The House is certainly the most extreme illustration of
what’s to come. Moderate Republicans are basically extinct.
Conservative Democrats, who not long ago accounted for more than a
quarter of the party in the House, are getting wiped away, too - and
will likely number a little more than a dozen after November.
The Senate, once the chamber of deliberation and reason, is getting its own extreme makeover. Moderates such as Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and Democrat Ben Nelson are bolting an institution that barely resembles the one they entered as idealistic deal-makers.As it stands, Congress is more polarized than at any time since Reconstruction, according to data compiled by Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal, political scientists who study congressional voting.
And getting more polarized, they correctly argue.
Every incentive in the modern, technology-powered system favors the partisans right now. Want to mix up in the 24-7 cable carnival? Better say something nutty or extreme. Want to become a hero to the activists on the Web? Damn well better sound more like Alan Grayson and Allen West than Snowe or Nelson. Want to avoid the wrath of well-funded activists or the new class of super PACs, which can raise and spend as much money as they want? Stay the heck out of any discussions of moderation or compromise. Want to win a primary? Fat chance, unless the far right or far left approve.
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