The polarization in Congress that contributes to its dysfunction has spread in recent years to the voting public, says political science Thomas Rudolph, but it’s more about simply disliking political opponents than differences over ideology. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer
Republicans and Democrats "simply do not like each other to an unprecedented degree." That was one striking conclusion of Illinois political science professor Thomas Rudolph and co-author Marc Hetherington in their 2015 book "Why Washington Won't Work." Animosity like that on display in the current campaign has grown dramatically in recent years, say the authors - even while Americans' views on the issues remain relatively moderate overall. So it's about feelings much more than ideology: The opposing candidate is not just wrong, but often "cannot be trusted." Rudolph spoke with News Bureau social sciences editor Craig Chamberlain about what it means. You seem to be suggesting that the polarization in Congress has spread to the population and gotten personal. Is that the case? And, if so, what makes it so significant? The U.S. Congress is highly polarized along partisan lines and has been for several decades. Although most scholars agree that polarization exists among elites, there has been a contentious debate among political scientists about whether the mass public is similarly polarized in its policy preferences. However, there is a growing consensus among scholars that average citizens are polarized in their feelings toward their political opponents.
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