Sunday, January 29, 2012

America is Not Becoming More Polarized

Pollsters have been asking Americans a standard set of political questions since 1970, and the latest study of this data shows that America is not becoming more polarized. People are spread across the political spectrum in about the way they always have been, with a lot of us in the middle.

On the other hand, Americans think the country is becoming more polarized. But just ordinary folks; political professionals and Congressmen correctly believe that we are about as polarized as always.

Why might people think the country is more polarized? Well, the political parties are becoming more polarized, with the demise of conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans. So it is harder to put together a bipartisan coalition. And the news media have also grown more polarized, at least on cable tv and the internet.

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