As Washington elites drifted toward ideological poles over the
past few decades, did ordinary Americans follow their lead? In "The
Partisan Sort," Matthew Levendusky reveals that we have responded
to this trend--but not, for the most part, by becoming more extreme
ourselves. While polarization has filtered down to a small minority
of voters, it also has had the more significant effect of
reconfiguring the way we sort ourselves into political parties.
In a marked realignment since the 1970s--when partisan
affiliation did not depend on ideology and both major parties had
strong liberal and conservative factions--liberals today
overwhelmingly identify with Democrats, as conservatives do with
Republicans. This "sorting," Levendusky contends, results directly
from the increasingly polarized terms in which political leaders
define their parties. Exploring its far-reaching implications for
the American political landscape, he demonstrates that sorting
makes voters more loyally partisan, allowing campaigns to focus
more attention on mobilizing committed supporters. Ultimately,
Levendusky concludes, this new link between party and ideology
represents a sea change in American politics.
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