Why We're Polarized

A filibuster allows a minority in the Senate to block passage of a bill. Although the famous filibusters involve endless talking, the filibuster is more common and potent when simply threatened. The majority then declines to bring the bill for a vote. It takes 60 votes to end a filibuster, using a process called cloture. Since it is rare for one party to have 60 seats, the filibuster is a potent tool for the minority party to derail the majority party’s agenda. Klein notes the increasing use of filibusters in polarized times and their antidemocratic nature.

Gerrymandering occurs when the geographical boundaries of legislative districts are drawn with the intention of influencing the outcome of an election. Most House districts are drawn so as not to be competitive. This provides lawmakers with an incentive not to compromise with the other party because lawmakers who do so may face a primary challenger within their own party. At the state level, Republicans have been successful at gerrymandering districts to ensure legislative dominance without winning the statewide popular vote. Klein notes this behavior as evidence of the Republican turn away from democracy.

Identity-protective cognition refers to a psychological tendency for individuals to “subconsciously resist factual information that threatens their defining values” (96). With partisan identity so strong and standing in for other important identities, individuals are not willing to engage in deliberation with the other party or consider their arguments. For this reason, Klein argues that Partisan Identity Threatens Democracy.

Partisan identity refers to the feeling of belonging one has to a particular political party, such as the Republican Party or Democratic Party. Klein maintains that partisan identity has strengthened and “merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities” (xxii). Increasingly, these identities or feelings matter much more than policy or ideology in voters’ choices, which Klein identifies as an antidemocratic tendency.

Polarization occurs when the opinions of the public change to cluster around two poles, with no one left in the middle. Noting that split-ticket voting and identifying as independent (rather than choosing a party affiliation) were more common as recently as the 1950s, Klein argues that polarization is increasing and that the consequences of such polarization in the US system of governance present a looming crisis.

Political journalism is a “business that serves people interested in political news and that tries to create more people interested in political news” (145). However, due to a business model that depends on advertising revenue—and thus ratings—political media is incentivized to increase polarization in the public. To create interest, they are more likely to focus on outrageous and conflict-oriented politicians, rather than detailing policy differences. Klein indicts this business model as a contributor to polarization.

A system of proportional representation awards legislative seats in accordance with the percentage of the popular vote won by each political party. Klein advocates this system as a reform for House elections, which take place in single-member, geographic districts. He argues that proportional representation would eliminate the problem of gerrymandering and encourage the parties to expand and attract more moderate voters.

Sorting occurs when people gravitate to the party that reflects their views. Notably, sorting does not entail changes in opinion, but rather the parties becoming more ideologically homogeneous. Those who are undecided remain so. Klein identifies the exodus of Dixiecrats from the Democratic Party during the civil rights era as the point at which the Democratic and Republican Parties began this process in the United States.