering, which leads to supermajorities and lack of need to compromise. The other major factor in Ohio is the chasm in values between rural, white, largely evangelical voters and much more diverse urban/suburban voters. The former are extremists who advocate imposing their religious “values” on the rest of us, legislating concealed carry with no training or registration requirements, destroying public education in favor of religious schools and charter schools, denying climate change and the need for environmental standards, and draconian forced pregnancy and anti-contraception laws. However, urban/suburban voters value civil rights for all, a livable environment, public education, infrastructure, science, the separation of church and state, public safety, constitutional gun regulation, and constitutionally protected right to abortion and contraception. There is thus little room for compromise, especially with those who dangerously believe god is on their side.
13
@J.
Ohio is, unfortunately, not a right-to-work state and yet it is, far more unfortunately, much more pro-Trump than Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania.
The picture seems in Ohio seem to be defined by other factors besides urban vs. rural, and your experience of freedom-loving "urban/suburban voters" is not similar to mine.
@J.
Hard not to notice that the most intransigent progressive ideologues always blame someone or something else.
@AACNY
Here comes the republican attacking progressives who fight back. You don’t like it do you? You are used to democrats who roll over.
This poster above probably isn’t even progressive but you had to get your claws in.
3
Perhaps the people should be "allowed" to directly vote on laws - instead of being forced to delegate this power to self-serving lawyers, real estate and insurance agents cynically posing as public servants?
8
Along this line of thought, we could adopt “Sortition,” the random selection of citizens to serve in Congress for a predetermined length of time. Of course, not everyone will be willing to do this, and some simply may not be able to, but we would end up with a more realistic form of representative government.
1
I live in Minnesota. I voted for Democrat candidates. Yet, I’m glad Democrats don’t have free reign. It’s important to compromise. It’s important to have a culture of compromise.
6
@BWCA Compromise only works if both sides have valid points.
I can't think of a single republican issue or position that I can agree with. I just think they are wrong on everything from tax policy to the environment, from health care to budget appropriations, from education to ......., well, you get my point!
1
The United States could function better as four countries given the very different views held by region. The northeast part of the United States is very different from the deep south. So those two regions function very differently and their views are not shared by the same president (i.e., Obama was perfect for the northeast, and Trump is ideal to represent the deep south). Similarly, the middle of the country is very different from the northeast and the west coast. Then we have places like Texas and others around the border with Mexico that are very different from the rest of the country. At present time, nothing gets accomplished in Washington. This is not good for any of the different regions. Separate countries with similar politics and views would work best. It would also be best for the rest of the planet in terms of foreign interventions and anti-environmental policies only supported by the few in a country with about 360 million people.
5
Most Americans —northeast, South, west, Midwest—are struggling with the high cost of health care and high interest student loans. Most Americans want and need Medicare for All and free community college education and vocational training.
10
Separate countries would not work as well. There would be less diversity and unlike interests, which would seem to make cooperation easier. But let’s be honest, the more alike people are the more conflicts over smaller differences. People are contentious by nature.
What would be lost is the amazingly productive synergy which results from our diversity.
@Hoping For Better Stop lumping people together by geography. You sound like a first grader in the way you view differences - just draw some lines, create a couple of large nation states, and everything falls into place? Surely you folks in the NE know about nuance?
Political Donors either have material interests or ideal interests. Those with ideal interests prefer symbolic statements and losing elections to compromise. They won't support rural Democrats who support gun rights or have other views appropriate to being competitive in the rural areas, and Republican donors won't allow urban and suburban Republicans to make the compromises that would make them viable. A reliance upon voluntary political contributions (aided by a media that has become dependent upon soap-opera passions as "news") has led to fanaticism as a mandatory behavior among politicians.
A structural dependence upon voluntary contributions from the fanatical and the corrupt could be altered by legally making sure that public campaign support is at least triple private money in the system.
1
Everyone's outlook is so bleak. Stay positive, people!
1
What it actually shows, is that the Federal Government for far to long has been taking power from states and violating the 10 Amendment. The states are finally waking up to their powers secured in the constitution. Yes, if you don't like what's happening in one state, by all means, move to one that suits you. The states are finally moving ahead in taking matters into their own hands, which they should have been doing all along. The Federal government via the constitution, only has 4 powers. Defense of the nation, trade and treaties, provide a common currency, and the U.S. Post Office. That's it. That's all they should have. The rest is left to the individual states to decide. It may be a hostile environment now, but things will settle down as states get to business of their individual state instead of being a drug addict relying on the pusher, whom is the Federal Government. We also may suffer another growing pain, meaning Civil War, to re-establish what is our constitution. Yes, we are divided as we were during the Civil War. But, this fight is over the constitution and the heart and soul of the nation. We will not succumb to socialism and all the evil it brings. It is simply not in our DNA. We the People have the Declaration of Independence and Constitution coursing through our veins and arteries.
6
I doubt if most Americans understand what you are talking about. Bread and butter issues concern Americans
@Big Tex
The reign of Obama's big government rule was brought to an abrupt end with Trump's election. Many of his critics don't realize his election was a direct repudiation of Obama.
1
What an ironic screed considering red states are net recipients of federal aid and blue states are net contributors. It gets worse: rural areas are net recipients, and cities are net contributors.
Are red states prepared to jettison their begging bowls and stop taking “socialism” from their urban and coastal liberal benefactors? Are red states going to end welfare programs, including food stamps, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, because .... “socialism”?
Sociopolitical polarization, rise rise of alt-right politicians, potential dictators, & post-truth era are all connected & directly linked with religious fundamentalism which in turn is connected with racism.
If any society like to minimize political polarization then it has to minimize the role of religion, preferably no religion at all, while raising our children & in education system. No home schooling or religious private schools.
We now know that childhood religious allegiance affect the same part of our brain (front lobe) that's affected by drugs (https://is.gd/Y3Uci1). It impair our sense of reality, truth, ability to think logically, besides enabling to see/listen/experience things which is not there at all. Worse, both religious & political allegiance is known to be hereditary.
Many/most politicians & businessmen around the world do exploit it. That's one of the reasons why we must separate religion from public policy, as our founding fathers wanted. In fact, it's now proved that religion itself need royal or government patronization to spread or even to survive. In a free thinking open society, religion would die its natural death (https://is.gd/cmsCpy ).
But we are making things worse by increasingly infusing religion in Govt (mainly for electoral success) in most secular democracies around the world including in the US (mainly since Reagan era) for which a person like Trump could become an American President.
9
Why don't the Republicans of Illinois just move to Alabama and Alabama Democrats move to a blue state (their lives would be so much better). If possible, we should break apart into two different nations: one Democrat and one Republican. This way the gun and anti-abortion fanatics would have their own country to create a theocracy. Of course. the Democrat nation would be cleaner, safer, richer, and more intelligent, rational, and enlightened.
11
Really? Guess you haven’t been to San Francisco lately!!
@Andrew
And broke.
@Andrew
That didn't work out well for the displaced Muslims and Hindus during India's Partition. Democrats and Republicans have lived together, often in the same household, for more than 150 years. We can and should continue to do so and tamp down propaganda which is destroying our society.
2
To the extent that democrats can revert to an image of a white, straight male face --but without offending its nonwhite and female base--, the country will right itself. Much of the republican lunacy stems from white backlash against the perception that the Democratic Party is in the pocket of black people, the feminists, the transgendered, the disabled, the homosexuals. It reminds me of a book I read years ago about a white Northerner visiting the South years ago and coming away believing that white Southerners were the kindest most reasonable folks until race was mentioned. Then all bets were off and the insane rantings started. I think the same is true today. As much as I hate to say it, the election of Barack Obama was the cause of much of this because the people couldn't handle seeing a black man in that position.
People are tribal. White people do not want to share power with nonwhite people. Here, in Europe, in Australia, it's the same process. In Detroit, in Atlanta, in Washington, in Jackson, when black people came to political power, whites couldn't quit those cities fast enough. White people will share money and even resources with nonwhite people, but they will not share power.
5
Not really- there are record numbers of blacks & other minorities in government positions today
It may be time for more parties. If neither Dems or Republicans have super majorities then maybe they’d have to compromise and step back from the more radical aspects of their agendas like either banning abortion completely for any reason or allowing abortion up to the time of labor. Both are ridiculous and each party seems to be trying to ‘out crazy’ the other.
3
At this point the party stances are: democrats want to help people and republicans want people to suffer and die. American politics have been reduced to a basic question of good versus evil. The real problem would be if there weren't any polarization.
6
@Natalie
Is this a middle school class election?
So many true words spoken here in this forum. Certainly, there are issues the American people represented by our Senators and Reps can agree upon. Or will it take another 1000 year flood to educate? Maybe a national debate on those forbidden two words, "climate and change?"
https://www.edf.org/blog/2016/09/01/we-just-had-five-1000-year-floods-less-year-whats-going
1
330 million people live in the US
Only 63 million people voted for Trump , "The Apprentice".
We can do this!
6
@s.whether
And only 66 million voted for Hillary.
Both candiates got about 40% of registered voters, and less than 30% of elligible voters. More people did not vote than supported either candidate.
Talk about appealing more to the ends of the politcal spectrum.
Ah yes, 2010. Many people will look back at that year as one of the most critical in American politics. It was the year that Democrats didn't show up for crucial midterm elections, shirking their civic responsibility. When Republicans took over state legislatures in 2011. the vast majority of the gerrymandering and voter suppression initiatives were launched.
Learn the lesson of 2010. We must now fix what can still be fixed. VOTE! (Even in local elections.)
6
@chandlerny
I draw a different conclusion on 2010. Many Democratic voters stayed home because President Obama and the Democratic-majority Congress did not give them enough reason to vote that year. In the 21.5 months from President Obama's inauguration in January 2009 until Election Day in 2010, the unemployment rate went up by 2 full percentage points as the President and Congress settled on a clearly inadequate stimulus and tailored its economic toolbox to benefit big banks and other wealthy interests over the less fortunate (for instance, by not enacting meaningful mortgage relief and by keeping the "jobs bill" in their back pocket until 2011, after the Democrats lost the House). In addition, the President and Congress settled on health care reform that didn't go nearly far enough and on Wall Street reform that didn't do nearly enough to deter future misbehavior by the financial sector or to hold it accountable for its role in the 2008 crash.
Bottom line: the President and Congress spent most of 2009 and 2010 selling out those who trusted them, and needed them, the most. Given that, why would Democratic voters have shown up in 2010?
@Rick
The most simplistic answer to that is to prevent the Republican from being elected.
The more complex answer is that it is likely that the Democratic state assembly candidate likely had the same views that you held on those issues, and you probably would have preferred that candidate in the assembly instead of the Republican who held opposing views.
The more overarching answer is that democracies only work when eligible voters vote. It is unfortunately apparent nine years later that the strategy of not voting clearly did not work in 2010.
1
@chandlerny
Parties and candidates have to earn their constituents' votes. The Democrats from 2009-10 clearly didn't do that; indeed, their governed during that period as though they WANTED to drive their base away, which (to a large extent) they did.
Ralph Nader said "there's not a dime's worth of difference" between democrats and republicans. Then we got George W. and Cheney, so maybe there's a difference when it comes to unleashing the dogs of war.
But the 1% keep control by spreading their wealth to candidates who work for the fossil fuel industry and the military/industrial complex, whether democrat or republican. So Nader was mostly correct. It's a shame that we can't wean ourselves off polluting industries and military hardware and start making less harmful stuff.
Today there is a groundswell of democrats who are anti-war, pro-environment and favor the common people over the 1%. They look to some countries who are further along this path to show the way. It requires fair taxation of individuals and corporations. But most of all it demands that the privileged respect human rights.
5
Nader was not correct. There's a world of difference between the parties. Just imagine if Al Gore had won in 2000. We would not have gone to war in Iraq, or given a tax break to the rich, or squander eight years doing nothing about heat-trapping gas polluting the atmosphere. Our country and the whole world would have been much better off. Naders rhetoric was poison.
2
There are two incompatible visions for our nation, that of the Founders and that of the Progressives. In nearly every principle and concept, the two are in conflict. The source of our rights, the nature of our Constitution, the regulation and control of our citizens, the limits of government power, our national sovereignty, the clash of the individual with group identities, freedom versus control, large versus small government, the role of morality, the definition of borders.
There have always been pockets of minority beliefs, but this is a case of half against half. It's as fundamental, and dangerous, as when slave versus free tore the nation, and just as irreconcilable. Now as then the conflict has devolved into mutual hatred, inflamed by the legacy media and social media.
There is no compromise between mutually exclusive ideologies. As Lincoln said, "we must become one thing or the other".
The individual states are segregating themselves by ideology. If one or the other ideology ever dominates the federal government and tries to suppress the other half of the country, America is finished.
7
@geezer117
...or suffer another growing pain like the Civil War whereby, all that is in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution is restored.
1
Not all democrats are progressives. And many of the founders ideas were progressive. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
One of the topics was Agrarian Justice by Thomas Paine.
“To create a National Fund, out of which there shall be paid to every person, when arrived at the age of twentyone years, the sum of fifteen pounds sterling, as a compensation in part, for the loss of his or her natural inheritance, by the introduction of the system of landed property:
And also, the sum of ten pounds per annum, during life, to every person now living, of the age of fifty years, and to all others as they shall arrive at that age.”
What a radical progressive idea this founder was discussing!
1
@geezer117
Give it time. The left's power is diminishing. Democratic voters are sick of identity politics. They are also not all that enamored of democrats' actions on immigration.
2
The article is about State House political makeup, Dems/Reps, but I feel this problem with Blue verses Red has been of the media's making, not necessarily intentional, but by continuing to show maps of States as Red or Blue is causing the feeling of divide nation. All States are Purple a blend of democrats, republicans, independents and others. The media would benefit all of us Americans by displaying the percentages of every group every time. They should also do the same for State Houses and the Federal level.
This country is not Red or Blue but Purple. We are are diverse in our opinions but not in our belief that all of us want to pursuit life, liberty and happiness for ourselves and the others we share this great country with.
So, media, please make it a policy to always show States, State Houses and the Federal Senate and House as Purple in print.
4
@George
The media plays a huge role in the division as it almost always acts as the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party and rarely presents a balanced view of an issue. Frustration results.
4
@EGD
CNN and MSNBC are basically in the business of producing highly partisan infomercials.
1
@EGD
And Fox being the exclusive state/trump channel.
It has been duly noted that WW2 veterans were made to wait, while Trump gave another exclusive interview to Fox on the 75 th anniversary of D Day no less.
This is simply disgraceful.
2020 can’t be here soon enough.
2
It may be time for additional political parties. In the past, the two parties were much larger tents. The Democratic party leaned liberal, but also included the conservative racist faction from the south; the Republicans leaned conservative, but included social liberals from the north and west. Then, as now, there was much cynicism about politicians and the deals they made with each other, but those deals were the price of working with multiple factions within just two parties. Party discipline, especially in the Republican party, has now become too rigid. Ultra-conservative donors have taken over and applied state-of-the-art management practices to the Republican party, aided by Fox News, Sinclair Broadcasting and other media. The Democratic party is nowhere near as disciplined and well-organized, but is being pushed in that direction just to survive. After all, many of those states with Republican legislatures actually have a majority of Democratic voters, but through gerrymandering, voter suppression and other techniques, have managed to keep conservative Republicans in power. If party discipline was diluted by competition with other parties, if elections were fair and honest, ideologues might be forced to compromise, and might also be reminded that good politicians represents all people, not just a particular faction.
5
I'm hoping that women all over the country rise up against the GOP and its overreach on womens' health issues by voting blue in record numbers next year.
Republicans are being exposed for what they truly are.
It could make the Blue Wave of 2018 look like a trickle.
3
@Bill C They won't, the women who vote in GOP states are weak and do whatever their man says. #sad
2
@Steve
This is a disgusting and sexist attack on women. Sadly, this is what passes for progressive "enlightenment" today.
1
@Steve
I think you sell southern women far too short. There are many who may not confront issues head on in debate with ‘their man’. And there are those who truly believe the GOP party line. But all vote on a private ballot where they keep their own counsel. We shall see. Elections are coming.
1
Minnesota has a long history of bipartisan compromise and functional government.
If you want to see what effective state & municipal government looks like, come visit the Twin Cities. You will find a healthy city with affordable housing, effective public education, and accessible public transit.
It is the exact opposite of NYC’s pay-to-play system of bribes, favors, and oneupmanship. The NYtimes would benefit us all (and it’s hometown city) by digging a little deeper into what the MN legislature has done, including Walz, to continue this tradition of bipartisan governance rather than continuing to stoke red state vs. blue state antipathies and reporting on extreme positions regarding social issues.
4
I wish articles like this substituted "Center" for "Left" to more accurately reflect international norms. The USA is a huge outlier amongst industrialized nations, and the Democrats would be considered Center Right or conservative in most European or Far East nations, given the degree to which their powerful establishment wing has been captured by corporate interests.
The Republicans at both state and federal level appear to have no international point of reference, except for perhaps the Middle East mullahs for a similar fundamentalist and patriarchal social agenda, and former Soviet satellites where autocrats have attacked democratic and media institutions.
4
There is a phrase in the US that is outdated. It was scratch an independent and you’ll find a republican.
Things have changed and in general people are more socially liberal. So we have this cross current of conservatives who vote republicans for businesses, selfishness, greed, keeping their property rights as more important than individual liberal rights.
What many people didn’t see coming because we live in blue or red states now is the retaliation from the religious right and the white supremacy movement gaining massive momentum under Trump. There is a played up sense of white victimhood and that they are the ones being discriminated against. This also plays into the religious martyr complex.
So you are right. They are basically the American versions of fascists theocracy but highly perverted.
2
@Mathias
So property rights are not a fundamental individual right? That helps explain the current fascination with socialism.
The divisiveness you describe is very real. It extends well beyond statehouses, and very much afflicts daily discourse and conversation. Both Republicans and Democrats are at fault; all too often, members of either political persuasion are unwilling to have a non-confrontational conversation with someone from the other side of the political spectrum.
My own feeling is that liberals are, in general, more to blame than conservatives for this sorry state of affairs. But I freely admit I'm biased.
The previous observation not withstanding, the number one offender is likely our President. Personally, I approve of at least some of his policies, but there's no question, he does not encourage mutual tolerance and respect.
But there's no question in my mind: the liberal media, and the NY Times in particular, very much contribute to this sorry state. The Times' editorials and many of the paper's op-ed pieces are too often vitriolic, and gratuitous in their disparagement of all things Republican or conservative.
It's long past time for all of us to try and get along, and remember the word "compromise." We can accomplish so much more, and maybe even enjoy doing so.
End of sermon....
5
@Alex Hmmmm liberals to blame? The GOP has just blew up the deficit, gave tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations, created a border crises only when they lost the House, they seek to take away the rights of all sorts of people, they don't believe in climate change, science or education and they are looking to start another war...but it's the other guys fault. How is carrier conditioner doing? Harley Davidson? Wake up!!!!
11
@Alex
Do you remember Obama calling republicans enemies of the state and directly attacking republicans with vitriol? You hit someone in the face and complain they want to defend themselves?
You also conveniently left out right wing hate radio, Fox News and cable news. If you are unable call out the people hitting myself and liberalism in the face then all you really want is for people to turn the other cheek.
It’s time democrats punch back. Republicans attack 24/7. If democrats don’t punch back remove them and replace them with ones that will. I’ve had enough of republican fascism for a lifetime.
3
Fact - the Obama Administration added $10 Trillion to the national debt, more than every administration totaled up since the beginning of the country. Today, the federal gov’t is taking in more tax money than ever yet still the imbalance persists. The USA had a spending problem.
This is what you get with gerrymandering. By all but guaranteeing the primary winner will win the general election, gerrymandering forces candidates to the extremes, both right and left.
Before gerrymandering, the conventional Republican wisdom, as Nixon noted, was to run to the right in the primary, but run to the center in the general election. With gerrymandering, there is no need to run anywhere for the general election. The winner of the primary will win the general election. Ditto for Dems. Run to the left in the primary and stay there for the general election.
With the conservatives on the Supreme Court poised to gut state anti-gerrymandering laws, the problem will only get worse. The graduates of the Federalist Society will create a second war between the states, all in the name of ideological purity.
Is the Constitution a political suicide pact? Evidently, yes.
@Garak
Obviously they don’t care about the constitution. Much like the Bible they interpret it the way it suits them but ignore it when it doesn’t benefit them.
Much like caring about the legality of immigrants but supporting Trump. Obviously legality isn’t really what they care about.
Republicans have gone stark, raving nuts. The politicians in that party are solely responsible for creating the divisions in this country. No one in their right mind would be against sensible gun laws, taking care of our land, water and air, devoting money to educating our young, aiding the poor and elderly, protecting the rights of women, minorities, immigrants, etc.
No matter, the demographics of this country are rapidly changing, and what we're seeing here is the last gasp of a tired, desperate, but ultimately irrelevant party.
8
How can the "weaker" party have won millions more votes? It is a shrinking minority that supports GOP policies. They know it and are doing everything except use democracy or legal methods to hang on to power.
4
@Justice
The irony is they would have been fine if they simply had accepted Latinos and immigrants into their party. Their xenophobia is why they are shrinking and dangerous.
It seems that Democratic legislatures cover humane legislation: affordable healthcare, protection of women’s choices, and same sex marriage, for instance. Republican Legislatures seem to go the opposite direction, as in Alabama. The Democrats are promoting, Republicans are destroying human rights.
6
Partisanship and compromise have given way to Tribalism and war. We are experiencing electoral whiplash on both sides. At the federal level, it happened in 1992-93 with Clinton, 2009-10 with Obama, then 2017-18 with Trump. A useful blog post on this phenomenon: ourimperfectunion.blogspot.com.
The politics of "resentment" have become the determining power behind our current electoral system. It is easy and much quicker to motivate many voters using fear, hate, and anger. Compassion and reason often fall by the wayside when these "hot" buttons are pushed. "Resentment politics" determine the winning vote in red states. Any "us against them" issue can result in a voting block that will stick with a candidate regardless of that candidates fitness or total lack of fitness for office.
Power/money have an overwhelming ability to corrupt. Those that want to gain or retain power often will go to any lengths toward this pursuit. This is how we have elected leaders like Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. They both know how easy it is to manipulate their target voters. Simply push any one of the "hot buttons" and they have a lifetime follower. That button could be abortion, gun control, racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. The list is long. I know. I have lived my life in a deep red state.
This trend is not new. It elected Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. Unfortunately, success insures that further "resentment politics" are ahead of us.
281
@Big Mike
Obama used identity politics as a campaign strategy to win re-election. It was no coincidence that his "Dear Colleague" letter was issued the same day he announced his re-election bid.
It's democrats who have divided the country with their divisive identity politics. Even Democratic voters are sick of it; hence, Biden's appeal.
4
@Big Mike The same desire for power and money also motivate the Democrats. Reed, Clinton, Biden,Pelosi and others who have benefited from their positions of power. Power is a obsession that knows no party affiliation. That is why the governments power needs to be restricted not a position of the Democrats.
3
@Big Mike well said, and my heart goes out to you living in that deep red state!
17
Minnesota and its voters should be applauded for attempting to continue a system of checks and balances at the state level. That this year's legislative session was messy and reached stalemates more often than compromise is a reflection of the extreme right agenda of the Republican party.
As Gov. Walz indicated, the policies of Mississippi and Alabama do not match voters' intents in a state highly ranked for measures of quality of life and economic stability. The Republican party's obstruction in Minnesota managed to keep the contribution of the state to education funding lower than the challenges require, especially in closing the achievement gap between people of color and the majority white population.
There are legitimate conflicts of values and philosophy among voters which need airing and representation and laws which should permit the maximum, not the minimum number of voters to live under their beliefs.
As this article clearly points out, the extreme agenda of the Republicans in the red states in restricting reproductive freedom for women, suppressing voting rights for all except them and rubber stamping the national party's incoherent and cruel immigration policies only serves to make the agenda of their opponents more urgent in the states they control. Compromise and center is lost.
Elect Democratic Women.
19
“Minnesota is showing the rest of the nation that Republicans and Democrats can still find compromise and work together to get things done,” citing spending increases for public education and efforts to fight opioid addiction.”
Thank goodness for MN! I must be an anomaly because believing in finding a compromise & being willing to work together to get things done is what was drummed into me my entire life. No single party should be in absolute control of any one state for it proves to be a colossal waste of time & MONEY. What one party votes into the law the next party will undo when it’s their turn. It’s a revolving door of rancor, hate & reckless governing.
Revenge seems to be a primary fuel used to garner such intense heat and disdain. Somewhere along the way, so many have stopped being Americans first. The notion that one party has all the answers and is right about everything, all the time, is a nice idea but in reality, no one ever gets everything they want – all the time. Effective governing cannot continue in this mindset.
I am never completely satisfied with decisions made by either party all of the time. I do believe BOTH parties have much to offer. They just can’t seem to get out of their own way.
This has to stop NOW. But how does one compromise on abortion, gun legislation, climate issues, and immigration issues? Perhaps more open dialogue and honest conversations need to occur. At least it’s a start instead of slamming doors in peoples’ faces.
6
What you are asking for won’t happen until “good sportsmanship” is reintroduced into the mix. I believe Newt Gingrich introduced the “trash talk” and”in your face” aspects we are seeing now. It will be nearly impossible to go back until politicians learn to leave their egos at the door.
5
@Jonathan
Oh gosh, you are absolutely correct. Rude, disrespectful, and "trash talk" being accepted, tolerated and displayed like some kind of badge of honor is a HUGE reason why so much discord has been permitted.
Perhaps the genie can't go back into that bottle. If so, smash that bottle and come up with something else.
Leaving egos at the door should always be a no-brainer. Their job, their focus, their passion should be about their constituents - not themselves - regardless of the party. Should that be paramount?
Thanks very much for your important view point.
1
@Marge Keller
Remove republicans period. We can not tolerate religious fascism coupled with xenophobia. The republicans desire to demonize anyone not white is a major threat to our society. It has to end. You don’t compromise with such people you defeat them or they destroy you. That is quite obvious with Trump and McConnell.
Democrats must realize they are directly aiming at liberalism as their target and us. I have no doubt they would jail us and any deserters if they could. They are already doing it with immigrants fleeing violence. Why would they stop there.
1
Fascinating to look at a map 30 years from now where conservative Republican states are mired in the unhealthy and the dead, weighted down by debt, receiving minimal federal aid (despite their massive needs) and employing people in dangerous or menial jobs . . . While Democratic states thrive but have to deal with over-population from the mass exodus coming their way from AL, MS, KY, TN, SC, GA, etc. - A mostly southern exodus increased by the dire heat and humidity of global warming.
20
The ultimate in “States rights”. Okay by me if Alabama wants to be Alabama, but let’s also “states rights” the federal budget, shrinking it to minimal functions (military and perhaps social security) and return most of the taxing power to each state. You want it to look a certain way, great, but you pay for it.
3
All is not sweetness & light here in Oregon. Landlords & other rentiers are well represented in state Democratic policies written into law. Many poor Oregonians are paying 50% of income in rent & the current cap at 10% annual increase doesn't cut it. A 10% raise in rent for these people could mean being turned out into the streets.
The even worse news is that Republicans would compound these problems exponentially. Their solution is to turn the state into another Texas, upending our hallowed environmental paradise with unrestricted access & practice for business & industry. And BTW many "conservatives" in Oregon are contemplating moving to that state out of outrage over liberal policy. Bon voyage.
9
@Apple Jack
Texas is nothing like Oregon. Hope they enjoy the weather.
1
High rents reflect high housing demand. Build more housing.
We are in the midst of the equivalent of a Second Civil War that roughly follows the lines of the Old Confederacy where the major issue is still slavery. This time it is the sexual enslavement of women through draconian anti-abortion legislation. We have the equivalent of Jefferson Davis in The White House with the looming threat aided and abetted by a Republican Senate under the control of border-state Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of the very "nullification" (via packing the Supreme Court) of our Constitutional democracy. Only the House and the voters who are now all enfranchised (except for repressive Republican Jim Crow-like efforts to suppress the vote) stand in the way of a Trump autocracy. And with the Democrats in a state of political paralysis about defending the Constitution and beginning an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, we are on the very cusp bringing to life the fictional Gilead of the "Handmaid's Tale."
4
When some blue states want to secede, who will howl the loudest? Fox news and red state Republicans. Why? They know who pays the highest taxes for their bulk of their services. Let's start making some noise about leaving and see what happens.
12
@CarolSon
It is estimated that 40% of illegal immigrants reside in Calfornia. Few will shed a tear.
1
California is thriving.
@AACNY California is the world's 5th or 6th largest economy. You need them more than they need you.
“With Most States Under One Party’s Control, America Grows More Divided”
More accurate headline that reflects the content here: “With Most States Under One Party’s Control, America’s STATE LEGISLATORS GROW more divided.”
I’m willing to bet that the average constituent of any state legislator doesn’t know what bills their legislator supports or not—it requires constant tracking. Some, but few constits do that. (Right now, for example, included on the NYS legislators’ table is the CCPA- Climate and Community Protection Act.)
I bet I could walk my block and find maybe just one or two people who are following the CCPA progress or lack of, as the legislative “year” draws to a close.
This swooping headline alone suggests that all American state constituents are informed and actively polarizing against each other.
Not accurate. We need precision in our press, now more than ever.
I suggest the journalist walk the streets and roads across the country and find out what the average person knows about their state legislators’ sponsoring and or blocking of bills.
That would be a useful next step to follow up on this article; if we’re trying to assess the level of division in our country. And...maybe it would encourage people to be more informed.
4
This is what happens when you nationalize politics to this degree. Collaboration happened in the past when representatives were still largely concerned with their actual constituents. That's why you had so many Republicans with Democrat-looking policy leanings and vice versa. Now we're seeing people cleaving to national issues rather than local ones.
This is entirely the media's fault.
3
Hard to believe that America could be more divided with most of our states under one party control. The last time our democracy was so terribly divided was when the Southern States rebelled and the Confederate States of America (CSA) fought the Union and lost the Civil War from 1861-65. Will our republic be still more divided as we head into the 2020 Elections with an unfit president at our helm?
5
Break the gerrymander and there will be only 4-5 red states left. Then the US moves on to fulfill it's potential and people will finally enjoy their rights and liberties.
12
We have a divide in the United States. It is fueled by lies and ginning up xenophobic hate by one political faction for short term electoral advantage. They do it because their party agenda is not something that even their own voters actually want, and they cannot win elections without pushing fear and hate. Fear the foreign, hate the "other" and never mind the hand tightening around your own throat as they choke you with pollution, empty your pockets, and steal the future from our children
17