You knew party divisiveness was at an all-time high. Well, now you have proof that it’s at its highest level in the last twenty-one years, anyway.
Brighten Godfrey calculates the most Yeasayingest and Naysayingest senators of the past two decades and discovers something interesting. No sitting senators are in the Top 10 for saying ‘yea,’ but several Republicans are setting records for saying ‘no.’ Jim DeMint ranks 2nd, Tom Coburn 3rd, George LeMieux 4th, David Vitter 9th, and Mike Barrasso 10th.
The data shows a striking difference. Politics were more centrist in the late 80s. Divisiveness didn’t move much for about 18 years, but then divisiveness dramatically spiked since the beginning of the Obama administration, setting a record in 2009 and another record so far in 2010. The difference here is really quite dramatic: 29% divisiveness in 1989, vs. 70% today.
Thank you, Mitch McConnell.
