Essay On Political Polarization

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Americans today will have no trouble recognizing the seemingly unmatched levels of political polarization present in the United States today; however, if asked, Americans would have a variety of different answers or explanations as to why they believe the political system has become so polarized. There are those who would take up the most direct explanation, the voters elect the representatives, and can choose whether to subscribe to particular agendas, issues, or rhetoric, so they are largely responsible for the state of political discourse. One might also point out the high degree of agency representatives and political elites are given, with their rhetoric being defended by a given side despite often being inflammatory or divisive. Others …show more content…

There are those that will take issue with this condemnation of the news media’s actions covering politics, and argue that while they certainly play a role in the debate, it is the electorate that chooses to watch and believe the images that are illustrated by the media. One might cite that the politicians and party platforms have not changed over the past few decades so it is up to the voter to come to that conclusion for themselves and might cite Abramowitz: “The large increase in partisan polarization on relative thermometer ratings of the presidential candidates between 1984 and 2012 is especially impressive given that the choices presented to the voters by the two major parties appeared to be no more polarized in 2012 than in 1984. It would be difficult to find evidence that Barack Obama was a more liberal Democratic candidate than Walter Mondale, who had a consistently liberal voting record during his years in the U.S. Senate, or that Mitt Romney was a more conservative Republican candidate than Ronald Reagan, who was widely regarded as

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