The Biggest Problem When It Comes to Polarization

“As Mayor Koch used to say: ‘If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.'”

A column in The Globe and Mail put it best: “Today, feminism is not so much a movement as a grab bag for the usual assortment of progressive causes. ‘Free birth control and Palestine,’ one popular sign said, which about sums it up. If you believe in one, then you’re assumed to automatically believe in the other one.”

The author, Margaret Wente, might have been referring specifically to feminism, but her observation is emblematic of our polarized times. Knowing a person’s party identification these days tells us far more than it should. It can indicate with an alarming level of confidence where a voter stands on a litany of issues, many of which have little more to do with one another than happening to occupy real estate on the typed platform of the Democratic Party or the GOP.

If you identify as part of the conservative team, one can guess rather confidently that you support both low taxes and guns. And if you’re on the liberal side, you’re probably behind labor unions and against abortion restrictions, issues that do not necessarily seem all that related.

Sometimes this goes even further, and allegiance to one’s political team can lead adherents to support positions that even seem contradictory. Perhaps, one opposes “corporate welfare,” unless it applies to tax breaks for Hollywood or believes that government should stay out of one’s personal life, unless the issue is gay marriage.