The GOVERNANCE blog

“If we are not in the most dysfunctional period in our history,” says Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, “we are certainly in the top five.”  The problem isn’t just ideological polarization, Orenstein argues in a new commentary for Governance.  It’s tribalism — “an approach were if you are for it, I am reflexively against it, even if I was for it yesterday.”  Many factors encourage tribalism: skewed redistricting, campaign financing, and the transformation of mainstream media.  And the consequences are profound.  “Political dysfunction,” Ornstein concludes , threatens “the health, well-being, and future prospects for the country.” Free access to the commentary.