Political Parties in the Twenty-First Century

Polarization, especially in the form of partisan polarization, has been the dominant theme of American politics over the last twenty years. It has been written about in numerous books and articles, and talked about extensively by politicians, media pundits, and ordinary citizens. Our most recent presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, made frequent statements deploring the state of partisan relations, both as candidates and while in office. In the judgment of most scholars, Bush never fulfilled his promise to be a “uniter, not a divider,” and Obama’s early efforts at bipartisan policymaking were not particularly successful. ¹ In his first major legislative test, his economic stimulus proposal, Obama managed to get all of three Republican votes in the Senate and none in the House of Representatives. ²