- Click here for the article.
Prior to detailing the focus of their study, they offer a list of factors that are commonly attributed to have lead to partisan polarization. Here's what they have to say (I've edited the format for emphasis):
Americans today are represented by political figures who struggle to cooperate across party lines at an unprecedented rate, resulting in high profile fiscal and policy battles, government shutdowns, and an inability to resolve problems or enact legislation that guides the nation’s domestic and foreign policy.
Partisanship has been attributed to a number of causes, including
1 - the stratifying wealth distribution of Americans
2 - boundary redistricting
3 - activist activity at primary elections
4 - changes in Congressional procedural rules
5 - political realignment in the American South
6 - the shift from electing moderate members to electing partisan members
7 - movement by existing members towards ideological poles
8 - and an increasing political, pervasive media
The authors investigate whether the party affiliation of legislators make a difference as well, They find that it does, and is diminishing the ability of members of Congress to cooperate:
We find that despite short-term fluctuations, partisanship or non-cooperation in the U.S. Congress has been increasing exponentially for over 60 years with no sign of abating or reversing. Yet, a group of representatives continue to cooperate across party lines despite growing partisanship.
They make an observation I think is worth sharing:
This increase in non-cooperation leads to an interesting electoral paradox. While U.S. voters have been selecting increasingly partisan representatives for 40 years, public opinion of the U.S. Congress has been steadily declining. This decline suggests that voters cast their ballots on a local basis for increasingly partisan representatives whom they view as best representing their increasingly partisan concerns, leaving few if any moderate legislators to connect parties for a more cohesive Congress. Elected representatives are increasingly unable to cooperate at a national Congressional level but are re-elected at least 90% of the time, reflecting an evasion of collective responsibility. Voters might believe that highly partisan candidates will ‘tip the scale’ in one party’s favor. However, based on correlations shown here, a partisan candidate may lack cooperation needed to pass legislation. More moderate legislators may have a competitive advantage in negotiating for their party’s legislation.
Perhaps the tendency of people to support ideologically driven partisans is minimizing the ability to Congress to function.
