Aaron Stanger ‘24

The Doomed Fate of Bipartisanship in American Politics

Aaron Stanger ‘24

In 2022, political party lines have never been so clearly defined. While every Republican seems to push for the same agenda on every issue, every Democratic argues the exact opposite. Of course, this wasn’t always the case; over the last 200 years America’s political landscape has changed dramatically.. But since the early days of the country, party politics has developed, changed, and grown into what it is today: a gridlock of the federal government and a populace starkly divided between two sides. Looking into the next presidential and congressional elections, bipartisanship will not develop as a way to combat this stalemate.

In the electoral college, presidential elections are regulated based on individual states, especially swing states. But the vast majority of states have a clearly defined status: Massachusetts is a Democrat state while Texas is a Republican state. Therefore, these states attract a certain person, and thus, the majority grows and grows until the state is overwhelmingly one sided. For example, Massachusetts has shifted from what was 50-50 split in the 1900s to a clearly defined democratic state in 2022. And so, Massachusetts internal legislation and policy reflects those of the left: high taxes to support spending programs like healthcare and immigration programs. This legislation creates a self reinforcing cycle. In turn, this polarization will result in an increase in individual states power, as the only way to achieve a party’s goals will be on a small scale, state level.

Moreover, voters, due to technology and the internet, have become more polarized than ever. Social media pages are crafted to fit the news algorithmically geared to keep them on the app and more sided. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, are all geared to creating a “unique” experience that keeps you on the app. In reality, users are fed a stream of one sided information. As they view more of one side, the app receives this feedback and offers more, and more polarizing, viewpoints. By failing to acknowledge other opinions, voters get hooked and drawn to the extreme lefts and rights. In this vastly growing technological

landscape, this trend will only persist, and voters themselves will be unable to find bipartisanship among themselves.

However, in times of dire need, the bipartisanship in congress has stepped up to provide aid (such as the pandemic relief). But, these displays of collaboration are merely temporary flukes resulting from emergencies; they also do not target some of the real issues, like healthcare, gun laws, and free speech, that truely split Republicans and Democrats. Yes, it looks great when our nation comes together to support Ukraine or sanction other blatantly obvious human rights abuses around the globe. When it comes to making real progress on breaking down the political lines between Americans, true progress must be made to fix the root of the problem: that most politicians have sold themselves to one firm set of beliefs. Even if America was divided on every issue, the fact that the same people are divided on every problem leaves little room for discussion, compromise, or even acknowledgement. The future of American political parties at the voter, state, and congressional level, is a grim, self reinforcing cycle that will leave no room for bipartisanship in the coming decades.