Kyle Scholes POL 101D Dr.

Bryan Marshall 3 December 2013

Abstract: Abramowitz discusses the aspect of political polarization and how it impacts voters and the government as a whole. Some factors that affect polarization are race, education, and also the political party leaders. Although I agree with many of these arguments, I disagree with the one he makes about having an education will help people understand the issues being presented. One of the main ideas that Abramowitz discusses is Partisan-Ideology Polarization which is prominent in a Democracy. The overall argument states that polarization is having a great effect on politics in the country.

Polarization in the Political Society Throughout the book The Disappearing Center, the author, Alan Abramowitz, discusses his opinions and arguments that are relevant in political issues regarding polarization. Some of these issues include how political parties being so polarized hurt voters, ignorance among voters, discrepancies between voters and their different political beliefs, and how the structure of the partys ideologies impact the politically engaged portion of the country. Abramowitz uses other political scholars and the conclusions they have drawn from that research in order to exemplify and support his opinions and arguments. All of these political scholars help buttress Abramowitz as he tries to explain the division of politics in America. One of the prevailing points Abramowitz discusses relatively early in the book is Partisan-Ideological Polarization. He describes it as one of the first of three arguments about the engaged public (Abramowitz 4). This type of polarization is most noticeable in citizens who are under the governance of a democracy. Citizens who dont have close ties with the beliefs and ideals of this type of government tend to not show as much polarization thus, giving them a lesser role in Partisan-Ideological Polarization. Also, Abramowitz says that people who dont believe in the ideas of a democracy are usually publically disengaged when it comes to politics. This is another reason why people who dont follow a democratic government tend to have beliefs that are less polarized. While discussing the topic of partisan-ideological polarization, the concept of how constraint and polarization are tied together becomes clearer. Abramowitz states, In fact, one requires the other (Abramowitz 35). This backs up the point that polarization would not be present without the existence of the government having a direct impact on the countrys citizens.

During the process of arguing the controversial topic of Partisan-Ideological Polarization, the author expresses his thoughts about how the change in American voters has impacted the political parties. One point he makes is, the larger the portion of leaders and citizens taking consistently liberal or conservative positions on issues, the higher the level of polarization. (Abramowitz 35) This directly has an impact on the increasing separation of the political parties. Abramowitz discussed the acknowledgement of Phillip Converses agreement with how an increase in the percent of respondents who attained a college education helped voters as a whole. Although Converses theory could be considered outdated, it can still be compatible to the voters today. During the time period Converse was referring to, a majority of people who obtained a college degree were white. This created a larger number of white citizens with college educations compared to the number of African American citizens with degrees, therefore, influencing a larger number of voters who side with the Republican Party. This is especially true since about fifty years ago almost all whites voted republican, and a majority of blacks would vote democrat. Besides this fact, the two theorists think that a byproduct of this would allow the political issues presented to be more comprehendible for the public. Being able to comprehend the issues will also create polarization, since voters will be able to understand which partys beliefs they agree with the most. Although this seems to be a controversy, there are many other reason why polarization is becoming a larger part of American politics. An argument that Abramowitz makes in the latter half of his book relates to how race is increasingly impacting polarization. Other factors that he relates to race are religion and marriage. Abramowitz states that, As a result of these trends, todays voters are less likely to be white. (Abramowitz 127). He then goes on to say, Without these trends, Barack Obama would not have had a chance of winning the democratic nomination or the presidential election.

(Abramowitz 136). Abramowitz also says that with the increase in racial diversity, the gap in the number of people who consider themselves Republican compared to those who are democrat has decreased. Racial diversity assists the increase in polarization between political parties. The following table helps demonstrate how different races voted in the past elections.

White Democrat Republican 43% 55%

Black 95% 4%

Hispanic 67% 31%

Asian 62% 35%

2008 Presidential Election

2012 Presidential Election White Democrat Republican 40% 59% Black 93% 5% Hispanic 71% 26% Asian 73% 25%

While there were arguments that caught my attention, there were some that I strongly agreed with. However, there were some issues that I didnt quite agree with but the amount of issues that I agreed with greatly out-numbered those. The argument that I agreed with the most was the one regarding how a majority of the voting population is uneducated when it comes to knowing what the different parties believe about certain issues. Many people are quick to blame the younger generations for this. This very well could be true. Yes, Im 18 I can vote for whoever I want! is what many teens think when they first are eligible to vote. They get too overwhelmed with this new opportunity and dont think about how each candidate feels about

certain issues. A lot of time they will listen to the things that are on the news and base their vote solely off of that. But, what these new voters fail to realize is that much of the politics they hear on the news is spun toward one political party. This could cause some sort of polarization between the sources that we gather information. As of right now, there are already many news sources that favor one political party over the other. For example, the news network CNN leans more toward the liberal side of the political spectrum, whereas Fox News leans toward the conservative side. As a result of these news channels being polarized, the voting population could become even more polarized. The idea of the news stations being biased toward one political party over the other can be tied back to the argument that many voters are uneducated about the issues before they vote. If a voter does not understand that news reporters lean a certain way, they may be listening to information that either may not be true, or that could be mudslinging toward the opposing party. Although I agree with Abramowitzs idea that many voters are uneducated, I disagree with his thought that the increase in collegiately educated voters increases the chance of voters understanding the concepts and ideals of the parties and the issues at hand. This is a very relevant argument because as a post in the New York Times says, In 2008, those with college degrees cast 45% of the presidential vote. (Edsall). This increased tremendously from 1984, when it was only 35%. Abramowitz could use this to say that is seems that more people are engaged in politics and it could coincide with the increase in college graduates voting. Despite these facts, I dont believe that just because someone has a college education, that it means that they are educated on the political issues at hand, and how those issues will affect them personally. To be able to understand the issues and what the parties believe in, the voter needs to do research to gather background information. However, as discussed previously in class, politicians are trying

to fix this collective actions problem by providing the poles with information about what their party believes. Having a college education will have little impact on someones knowledge about the election unless they have taken politics class. Sure, they will be able to understand what the politicians are saying better than someone who doesnt have a college education, but without an explanation it will still be difficult to understand the politicians conceptually. For the duration of the book, Abramowitz gives multiple reasons as to why polarization is happening and how it is effecting politics. The way that the public is engaged in politics is one of the main ways that polarization is impacted, according to the author. A subtopic that he uses to describe this is race. With an increase in racial diversity, there is an increase in polarization between voters. Abramowitz implies that different races generally believe in agree with a particular party. This would have the voters society to be more divided with their beliefs. Fifty years ago a majority of voters were white and tended to vote for the Republican Party. Now with more racial diversity, the Democratic Party has become more of a competitor for the Republican Party. This is a good byproduct of polarization because it shows that more and more people are getting into politics and being an active part of the voting process. But, this could also be a bad thing because it could cause many discrepancies between the different beliefs people have. Abramowitz explains polarization through his book and backs his arguments up with the research of political scholars. One of the main points of the book is Partisan-Ideological Polarization. This has to do with the engagement of the public and is predominantly noticeable in democracy. Also an increase in racial diversity is also having a direct impact on polarization. Since there has been an increase diversity there has also been an increase in college education for races as well. This can be related to how Abramowitz argues that having a college education helps people understand the issues that are relevant in politics. But, this is one of his arguments

that I disagree with. Although I disagree with this idea, I did agree with most of the arguments in the book.
Works Cited Abramowitz, A. (2010). The Disappearing Center. New Haven. Edsall, T. (2012, April 1). The Politics of Going to College. The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/the-politics-of-going-tocollege/ (2008, November 5) Exit Polls 2008. The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2013 from http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/exit-polls.html (2012, November). President Exit Polls 2012. The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2013 from http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/exit-polls