U.S. politics is broken because of MAGA Republicans and hard-line Democrats
When I worked in the George H. W. Bush administration in Washington in the early 1990s, there was broad bipartisan support for many of the Bush administration’s policies, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act amendments, the Persian Gulf war (which forced Iraqi troops out of Kuwait) and a budget agreement that helped put the country on a path toward a balanced budget.
It was an era in which Republicans and Democrats disagreed on significant issues but still worked together to accomplish important things for the nation and the world at large.
Things are very different now. Not only are our political parties not working together, but their supporters act as if they are from rival nations rather than citizens of the same country. What is it that makes today’s political rivalries so hostile as compared to those of the past?
The most common explanation I hear is that the media, including social media, has changed drastically. Rather than all citizens receiving the same information from a limited number of news channels, political information today is targeted to citizens based on their political predispositions.
As a result, both Democrats and Republicans have become more partisan, and amplifying this polarization, gerrymandering has forced politicians of both parties to pander to their base supporters. Elected officials working with members of the opposing party is now viewed as selling out those who elected them.
Partisan extremists seem to live on different planets
While these factors help explain how we have become so divided, they do not explain why our divisions are so intense, and it is this intensity that I believe is the most significant reason for the hostility between MAGA Republicans and the most partisan Democrats.
It reminds me of the description sometimes used to describe the differences between genders — “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” Similarly, I believe that many of today’s most partisan Republicans and Democrats act as if they are indeed from different planets, although I am not sure which planets would best describe their differences.
It is clear, however, that the differences are far greater than mere disagreements about political issues. They are deeply felt views about basic values.
Among many ardent GOP/MAGA supporters, politics has become almost inseparable from religion, making it virtually impossible to compromise on issues such as abortion, gay rights, and the role of religion in society and government.
The most extreme of these partisans are advocates of Christian Nationalism, the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and the government should promote Christian ideals. It should come as no surprise that many Republicans are referring to the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk as a “Christian martyr.”
Among the most politically involved Democrats, politics today has become nothing less than a mission to save democracy. They have come to view every action of the current Trump Administration as a genuine threat to our Constitution and democratic form of government.
How can there be any compromise with ICE raids on farms and schools or with sending the National Guard to confront American citizens? How can any American support the president of the United States usurping the role of Congress to impose tariffs on foreign countries?
For many Democrats today, their “Bible” is the U.S. Constitution, and they believe it and the democracy it created are in serious jeopardy.
The solution: Go from digging in to solving problems
What is disturbing is that a growing number of Americans in each political party now view politics as a zero-sum game. They believe there can be no compromise and that the stakes are too high to lose.
There is also another significant difference between the two parties — the sources of information on which they base government policy.
Democrats lean heavily on the opinions of scientists on issues such as climate change and health care, whereas President Donald Trump and many of his MAGA supporters are more skeptical of scientists and other “experts” and prefer non-conventional sources of advice such as vaccine skeptics on health care issues and business executives on environmental issues. This also creates distrust of the policies advocated on both sides of the political divide.
I wish there were an obvious way to bring back the bipartisan cooperation of the era in which I worked in government, but I am afraid it won’t happen until members of both parties have the courage to risk their careers and “sell out” their most ardent supporters to once again accomplish important things for our country and the entire world.
After teaching high school American history and government for 11 years, Atlanta native Lee Raudonis worked with Republican Paul Coverdell in the Georgia Senate and the U.S. Peace Corps, and he later worked on the staff of a Republican member of Congress.He worked for nearly two decades in Republican politics and for Republican elected officials until Donald Trump and the MAGA movement gained control of the GOP.
