http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/bipartisanship/the-bipartisanship-mirage/The Bipartisanship Mirage
An interesting piece from E.J. Dionne says that today’s breakdown of bipartisanship can be largely explained by just how southern and conservative the GOP has become, a shift that is really striking when viewed from a historical perspective:
It’s easy to forget how dramatic the shift has been over time — and therefore easy to miss how much of the current nostalgia for bipartisanship is unrealistic.
In the Congress elected in 1960, there were 174 Republicans. Only seven came from the 11 states of the Old Confederacy, while 35 came from New York or New England, the heartlands of moderate Republicanism.
In the current Congress, 72 of the 178 Republicans come from the Old Confederacy. Almost all of them are deeply conservative. There is not a single Republican House member from New England, and there are only three from New York.
That really is eye-opening. And it gets at one of the odder paradoxes of this historical moment. The GOP is smaller, more unpopular, and more regional than at any time in recent memory, yet this has made it less likely that the Republicans will cooperate with a majority that has a larger popular mandate than any in a generation.
Which, in turn, will only make a comeback for the GOP that much more of a steep climb.
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