ABSTRACT
In the preceding chapter, we presented a good deal of data to substantiate a simple point: Republicans and Democrats are different. They tend to have different opinions on the leading issues of the day, different ideological moorings, and different voting patterns. These points of difference are not trivial; indeed, they represent a fundamental divide in American political life that both motivates and orients a great deal of political behavior. Furthermore, these partisan differences have become somewhat better defined and more widely recognized in recent years (since the late 1980s). The last three presidential elections have been close and contentious, not because voters didn’t understand or care about the choices they were presented with; on the contrary, they understood what the candidates stood for quite well. As a nation, we simply find ourselves importantly divided over the policies and values we would like to see our political leaders espouse in campaigns and implement in office.
