I don't believe that people disagree along the lines drawn by parties. Most political fights are artificial constructs to keep the people busy while the the people in DC and their donors stay in power.
> I don't believe that people disagree along the lines drawn by parties.
There is plenty of evidence that they do, and also that (by comparing to other democracies and over time) this is directly a product of the party system—an electoral systen supporting small number of signficant parties results in a small number of significant viewpoints, mostly divided on the same lines that divide the parties.
> Most political fights are artificial constructs to keep the people busy while the the people in DC and their donors stay in power.
Even to the extent that is arguably
true, that a fight is an artificial construct or a distraction does not mean that the people at whom it is directed don't deeply buy into and incorporate into their identity the side of the fight they have been propagandized into.
"Even to the extent that is arguably true, that a fight is an artificial construct or a distraction does not mean that the people at whom it is directed don't deeply buy into and incorporate into their identity the side of the fight they have been propagandized into.
"
Most people don't bother understanding an issue or building a real opinion but just follow the part line Just watch the deficit discussion. When Obama was in power, a lot of people thought deficits are bad. Immediately after Trump came in the same people started worrying about deficits. The propaganda put out by the parties is finely tuned and very effective but that doesn't mean that the effects are lasting.
Never ending partisan warfare is what you get when people demand better government but disagree deeply on what is necessary for better government.