When the Democrats captured the majority in Congress two years ago, some of their boosters in the media like Joe Klein predicted an outbreak of "centrism."
Red State Democrats would ease their party to the middle and end the era of extreme partisan polarization.
Back then Klein wrote a Time cover story titled "Why the Center is the New Place to Be," filled with hopeful speculation about how the thoughtful center would prevail.
Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi caught the spirit. On opening day of the 110th Congress in January 2007 she said this to her colleagues:
"I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship…" Adding… "the American people told us they expected us to work together for fiscal responsibility, with the highest ethical standards and with civility and bipartisanship."
But two years later the Klein/Pelosi Kumbaya turned into a pipedream. Partisan polarization actually hit new records last year, despite Democrats' happy talk.
Princeton University political scientist Nolan Mccarty agrees. He analyzed the level of partisan polarization in the recently ended 110th Congress and finds predictions of centrism…well, wrong. Mccarty writes:
In fact, polarization rose in the 110th Congress just as it has almost every term since 1975. The House had set a record for polarization in the 109th, but the 110th broke it. The Senate broke its own record set in 1867.
You can read the full post here.
Hat Tip: The Monkey Cage
