“A Not So Divided America” – but is it wise?
A new study of 24 major surveys in the U.S. shows clearly that partisan gridlock in Washington DC is not the result of partisan disagreements over policy out in the districts and states that are supposedly represented in Congress. If elected public officials heeded the expressed policy preferences of their constituents, bipartisan policies would be readily formulated on more than 2/3 of the issues facing the nation.
The researchers found “remarkably little difference between the views of people who live in red (Republican) districts or states, and those who live in blue (Democratic) districts or states… Most people living in red districts/states disagreed with most people in blue districts/states on only four percent of the questions… For a large majority of questions – 69 percent – there were no statistically significant differences between the views in the red districts/states and the blue districts/states.”
Well!! What a surprise! You’d never know it from the sounds emanating from Congress and the pundits!
