Description
Debate on a wide variety of issues in the United States has become increasingly partisan. This is due in part to the fact that the party platforms have coalesced around positions on sets of issues and have sorted voters based on their relative preferences on these issues. Assignment: Pick two of the following issues and do a little research about how the parties’ average position on that issue has changed over the past twenty years (i.e. the era where partisan polarization has been said to be happening).
The issues are:
● Expanding federal environmental regulation
● Raising tax rates on top earners
● Legalizing gay marriage
● Supporting universal healthcare
● Joining international free trade agreements
● Authorizing domestic surveillance
Recall there are two types of polarization we have talked about:
• Mass polarization- how much the general public is or is not polarizing
• Elite polarization- how much more influential people are or are not polarization (including members of Congress, wealthy Americans, certain political activists, etc)
Choose one of these two types (mass or elite) to focus on, and apply it to both of the issues you chose. If you choose mass, you can use public opinion polls to get an idea of how people are polarizing on an issue. If you choose elite, focus on Congress as a special case (in part because it’s easier to measure, and in part because polarization in Congress have profound consequences). Polarization in Congress can be measured by looking at voting on bills. For example, if in 1973 the House of Representatives votes on a bill, and 130/265 Democrats and 85/170 Republicans vote for a bill, we can say it’s not all that polarized because about 49% of the Democrats and 50% of the Republicans voted for it, meaning they don’t differ very much in their view of the bill. On the other hand, if 90% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans vote yes in 2015, it certainly looks like things have been polarized. This logic using percentages also holds for public opinion data if you choose to talk about mass instead of elite. Keep in mind that you need to compare the past to the present. If you choose elite, then compare a law voted on by Congress before the 1990s to a more recent one (you do this once each for each of the two issues you chose. If you choose mass, then compare public opinion data by party between now and some time further in the past. You can find a ton of valuable polling and survey info through Gallup and Pew’s sites (if you choose mass). If you choose elite, then votes on laws in Congress can be found on their official website. If you’re unsure of a source, ask me first.
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DescriptionDebate on a wide variety of issues in the United.docx
1. Description
Debate on a wide variety of issues in the United States has
become increasingly partisan. This is due in part to the fact
that the party platforms have coalesced around positions on
sets of issues and have sorted voters based on their relative
preferences on these issues. Assignment: Pick two of the
following issues and do a little research about how the parties’
average position on that issue has changed over the past twenty
years (i.e. the era where partisan polarization has been said to
be happening).
The issues are:
● Expanding federal environmental regulation
● Raising tax rates on top earners
● Legalizing gay marriage
● Supporting universal healthcare
● Joining international free trade agreements
● Authorizing domestic surveillance
2. Recall there are two types of polarization we have talked about:
• Mass polarization- how much the general public is or is
not polarizing
• Elite polarization- how much more influential people are
or are not polarization (including members of Congress,
wealthy Americans, certain political activists, etc)
Choose one of these two types (mass or elite) to focus on, and
apply it to both of the issues you chose. If you choose mass,
you can use public opinion polls to get an idea of how people
are polarizing on an issue. If you choose elite, focus on
Congress as a special case (in part because it’s easier to
measure, and in part because polarization in Congress have
profound consequences). Polarization in Congress can be
measured by looking at voting on bills. For example, if in 1973
the House of Representatives votes on a bill, and 130/265
Democrats and 85/170 Republicans vote for a bill, we can say
it’s not all that polarized because about 49% of the Democrats
and 50% of the Republicans voted for it, meaning they don’t
differ very much in their view of the bill. On the other hand, if
90% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans vote yes in 2015, it
certainly looks like things have been polarized. This logic
using percentages also holds for public opinion data if you
choose to talk about mass instead of elite. Keep in mind that
you need to compare the past to the present. If you choose
elite, then compare a law voted on by Congress before the
1990s to a more recent one (you do this once each for each of
the two issues you chose. If you choose mass, then compare
public opinion data by party between now and some time
further in the past. You can find a ton of valuable polling and
3. survey info through Gallup and Pew’s sites (if you choose
mass). If you choose elite, then votes on laws in Congress can
be found on their official website. If you’re unsure of a source,
ask me first.
