Us Government and Politics

“We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always. Let us argue our differences. But remember we are not enemies.” (Estepa) This quote from John McCain during his 2004 Republican National Convention speech resonates with Americans, most of whom are victims of the United States’ political polarization. Senator John McCain, who became known as the Maverick of the Senate, was the epitome of a moderate politician, putting the country’s well-being above his own party’s agenda. Over the past few years, the division in politics has amplified into hyper-partisanship, leading to gridlock in Congress. An increasingly polarized electorate, gerrymandering, and President Obama’s and President Trump’s policies have contributed to the increasing division in the American government as well as in American society.

America has become polarized over “what it means to be American.” (Drutman) Both political parties have very different views on the direction that this country should take. The Democratic Party has become more progressive (wants more government involvement) with leaders, such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, while the Republican Party has become more conservative (wants less government involvement), with leaders like Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and other Tea Party Republicans. “The left feels that Donald Trump is un-American, xenophobic, racist, is opposed to the true American vision of tolerance. His policies of immigration and the border wall are against the principles of what America stands for. The right feels that Democrats are un-American, they denigrate our founding as a Christian nation and want to secularize everything. They don’t want to open our borders to anyone who wants to blow us up. They define real Americans as those who don’t live on the coast or the cities, where most Democrats live.” (Drutman) Both parties see America’s future going in different paths, but do not respect the other’s views. In a democracy, it is essential that everyone’s opinions are respected and with America’s current political atmosphere, this seems extremely unlikely.

It seems that the goal of each party is to pursue its own agenda when it is in power and obstruct the other’s when it is not in power. Americans have seen this with the passing of Obamacare. “[Obamacare] was the first time that comprehensive healthcare passed with a single party support that influenced the stage of policy implementation.”(“Partisanship Was Not the Only Factor in How Obamacare Exchanges Were Adopted by the States.”) The Republicans had spent years criticizing elements of Obamacare including the single party payer. The issue of healthcare has instilled resentment on both sides. Democrats, believing that those who do not agree with Obamacare do not care about uninsured people with pre-existing conditions while Republicans do not want to change America’s healthcare system into a socialized one. Americans have also seen polarization in Congress’ confirmation of Supreme Court Justices. After Justice Scalia passed away, President Obama picked Justice Merrick Garland to be considered. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delayed his confirmation hearing until after the 2016 Presidential Election. After President Trump was elected,“the Senate Majority Leader also triggered the nuclear option, a rule change that allowed the Senate to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch with a simple majority vote instead of the usual 60 vote threshold. Justice Gorsuch was confirmed in a near party-line vote.” (Yarvin) This angered Democrats because they felt that Garland should have been considered and that Gorsuch was too conservative.While the increased hyper-partisanship is mainly due to the increased polarization of the country, increased gerrymandering has also contributed to the hyper-partisanship. Throughout American history, state legislatures have partaken in gerrymandering, the biased drawing of state districts to favor one’s party. As the states lessen the opposition’s voting base in a district, they are able to make it easier for their party to win. (“The Roots of Partisan Gridlock in the Senate.”) For instance, in the 2012 election year, 90 percent of United States Representatives and 91 percent of United States Senators were re-elected (“The Roots of Partisan Gridlock in the Senate.”). This astonishing statistic shows that re-election has become easier for Congressmen. These representatives have less motivation to compromise with the other side because they do not need to seek out the votes from the other party’s voting base to remain in office. (“The Roots of Partisan Gridlock in the Senate.”)

After a tumultuous election season, Trump won the electoral college despite losing the popular vote, which divided the nation even more. Along with his election Trump’s policies have worsened the political divide within the United States. Trump’s support for tax reform that gives cuts to wealthy businesses while maintaining the original taxes on the lower and middle class has split the nation and angered Democrats, who do not support his Reaganomic policies(DeSilver). Furthermore, by removing us from the Paris Accord, he has further alienated Democrats who strongly support environmental conservation and renewable energies(DeSilver). It seems to be part of Trump’s political agenda to rally his own party’s support through rhetoric and insulting comments to polarize the country. Some notable examples of the methods he employs include giving insulting monikers to his opponents and describing “all but ‘some’ Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists” (Iniguez). If Trump decides to find common ground with the Democratic politicians, then he may be able to reform Obamacare and make healthcare in the United States better for all.

America is based on citizen’s rights to voice different political opinions, but hyper-partisanship has obstructed this. The prognosis on hyper-partisanship in the near future unfortunately will stay the same. As each political party’s base becomes further polarized, it will become more difficult to change this path. Furthermore, in order to decrease hyper-partisanship, the state legislatures would have to give up their right to gerrymandering to an independent party. This, although a simple solution, is not plausible, since the state legislatures are biased and want to support their own party. As Americans approach the midterm elections, it seems that the hyper-partisanship in Congress will continue, unless the Democrats have a complete takeover of the Senate and the House of Representatives. If just the House or the Senate is taken over by the Democrats, more gridlock and resentment will ensue and Congressional productivity will halt.