The political divide in America is far too evident, but if any proof is needed, a study by Pew Research Centre released this week provides a lot of it. The study shows in numbers the deep political divide between the Republicans and Democrats. Pew started the series in 1994, and the 2017 findings show that divisions have grown to unprecedented levels. The divisions between followers of the two parties on political values — on government, race, immigration, national security, environmental protection and other areas — “had reached record levels during Barack Obama’s presidency”, but in the first year of the Donald Trump presidency, “these gaps have grown even larger”.
The study surveyed 5,000 people for their political values on 10 questions this year. On some issues, Democrats have moved further to the Left while the Republicans moved further to the Right. But on questions such as immigration and homosexuality, Republicans have shifted to the Centre, but the Democrats have shifted even more to the Left.
Widening the gap
Between 1994 and now, fewer Republicans think that the “government is almost always wasteful and inefficient”, but the shift among Democrats in the same direction is far sharper. Seventy-five per cent Republicans think that “blacks who can’t get ahead in this country are mostly responsible for their own condition”, which is nine percentage points more than in 1994. Only 44% Republicans agreed with the proposition that “immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and healthcare”, a sharp drop from 64% in 1994 when 62% Democrats also agreed with it. Today, only 12% Democrats agree with it. On questions of state aid to the poor, profits made by corporations, environmental regulations, and military build-up, the same trend of widening gap continues. On average, there is a 36-point gap between Republicans and Democrats on the 10 issues, a significant 21-point increase since Pew began the series.
The proportion of Republicans and Democrats who express “very unfavourable” opinions about the other has increased dramatically since 1994, but recorded no change in recent years. This year, 44% Democrats and Democratic-leaning responders have a very unfavourable opinion about Republicans, while 45% of Republicans and Republican leaners reciprocate the feeling.
The gap began to widen sharply in 2004 with the re-election of George W. Bush, and worsened during the Obama era. Between 2004 and 2014, Americans acquired an unprecedented level of ideological rigidity, the 2014 edition of the survey reported. The median Republican is now more conservative than nearly all Democrats (94%), and the median Democrat is more liberal than 92% of Republicans. The ideologically consistent groups exert a disproportionate influence on politics as they are more likely to participate in party primaries, donate to campaigns and are more motivated to get in touch with elected representatives pushing for particular positions. All this collectively shrinks the middle ground of politics in America, reflected in the logjam in policymaking on critical sectors such as health and education.
The 2017 survey, for the first time, recorded a majority of Republicans, 54%, being accepting of homosexuality, compared to 38% in 1994. Mr. Trump, a master surveyor of sentiments, had gauged this mood, and made the correct noise on the issue during last year’s campaign. That said, irreconcilable political differences are also leading to a breakup of romantic relationships, numerous anecdotal reports suggested in the last year or so.
Varghese K. George works for The Hindu and is based in Washington
