The polarization of the American political system has received tremendous interest from political scientists. Many longtime political observers, some of whom thought stronger parties would improve American politics, now decry that the parties are out of control. Levendusky in his book argues that “polarization fails to capture” what is actually happening in lives of ordinary citizens. Instead, he argues that “sorting” is a better term which captures recent changes in the American electorate. He believes “elite polarization” has caused this sorting. People are simply getting better at aligning their ideological issues and preferences. Although a good book, it does not clearly establish the mechanism behind elite driven mass sorting. An abortion example clearly highlights what is happening with the US electorate. The distance between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of abortion is evidence of a polarized public. Democrats are now clearly the party of abortion rights and Republicans the party of abortion restriction. Members of the two parties are polarized on the issue of abortion so clearly that we would expect our elected officials to mirror this mass polarization and refuse to compromise on abortion. This shows …show more content…
For instance over the course of previous decades, party activists worked to define a Democratic and Republican party position regarding abortion that suited their preferences. These activists represented a decidedly small segment of the population, but exert tremendous influence over the direction of each party. As the differences between the two parties regarding abortion took extreme from, voters responded by aligning their preferences with the party. In other words, the electorate is no more divided on the issue of abortion today than it was decades ago. But the two political parties are much more divided and that division defines contemporary politics and